Cold Water

Chapter 3

Rey’s POV

When Perrie and I sit down in the bleachers, still dressed in our uniforms to watch the guys during tryouts, I’m still in shock.

First of all, because she’s f*****g Niall f*****g Horan, and second of all, because she told me that his d**k is big and he’s really good in bed.

I can’t wrap my head around the situation, and I’m going insane because of how much I want to tell Jake or Jed or Sophia. Which, by the way, where is she?

I text her, asking her where she is, and she replies within seconds, telling me that she’ll be in the bleachers in a few minutes. I don’t bother asking her what she’s doing, and instead I concentrate on anything else but the fact that Perrie and Niall had s*x. Wait, no. The fact that Perrie and Niall are having s*x.

The football players come out on the field a few minutes later, just as Sophia sits down next to me with a smile on her face.

“Why are you so smiley about?” I ask her when I see the giant grin on her face.

“Nothing important. But Liam Payne just said hi to me as I was walking towards you and we chatted about tryouts a bit. He’s so fit Rey, I swear.”

She takes one look at me, before she frowns. She knows I’m not being myself right now.

“What are you so grumpy about?” she asks, mocking my question earlier.

“Well, I just got some terrible news.”

Her face falls, and I know she’s probably thinking that something happened to someone in my family.

“What is it? Oh my God, it’s serious.”

“Yeah, it is.” I say in a grave voice. “You should sit down.”

Sophia looks at me weirdly. “I am.”

“Okay. Well, Perrie just told me that she’s been having s*x with Niall ever since summer started. And I just can’t-“ I stop, trying to stop myself from throwing up all over her.

Sophia visibly relaxes. “Are you fuckin’ mental? I honestly thought something tragic happened.”

“It is f*****g tragic! Sophia, a friend of my had Niall Horan insert his d**k-“

“Ew, no. Stop. Look, it’s their problem, not yours. Honestly, why are you so bothered? Are you jealous or something?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What? No! How can you possibly think that?” I gasp, placing a hand over my chest. I’ve never felt so betrayed in my entire life.

“Then why are you so bothered about it?”

“Because…it’s Niall Horan. I mean…I expected Perrie to have higher standards and all.” I trail off, looking back to the football field. “Nevermind. Let’s just drop the subject.”

She nods in agreement, and then we watch the senior football players (aka Niall, Jed, Louis, and Liam), tell the new guys what to do while their coach is watching.

I’m excited that Jason wants to tryout for the team, as well as Jake, because my brother has always loved playing and he’s never been able to, because the last school he’s been to only had lacrosse as an option.

“Your brother is honestly so good.” Sophia tells me when Jason scores his fourth goal during the penalty kicks exercise. “And the goalkeeper is really good.”

“I kno-“

I don’t get to finish, because a ball hits me right in the face, and sends me backwards so I hit my back against the bench behind me.

I loudly swear, before I stand up to look who kicked the ball. Of course, Niall looks quite pleased mixed with worried.

“Are you f*****g crazy?!” I yell as I grab the wall, and then step over the benches in front of me, jump over the railing, and proceed to stomp towards him on the field. I throw the ball back at his face, but he catches it quickly.

“I think you’re mental.” He retaliates. “It was an accident you idiot.”

“You’re the f*****g i***t!” I yell, pushing him. “You just hit me in the face!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did your foundation come off or something?” he mocks, and I want to slap him, but Jed pulls me back.

“Stop it babe. It was an accident.”

I feel betrayed for the hundredth time today. “Why are you taking his side? He just hit me in the face with the ball!”

“Horan! Parker! Cut it out!” their coach yells at me as he comes jogging towards us. “Do you want me to sign you both up for a week of detention?” he asks.

I shake my head, because God no. Spending two hours after school in the same room as Niall for a week would be hell on earth.

“Alright then. Ms. Parker, please go back to your seat. Horan, get your head in the game.”

I turn around, not even sparing another glance to Jed, and walk over to Sophia.

