searching the stars // h.s.

09

"if you have any problems, tell me, okay?" louis places his hand onto my lower back as we walk into the club.

"louis i'll be okay." i laugh softly, walking up to the bar with him.

"maryah." he turns to glare at me and i roll my eyes.

"okay, fine." i sigh, sitting down beside him.

we order our drinks and a few guys that he knows walk up to him, pulling most of his attention off of me.

he's treated me like a little sister ever since i met him while he was with harry.

"is this seat open?" a girl asks, pointing to the empty stool right beside me.

"yeah," i smile at her. "you can sit down."

"thank you." she sits in the stool and asks the bartender for a refill. "what's your name?"

"maryah." i answer, noticing she's looking at me.

"nice to meet you maryah," she repeats my name. "i'm alora."

she seems like a genuinely nice person, and the way she carries herself makes me feel welcomed.

"that's a pretty name." i compliment her and she smiles.

alora. i think it means "my dream" and it has an african origin.

"thank you, my grandmother gave it to me." she smiles and i feel my heart melt.

"hey maryah," louis taps my shoulder and i turn around to see him and his friends standing up. "i'm going to go out for a smoke."

"that's okay."

"text me if you need anything, okay?" he glances at alora and i nod.

"alright."

"boyfriend?" alora asks as soon as louis is out of earshot.

"oh, no." i shake my head and try not to laugh at how insane the accusation is. "that's louis, we're just friends."

"oh." she takes a sip of her drink before speaking again. "so you're single?"

the question catches me off guard.

"yeah." i nod softly, still trying to accept the answer myself.

"oh, that's good news." she smiles and i feel conflicted.

is it really a good thing though?

i don't respond, instead, i just look down at my drink and run my index finger around the rim of the glass.

"so," she sighs. "do you have a number you might want to give me?"

oh, so she's bold.

"i'll have to think about it." i shrug, causing both of us to laugh.

"now that i think about it, you actually look really familiar." she tilts her head to the side, squinting her eyes a bit.

god, let's hope it's just the alcohol talking.

"really?" i laugh softly and she nods.

"yeah, i feel like i've seen you somewhere."

"oh my gosh." i sigh, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. let's hope she's not one of the boys' crazed fans.

silence washes over the two of us as she finishes her drink and she turns to me.

"what's your favorite thing about being here?" she slurs and i heavily sigh.

"the sky." i glance up, despite there being a roof, because i know for a fact that the stars are out right now.

"really? i don't like how it's always sunny." she rolls her eyes. "i prefer the rain."

she glances down at her phone and begins to stand up.

"so, how about that number before i leave?" she asks, opening the notes app on her phone.

"okay." i shrug, what's the worst that could happen?

"here, put it in my phone." she hands me her phone and i quickly type my name and number before handing it back to her.

she walks away and louis comes back right when she leaves, as if he was waiting.

"you ready to leave?" he asks and i nod, standing up.

"yeah. i'm tired." he places his hand on my lower back and makes sure people aren't slamming into me as we cut through the dance floor, walking towards the exit.

we make it outside and i see alora climbing into a familiar red car. i can't comprehend who's it is, thanks to the alcohol and dark sky but i know that it's familiar.

"who's car is that?" i ask louis, as he pulls me towards where we parked.

"i don't know." he shrugs, opening the door to the back seat and making sure i don't hit my head as i climb in.

he had someone drive us here and i guess the same person is driving us home.

he closes my door and runs over to his side of the car, climbing in and fastening his seatbelt.

i really want to know who's car that was.