The rain had all but totally stopped as they pulled into the lake house. Previously, it assaulted the car like bullets: firing through the tree cover with ease and pinging off the metal shell of the car with such a ferocity, Will considered taking the car to a thicker part of the forest for protection and just waiting it out. Luckily it was just water and not hail, otherwise that would've been exactly what would've happened.

The onslaught was enough to illicit an awe filled silence from the pair on the last leg of their journey. Pulled into a primal, hypnotising, silence at the sheer power of the rain storm they had found themselves in. The metallic hiss as thousands of drops struck the roof of the car, it was one of those moments where not even the radio was allowed to be switched on. Like you were breaking some kind of rule if you interrupted the rain in its percussive dance. A gut instinct that the sky demanded to be heard, and anything else was forbidden. A God relinquishing the grave-dirt from its ancient jaws as it awoke from buried and forgotten slumber.

The lake house was three stories high if you counted the stilt-like pilings underneath the main dwelling area. Undoubtedly to stop the house from being carried away if the waters of the lake should rise. Soft, wooden stairs led up to a front porch like area, with a garden table and closed barbecue in the corner. The house couldn't be more than a three minute walk from the actual lakeside as Niall could see it from the car window.

Even from the car Niall could tell that the lake was hauntingly still. It's mirror-like surface, an exact copy of the unpolluted sky above it, glittering like the most precious of wonders. It's stillness, coupled with the gentle mist that hid its furthest reaches from view, gave a mesmerising sense of mythological wonder. Like something old lived there, it was both daunting and peaceful. It gave cause for a shudder.

The pair exited the car, their shoes sinking about half an inch into the mud gave amusing squelches that Niall quietly smiled at in his enjoyment, while Will let out a groan of lament as he not only looked at his mud splashed car but now his messy shoes.

They each took as much of the luggage and beer they could carry so that they wouldn't have to make a return trip to the car and headed towards the wooden steps. The wood was slick and creaked unnervingly, causing Niall to spend more time worrying about his balance than looking where he was going, almost crashing into Will in his ascent as he followed behind.

Luckily he was able to stop himself, even more victorious in that nobody noticed his little blunder.

Yellow light filtered out of the glass screen doors as did the raucous sound of laughter and the gentle thrum of music, meant more to serve as background noise than entertainment.

"They're here! Finally!" Jess proclaimed jumping from her seat as she hurried over to help with the luggage. Or rather, the beer that she eagerly pried from Nialls closed hands.

"Hey guys!" Jason cried out, immediately catching the attention of Will and Niall as he stood loud, proud, and mostly naked save for one sock that hung from his crotch. He grinned brightly as he gyrated his hips causing the sock to flop around in tight circles, causing the group to burst out in laughter. "Impress a chick with a helicopter dick!"

"Hey! No interrupting!" Emma ordered, her cheeks flushed with the evidence of being mostly drunk as she pointed commandingly to Jason to sit back down. The two seemed to be engaged in a very heated battle of a game of snap.

A messy pile of upturned cards in the centre of the table, as she focused intently. Fingers twitching as if waiting to fire, likening the atmosphere to a Mexican stand off as opposed to a game of cards.

Jason grabbed the top card of the unturned deck, quickly flipping it over and placing it on the messy pile.

Four of hearts to three of spades. No match.

It was Emma's turn, seemingly undistracted by the audience that had now gathered at her back. The air was buzzing with electricity as everyone watched in anticipation. Her eyebrows furrowed, the tip of her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth as she hovered a well manicured hand over the top of the unturned deck. She briefly looked to Jason, an air of proud smugness in his complete comfort at the situation. The dark blue of her eyes honed in on the warming brown of his as she sized him up.

She turned the card.

Four of diamonds to four of hearts.

"Snap!"

"Snap-- Fuck!" Emma scowled as her hand landed just a smidgen of second on top of Jasons, at the same time everyone letting out a collective breath and a cheer. "That's not fair! You distracted me with your dick wizardry!"

