I was very uncomfortable at the moment. One: because I was sitting in a Mexican restaurant and everyone around me was yelling, which was bringing on a headache. And two: because I was sitting next to the prettiest girl I had seen in a long time and had no idea what to say to her.

It's not like I've ever really had trouble talking to girls, it was the fact that I wasn't sure if there was even a point in talking to her the way I wanted to. I had no idea what my future would hold, especially if tomorrow ended in the worst-case scenario.

The silence between us ended as an overly enthusiastic middle-aged waiter came up to our table. "Avery! Good to see you back!"

I eyed Avery as she smiled up at the man, nodding her head. "Hey, José! It hasn't only been a week or anything."

They both laughed and I felt a little of my insecurity start to fade as she introduced us. "José, this is Niall."

"Well, hello, sir!" He rubbed his hands together as he spoke again. "Would this be your first time dining in our fine establishment?"

"Yeah, never been," I mumbled not knowing why it really mattered, but as he shouted out to the room that I was a new customer, it was only so he could get people to boo at me for fun. Avery sat and laughed at me just as a few others around the room were doing. Well wasn't this place just wonderful.

"Now let's start you off with some drinks! For you, sir?" He asked with a smile.

"Uh, just water is fine for me," I replied.

"And for Avery... A pina colada?" He questioned, already knowing the answer.

"With extra pineapple, please," She spoke with excitement in her voice.

"Now for the food," He paused. "We've got chicken, beef, vegetarian and fish. I'd tell you to go veggie, but Avery I know how much you love the chicken."

She nodded her head turning to me. "Do you like chicken?"

"Yeah," I looked at her before turning back to the waiter. "I'll have the same."

"Great!" He took a step away from the table. "And I'll be back with your drinks in just a moment."

Once the waiter was out of sight and the people who had been apart of the booing escapade from earlier had gone back to their own conversations, I turned to Avery.

"You've picked quite the place to take me, Miss Samuels," It was impossible for me to hide the smile on my face.

She smiled brightly, nudging me with her elbow lightly. "I have, haven't I?"

"And no menus," I leaned back against the booth we sat in. "That's different. Never know what you're going to get, eh?"

"Nothing wrong with living a little dangerously," She laughed with a joking wink.

Oh, if she only knew how dangerously I was already living. But I just laughed along with her, José returning to the table with Avery's pina colada and my water. I watched as Avery took a big sip of her drink while pulling one of the giant slices of pineapple off the side and handing it to me, before taking the other piece for herself.

"Hmm," She hummed happily as she took a bite out of it.

I took this time to bite into the fruit as well, instantly feeling it drip down my chin and onto my shirt.

"Ah, shit," I held back a laugh as I tried my best to wipe my mouth without looking like a complete idiot, but failed miserably as Avery watched me with amused eyes.

"Messy eater," She noted with a laugh.

"Yeah, sorry," I set the half-eaten piece of pineapple on my plate before fully wiping my mouth with a napkin.

"No, it's alright," She spoke confidently. "You looked really cute."

Jesus. And now I was blushing and still feeling like an idiot.

It didn't take long for José to bring out our food, which I only took a few bites of knowing that it probably wouldn't sit very well in my stomach later on. I hadn't realized Avery had been watching me every chance she got, but I couldn't say much, I was stealing glances at her as well.

Dinner has been great, but I could feel the night already coming to an end and I wasn't too sure how I felt about it. I was tired, but I wanted to stay with Avery for as long as I could. I hadn't thought about what tomorrow might bring in hours and I had her to thank for that. But as we stepped out of the restaurant, which had been conveniently placed right across from the gallery, and headed toward my car everything seemed to get worse.

"Oh, no!" Avery spoke first as we stared down at the parking ticket stuck to the windshield of my car.

"I totally forgot that they ticket here after seven," She looked up at me apologetically.

"Yeah," I peeled the ticket from the glass and stared down at it, unsure as to why getting a parking ticket was ruining my great night.

"I can pay for half of it if you want," She leaned into me slightly to get a look at the total of the fine.

And then it hit me. This ticket didn't matter. I didn't have to pay this because I might not even be around to do so.

"No, that's alright, I've got it," I spoke absentmindedly, trying not to let my inner breakdown show through. "Do you need a ride home or something?"

"Uh, no," She stuck her thumb back over her shoulder, taking a step away from me. "I've got that covered."

"I had a great time though," She rummaged through her purse until she pulled out a pen and grabbed my hand.

She spoke again as she started to write on the skin of my palm. "You should probably use this number to call me sometime."

Call her? I don't know if that would be possible as much as I wanted it to be. As she finished outlining her number again on my hand, she smiled up at me. It was only a few second that her lips lingered on my cheek, her arms wrapping around me in a tight hug. I really didn't want to part with her.

I opened to drivers side door and climbed in, taking another look at Avery's retreating body. I liked her and I was pretty positive that she liked me back, but what could I do? Nothing. I couldn't do anything. I was stuck at a standstill.

My eyes turned down toward the number written on my hand in pretty writing before I looked back at the parking ticket still clutched in my other hand. My heart was pounding in my chest and for some reason, I started to laugh. The reason behind my insane laughter was the fact that this stupid parking ticket didn't matter. Sure I could easily pay for it, but why bother? I might not even be alive by tomorrow afternoon.

My laughs turned to slight sobs as I brought the ticket up to my mouth and bit the end of it, tearing it apart. It just didn't matter.

I continued to rip the paper with my teeth until I eventually just shoved the whole ticket into my mouth, choking back the tears that were threatening to fall. This was my life. I chewed tirelessly on the soggy piece of paper, the ink leaving a bad taste in my mouth as I did so. Why was this happening to me?

My shoulders began to shake as I slouched further down in my seat, shielding my face from the world with my arm. A tiny cry escaped my lips as I tried to wipe away the stray tears that had fallen. Something was actually going right in my life and I was more angry with myself than anything else. What could I have done differently so this wouldn't be happening to me right now?

I practically jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock on the glass. Trying my best to compose myself, I rolled down the window to see Avery sitting back on her bike seat with a worried look on her face.

But instead of asking the question I knew she wanted to ask, she instead went the route of breaking the tension that I had obviously caused. "What are you eating?"

I laughed bitterly, turning my head at an angle so she might not notice the wet streaks on my cheeks. I'm such a fucking idiot.

As nonchalantly as I could, I reached my hand up and took the balled up paper that I had still been chewing on out of my mouth. "Nothing."

She was quiet for a moment, inspecting my face and I was scared that she might have figured out that there was most definitely something I wasn't telling her.

"So do you want to go to this party?" Her question surprised me and I couldn't stop my heart rate from speeding up once again.

I wasn't about to turn this girl down, not now. It was way too late for that.

"Yeah," I nodded, opening the door and climbing out to help get her bike into the trunk of my car, the intensity of my hysterical moment fading away the longer I saw that smile on her face.

. . . . .

A/N: It's really hard writing a scene like that, let me tell you. I still don't know how to get across all the emotions that I want to. I hope it was okay, let me know what you think!

Vote? Comment? Love.