***

“That’s a nice bruise you have there.” Jake says the next day as I get out of my car and grab my light pink Michael Kors bag from the backseat.

Rey: h***:://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=208458302

“Shut up.” I mumble and lock the car, before we begin to walk towards school.

“Stop biting your nails.” Sophia tells Jason, who looks more nervous than he’s ever been.

“The list of those who made the team is already up, and I don’t know whether I’m getting in.” Jason says.

I spot Jed waiting for me at my locker, and I instantly smile. I kiss his lips as a greeting, and he assures Jason that the guys only said good things about him in the locker room, but he hasn’t seen the list either.

We walk over to the giant bulletin board and I look for the list. Jake points it out, and then shrieks when he sees that he’s made the team.

“What? I didn’t make it.” Jason says and places his finger on his name, that’s the first under the ‘rejected’ column.

“That’s impossible. You were really good. Way better than this Tom guy.” I say, appalled.

Jed approves me.

I turn my head to him. “Who is in charge of selecting the team?”

“The team captain. Coach let him choose this year-“

“Who is it?” I ask, and I see Jed’s eyes flicker with realization.

“Niall.” He answers, and that’s about all it takes for me to snap.

I look around until I see him at the end of the hallway, chatting Perrie up by his locker.

“Niall Horan!” I yell, making some heads turn towards me, including his annoyed face.

I march over to him, ready to make the biggest scene of my life.

“Are you really that petty and stupid?!” I yell, waving my hands all over the face.

He can mess with me, and he can make fun of me as much as he wants, but everything stops when it comes to my brother.

“Calm down, Jesus Christ.” He says, looking around to see that I’ve already caused a crowd forming.

“I will not calm down! You didn’t pick my brother for the team because you have a problem with me, not with him.”

He snorts, but we both know I’m right, judging by his face.

“So what if I did? Him playing would mean you have to come along as well.”

“I’m a f*****g cheerleader!” I scream, getting closer and closer to actually slapping the s**t out of him.

“Jed, please keep your girlfriend in check. She’s embarrassing.” Niall says, looking over my shoulder, and that’s it.

My hand swings back, before it collides with his face making a loud sound that echoes through the silence.

“You little b***h!” he says, but then our principal, Mr. Brooks, steps between us.

“Mr. Horan and Ms. Parker! What seems to be the problem?”

“She fuckin’ slapped me!” Niall says, making our principal frown because of his language.

“Yeah! Because he didn’t choose my brother to play on the team due to personal problems!”

“Alright. I’ll talk to the football coach. Meanwhile, you both have detention after school for the rest of the week.”

And then I lose it completely.

***

“I’m going to kill myself.” I say at the end of last period, when I’m with Jed at my locker.

“You’re not going to do that. It’s two days, Rey. You’ll be fine.”

I sigh. “Well, if this means Jase can play on the team, then I’m going to try.” I roll my eyes, and he pulls me closer. “Can you drive Jake, Sophia, and Jason home though? Because if I’m late to detention the teacher will flip and I’m not in the mood to argue with anybody right now.”

“Of course I can babe. Just make sure you and Niall don’t argue please. I don’t like you getting angry.”

I nod, trying not to say anything about the situation. It’s way too tiring by now, and I am not in the mood.

So I watch Jed as he walks away, before I look down at my detention slip, and sigh when I see it’s on the third floor. Why can’t my school have an elevator? It would be so much easier…

I find room 58 on the third floor, and enter without even bothering to knock.

There are five people in the room; a girl dressed in the black in the back right corner, a guy I know is in drama club but always causes trouble because he’s way too loud in classes, another guy who sells weed to Zayn and Jed, and of course, Niall Horan. Mr. Grey is sitting at the teacher’s desk, and he doesn’t even bother to look up at me as an acknowledgement.

I pick the furthest seat away from him on the other side of the room, and sit down, placing my bag on the desk.

The room is awfully silent, so I pull my phone out, but that’s when Mr. Grey finally decides to speak up.

“Ms. Parker please come here and put your phone in the basket. You can have it back at five.”

