bea (h.s.)

two

It only takes us 10 minutes to walk to the bar and when we arrive Ava nudges me.

"We may have been right about the local hotties," her eyes are directed to the bar and I see three extremely attractive guys laughing to each other. 

We giggle to each other and make our way to the bar. Ava leads the way taking a seat leaving one spot in between her and the cute blonde from the group. I take the spot on the other side of her, too nervous to take the spot next to the boy. We order a couple drinks and the blonde turns to us and introduces himself.

"Hey, I'm Niall, I haven't seen you two here before, are you just passing through?" We hear his Irish accent and we have a chance to get a better look at him and his friends. He has soft blue eyes and I instantly know he's just Ava's type.

"Actually we just moved here, we got here a couple hours ago," she smiles sweetly to him, "I'm Ava."

"It's lovely to meet you, Ava." Niall replies.

His friends turn and I shyly wave to them and they return the sentiment. The bartender hands us our drinks and I grab mine and start to drink while Ava holds hers and twirls the straw as she flirts with Niall. She seems very in her element, and I couldn't be farther out of mine. I've gone to bars with friends, but when it comes to flirting with attractive strangers my skills are lacking. I get lost in my head and watch the beach behind the bar.

"Would you ladies like to move to a table so we can hear each other easier?" Niall asks.

Ava turns to me and nudges my arm and I nod in approval. "That would be great," she says with a flirty response. 

The five of us grab our drinks and Niall leads the way to a table close to the bar. Niall takes a seat and Ava sits across from him and I sit down next to her. The guy from the end of the bar sits across from me and I'm able to see what he looks like more clearly now. He's the type of gorgeous that you only see in movies. He's covered in tattoos and has brown curly hair. He smiles sweetly to me. The third guy sits at the end of the table and he's cute too but something really attracts me to boy sitting in front of me.

"We didn't catch your name!" Niall is directed at me and smiles.

"I'm Bea, it's nice to meet you guys," I turn to the other two boys for them to introduce themselves.

"I'm Harry," the boy in front of me says with a British accent, deep but soft. I feel butterflies flutter in my stomach.

"I'm Liam," the last boy says with an accent as well snapping me out of my mini trance. 

"It's so nice to meet you guys, we don't know anyone here and it's nerve wracking trying to meet new people," Ava says her eyes hardly leaving Niall's. 

"What brings you two to Freeport?" Harry asks.

"We're both in search of a fresh start and this seemed like the perfect place for us," I reply.

"To new beginnings and new friendships," Liam raises his glass.

"Cheers," we all say simultaneously.

"I'm going to get us some more drinks, would you like to come help me?" Niall asks Ava and she immediately agrees. 

When they leave the table Harry and Liam turn to each other and laugh. "She's just his type," Harry says to me.

"He's her type too, she noticed him the second we walked into the bar," I tell them both.

"And what's your type?" Liam asks.

"I don'y really have a type, honestly. It just depends how I get on with a person," I reply.

Liam nudges Harry's arm playfully and I pretend not to notice.

"He's been striking out a lot lately, we've been hoping for him to have a win, it's a little sad to watch," Liam chuckles as he speaks.

"Sometimes he strikes out before he even learns their name, he used to be quite the ladies man but he's been off his game," Harry adds.

Niall and Ava return to the table with five beers in hand. "Did we miss anything exciting?" Niall asks as he sits down.

"We were just talking about the bar's hot new pair," Ava and Niall both blush and the three of us laugh.

"Are you guys looking at any jobs to apply to or have anything lined up?" Niall asks taking the attention off of him.

"I got a job as a caregiver for an elderly woman during weekdays while her daughter is at work," Ava answers.

"I got a job at the local newspaper," I chime in.

Harry looks to me and smiles, "That's really neat."

I feel myself blushing but I hope he just thinks it's the drinks getting to me, "Yeah, I'm really excited."

Ava and Niall drink enough for all of us. We all are drinking steadily, but those two are inhaling beer and drinks like nothing I've seen before. I already feel bad about the hangover they're going to have tomorrow.

Conversation comes so naturally between the five of us and I can't help but think that everything is falling into place. We haven't even been here a day and we're already making friends. For the first time in a long time I'm feeling hopeful and excited. We talk nonstop for about an hour before Liam stands up.

"I should head home I have to get up early in the morning," he picks up his wallet and phone.

"Do you guys want to come hang out at our place for a bit?" Niall asks.

"Yeah, that would be fun," Ava replies without hesitation. I'm obviously okay with this, I'd love to spend more time with the boys and get to know Harry better.

We all get our things and make our way out the bar. It's easy to see who drank more than others, Niall and Ava bumping into each other and stumbling a bit. Harry and I walk behind them and laugh to each other as we watch the two in front of us. 

We walk close enough that our hands graze against each other but neither of us move farther away to stop it. We turn into the apartment complex and I immediately realize it's where we just moved into.

"Oh my god! We live here!" Ava says way too dramatically and her and Niall giggle to each other while the rest of us roll our eyes and laugh at the two. She points to our apartment as we pass it and we walk to the building next to ours. We have to walk up a set of stairs to get to their apartment and it proves more difficult for some.

Harry and I are right behind Ava and Niall making sure to be there when they stumble. He looks at me and smiles as he rolls his eyes, and I feel my face getting hot again. We help stabilize the drunken pair as Liam leads us to their door.