Addicted|n.h.|

"Ashley!" Sarah's voice boomed in the room as Ashley did the finishing touches of her make-up. Something she'd not done for a long time.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Sarah's eyes traveled up and down Ashley's body.

"You look...different."

"Thank you." Ashley replied as she bent down to pick up her phone, her hair falling over her face. She should've tied her hair, she thought.

Ashley wore a plain black dress with her favorite converse, and let her hair down instead of the usual bun she used to make. Her face showed a hint of make-up but not too much. She'd applied lip gloss, eye-liner and mascara.

"Are you ready to go?" Sarah asked as she kept all her stuff in the drawer.

"Always." Ashley replied and waited for Sarah as she put her heels on.

"Then let's go." Sarah said, clasping her friend's hand and opening the door as they both walked out one by one.

"So how did you and Jason meet?" Ashley asked out of the blue.

Tilting her head to the side, Sarah looked at Ashley with confusion. She wasn't sure if Ashley would want to know but since she asked, Sarah'll tell her.

"Well, i'd just moved back, not exactly moved back like staying in our old house till i left for college, here. My friend, Stella, she had this party at her house and he was there. She introduced us but i don't think she knew he'd broken up just recently and happily he agreed to, you know. And that night, a lot of things happened. Things i regret now. If only i'd known, i'm so sorry-"

"Shut up. It's okay. You didn't know about it and well, i wasn't there to tell you. So everything's forgotten and forgiven. I really don't care anymore. I've moved on." Ashley replied. She wasn't really sure if she'd actually moved on, but she would. Tonight, at the party. She would. She would forget about it all and really move on with her life.

The frat house was filled with boys and girls, mostly girls. some of them were sitting on the couch making out with guys. And it was only 8:00.

"I'll go get us some drinks." Sarah said, leaving Ashley's side.

Ashley leaned against the wall as she looked around the room. The frat house, as usual, was huge, the music blaring loudly through the speakers which she could not see or locate. She felt a tap on her shoulder and quickly she spun around to a Niall holding two red cups.

"Hi." he said, leaning in and shouting it in her ear.

"Well, hi to you too." Ashley replied and looked around, searching for Sarah. It was taking a long time for her to come back with the drinks. "We should really stop meeting like this." Ashley continued a few seconds later.

"But i like meeting you." Niall said, pouting.

Ashley could feel her heart melt at the sight of his cut puppy face. She had no idea why she was even talking to him. She knew but she was too afraid to accept it.

"Let's get some drinks, eh?" Niall suggested and as he walked passed her, their skin touched and Ashley felt something deep inside her ignite into a million sparks. Following him, they reached the kitchen, she assumed, where all the drinks were lined up. Taking two red cups, Niall poured her a drink and handed the cup to her.

She took a small sip along with Niall and not once did his gaze falter. When Ashley looked at Niall, he quickly averted his eyes and a small smile crept onto her lips. Looking around, she spotted Sarah with some guy talking by the pool.

"Let's go." Niall said, taking her by the hand.

"Where to?" She asked as he continued walking.


"We're playing Seven Minutes In Heaven." he said.

"What?" she said, her voice rising an octave higher.

"I'll take that as a yes." he said, still holding her hand.

"Wait but I-" she tried to reason but Niall just cut her off.

And there they were, ten minutes later playing the game. The bottle was spun and it pointed in Ashley and Niall's direction. She could feel her heart racing as they all 'oohed' at them.

Standing up, Niall walked over to her and offered his hand. Unsure she looked from his hand to his face and then back to his hand.

"I won't bite." Niall said, a bit too loud. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she quickly took Niall's hand who pulled her up and close to himself, their bodies pressed together. Her heart beat furiously and rapidly and she felt like she was going to have a heart attack. She could feel the heat of his skin through their clothes and for a moment she closed her eyes.

"Oh God! Guys use the fucking closet!!!" everyone shrieked and the two of them gained their posture, quickly rushing off to the closet.

There wasn't enough place for the two of them to stand even 1 cm apart. Their bodies were pressed together and Ashley could feel the rapid beating of Niall's heart.

"Now, what should we do?" he asked sarcastically, his eyes not leaving her lips.

"Well, we sure ain't gonna kiss!" Ashley said, her voice a pitch higher.

"Fine! As you wish." He said, raising his hands in the air in defeat. "You still haven't told me your name." he began.

"You don't know?" she asked. She thought everyone would've told him her name.

"No. How was i supposed to?" he said.

"Well, i thought Sarah would've told you or something." she said. Niall and Sarah were sitting together in the circle, very close, she might add. Her heart clenched as the image passed her mind. She didn't know why, it wasn't like he was her boyfriend. He could be with anyone he wanted.

"So do i get to know your name?" he asked, looking into her eyes now.

"Ashley." she said.

"That's a-"

"Save it. Our time's up!" she said happily and opened the door, getting out quickly and joined the circle. A few moments later, Niall joined the rest of the group.

Five minutes later, the bottle's back and front landed on Niall and this girl sitting on the left-hand-side of Niall. During the entire game, her hand rested on Niall's thigh, occasionally running up very close to his crotch. Why had she noticed that? She didn't know, nor did she want to.

