"I'm gonna go use the ladies' room, be right back." Scarlett excused herself from the dinner table and made her way to the bathrooms on the other side of the restaurant. She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute, she hadn't seen Niall in ages. His hair was brown, his braces long gone, he was a man now.
She entered the bathroom, immediately heading for the sink. She steadied herself against the counter and stared intently at herself in the mirror.
'Should I even bother to talk to him?' she thought. Scarlett knew she had forgiven Niall but did he forgive her? The last time they spoke it didn't end well, she broke his heart just like he broke hers. But that's a story for another time.
After a few deep breaths, Scarlett exited the bathroom only to collide into a stranger's chest.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sor- Oh." Scarlett began to apologize before realizing who it was.
"Are you okay? You got up and left pretty quickly." Niall asked, running his hands through his brown hair.
Scarlett gulped, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little spooked, it's like seeing a ghost."
Niall nodded. "You look absolutely beautiful, Scar...lett, Scarlett." He caught himself.
Her heart skipped a beat as her named rolled off his tongue, she had missed it so much. But all she could think about was how much she needed to down her drink back at the table. There was no way she could continue to communicate with Niall sober; she needed to be numb.
"You look... different." was all she could manage to spit out.
Niall quirked his eyebrow, "Different? Good different? Bad different? If you like me as a blonde more I'll go back to it for you, your opinion is the only one that matters to me."
Scarlett could feel her pulse speed up and her stomach flip as if she were about to puke.
"There you two are, how about we go back to the table so we all can order?" Zayn popped up out of nowhere. Scarlett sent him a thankful glance and sped past him back to the table without another word.
She was always extremely thankful for Zayn, he was always conveniently there when she needed him. It was like he could sense Scarlett's distress.
When Scarlett made it back to the table, everyone's seats had shifted around. She was still between Harry and Liam but now Niall was placed directly across from her.
"I hate you all..." she muttered under her breath. Liam chuckled beside her, giving her thigh a gentle squeeze. Liam and Scarlett had this unspoken bond, Liam was here to protect her and help her when she was in need.
Scarlett began chugging her drink, almost completely gone by the time Zayn and Niall made it back to the table.
"Jeez girl, wanna slow down just a bit?" Louis commented, straying from the conversation he was having with Gigi.
"Hey! You have to wait for me!" Zayn whined, following Scarlett's lead and gulping down his identical beverage.
"A drinking game?" Niall questioned, his eyes lighting up. Scarlett could feel the alcohol hitting her and everybody noticed her visibly relax.
"Wanna play, Ni?" she replied.
Louis smirked at Scarlett, catching her call Niall by his nickname.
"That's not the only thing he wants to play with." Harry joked, earning a hard glare from Zayn. Niall's cheeks reddened at the comment and Scarlett giggled.
"Scarlett's the Virgin Mary, she would never 'play'." Louis cackled.
"No I'm not!"
"Honey, have you ever seen a penis?" Louis continued, clueless to what was about to come of this situation.
"Yes, I've had one in me for goodness sake." she whispered so no nearby tables could eavesdrop.
"I call bull!" Harry joined in.
Another round of drinks came and Scarlett drank hers in record time, needing this whole conversation to be a blur.
"She's telling the truth guys." Zayn added.
"How do you know?" Louis prodded deeper. Zayn shifted uncomfortably in his seat, staring directly at Scarlett for help. She shook her head as if to tell him not to say another word. If Niall ever found out that she has lost her virginity to Zayn, she would surely lose him forever.
"Alrighty, are we all ready to order?" the waitress chirped, arriving at the table.
