one week » pyrocynical

one

"viv, just go! this trip will be boring if you don't have any friends to hang out with." my mom told me as i continued to unpack my suitcase into the drawers of our room.

"why would i wanna make new friends who will forget about me in a week? no thank you..." i replied, setting my last tank top into the drawer and shutting it.

my little sister had already gone to the separate little kids club this ship had, there's three of them. one for kids, one for pre-teens, and one for teenagers. (ages 5-10, 11-14, 15-17) my sister always had fun on cruises, she loved them. she didn't get overly attached to people, and always just had a good time for the short week she had with her new friends.

"don't make me take your phone again, that thing keeps you from making friends." my dad grumbled at me. my parents always take my phone to force me to go hang out with everyone else.

"fine..." i mumbled before slipping on my birkenstock's. "i'll go, but if i don't make friends, you can't get mad at me."

my mom smiled at me, placing her hand on my back. "don't say that, you'll find your people."

of course, i ignored their begging and decided to go look around the ship instead. exploring was the only decent part of being on a cruise ship. i made my way up the stairs to try and find the buffet area, that way i could grab something small to eat to hold me off for a while.

walking over to a fairly short line, i scanned the buffet and decided on just grabbing a small plate of fries. when i finally got to them, i took the tongs and carefully placed some onto my plate. i placed the tongs back down and turned around, looking at the tables all around. i noticed an empty one and made my way over, sitting down in the booth.

i slowly ate my fries, scrolling through my instagram feed and not really paying attention to anything. i finally looked up, meeting eyes with a boy.

"ah!" i jumped, the boy began to laugh.

"you alright?" he asked in a deep voice, an accent peeking through. i raised an eyebrow, placing a half eaten fry back on my plate.

"yeah... uh, who are you?" i asked, confused as to why he all of a sudden was sitting across from me.

"my name's niall, you looked pretty lonely. what's your name?"

"vivian, or viv- whichever works." i picked the fry up again and finished eating it, pushing my plate away slightly. i hated eating in front of people.

"well, it's nice to meet you, vivian. i like your shirt, by the way." looking down, i remembered what shirt i was wearing. it was a rex orange county t shirt my aunt bought me for my birthday.

"oh, thanks." i smiled a bit, looking down at my phone once again. he was strange, why the hell would he wanna talk to me?

i felt my sunglasses being lifted off my head, and i made a face, looking up to see niall putting them on.

"these are nice." he smiled, the glasses being a bit small for him.

"can i have them back, please?" he laughed, pushing them up the bridge of his nose.

"if you tell me where you're from and why you're here, then yes."

i sighed, tapping my nails on the table.

"fine... well, i'm on this cruise because it's what my family likes to do. i'm in this exact spot because i'm ignoring their pleas for me to go to the teen club thingie- and i'm from kentucky."

he smiled, pulling my glasses off his face.

"country girl, interesting." i shrugged, snatching my glasses back from him.

"it's only fair if you tell me where you're from." my lips came together in a smile.

"ah, yes. i'm from england, if the accent didn't give it away. and i'm here because my family also enjoys cruises." i nodded, standing up out of the booth.

"where are you going?" he asked as i picked up the half eaten plate of fries.

"exploring, it's what i do."

he smiled, standing up. oh god, he was tall.

"mind if i join you?"