The Football Coach • l.t. au

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

London has always been colourful at night. Not just a specific street but everywhere. Neon lights beam out of every club of every street, music blaring from cars, nightclubs, pubs, anywhere really.

"Which club are we going to?" I ask him. He turns to a street that I recognize as a street with nightclubs in one line. I didnt really think this was what he does but he still is 21, right?

"The one at the end of the street."

"The one that most celebrities go into?!" I ask in surprise.

He laughs and turns to me as he stops the car due to traffic in the street alone. "Not really celebrities. Rich people if thats what you mean."

"Damn I didnt bring that much money..." I say and nearly bang my head on the window.

"You don't need it..." He says as the traffic behind to move and so do we.

"are you kidding me?" I snap.

"No I am not. Zayn's girlfriend owns the place so we can get anything we want." He says as he glances at me.

"Cool..." I say casually. He turns to the night club and I can already tell how expensive the entrance fee alone is. The whole building is of glass, even the floors excluding the ground floor. There are massive speakers on each corner and strobe lights on each sides.

He parks the car in front. When we got out we were greeted by the other boys. I expected them to look classy to say the leAst but most of them are in just shirts and jeans and sneakers and a jacket.
"The others here yet?" Louis asks the group.

"The other girls are inside. Perrie's inside as well." Zayn says as he puts his hands in his pockets.

"Of course how else are we gonna get in?" Niall says. Zayn chuckled and threw his arm over Niall's shoulder.

"You look good, Meg..." Niall says and eyes me from head to toe.

"Thank you..." I say casually. All of the sudden I feel too conscious of my appearance. What if I didnt dress for the occasion? What if the girls Zayn was talking about are and I'm going to feel out of place?

"Speaking of girls," Harry says and turns around. A group of girls walk out and I feel relieved. They're dressed somehow close to me.

"You chickens coming inside or what?" One of them calls out.

"You girls should stick together... We've got other places to be." Zayn says.

"What? I thought we were ALL going to hang out" one of them points to all of us. Her eyes glued to me, not in a mean way but more like a 'I'm amused I haven't seen you here before' way.

"Haven't seen you around before, I'm Rachel." She says with a smile. I only realize now she has gems in the corner of her eyes, making them shine when they hit the light.

"Oh! You're Louis's date?" The girl with blue hair beams at me. My eyes widen and I shake my head in panic.

"No!" The two of us say at the same time.

"Good! You don't wanna be stuck with that goof ball." She says, grabbing my arm and me towards their group. She winks at Louis. He mouthed 'fuck you' at her but only to make her smirk. She turns her attention to the rest of the group but only half's paying attention.

"So, you gentlemen would care to join us?" One of them asked again. She's also blonde but more like bleach blonde and her eyes are piercingly beautiful. It makes me feel jealous of her.

"Come on, lads. Just for a few hours and we can kick it off late tonight." Zayn says to the group.

"Yeah, don't be chickens." Rachel says.

The group of boys talk among themselves as if trying to decide. Louis bursts out laughing but went to serious mode. I smirk as I turn back to the other girls.

I point at the girl with blue hair. She smiles at me warmly but then I realize I don't know her name yet.

"I didnt catch your name." I tell her.

She chuckled. Before she can answer me I felt a weight on my shoulder only to see Niall beside me. "Alright, but we're kicking it off in a few hours." He says. The four of them beamed. The blue haired girl grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside. The bouncer didnt even ask for our name or an ID.

She shrieks as we went up the large glass staircase and to the 2nd floor which I assume is a bar. Not really surprised but it is a bar.

Blue haired girl pulls me down beside her. Now I am in between her and the blonde. Zayn sits beside her, Louis sits across me and the rest of the boys sits together.

"Oh, to answer your question, my name's Milly." She smiles.

"Meg."

"Megan Gastrell?" The blonde asks me, out of the blue.

"Um, how'd you know?" I ask her. I don't think I've ever met her before.

"Oh seriously? We had a class in freshman year together! We were in the same biology group, Megan!"

Having someone call me by my first name is... Awkward and displeasing. It sounds too prissy.

"It's me! Perrie! Perrie Edwards?"

Doesn't ring any bells. Or maybe she just looks different. Or I look different.

