We Took A Chance

After a couple more drinks, I have completely forgotten the guy. My attention is drawn to Savannah who is telling us about her trip to Montego Bay. It makes me remember how I haven't taken a trip in a while. My last trip was with Andrew to Costa Rica. I couldn't help but recall the fun we had and how scared he was to go down the zip line. I feel the corners of my mouth begin to curve up but stop myself before anyone notices that I'm not paying attention.
Further in the night, the place is still booming with people. The bar doesn't close until 2 am but I know I have to leave before that because I have class tomorrow. Yeah, I'm that loser with Saturday classes.

"I think I'm going to head out." I tell Leah, pointing towards the exit with my thumb.
"Me and Gary will walk you, it's too late for you to walk alone!" she says patting Gary on the arm to draw his attention while I nod my head.
We walk along the mostly empty streets with the only noise being that of the cars whisking by on the freeway near by.
"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner at my Grandma's tomorrow? Some family I've never met came down from Ireland for Tom and everyone is meeting at her house." Leah breaks the silence. I don't feel like leaving my apartment two days in a row so I hesitate.
"I don't know..." I was hoping she'd drop it.
"Please? I'll feel so awkward meeting new people. I need someone to talk to." she pleads and I understand her. I also don't like meeting new people.
"They're your family, though." I insist seeing my car at a short distance.
"They're still strangers." she adds and I know she has won this battle.
"Fine. I'll go but only because I love you and your grandma's cooking." I agree and hope I don't regret agreeing later. We get to my car and I say my goodbyes and soon speed off back to my apartment.

-.-.-

Classes today went by fast, which is unusual for me. I chalk it up to the fact that there's something I have to do that I don't want to afterwards. Meeting new people is really low on my list of favorite things, but I can't just leave Leah alone. She's my best, or should I say only, friend.

My palms feel sweaty as I pull up to Leah's grandma's house. Even though she has a long driveway, it is filled with cars so I park my car on the curb. I'm about to step out when my phone dings. I sit back on my seat with the door open and unlock it.

Mom: You will not believe what your father just told me!

I frown upon reading the message. It seems my mom only contacts me to bitch about my dad nowadays. I decide to not reply and exit out to my home screen. The last thing I want to hear is her complaining right now. I continue to step out of my car and walk towards the front door.
When I ring the doorbell, I am glad to see Leah answer the door. That way I don't have to go through the awkward situation of having to look for her all over the house.

"Come in! I'm dying here!" she makes a funny face and makes room for me to walk in. I notice there's a lot of people but thankfully no one seems to notice my presence.
Leah leads us to the kitchen where there's a big buffet table and plastic cutlery to accompany paper plates. My eyes grow big at the amount of food at this table. Although it is an understandable amount seeing as Leah's family is already pretty large and the visitors from Ireland makes this something comparable to the crowd at a medium sized wedding.
"Leah! Come meet your cousin Drew, he just had a baby. He's so cute you have to see him! Oh, hi Zoe!" One of Leah's aunts calls from the doorway. I give her a friendly smile and wave.
"Be right there!" then Leah turns to me and groans, "l'll be right back, kay? Grab some food and whatever you want. Make yourself at home."

I watch as Leah turns on her heels and heads out the kitchen door which is stopped open by a white wooden chair. I stand there a bit awkwardly as I purse my lips and look around the kitchen. Not many people are hanging out in here which is good. It helps with my social anxiety.

I can feel my empty stomach calling for food, possibly awakened by the smell of the buffet before me. I grab a plate and look down at the dishes displayed so nicely in stainless steel buffet servers. I'm serving some potatoes on my plate when I sense someone stand next to me and grab food from the server next to the potatoes.

"So which cousin are you?" a heavy Irish accent questions. I let out a small chuckle, not looking at the man next to me.
"I'm.." at that moment I turn to face him and my eyes widen at the sight. It was the blonde guy from the bar.
"You're...?" He asks when he sees I'm not finishing my sentence.
"Oh, I'm not a cousin to anyone here. I'm just a guest." I feel my cheeks blush at the thought of me not being able to finish my sentence. This guy was very good looking with eyes as blue as the sea.
"Well, thank god for that." he says and his lips form a half smile. I part my lips, not sure how to answer to that. Just then I can hear Leah's voice coming close.
"Oh my god that baby was so cute! Oh, I see you've met Niall!" she approaches us smiling big.
"We haven't met officially." Niall explains to her and extends his hand to me before saying, "I'm Niall." I take his hand and say "I'm Zoe." It seems like he shakes my hand for a bit longer than one normally shakes hands. I look to Leah and she's smiling at us. I clear my throat and begin to pull my hand away. Niall looks down at our hands and blushes.
"Okay...Anyway, you want to go see the baby?" Leah asks me and I agree. I give Niall an apologetic smile as we leave him at the buffet table and I take my plate with me.

After our visit with the baby, Leah and I go outside to the backyard to get air.
"Ahhhh. Felt like I was suffocating in there. Too many strangers." she complains as we walk through the green grass. I suddenly wonder what fertilizer her grandma uses. This grass looks professionally maintained.
"Yeah, I'm not even part of the family and people were coming up to me introducing themselves. Social anxiety at it's peak point." I laugh at how pathetic we sound.
"Yeah, you even met Niall!" she exclaims with that big smile on her face.
"Yeah. Is there something special about him or something? You make it sound like it's a big deal." I really didn't get the hype about me meeting Niall.
"Are you serious? You don't know?" she asks as we take a seat on a table with a big umbrella giving us shade.
"Don't know what?" I ask completely clueless. Leah looks around despite the fact that we're alone and whispers,
"He's famous!" I wasn't expecting that at all. I slump my shoulders at the thought.
"What do you mean famous? For what?" I wonder why Leah never told me she had a famous cousin.
"Oh my god, Zoe! You are so clueless! He's in a band called One Direction. They're kind of a huge deal all over the world." I look down at the table not knowing what to say.
"Oh, well, that's great for him." Leah gives me major side eye and purses her lips.
I suddenly felt anxious about meeting someone famous and I didn't even know it.

Notes

I know some might ask if Zoe lives under a rock since she hasn't heard about One Direction. The thing is, she's old enough to not be able to know about them so it is understandable. Not to mention that she doesn't seem very social and kind of depressed so it is possible to miss the band. I, for one, heard of One direction back in the WMYB days but it's not until the past year that I knew the guy's names and faces. ;-D

Anyway, I need updates on some of my favorite stories. I'm talking about you, @XKALEIGHSTYLES57X and @PianoWriter !!

Sinister World
Midnight City
Flat 51