"Don't be a sore loser" Jason stuck his tongue out while taking a triumphant swig of his drink.

"Well I thought we were doing matching suits anyway" Emma argued

"If you thought that, then why did you go for the snap even though it was wrong?"

"Because you did!"

"Because you did" Jason mocked, laughing before getting a face full of couch pillow that Emma was surprisingly fast at releasing in his direction. It hit him with a loud Wumph! Causing him to roll backwards in a fit of giggles while trying to pull a few fibres of the pillow that had apparently gotten stuck to his tongue in the assault.

In his paranoia about having a lack of things to talk about, Niall had made sure to brush up as much as social media would allow about his old friend group.

There was Jessica "Jess" Hudson. Arguably the only friend from his time in school that he'd had any form of contact with since they all went their separate ways. She was, and still is, the confident type. Always in a constant battle with the world to show it just what she could really do. It had earned her quite an aggressive reputation at school, especially when she used her training in MMA to snap another girls arm like it was a twig. In all fairness though, that girl was insulting Jess' mother while she was going through cancer at the time. Since then, Jess had become an accountant at rather prestigious bank in the city.

Jason Antoni had, had no issue fitting in with the group when he first arrived to the school. His broken English, and having recently moved from Greece, didn't leave him with many friends. You could barely tell he had an accent now though, and his overly cheerful and mischievous demeanour hadn't changed at all. Niall remembered reading that Jason had, at some point, gotten married. But they divorced a number of years ago it seems. He works as a freelance graphic designer.

Emma Harris always struck Niall as a being a bit spoiled and a little hot headed. How could she not be? She was heir to quite the hotel empire who's father had insisted that she go to public school. She was a natural born leader, fiercely loyal to her friends, and wickedly smart. Not to mention unapologetically generous with her wealth to the ones she loved. Now she was an adult, she technically didn't have to work a day in her life if she didn't want to, but works anyway. She's a manager in one of her hotels.

Of course there was Willard "Will" Mitchel. Since the party, Niall felt like he had spent the most time digging through his social media. It confused him somewhat that Will didn't seem to have had any relationships to speak of. All his pictures that weren't of work, were of friends and co-workers just having a good time. Will now worked as a Geotechnical Engineer. A job title that no matter how much Niall googled, he couldn't for the life of him understand what it was. Something to do with buildings and Math and rocks.

Jennifer "Jenny or Jen" Scott. Yet another Math nerd of the group. To Niall, she seemed like a vastly more successful version of himself. She was quiet and contemplative, but always quick with wit sharper than any chefs knife. She left school with grades well enough that universities were practically begging her to attend their schools. Niall didn't know what she did, but judging by the expensive places she visited and how everyone she seemed to be in a photo with was dressed in a suit, he assumed it was incredibly important and well paying.

Then there was Niall Hackney. No job. Left school with okay grades. Emotionally crippled thanks to the last relationship he was in. But then again he was always aware of how unreasonably sensitive he was, and could do nothing about it save from be in a slightly lower state of cold. He was horribly aware of how unsuccessful he was, especially now that he was in a room with people he's known since school and they were all far better off than him. Despite the dull pang of shame he felt at that realisation, he couldn't help but also feel a small spark of resolute determination.

He made a silent vow to himself: After this weekend was done, he would do better and get his life in order. It's never too late, right?

The night quietened down, Jess signalling the end of the night by making noises some would liken to trying to kick-start a chainsaw as she leaned back on the comfy sofa, head thrown back with her mouth wide open. Niall feared for the slightest of moments that she would choke to death on her own spit, before she would snore so loud that she would wake herself up briefly: making more and more progress to a lying down position each time.

The house was large enough for everyone to have their own room should they choose, although Will, evidently Jess, and Jason had taken to sleep in the living room. Not daring to leave the gentle warmth of the fireplace.

Whether it was the slight buzz from the alcohol he had going, or if that's just generally the type of person he was, Niall was slightly excited about having a miniature explore of the house in the dead of night.