"Okay, never mind. Let's start off fresh. I'm Perrie..." She says with a grin.

"I'm Meg...." I said awkwardly and towards the other boys. I see Louis grinning at me and I shoot him a glare.

"And thats Jess over there. She doesn't interact much." Perrie says pointing at the brunette girl beside Liam. He likes to annoy her, I've noticed that since we got here. I nod at her and look at the table. This is so awkward.

"Meg, we're getting some drinks. You should come since I don't really know what you drink..." Milly says and I stand up to follow her along with Louis and Niall.

"Getting along with them well?" Louis asks in a whisper. Milly and Niall are perching over the counter and look at a vast selection of drinks.

"I just met them..." I said and he shrugs.

"Are you getting drunk tonight?" He asks.

"Like having my mum yell at me tonight isnt enough." I tell him.

"What is it with you girls and your mums not getting along?" He asks too curiously.

"I'm pretty sure I despise my mum more than the usual."

"So what, you're just like a daddy's girl?" He asks.

"I guess I was." I say with a shrug. His expression turns from a smile to a more worried look. His smile drops replacing it with an apologetic one

"I didnt mean to..."

Before he can finish, Milly grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the booth. She puts the bucket in middle and Niall does the same.

"That's my drink." Perrie says rubbing her hands together like its bait. She grabs a bottle and pops it open. She chugs down on it in a matter of seconds like its coke. I'm worried she'll get drunk before 10.

Milly grabs two bottle and puts it in front of me. She pops the caps open and chugs it down. Wow these girls don't know how to take it slow. I bring the bottle to my lips and taste the bitterness. I put it back down and coughed. It's been a long time since I've last drunk. In a bar. Full of people.

"How do you swallow this?" I ask them as I wipe my lips.

"Don't savor it." Rachel laughs and chugs down on her drink. I don't want to get drunk. My alcohol tolerance is pretty low. And when I get back hom... To the house I don't want my mum to start yelling again. It's starting to get old but it never gets less annoying.

I stare at the bottle again and closed my eyes tight as I chug it down. The alcohol burns my throat and I nearly spit it back.

"That's bile." I said as I put it down.

"What did I say about savoring it?" Rachel says and laughs again.

"It's disgusting." I say but I drink it anyway. Like I have a choice.

"You'll get used to it quickly. Look at Perrie. She's not a drinker but... How many bottle have you drank, Pez?" Rachel asks turning to Perrie. She holds her finger up as she puts the bottle down.

"Don't sass me Rachel Bleu!" She says. I chuckle and leaned back on my seat.

"Do you still go to the same university as Perrie?" Milly asks me and I shrug. I don't really remember Perrie and I being in the same class.

"Where do you go?" Rachel asks.

"I go to Tudor University ." I say. I heard someone choke on their drink only to find out its Louis. I chuckled and smirked at him.

"Are you kidding me?" He asks. I shake my head and he lets out a groan. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks.

"You never asked. It's not a big deal." I say rolling my eyes.

"Maybe he'll change his mind about dropping out this time." Jess says for the first time. But her voice is low and cold.

"Hahahaha... No." Louis laughs sarcastically.

"He's a big momma's boy, y'know?" Milly whispers and I can't help but laugh.

"What is she telling you now?" Louis asks me.

Milly looks at him and shrugs. "Nothing you should be keeping." she says.

I heard Perrie giggle beside me. She stands up and pulls Zayn along with her. "What are you doing love?" He asks but he sounds amused like he's been waiting for this all night.

"Dance with me, Malik!" she beams and drags him to the middle of the dance floor.

"So, Jess... You wanna dance?" All eyes turn to Liam and Jess. Jess rolls her eyes and scoot closer to Rachel.

"Is that a yes?" Liam teases her.

"What part of I'm-scooting-closer-to-Rachel-because-I-don't-want-to-dance' do you not understand?" She says harshly but only to have Him amused even more. He grabs her hand and pulls her to the dance floor.

"Are they, um..." I ask Milly. She shakes her head as if she have just read my thoughts. "They like to pretend its complicated." She says then she chokes.

"I'm bored, c'mon Milly." Harry says.

She turns to me with a smile before walking off with him. Louis takes the opportunity to scoot beside me.

