Oblivion {n.h.}

Chapter 40.

Allison stands there, her mouth quivering, only staring now at Thomas, Kaya, Kyle, and Andrea. Who al sit across the table from me, Thomas's lips stuttering words incomprehensible and Kaya, not looking away from her plate below her chin.

"Hello Allison!" Andrea stands from the table before running over and embracing the girl welcomingly; letting me know they have met some time before.

Allison hugs her back, her face still dumbfounded and looking between the four people. Thomas gets up and straightens out his blue mid-button up shirt as he walks over to her, coughing slightly.

"Hello Allison." He coughs again, smiling slightly, but his gaze not leaving Kaya as she notices that Allison is looking her way, and she and Kyle smile and wave politely; the awkward of the situation growing as the seconds pass.

"This is Allison, an old friend." Thomas tells us, smiling forcefully from where he sits in his chair.

Allison scoffs and sits down in a chair near me, Lydia bringing her a plate to chow down on.

"These are the new people we've brought in. They were wandering the streets of London and we couldn't help but take them in." Andrea tells Allison just as Lydia did before, gesturing to us with her hand; brushing off Thomas's comment from before.

"And how did I not find them first?" Allison chuckles, she must be good at her job.

"I was wondering the same thing." Lydia chuckles with her– in a best friendly manner. She comes around with two plates for Niall and I– along with Allison's as we all did arrive late.

I wave politely at the new girl before digging into my plate; hungrier than I should be, only missing lunch today.

"I feel like we haven't talked about what happened much." Liam brings up from the opposite end of the table where I sit.

"What do you mean we talk every day." Louis replies; that permanent sass stuck on his tongue, more than usual at that.

"No I mean like; actually talked, deep conversations you know, what's something about you that no one else knows?" Liam leads on, allowing me to exchange a look with the others.

"What's there to talk about? Those lives are over now." I lead on myself.

"Lou and I were in bands." Harry tells everyone, taking a bite out of a piece of chicken on his plate. Louis smiles at Harry and laughs to himself quietly.

"Ew," Niall laughs, "I golfed twenty-four hours straight." Obviously something not that important anymore.

"EW," I retort Niall's side comment back to him, "I was studying to go to UNI."

"I wanted to settle down; find a girl and live on the farm for the rest of my days, just be in peace– but I think I got the opposite of that." Grey adds in, allowing that to be the first deepest thing I'll probably ever know about the guy.

"I was actually studyin' to be a singer." Perrie tells everyone, Zayn raising his hand to imply the same thing.

"Sing something for us!" Jade practically yells, the room erupting in 'yes' quickly.

"Oh I don't think–" Perrie tries to object before Zayn nudges her with his shoulder, making her bashfully smile at him and the rest of us.

"Fine– fine." She finally gives in, coughing slightly and preparing her voice. The room quiets down and a rosy pink fills her face as the first words flow out of her mouth.

"So I'll be bold, as well as strong–" Perrie holds out her notes long, her voice indeed bold and strong.

She carries on singing and my eyes watch Zayn as his face lights up just watching her next to him as she belts on; practically in shock.

She finishes the song and the whole room fills with claps just then, Lydia grabbing her shoulder from behind and shaking her rewardingly and Zayn pressing a kiss to her cheek, while Niall wraps his arm around me and laughs.

"Carly what did you do? I've always been curious." Andrea asks, toning down the room just a little bit to wonder her question on.

"I was almost finished with my first year of law school; god it was horrible." She humourosly adds in, and I lost her to the dread in my mind just after the sudden MENTION of law school.

The room laughs on and I feel myself for the first time being disgusted with how dirty I feel, needing to use the bathroom and letting my mind wander if the showers do truly work as Lydia said they would.

"So, the question I'm wondering, is if these magical showers actually work Lyds." I give her the nickname as I stand up with my plate in hand.

"That they do Danielle! I was starting to wonder wether someone would ask or not." She tells me nicely, leaning off of the counter and beginning to walk towards me.

"I got it." Allison sticks out her leather-gloved hand towards her and opens the door for me. "Gotta put my crossbow away anyway." She smirks, patiently waiting for us to retreat away from the others.

When she shuts the door she turns to face me, her hair whipping quickly and she smiles again, not showing her teeth as she beams at me brightly.

"Allison," she sticks a hand out towards me, her brown leather glove surprisingly inviting. "We haven't officially met before." I shake her hand gladly before following her to where she starts off toward the left sided bedrooms.

"One to the far back." I mention which bathroom to her as we tread down the narrow hallway.

"The city's got propane tanks around that are still up, we're one of the lucky ones." She turns around as we reach the shower, turning it on as an example to show me.

As much as you wouldn't already think so, it amazed me how much of a five star luxury this seemed to me.

With another smile and greeting, Allison isolates me as I waste no time to strip down and feel the warmth hit my skin. Almost in a daze, I get to choose from the many shampoos and soaps there are to try; making me wonder what treasures hide in the other bathrooms as well. I might just have to find out later.

After feeling like hours of getting drowned in the warm water; which I would not mind might I add, I finally exit into the cold air of the bedroom, leaning over with just a towel around my body.

Picking up my clothes from the end of the bed where I'd left them, I hear Niall enter the room quietly, making me smile to myself, not even bothering to look up from where I gather up the pile of raggedy clothes.

He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses below my ear softly.

"Niall!" I giggle quietly, trying to squirm from his delicate touch.

"It's not Niall." A familiar voice huskily moans in my ear.