I roll my eyes and stand up to walk over to him.

When I sit back down, I have no idea what to do with myself. I can’t even make conversation with the weed guy because I know detention is a place were there’s a zero tolerance policy for speaking.

I look at my nails for about thirty minutes, and then check the time on my watch, just to see that only five minutes have passed.

Well, looks like I’ll have to do the homework we got in English then.

I pull out ‘Great Expectations’ from my bag and start reading it. At the fifth page I realize that it’s one of the most boring books I’ve ever read, right after ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’. But there’s nothing better to do and there are still 90 minutes left, so it’ll have to do.

***

It’s 4:35pm and I’ve already read about a hundred pages, when there’s a loud screeching sound coming from the front of the room as Mr. Grey pushes his chair back.

“I have something to do, but I’ll be back in fifteen minutes and you can leave early.” He says.

“Ten minutes early, oh how riveting.” Niall mumbles, which causes everyone, including me, to laugh.

“Well then, I’ll guess you’ll leave at five pm sharp.” Mr. Grey retorts, and now I’m back to not being able to stand Niall Horan.

There are a few moments of silence as Mr. Grey’s footsteps fade away, and then Niall turns to the weed guy.

“Hi Trev, can you score me three g’s for this Friday?” he asks, and weed guy (Trevor, apparently), looks up.

He nods. “Sure. Birthday party?”

“Yeah. I hope it’ll be better that this birthday right now.” Niall laughs, and I frown.

“You’re in detention on your birthday?” I ask him.

Niall turns to look at me. “Yeah. Thanks, by the way. It’s the best present someone could’ve given me.” He sarcastically says.

“Well, I was about to apologize because it’s your birthday, but now I’ve changed my mind.” I say.

“Oh, I don’t need your half-arsed apologies. Thanks.”

I’m about to say something but Trevor intervenes. “Wow, you two really hate each other, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” Niall and I answer at the same time.

No one says anything after that, so I return to my book, because it’s way better than having to argue with Niall and lose one neuron at a time.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Grey comes back and tells us we can leave. I’m the first one to stand up with inhuman speed as I grab my bag in the process, throwing the book in there.

“Goodbye.” I say to Mr. Grey as he signs my detention slip, before I’m out the door.

As I look for the keys to my car in my purse, someone taps me on my shoulder. I turn around, and I’m surprised when I see the goth girl looking up at me.

“Hi.” I say, confused.

“Hey. Sorry for bothering you, but I think you and Niall should get together.” She says.

I pull my head back, and I’m sure I just revealed my double chin, but I’m way too surprised to care. “What? How is that possible?”

She shrugs. “I just think you’d be good together.”

“Weren’t you in detention just now?”

But she turns around and walks away, without saying anything else. Her words haunt me for the rest of the day though.

***

“Party at Liam’s house on Friday.” Jake announces as he sits down next to us at lunch the next day.

It’s been a good day so far, but that will come to end once school is over, because I have detention yet again.

“So?” I ask, stabbing my salad with a plastic fork.

“Soooo, we’re going, right? And by that I mean, you’re driving, right?” Jake continues, and grins from ear to ear.

“Am I even invited?”

Jed places a hand around my shoulders. “Yeah, you are. It’s Niall’s birthday and he invited me.”

I almost spit out my salad. “You’re both joking, aren’t you? Why in the world would I go to Niall’s birthday party? And plus, he wouldn’t want me there.”

“He knows if I go, you’re my plus one that goes without saying.” Jed tells me, as if he’s trying to reassure me.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to go.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna go.” Jake mocks my tone. “Also, Jason is invited as well.”

My eyebrows meet my hairline. “What? Since when are they best buddies?”

“Since he’s on the team and since Niall invited the whole team?!”

I make a face. “I’m sure Jason won’t wanna go. And if he doesn’t go, then I’m definitely not going.”

“But what if he does go?” Jake asks.