With his luggage slung over his shoulder, and using the torch on his phone as a light, he ascended the steps on an adventure to find the room he'd be staying in for his time here.

There was a silent giddiness as the floorboards creaked beneath his weight at the exact moment a clap of thunder boomed through one of the many windows that lay close to the ceiling. The rain had practically been non-stop for the last hour or so, and as Niall stepped down the rain silhouetted hallway he couldn't help but grin happily at the spookiness of it all.

Horror Movie or Scooby-Doo?

Each door he passed, and it felt like there was an endless amount, was exactly the same. Soft, light-brown, wood with brass handles. He couldn't decide whether they smelled clean or new, but Niall knew he liked the smell either way.

Eventually he settled on a door. It was three doors in on the left, after turning right at the top of the stairs. He figured this way he wasn't so far as to seem unsociable, but far enough that should he ever need to turn in early for the night, the sound from downstairs would have trouble disturbing him.

He entered to find the familiar scent of a freshly made bed, which was large and a four-poster. Niall couldn't believe that a bedroom was just under the size of his entire apartment, but he took in the furniture and the overall richness of his environment with a welcome sigh.

It was late, and not wishing to mess around with his luggage any longer, he settled for chucking the bag heavily at the foot of the bed, before hurriedly stripping down to his underwear and shimmying beneath sheets. Squirming and rubbing his legs together in an attempt to steal all the comfiness for his own. Niall could get used to this.

It was sometime later when his door opened with a gentle squeak.

"Niall?" Will whispered, pushing his head through the gap in the door. The dead of night made it almost impossible to see, but he could just about make out the vague shape of messy bed covers as the odd ribbon of moonlight thread its way through the window.

"Niall" He called out again "Are you awake?"

"No." Niall grumbled, he could not comprehend what was happening save for a buzzing annoyance at the best nights sleep he'd ever had being interrupted.

"Can I stay with you? Jess' snoring is killing me." Will asked. Niall could feel his presence at the door, eyes staring into the dark. He was far too tired to mention that there was possibly another twenty bedrooms he could freely choose from. The only thing on his mind right now was returning to his sleep.

Will could feel the cold beginning to creep in at his ankles, making his feet start to ache to the point where he was somewhat nervously shifting the weight on either leg in a vain attempt to encourage blood flow. It felt like half an hour had passed, although in truth it was more like twenty seconds, before Will began to suspect that Niall had fallen back to sleep.

Thankfully he heard the rustling of sheets and an undecipherable mumble and took that as a welcome. Will made his way to the other side of the bed before slipping under the sheets. It was warm from Nialls body heat, and comfortable.

Despite the sudden, very noticeable, pounding of his heart beat at the realisation of where he was: Will couldn't be any more contented. A certain sense of rightness wiggled its way over his limbs and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't help but let out a happy hum as he settled down.

The gap between them couldn't of been more than few inches, but to Will it felt like a chasm. The body heat of Niall radiating from him, beckoning him closer, urging him to leap from the precipice like some silent, warm Sirens call.

"Niall?" He whispered, turning on his side to face the back of his bed-mate.

"Hmm?" Niall barely responded as the sudden noise wrenched him from his sleep once more.

"Thanks for letting me bunk up with you."

"Hm."

Another moments silence went by, Will could feel sleep coming to him finally as the electricity in the air began to slow to one of calm.

"Niall?" He chanced again, preemptively shrinking at the possible snap that was about to come his way. Will was aware of how annoying he was being and yet couldn't bring himself to stop. Although when Niall didn't respond with a vocal noise, but rather a large exhale that wasn't quite a huff but not quite a deep breath either: Will knew he was beginning to press his luck.

"Thanks for coming with me." Was all Will said before he forced his eyes to shut despite wanting to watch the sleeping Niall for a little longer, and wiggling his lower back into a more comfortable position as he finally allowed himself to go to sleep.

A/N: I'm really hittin it up with these updates at the moment. I don't know why, but I've just got an itch to write this story and no matter how much I write it never seems to stop it xD
I suppose that's a good thing though.

Thanks for reading ^-^