Hide Me (Ryan Fletcher)

Chapter 3 - Jessie

"I don't know what happened!" that sounded like Joel, his loud Nottingham accent growing stronger as he raised his voice. I heard another voice hush him, but it was too quiet to make out who it belonged to.

The armrest of the sofa was digging into my head, the position I was sleeping in doing nothing to ease my discomfort. But I was attempting to eavesdrop, so silence was the key, and shifting my position would have made a lot of noise. I could feel an itching sensation building up in the back of my throat, and willed myself not to cough. I attempted to stop the urge by holding my breath, but it only made it stronger! Slowly shifting my hand, I quietly freed it from the two hoodies keeping me warm.

Wait, two hoodies?

I could distinctly remember only wearing one jumper, and there was no way I would have picked up one of the ones from the floor! Ditching my attempt at subtlty, I hesitantly picked up the black, mens hoodie from on top of me. It didn't look like one of Joels, but it must have been - who else would have been looking out for me like that? But it didn't smell like Joel. He smelt like columbian coffee beans and guitar strings, where as the hoodie I was clutching to my nose smelt woody and something I couldn't quite place.

Taking a deep breath, I swung my legs over the edge of the sofa, accidently knocking my phone onto the floor and making a huge crashing noise.

Damn. These goes my ninja skills. And I really wanted that black belt!

The murmers from the kitchen abrubtly stopped, and I knew that I didn't have long before I was going to have to reveal myself to the lads. Rubbing my tired eyes, I noticed black on my fingers and realised that I had forgotten to wipe the mascara stained tear tracks from my face. Quickly swiping at my face, I desperatly tried to remove all evidence of my breakdown last night. For this to work, I had to convince Joel that he didn't need to beat anyone up, and that I was fine. The last thing I wanted was for him to do something stupid because of me. There was no way I would let him repeat what he did to those two guys a couple of years ago. He thought I wouldn't find out, but when your friend is the local gossip, its pretty hard not to know everything. Especially when your best friend punches someone for talking about you.

Nervously running my hands through my hair, I walked towards the smell of coffee. The sight that faced me when i walked into the kitchen made me laugh. Sat at the table, were two lads who perfectly summed up the definition of a hangover. Both wearing shades, they sat holding their heads and gulping their coffee, wincing at the light shining through the window.

"Morning you bundles of sunshines!" I called, in my cheeriest, loudest voice, laughing as they scrunched up their faces and clutched their heads.

"Jessie shut up." Was the lovely response I received, from both Joel and the blonde haired bombshell that was at across from him.

Ryan Fletcher. His messy blonde hair sticking out at every angle, his tattoos striking a huge contrast against his pale skin, showcasing the huge muscles in his arms. It was probably a good job I hadn't really been able to talk to him before - he was so attractive it must have been illegal, and I could just tell I would make a fool out of myself around him.

"So how was the party?" I asked, still putting on a fake cheery voice, desperate to avoid any chance for Joel to ask about why exactly I was at his house, instead of miles away in my own home.

Joel just looked at me. It was a look that said 'I know what you're trying to do.' , but I just shook my head at him - I physically couldn't talk to him about what had happened last night. Not right now.

He seemed to understand that, shooting me another look and rolling his eyes. It was funny, the way we could communicate without words - we had been doing it for as long as I could remember. It always used to annoy the people around us so much; we both would just catch eachother's eyes and crack up laughing at some unspoken joke.

"It was actually better than it seems right now." Was the response to my question, but it didn't come from the person I expected it to. Instead, my head snapped around, to see Ryan smirking at me and guesturing towards himself and Joel. My confusion must have been visible on my face, as he went on to explain his statement.

"I mean look at us!", he smirked, "We are a mess. But it was so worth it!"

Laughing at the dreamy look on his face as he recalled their night, I jumped as a loud bang and a whoop shattered the peaceful, relaxed atmosphere of the house.

"I'M HERE ITS OKAY WE HAVE FIVE HOURS BEFORE TH wait who the hell are you?" The tanned scouse man stopped dead in his tracks, never finishing his sentance, and staring at me.

"Hi, I'm Jessie." I smiled, waving my hand at him and the smaller guy standing to the side, rolling his eyes. I guessed he was probably Adam, and the loud one was Andy.

"Wait. No way. You're Jessie? The Jessie? The best friend of Joel? Why are you here? Im so confused!" He rambled.

"Andy shut up for one second and someone will explain you dumbass." Joel snapped, "And stop yelling damn it!" he murmered, holding his head. "Yes, this is Jessie. She's crashing here for a bit. And what the hell do we have five hours before?"

"Before George brings The Wanted lads over - you know, for the party?" Andy gleefully explained.

"Wait, party? When did we arrange this?" Ryan spoke up.

"Apparently you did mate, last night!" Andy smirked, laughing at his confused expression. "Ry, how out of it were you?"

Chuckling at Ryan's look of extreme concentration, I managed to accidently draw the attention back to myself. Damn my stupid loud laugh. As the lads all turned to stare at me, I nervously ran my hands through my dark blonde hair, pulling it more across my face. I hated being started at.

Seeing that I was becoming uncomfortble, Joel stepped in. "So, lets get planning. Who wants to get booze and who wants to decorate?" He asked, taking control of the situation. Shooting him a grateful look, I yelled "Dibs on shopping! I need something to wear and I can get drinks at the same time!"

"I'll come with - gotta get some proper drinks as well." Ryan winked at me.