“Then…let’s say I might come.” I answer, knowing very well that if my brother goes, I will go because I feel way too protective over him, which means that I’ll have to make sure everything goes well at his first high school party. But I also know that there’s no way in hell my brother will attend the party, because if Niall’s there, then his sister’s also going to be there.

As if on cue, Jason sits down next to Jake across from me.

“Baby Parker, we were just talking about you.” Jake says, and Jason looks worried. “You comin’ to the captain’s party, right?”

Jason shrugs. “If everyone’s going, then sure.”

My face falls, and I sigh when I see the way Jed and Jake are smiling at me.

“Fine, I guess I’ll come too.” I say. “But I’m not getting him a present.”

“I’ll get him something from the both of us.” Jed tells me, and I don’t bother to object.

“Why is he keeping it at Liam’s though?” I ask.

Jake’s expression gets serious. “Because Liam’s got a house, and Niall’s apartment is too small.”

“And how many people are coming?”

“The group on f*******: has seventy-something members, so about sixty will definitely show up.”

I roll my eyes. “A party filled with people who like Niall? Oh, just my cup of tea.”

***

Going to Niall Horan’s eighteenth birthday wasn’t exactly my ideal Friday night activity (I usually went out with Jake, Sophia, and Jed), but my brother was also going which meant I couldn’t not go. And I know that he’s mature enough to take care of himself, but I can’t help myself.

I choose a white skirt I got from Jake last year for Christmas, a white crop top, my favorite red Zanotti heels, and a red YSL clutch to hold my phone, money, and cigarette pack. My top reveals my belly piercing that my mother absolutely hates and still thinks I got it just to annoy her, and not because I actually like it.

Rey:

I look at the watch on my wrist to see that it’s already half past eight, which means I have to pick up Jake, Zayn, and Soph in less than half an hour. And since Jake is the type of person who doesn’t like to miss out at parties and thinks every minute late means a liquor shot less, I can’t allow myself to be late.

“Are you ready?” I ask my brother twenty minutes later as I open the door to his room.

“Yeah.” He says and comes towards me. He looks really nice, with a black button-up and black skinny jeans, so I smile at him as I ask who he’s trying to impress.

He obviously ignores my question and slips into his Vans once we reach the hallway, before I grab my car keys and say goodbye to Rosa.

We get to the party at twenty minutes past nine because the traffic was really slow and I honestly had to idea where Liam’s house was.

There are quite a few cars parked down the street, so I park a block away.

“What did you get him?” I ask Jed as we walk towards the house.

“Two grams of weed, obviously. What else could I get him?” he laughs as I roll my eyes, and pulls me closer into him.

There’s loud music coming from inside the two-storey house, and as we walk towards the front door, several people say hi to us. The balcony upstairs is packed and I can hear drunk people already, which that means Jake is probably having an inner crisis right now from missing out on so much.

The door is open so we walk right in, and we’re instantly greeted by a smiling Louis who’s holding onto his red solo cup and shouting a greeting.

He comes to give me a hug, which obviously makes me smile, so I hug him back. It was a bit unexpected, but drunk people tend to be overly friendly all the time, I should know.

“Where’s the birthday boy?” Jed asks him, but I already spot Niall in the living room, chatting up a girl I know is called Raylynn, who’s also on my cheerleading squad.

I point Niall out to him and he nods, before we make our way towards him. I try to ignore the way his face contorts in disgust when his eyes land on me, but he doesn’t look surprised, which means he was expecting me for sure.

“Hi mate.” Niall greets my boyfriend, obviously ignoring me as they shake hands.

“Happy birthday bro.” Jed says and hands him the small silver box, which makes Niall smile. Then he points to me. “From the both of us.”

Niall’s eyes fall on me. “I’m sure.”

I sigh and turn around, leaving the two of them there so I can go in the kitchen to get myself a drink. If I drink now, it means that I won’t be able to drive until the next morning, but I couldn’t be bothered to be honest. I just wanted to do shots with my best friends, who were already in the kitchen looking for the good stuff, which was not surprising at all.

“Renee!” Jake yells when he sees me and quickly motions for me to come closer so we can take the Jäger shots they were currently doing.

