Unedited :)

The drive back home was awkward. Even though I was drunk, I could notice the tension in the air. 

I don't even realize we aren't at my house or apartment until we pull into a big hotel. 

"This isn't my house," I laugh in amusement. Harry nonchalantly glances at me before pulling up to the front. He steps out of the car and hands the keys to the valet. I scramble to get out, but my hands don't coordinate. 

His tall frame walks over to my door and opens it. He proceeds to unbuckle me and helps me out the small car. Once I'm out, he keeps his grip around my waist, supporting me. I silently thank him for the gesture, knowing I wouldn't be able to walk by myself.

The valet smiles in amusement before seeing Harry's glare. He avoids my gaze and heads to the car. I'm dragged inside and into the elevator.

"Why didn't you drop me home?" I ask when the lobby is masked by the heavy steel doors.

He sighs and meets my eyes. I can sense the irritation on his face and honestly, I'm annoyed at the sudden change in tone. 

"You would wake up your whole house and your mum would kill both of us."

I laugh at the idea. I can see it now, me stumbling in and breaking a lamp. The flights would flicker on, and it would be Lily standing at the top of the staircase. Then, we'd get into a big argument and my mom would walk out, her flipflop ready in her hand to beat us. 

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Amusement twinkles in his eyes as he leans against the wall. 

"Hey!" I get defensive, yelling a little too loudly. "My head is not little." 

He chuckles and pulls me into a hug. I stay limp at first, but I feel my arms wrapping around him. I rest my head on his chest, grateful the mood has changed. 

I would not be able to deal with a cranky Harry. 

The door dings open and he entwines his hand in mine, pulling me to his room. 

"Why do you have a hotel if you're staying at my place?" 

We step inside the room and I'm not surprised it's a suite-style. It seems like a common trend in his life. 

"Well, I have to get away from you sometimes," he teases, letting go of my hand. I go straight for the bedroom, ready to sleep the night away. 

I climb into the freshly made bed after taking my shoes off. Harry walks in and raises his brow at me. 

"Ready to sleep already?"

I nod with my eyes closed. 

"Here." I feel something drop next to me. I reluctantly open my eyes to see a t-shirt. I close my eyes again, not having the energy to get up. "You're going to sleep in jeans?"

"I'm tired," I mumble. 

The next thing I know, the covers are pulled off of me and I'm pulled up to lean against the headboard. Harry urges me to lift my arms up and I do. He pulls my shirt off, leaving me only in my bra. 

He attempts to put his shirt over me, but messes up my hair in the process. He laughs at the sight of me, then successfully manages to get me covers. 

"Lie down," he instructs and I slide back down. His cold hands reach for my waistline and I flinch. "Sorry," he mumbles before continuing to undo my jeans. "Lift."

I lift my hips and manages to slide the jeans off. I pull the shirt down and contently sigh. Sleeping in jeans is not something I prefer. 

