The drive over to Avery's house was spent listening to her talk about something I can't quite remember and me still trying to compose myself from my brief, but intense breakdown. I was surprised as we pulled up to a little one story house in a neighborhood that looked like it inhabited a diverse community of people.

I followed after Avery as she made her way up the front steps of the light blue house, quickly turning back to me before opening the door. "Just to warn you, my friends can get a little crazy."

I just nodded my head, not quite sure as to what she meant by crazy, but thought it best just to roll with it.

As we stepped through the threshold of the front door I could already tell that maybe coming to a large house party wasn't the brightest idea on my part. But if I wasn't here than I would be at home probably throwing more of my personal belongs away.

"Whose birthday is it?" I asked just as a girl with bleach blonde hair attacked Avery with a hug.

"Oh my god!" She pulled away from Avery, her eyes now on me. "Who's this cutie?!"

Avery just laughed. It was obvious that her friend was already very drunk. "Niall, this is Mel. The birthday girl."

"Oh!" The blonde wrapped me in a tight hug, giggling the whole time.

The amused looked on Avery's face had my cheeks turning red as Mel continued to hug me.

"She's kind of a hugger." Avery pointed out.

"Yeah," I chuckled slightly. "I've noticed!"

And before another moment could pass, the front door opened again, Mel instantly detaching herself from me. In her drunken state, she had been so easily distracted by the newcomers.

Avery and I weaved our way through groups of people, every once in a while she would stop and talk to someone and being the person she was, introduced me to everyone. As nice as it was for her to do, I really didn't mind just hanging back. As we made our way toward the kitchen, a burly guy with a beard headed over to us.

"Get over here you little bitch!" He pointed excitedly at Avery, a drunken smile on his face.

My eyebrows rose in confusion at his statement, but Avery just laughed it off, smacking him in the arm. "Shut up, Jake!"

"Niall, this is my brother," She rolled her eyes.

"Hi, hey," Jake shook my hand before he took a sip from his beer. "Were you at her show earlier?"

I nodded my head, already amused by this guy. "Yeah, I was. Were you there at all?"

"Oh, no, no," He sighed dramatically, turning to look at Avery. "Sorry, I was drinking."

She stared up at him, shaking her head. "Jake, it's been up for like a week!"

He laughed wholeheartedly as he took a large gulp of his beer. "And it's been one hell of a week."

I couldn't help but let a laugh slip from my lips as I glanced at Avery, the stern look on her face starting to falter the longer the two of us laughed. Jake was a funny guy. He was definitely someone I wouldn't mind hanging out with before I had to be home.

"Jake, stop talking, you're drunk," She pushed him back toward the kitchen. "Go get Niall a beer or something."

"Right! Welcome to the party, Niall," He took steps backward as he continued to talk. "My house is your house."

Avery scoffed in a cute way before calling after him. "This isn't even your house!"

I chuckled as I watched the two interact. They must have been quite the pair growing up.

"Sorry about him, he's kind of a weirdo," She waved him off, smiling up at me.

It didn't take long for Avery and me to get separated from each other. The number of people at the house only grew the longer I stayed there. But really what could I expect. These were her friends and this was her house and it was her best friend's birthday, of course, she would want to spend it with them. Not with the guy who was milling around awkwardly on the sidelines.

The beer that I had only taken just the tiniest sip from was still clutched tightly in my hand as I made my way back toward the kitchen after I had walked through the house for the third time. I really didn't know who I should talk to, or if anyone actually wanted to talk to me. So I found a safe haven in the almost empty kitchen, the only other person was a girl now opening a Tupperware container full of cookies.

"Mmm!" She smiled drunkenly as I watched her take another bite of the cookie in her hand.

"Oh, those look good!" Avery came up from behind me, her hand resting lightly on my back for a moment before she pulled away, reaching for a cookie as well.

She hummed happily as she held the half eaten cookie out to me. "Try this, it's great!"

"Oh, no," I waved my hands about in defense as I glanced at the clock on the wall above the stove. 10:58pm.

"Come on, Niall," Avery took a step toward me. "You'll love it, plus you didn't eat much earlier."

The other girl was staring at me as well and it seemed as though I really didn't have a choice in the matter. So I took the rest of the cookie and popped it into my mouth. It was a bittersweet moment because the cookie was seriously delicious, but the lingering paranoia of screwing up my surgery hung in the back of my mind.

My eyes stayed on the ground as I yet again hugged the closest wall to me, watching as everyone else lived carelessly. I wanted to be them. I wanted to drink until I couldn't think. I wanted to dance with the pretty girl I came here with. I wanted to let loose. But I couldn't. I was stuck here in this spot, watching everyone else around me have fun.

I pushed myself up off the wall, realizing that I really shouldn't be here at all. It just made me feel even worse and the blaring top 40's music was seriously putting a strain on my mind. After sufficiently convincing myself that there was no point in me being here, I set my beer on the closest stable surface and made for the front door. What I hadn't noticed though was that Avery had been watching my every move from across the room.

As I pulled open the driver's side door of my car, I realized that Avery's bike was still in the trunk. Great, just what I wanted to deal with.

My eyebrows pushed together in frustration as I tried once again to maneuver the bike from the cramped space. It had been so simple to get it in, why did it have to be so much work to get it out? I struggled, grunting profanities as the bike finally lifted out. I stumbled backward slightly, trying to keep my balance as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

I huffed as I leaned my weight on the handlebars of the bike, shutting my eyes tightly trying to will the horrible feeling away.

"You okay?" Her voice caught me off guard as I stood up to full height.

"Y-yeah," I rubbed my temples, hoping it would help.

"Were you going to leave?" Avery asked as she took another step toward me.

"Actually, yeah," I could see the disappointment in her eyes. "I should probably get home."

"You don't want to... Umm," She thought for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse as to why I should stay. "You don't want to go on a bike ride with me instead?"

"A bike ride?" I questioned, a smile forming on my lips.

Why she wanted me to stay was beyond me. But what was the harm in going on a short bike ride with the girl I found more than attractive?

"Yeah," She nodded her head before disappearing into the shadows cast by her house for a moment. She came back with another bike in hand.

"I don't want to take you away from your friends," I stood there dumbly.

She smiled sweetly. "I think they'll survive."