“How far behind am I?” I ask Sophia.

“We just took a shot. Come on, catch up.” she answers and hands me a shot glass filled with the familiar dark brown liquid. I know eight shots is all is takes for me to get pissed drunk, and five shots are enough for me to be tipsy as f**k, so I down it.

“By the way, we’re staying over tonight because I won’t be able to drive us home.” I announce, and they’re way too excited to get drunk than to actually care or respond.

My little brother joins us in the kitchen when we’re at our forth shot, already laughing loudly and taking the piss out of everyone who dares to cross our path.

“Parker junior!” Jake yells and quickly puts his arm around his shoulder. “Come take a shot with us!”

Jason looks at me, so I give him a big smile. I know he’s drunk before, and I’ve also seen him pissed out of his mind after his eight grade graduation party when I brought him home, so there’s no reason for him to be ashamed of me.

Jason gladly takes a shot and that’s how I down the fifth for the night.

I don’t really know what happens after that because I take another shot and a Nicki Minaj songs comes on, which makes Jake scream and pull Sophia after himself towards the living room to dance.

My head is already spinning so I tell them to leave me behind, and after Jason makes sure I’m okay, he also leaves to go God knows where.

I lean against the counter and close my eyes for a second, and when I open them, I see Niall coming into the kitchen with an empty cup.

“Am I having a nightmare?” I slur and he looks at me, rolling his eyes.

“You’re kind of dressed up for this occasion.” He states as he walks over to the Vodka bottles to pour some in his cup.

I look down at myself. “I noticed.”

“Wanted to impress me huh?” he asks, turning around once he’s finished with making his cranberry Vodka.

“Are you having a stroke or something?” I ask. “Because you’re being delusional right now.”

“No, I’m just a few drinks away from being completely wasted.”

I nod. “Same. More like two shots away.”

At that, Niall smirks. “Then let’s do them. Come on.”

“Niall Horan wants to do shots with me? Oh my.” I sarcastically say as I push myself off the counter to stand next to him.

“What do you want?”

I point to the Jägermeister bottle, and he quickly fills four shot glasses with it.

We turn to look at each other as we hold both glasses, before I say:

“To the fact that we managed to annoy each other for three years and counting.”

He laughs and we clink the glasses together before we down them.

I make a face as the liquor makes contact with my taste buds, before I raise the other glass.

“And to the fact that we can only have a normal conversation when we’re pissed.” He says before we down the last shot.

I’ve drunk eight shots now, which means that in a matter of minutes, I’ll be completely pissed, but I don’t really mind. Niall seems tolerable when I’m drunk.

I look at him as he tries to drink the cup in a few gulps, and when he places it down, I already feel like the room is spinning so I start grinning.

“Are you laughing at me?” Niall asks when he sees my drunken smile.

“No. I’m just reaaaally drunk right now. Please make sure I don’t have anything else to drink, otherwise I’ll have to puke.”

Niall looks in the distance, as if he’s contemplating something. “Hmm…seeing Rey Parker throw up? Why wouldn’t I want to see that? I might just live stream it on Facebook.”

“You’re an asshole.” I say and try to push him, but I end up wobbling on my five-inch heels. He grips into my arm to steady me.

“Easy there.”

“I want to-let’s find Jed.”

He sighs and ushers me into the living room, where I look for my boyfriend. I finally find him outside on the back porch with my brother, Niall’s sister, Jake, Liam, and Sophia.

“Oioiii, Jeeed.” I slur and cling onto him with a big smile.

“Are you drunk?” he asks, and that’s when I notice that they’re sharing a joint.

“Maybe.” I laugh, and then look at my brother to see him talking to Niall’s sister. “Whoaaa, what’s going on there?” I ask, pointing at them.

“You’re pissed. You should lay down.” Jed suggests, but I wiggle out of his grip.

“So? I get drunk sometimes.”