"You don't want to follow her with him around." He says as he takes my bottle.

"Why not?"

I immediately regret whT I just asked.

"They'd be snogging any second, you don't want that..." He says shaking his head.

"So they're together then?" I ask him.

"It's complicated between them, I guess."

"Your group's pretty complicated." I say.

"They like to pretend its complicated. When the truth is, they're crazy for each other..." He says as he drinks what's left of my drink.

"do you like any of them?" I ask him and he chokes. I forgot to mention Rachel and Niall are already by the bar.

"That's the second time you made me choke tonight..." He coughs. "And no. They're all pretty much taken. I mean, Milly's with Harry, I think, Liam and Jess are crazy about each other, Perrie's officially with Zayn and Rachel has a boyfriend." He says.

"Niall?" I ask.

"No, they're just really close.but don't get me wrong, Milly's pretty hot but she's not exactly my type of girl." He says.

Milly's not hideous and she has a good figure. But she's also pretty fun. She's the one I talked to the most tonight. She seems wild too. Her blue hair speaks a lot but she's got a really good personality too.

"What is your type?"

Control Meg! I mentally slap myself all over again. I need to keep my mouth shut.

"Someone reserved but has a pleasing personality. Someone who laughs a lot." He says.

"I'd expect to say someone who's hot." I say and he laughs.

"No, I'm not that guy. I mean, who wouldn't want a girl who's hot? It's on the list but not the top. Maybe I like someone who's insecure so I can always assure her she's beautiful..."

"You're such a girl..." I say chuckling.

"Shush... Come on, let me get you a drink." He says as he stands up.

"I shouldn't drink..." I tell him stand up.

"I'll get you a cocktail." He says, ignoring me. I roll my eyes as I sit on a bar stool. The bartender places a glass infront of me and I take a sip. Well it's better than the one Milly got. After I finished it, he gets a bottle of vodka.

"Are you encouraging me to drink more?" I ask him.

"No..." He says but gets another.

"Are you serious?!" I ask him with a smirk.

"What? This is for me." He says and chugs it down.

"You guys have a problem with taking it slow, don't you?" I ask him.he shrugs and points at the bottle. I roll my eyes and drink it. It didn't taste as bad as I thought it would since I havent drank in almost 4 years.

"Can I ask you something?" He asks and I nod. "I wasn't joking when I said what is it with you girls and your mums not getting along." He says.

"It's not a big deal,"

It's a huge deal.

"I'm just not used to being around my mum that much." I say.

"Doesn't seem like it. You can tell me."

"I really don't give a shit about her." I say simply, catching him off guard. I know how close he is with his mum. The way how close he is to his is how distant I am to mine

"I think I should stop from here." He says.

"What sports do you like, Meg?" He asks, changing the subject. I shake my head at the topic.

"I don't really want to talk about sports" I say. When I went for another drink, I realized it was nearly empty. Have I been drinking this the whole time? Not to mention my head is spinning. That answers my question.

"Sorry, I was just curious.." He says as he drinks again. Now I feel like a hypocrite.

"I used to play, y'know." I say. This is why I don't want to drink. The alcohol affects me very quickly. It makes say things.

"Play?" He asks.

"Yes. I played football in high school. I was the best player..." I say. Louis's eyes widens and blinks at me rapidly.

"Then why did you quit if you were?" He asks.

"I don't want to talk about it." I shout and grab his bottle.

"Meg, Meg... Okay, I think you've had enough." He says but I push him away. I was already halfway done with his drink.

"I hate everything." I groan and take another huge gulp. I see the worry in Louis's eyes as he takes the bottle from me,

"I shouldn't have brought that up. Do you want to go home?"

Home? Since when did I ever have a home? Since was the last time I called a group of people my family? Since when was the last time my mum my mum considered me as family? When she says 'family' I'm never included. She doesn't have to say it because I know she doesn't even consider me her family.

I want to forget about mostly everything I've just thought of. About moving out, my mum. But I know better that if I keep drinking, it will not end well. I need another distraction.

"Let's go join the others." I say, grabbing his hand and going to the dance floor.

He smiled at me and I smile back.

And he's the only distraction I've got at the moment.