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133

Friday

•Niall's POV•

"Hey Ni, are you up for a night out?" Karina asked, washing the rest of the dishes.

"Yeah, totally. Who's coming and where?" I replied, leaning on the counter.

"Um, just a couple of the friends. Some people you don't know, then Liam, Amber, Josh, Sarah, Cal, and, um... Luke." She trailed off.

"Ooohhhhh your baby Lukey!" I teased childishly.

"Shut up!" Karina exclaimed, holding back a smile as she scrubbed harder. "We're planning to go to Luke's dad's house. Be ready around 8 and I'll pick you up. Dress nice, but it's not formal."

"Sounds cool." I said, just as the bell rang. Ready to greet another customer, I turned around with a smile, but it was only Amanda.

"Hey Amanda." I smiled.

"Hey," she replied tiredly, "You ready for me to take over?"

"Yeah, give me five minutes to get everything set." I paused. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really stressed out over school. And, it's really cold outside. Florida isn't usually like this." She remarked with a frown.

"I can relate. Science is kicking my butt these days." Karina laughed, getting Amanda to crack a smile.

"Alright, I'm going to head out. I'll see you later" I bid my goodbyes and pushed open the door, heading to my car.

|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|•|

I straighten out my white button up dress shirt in the mirror. It had been a while since I'd gone to a party; casual or not. I've just had a super busy schedule.

And by "super busy", I mean " being too lazy to leave the house but not being too lazy to heat up a frozen pizza and watch funny movies on Netflix all night".

So, this was a change.

A good change at that, I was beginning to loose my sociality. I wouldn't call myself a life of the party guy, but I can come up with a few party games and have a better Spotify party playlist that any of my other friends. Besides, I missed them.

Grabbing my buzzing phone off the table, I see that Karina texted me.

Rina: I am here. Where r u? I don't c any lights.

Chuckling, I grabbed my wallet and left my room. I opened the door and turned off the lights, shutting the door behind me. Karina's red bug was prominent against the dark blue sky; the light that usually shines on the road had recently gone out. I swung open her door and climbed in the small car.

"Where were you?" She asked, pulling off, " All the lights were off. I'd thought you'd ditched us again."

"It was one time. And I was sick!" I defend, "Plus, I don't go around increasing my lighting bill by turning on all the lights in the house like a lunatic."

"A dimly lit house is a sad looking house." She stated simply, turning up the radio.

It was only a 15 minute drive to Luke's Dad's condo on a hill. Seriously, the place was beautiful. It was just on the outskirts of the city; 2 minutes away from central.

"I think he said 3rd floor..." Karina trailed off as we entered the building.

"Wow." I breathed, looking foreword at the pool on the other side of the hallway.