“No, you get drunk most times and you do stupid shit.” He sighs. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

I frown and step away from him. “You’re not my mother!” then I turn to Niall, just to see that he’s having a bit of trouble with Liam, who’s also trying to get him to say something coherently and stop acting stupid.

“Niall, come on. Let’s go on an adventure.”

I grab his arm and he doesn’t protest, so we walk back inside together. Raylynn, the girl I saw him talking to when I arrived, comes towards us.

“Hi Ni, would you mind showing me around? Give me a tour of the house?”

I make a face at her. “It’s not even his house!” I yell over the music.

Niall laughs and the girl looks weirdly at us, and then she decides to leave us alone, since she can have a proper conversation with us.

“Why did you do that?” Niall asks, clearly mad. “I could’ve slept with her.”

“Don’t you have Perrie for that?” I retort.

“Yeah but…she couldn’t come tonight, so.”

I shrug. “Did you at least…at least make out with her?” I ask, trying to speak clearly.

“Yeah!”

I look at him, just as I feel vomit in my throat. “s**t. I think I might throw up.”

“Are you saying that because a girl made out with me, or because you actually feel like you have to throw up?”

I look at him, thinking about it. “Both. Lead me to a bathroom.”

He takes me by my wrist and guides me to the downstairs bathroom, but that’s locked, so he tries to get me up the stairs. Which is a difficult thing to do, since I have high heels and I’m way past drunk.

“Get me a stretcher!” I say and crouch down on the stairs, hugging the railing.

He loudly laughs, trying to pull me up. “I don’t have a stretcher.”

“Then find one.”

“Come on.”

I shake my head, clinging even harder onto the railing. “I’m sleeping here.” I state, and close my eyes.

Niall sighs, and kneels down so we’re at the same eyelevel. “Rey, come on. Get up.”

“Oh my God, you called me by my nickname!” I exclaim, way more excited that I should’ve been.

He laughs and rolls his eyes, before he grips into my arms and pulls me up in a swift motion. I feel like the room is spinning.

“Don’t ever do that again, because I feel like dying right now.”

“Just follow me upstairs.”

I frown. “Are you trying to sleep with me? Get me into bed?”

“Christ no.” he snorts as he helps me up the never-ending stairs.

“Why does this house have such long stairs?” I complain once we reach the top.

“It doesn’t, you’re just pissed.”

“You’re pissed as well!” I accuse him, and point at his face.

He takes my finger and puts it down. “Come on, there’s a bathroom right there.”

Niall opens the door and I step in, before I kneel in front of the toilet. I get flashbacks from a few years ago where I would make myself throw up on purpose so I wouldn’t get fat, but then my mother caught me and placed me in a one month treatment center until I got better.

“I don’t feel like it anymore.” I say and push the hand that was holding my hair back so I can stand up. “I want to lay down.”

“Let’s go to Liam’s bedroom, I have the key.”

“He gave you the key in case you wanted to score?” I laugh as we walk.

He nods.

“Wouldn’t he rather be f*****g Sophia?” I ask as he unlocks the door and pushes it open.

“Why would he f**k Sophia?”

“s**t, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Pinky promise me you won’t tell him.” I say and hold out my right pinky finger up.

He links his pinky with mine, before I turn around and get onto the bed, not bothering to take off the covers. Then I lift my left leg up towards him. “Take off my shoes, my feet hurt.”

“No way. I’m not your butler.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t have a butler. My feet hurt.”

When he doesn’t move to do that, I try to stand up and take them off myself, but I fall back against the bed.

“Jesus.” He sighs and tries to pull at my heels so they come off. He manages to do that in the end, so I thank him and turn on my side, closing my eyes.

After a few moments, I feel the bed shifting, so I open my eyes to see him climbing on it next to me.

“You know, you’re less annoying when you’re drunk.” He tells me out of a sudden.

“My head is spinning.” I say and place my hands under the side of my head.

“Stop talking then.” Niall says, and closes his eyes as he lays on his back.

“You’re so f*****g annoying, ugh.” I groan and close my eyes as well.

The last thing I hear before I pass out is:

“Right back at you.”