"Thank you," I whisper before falling into a deep slumber.

~~~

"Shut up," I mumble, folding the ugly pair of jeans in front of me. 

Another day, another shift. I'm lucky because Drew's here. 

Work has been so boring without him. 

"I'm just saying, don't drink so much if you have work the next day. C'mon, it's like the most basic fact known to man."

I send a glare his way, not appreciating his volume. My hangover came back tenfold, and Drew just has to annoy me about it. 

"It wouldn't have been a problem if you didn't get mad at me."

He scoffs. "You were drinking way before you knew I was there. Don't blame this on me." 

I roll my eyes and throw the pants at him. He catches it with a grin and sticks out his tongue. His enthusiasm can't possibly be matched today.

"Go bother someone else," I huff before making my way to the back. 

And he does.

He finds another employee and begins to pester them instead.

Drew and I have our break together today. He's somehow managed to convince our manager to let us. She may be a bitch to me but she sure loves Drew. We make our way to the food court while I think about what I want for lunch. 

"Maybe pizza?" I ask, scanning over the nonexistent line. He doesn't answer but drags me over to the Philly cheesesteak restaurant. I don't object, not really caring what we get. 

We settle at one of the booths more in the corner and begin chomping. 

"So, where's Harry?" Drew nonchalantly pries. I take this moment to steal one of his cheese fries. He simply rolls his eyes and pulls his tray toward him.

"He's gone back to England," I say with my mouth full of food. 

He winces and dramatically covers my mouth. I grin and swallow. "Already?"

"Yeah. He really only came here because everyone was freaking out about me. He's still a busy man," I pick at my own fries, trying not to let my sadness seep through.

"That kinda sucks though. The fact that he'll be here one day and not another."

I nod, deciding to open up. "It really does. And now there's some fake girlfriend drama coming up..." Confusion is etched in his face. "I'll explain later, but I don't know. We're in a good place, but I just want a normal relationship."

"You're telling me," he scoffs, taking a bite of his sandwich. "My thing with Audrey is anything but normal."

It feels weird, us two chatting about our soulmates. Things have been so tense between us these past few days and I'm so happy everything's alright now. 

"Speaking of," a smirk plays at my lips, "before everything went down yesterday, you guys were really going at it."

Drew's face turns redder than a tomato. "You remember that," his voice squeaks.

"Yes dingus," I swat his head. "I was drunk but not that drunk. Now, tell me, what's going on between you two? Do you guys use condoms?"

"I-what? No!"

"No, you don't use condoms? Drew, I have to say I'm shocked! Protection is the number one preventative mea-" 

"Shh, no!" He stutters, looking around to make sure we haven't got unwanted attention. "Gosh, you're so loud. I don't need the whole food court to know about my sex life."

My smirk doesn't fade. "So there is a sex life?"

His glare drops and he becomes shy. "No, there isn't. Not yet anyway."

My brows raise up in surprise. "Oh? Then if you hadn't seen me at the party, would there have been?"

"Maybe," he mumbles. "I don't know, okay?"

"Poor Drew," I tease. "First it was me, now it's my best friend. You poor guy, can't catch a break from the celibacy." 

He nearly spits out his drink and I can't help but laugh at his misery. I know damn well he isn't a virgin. The fact that he stayed with me even though we didn't have sex is a little shocking. There really are some good guys out there. 

"Anyway," he shoots me a hard glare, his face no longer red. "Both of our relationships are fucked up, okay. Let's talk about something that isn't depressing."

"Hmm..." I think of a new topic. "Oh jeez! You can see color! You asshole, you never helped me with color-sorting the clothes!"

He sheepishly smiles. "Well, then you'd know I had a soulmate. Besides, the colors are written on the tags. You can read."

I roll my eyes at his snide remark. "What's your favorite color?"

My question takes him by surprise. He thinks about it for a second. I can see his eyes focus on every memory he's had, his mind moving at miles per hour. 

"Blue."

Of course, he'd think so deeply about it to give me such a basic answer. I don't ask him why and we just finish our meal and trudge back to work.

When our shift is finally over, Drew gives me a ride home. When I say home, I mean the apartment. My clothes are still at my mom's house and I'll have to stop by the pick it up soon. 

The night of the party, Harry had taken me back to his hotel. When I finally woke up, he dropped me off to my mom's before leaving to go to the airport.

I'm a little disappointed he couldn't stay, but he's in the process of coming back with his new "girlfriend" so I can't complain much. At least he compromised for me. It's more than what I've done for him.

Drew pulls into our complex and finds the closest parking spot. Part of me thinks he came to drop me home just so he can meet the love of his life. 

His eager smile tells me everything. We both walk to the door, him a little quicker than me. 

I take my sweet time unlocking the door, torturing him a little. He groans in annoyance and I finally open it. He pushes past me like this isn't my house and then slows down when he sees her.

She's sitting at the dining table, going through envelopes. Her eyes meet Drews first and she tries to hide her smile. 

"Hey," she whispers before getting up and pulling him into a hug. I gag at their interaction, resulting in the middle finger from the short blond. 

I laugh and head to my room, giving them their space. 

"Oh wait," Aud calls out. She picks something up and jogs it over to me. "These came in the mail for you." Her reassuring smile hints at something important. Yet, I can't think of a single reason for me to get important mail. 

I look down at the envelopes and my smile fades. They're from colleges.

I know that most acceptances are easily viewed online, but after I submitted my apps, I made it a choice to not check them.

You know what they say: a watched pot never boils.

I figured if I was mulling over my acceptances, I'd be devasted and nervous all the time. I knew they'd send physical letters, so I waited for that instead.

"Thanks."

She squeezes my hand before going back to Drew. I anxiously fumble with the letters as I go into my room. 

I sit down at my desk after closing the door. I flip through the envelopes, seeing if my top college was amongst it.

It's there. The University of Florida. 

It's one of the top public universities in Florida, which is convenient because it's great, but also has in-state tuition. It isn't too far, but far enough to move. It's at least an hour and a half commute. 

I decide to not open it. Instead, I opt for my safety schools first. 

I grin, getting into the two I've applied to. Not to be egotistical, but with my grades, it would be impossible for me not to get in.

I let out a nervous sigh, playing with my third envelope. I can't bring myself to open it. I'm not mentally prepared to get rejected.

My door opens and I see the couple standing there. Audrey rushes over and reads the open letters. She squeals out of excitement, congratulating me. Even Drew smiles and hugs me. 

"What about UF?" She takes a look at my hands and sighs at the sealed envelope. "No matter what happens, it'll work out for the best, okay?"

The three of us move to my bed. I sit in between my two closest friends, staring at the letter. 

"Okay, I'm opening it." I begin opening the envelope, my fingers moving too fast for my liking. Once the paper is out and unfolded, I close my eyes. "I can't read it." 

Someone takes the paper out of my hands and silently reads it. My shaking hands are held tight. 

It feels like forever has past. I open my eyes to see exchanging glances from both. 

They look... neutral. 

Drew talks first. "Ugh, I'm so sorry El..." My heart stops beating. My stomach feels like it's in my throat. 

Then, a very minuscule smile breaks out on Audrey's face. 

"Sorry that you have to a Gator. Go 'Noles!" Drew finishes and I want to hit him. Of course he'd bring football into this.

Then, his words process. Gator? I got in?

"Holy shit," I whisper. Audrey furiously nods, confirming my suspicions.

"You got in!" 

I grab the paper from Drew's hands and read over it. Sure enough, it's an acceptance package. 

"Oh my God!" I yell from excitement. We all hug, laughing because of my happiness. Because of our happiness.

"My baby's going to college!" Audrey laughs, squeezing me even tighter.

Holy shit, I'm going to college!