Broken

Chapter 26

"That's all you wanted to ask?" I almost laugh, instead just exhaling air from my lips.

Zayn brings his hand to the back of his neck and rubs. "Yeah..." He returns, uncertainty clear within his voice.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Let's just get the drinks and talk to those guys." I say, collecting the tray of drinks from the bar.

You'd think they'd ask for ID but no. Luckily.

"I got it." Zayn insists, taking the tray carefully out of my hands and walking over to the booth, with me following closely behind him.

"Here you go." He exclaims, the group excitedly rush to collect their order from the tray.

"Cheers man. We owe you one." Scooter says.

"Don't worry about it." Zayn replies.

"So, where are you guys staying?" Liam questions.

"The Whittaker Lakehouse."

"Rich kids, eh." Bailey snuffs. "Are you two, like together then?"

Zayn turns to face me, "No, not really." He responds, not breaking the eye contact with me.

"That's a shame." She adds. I'm sure she's awfully happy that Zayn is single. "I don't have a boyfriend either." She adds shuffling closer to Zayn.

"That's...nice." I can't help but giggle at his uncomfortableness.

"What about you Lara, someone as hot as you must have a boyfriend?" Nath asks.

Harry I want to say. Even though I know it isn't true. As much as I kind of wish it was.

"No, there's no one." Zayn turns to look at me again, a small smirk forming on his lips. I feel his hand rest on my thigh and squeeze. I tense at the contact first but it's sort of comforting so I let him keep it there.

"Where are you guys from then?" Zayn counteracts.

"Me, Nath and Scooter are from Boston, our families come here every year for Christmas."

"Lily and I are from Washington." Bailey adds.

"It's boring as fuck so we all just meet up and get drunk and high." Liam says.

The gang, including Zayn, laugh. I merely smirk. This is definitely not my 'crowd.'

...

"SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!" The bar shouts whilst I chug the clear liquor down my throat.

"Agh!" I moan, the strong liquid igniting flames within my throat. "That was awful." I laugh. "Another one!"

The bar cheers with excitement and praise, the bartender refilling mine, Lily and Bailey's glasses.

Still, no one has asked for ID.

"I think you've had enough." Zayn coaxes, resting his hand on my back

"We should get back."

"Mr. No Fun." I recoil, my bottom lip protruding.

"We can come back tomorrow maybe." He offers.

I clap with excitement. The alcohol has definitely gone to my head.

I see Zayn exchanging numbers and goodbyes with the gang. I can't hear what he's saying, I can't even focus properly.

Zayn doesn't look that less drunk than me to be honest. He's had just about the same amount of alcohol as me, just, he can clearly take it better than me.

He finishes his conversation and walks, or stumbles, over to me. Dodging both the tables and rest of the bar's customers.

Just as he's about to reach me,he trips over a chair and plummets to the floor. He remains stationary for a second, drawing attention from the crowd of drunks, before bursting out into laughter. He lays on the floor in a fit of laughter before eventually standing to his feet.

We both stumble out of the bar entrance and onto the road. It's dimly lit by about 4 dull street lamps, the minimal light is not going to make for an easy journey home.

"I don't think I like our new friends, Zayn." I tell him when we're almost home.

"They remind me of the guys back home."

"That's probably why I don't like them."

"Most likely."

With my body close to Zayn and his arm wrapped around my shoulders, we eventually arrive safely back to the house. All the lights are out, which isn't a surprise considering I know it's atleast past midnight.

"You promised we could go in the hot tub, remember?" Zayn tells me.

Did I? I don't remember. Maybe I did.