The two of them ran to the closet and Ashley's heart sank. When they returned, Niall's hair was a mess and the girl, whose name was apparently, Kelsa, was panting and her hair too was a mess. Ashley couldn't think about the things they would've done in that closet. Nor did she want to.

The game finally got over and then they began playing Truth or Dare. The bottle landed on Ashley and Kelsa. She didn't even want to play, but they all forced her to. So here she was, sitting with these people.

"Truth or dare?" she asked, in her annoyingly sweet voice.

"We all know she'd gonna take Truth. She's been taking Truth since we began the game." one of the boys, who had brown eyes and many tattoos said. He was sitting shirtless because of the dare he took and also the fact that Kelsa had literally licked his abs because of her dare.

"Except for that one time she took dare and had to drink two shots of tequila." Niall said.

"Dare." Ashley said, surprising everyone at the circle.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, cocking her eye-brow.

"Of course. How hard can it be?" she said, looking at Niall.

"Fine. I dare you to kiss Niall." Kelsa said, looking over at me.

"What?" Ashley said. She couldn't. More like wouldn't.

"Why? You scared?" Kelsa said, cocking her eyebrow, making Ashley more mad at the bitch.

"Fine! I'll do it." I said, accepting her challenge.

"What?!" this time it was Kelsa who was looking at me with her mouth open.

"You heard me." i spat back at her.

"I dare you to kiss Niall." she said, sitting back satisfactorily.

"What?" Niall said, looking at Kelsa who seemed content.

"I'll do it." Ashley said, which made Niall turn his head towards her.

"You don't have to do this." he said, looking directly into Ashley's eyes.

"Why, so you can prove me a coward. No thank you." i said and got on my knees, crawling towards Niall.

"Fine by me." he said and got to his knees as well.

I could feel my heart racing as i knelt in front of him.

"Oh, just get on with it already!" she moaned.

Niall cupped my cheek, his hand soft against my skin. I couldn't believe i was doing this. Already i was regretting it. I should've said no and sat back. NO!!! I couldn't do that. Otherwise that bitch would've proved herself right. I couldn't let her do that. I closed my eyes and a moment later, i felt his lips on mine. They were soft and plump and there was nobody around us. It was just the two of us. Pulling me closer, he deepened the kiss, his tongue swiping my lower lip. I moaned into the kiss, not wanting the moment to end and not caring that anyone else was around us. It had been such a long time since i'd kissed someone.

We pulled apart, more like he pulled apart and i felt glad. Not so much, since the taste of his lips lingered on my tongue.

"Satisfied?" i ask Kelsa mockingly.

"Very." she replied, with a twisted face.

"Let's get on with it then." the curly-haired boy said.

For another hour they played truth or dare, during which time the bottle landed on Kelsa and Niall and the only thing anyone could come up with is 'take off your shirt' (both, and now Kelsa was sitting shirtless, her boobs literally falling out of her bra that everyone knew was extremely small for her extremely large, fake boobs) and 'make-out'. Looking at the two of them making-out at the moment made Ashley cringe with disgust. She wasn't sure if she was even supposed to be here. Before they could finish, she said her good-byes and got up from the group.

When she stepped out of the frat house, the cold breeze hit her face, making her shiver. She didn't know why it hurt to see Niall and Kelsa making-out. She tried hard to get the image out of her head but failed. Sitting on the steps, she went through her phone to check for any messages from her mother. She saw a message from Jason and instantly deleted it. She didn't want to talk to him or have to do anything with him. He meant nothing to her now. She'd moved on and apparently the party had helped her in doing so.

She felt something warm wrap around herself and looked up to see the similar blue-eyes looking down at her with a broad smile on his lips.

"Thanks." she said and shut her phone.

"Why did you leave?" Niall asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I needed to get sober." Lie.

"Well, you should've called me. I would've helped sober you up." he said sarcastically.

"I should've. But i don't know why i didn't. Wait, i know why. Because Kelsa had her tongue down your throat." she replied, regretting her words instantly.

"Wow. Someone's damn high." he said and looked down at his fingers.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." she said.

"I know. It's the alcohol speaking."

"I just...it's been a really long day. I'm gonna go now." she says and stands up, dusting off her dress. "Please tell Sarah that i went back to our dorm."

"She already left with that guy." Niall says, his head hung.

"Well, good night." she says and removes the warm, protective jacket of Niall's and hands it back to him.

"Keep it." he says and gets to his feet.

"Niall." Ashley breathes.

"Please." he said and smiled.

"Fine. See you tomorrow. Probably." she said and walked a step closer to him. Leaning in, she kissed him on his cheek and smiled up at him.

"Good night Niall." she said and walked down the steps.

"Goodnight Ashley." he said, his voice becoming faint as she continued walking.


Niall's scent lingered long after she'd removed his jacket and set it aside 'cayse she had to sleep. She didn't bother changing her clothes as she was damn tired. So instead, she removed her dress and slept in her bra and underwear, something she found more comfortable than pajamas but only because she was drunk.

Notes