Carrington Hill

I got myself together the best as I could after I brushed my teeth quickly considering I took a nap and I had a weird taste in my mouth. I changed out of my bikini into a pair of comfortable shorts and a loose t-shirt which I kind of tucked into my bottoms then I put my hair up in a ponytail and pulled a few strands of hair out at the two sides of my face. I was still half asleep and didn't even know how I was going to get to the dinner place.

With my phone in my hand and my mind as put together as it could be, I tried my best. I really did. But I always got distracted by certain things on my way to the rest of the group, not to mention the huge mirror which was hung on the wall as I walked through an open building. I couldn't help myself when I took a mirror selfie in it and posted it on snapchat. Mia being the loyal friend that she is, she was the first one to see it and soon my phone was ringing, asking where I was.

Then finally, after like half an hour since I had been woken up, I made an appearance. The restaurant was open like you could just walk under the roof thingy and you'd be in the restaurant. It had a great view of the sea if you sat close to it and it was really vibey as well. There were not a lot of people left at the table where my best friend was sitting but it wasn't entirely empty either. Mia was there and Aiden, plus some of the girls from Mia's family who are going to be the bridesmaids.

"Oh look who finally turned up," Aiden commented as soon as I sat down at the table. He was opposite to me and Mia was sitting next to him.

Everyone laughed at Aiden's words and I just rolled my eyes with a slight smile on my face. I put my phone on the table with the screen down as I rested my elbows on the edge of the table as well and looked around carefully. Family members surrounded me; Mia's mum being one of them on my left.

"Are you hungry, my love?" she asked me which to I just nodded then I quickly put my hand in front of my mouth as a yawn forced itself out of me. "I'll get you something to eat as I want another drink anyway. What would you like?"

"What food can I choose from?" I asked her as I wiped my eyes a little with the side of my index fingers. Whenever I yawned my eyes teared up and it sometimes made people around me think that I was crying.

"Anything you want, really," she told me. I discreetly looked around the table just to see what others had but then a waitress walked past with a pizza on a plate and I just knew what I wanted.

"Pizza it is," I told Linda. "Can you please get me one with ham, black olives, mushrooms, a bit of red onion if they have any and lots of cheese? If they have different kind of cheeses, just say all of them."

"Sure," she laughed as she got up. "Oh, would you like a cocktail or something to go with it?"

"Uh, can I get a glass of water and some kinda cocktail that has berries in it?"

"Yes. I'll be right back," she said then walked away.

When I looked back I saw Mia and Aiden talking to each other and everyone seemed to be having a great conversation. I felt utterly left out and I kinda wished I would've stayed in my room and just ordered room service.

"Harry, pal, this is Carrington," when I heard Aiden's voice a bit louder I automatically shot my head up to his direction, only later on realising what he was saying. "Carrington, this is Harry. He'll be my best man tomorrow and also your dance partner after mine and Mia's first dance."

I looked to the side just to find the man who I had been foolishly stalking on Instagram. It was so strange to see him in person, almost right next to me although that 'almost' became nothing as soon as he took a seat next to me.

"Well, as you heard I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you, Carrington," he said as he put his hand out for me to take and when I did he shook it.

His scent crawled up my nose and made my head spin; the light aroma of his aftershave and whatever he had on was lovely. My eyes wandered down on his body just to see that he had a grey t-shirt on with a pair of bright blue shorts. Then I suddenly remembered that boy on the beach with the bright yellow shorts and I wondered if that was him too.

"Uh, hi," I told him, my lips pulled into a small smile then I looked away from him.

Like I said I wasn't the most social person and I was shy and awkward when I interacted with people I didn't know. When I heard him chuckle quietly I closed my eyes for a few seconds then opened them up again when I heard the chair on my left being pulled out.

"Here's your drink, Carrington," Linda told me as she put the big glass of cocktail in front of me. It was massive but it looked absolutely gorgeous and as I put the straw in my mouth and took a sip I could confirm that it was just as good as it looked. "They said your pizza's gonna be about five to ten minutes. Depends on how many they have to make for those who asked before me."

"That's fine, thank you, Linda," I thanked her and I smiled at her more confidently and more comfortably. I knew her so it was different and also easier.

"So Carrington, I heard you're a dancer?" I heard Harry's deep voice speak up from my other side.

Not going to lie, it caught me off guard because I wasn't expecting him to actually talk to me after my awkward greeting and everything. And the fact that he knew I was a dancer shocked me even more because I literally just said hi to him and that was all.

"Yeah, I am," I told him as I laid back in my chair, resting my back against the chair. I wanted nothing more than to keep a conversation going with him but I didn't know if I had the ability to.

"How long have you been dancing then?" he questioned me further and his voice gave away the fact that he was actually interested. I didn't think he was going to be.

"I've been doing it ever since I was little. I started when I was seven."

"Oh, wow, really?" he was a bit shocked but I didn't know whether he just put it on or if it was genuine. "And you haven't stopped since then I suppose?"

"No, I haven't and I don't exactly plan on doing so either."

"That's amazing. How long have you been doing it then if you don't mind me asking? As in like years?"

"Like I said I started when I was seven and now I'm turning twenty two this year. That makes around fifteen-, sixteen years this year."

"That's crazy," he told me, his green eyes shining and his pink lips pulled into a constant smile. It was like it never left his face. "I wish I had a hobby that I liked as much as you like dance."

"I'm sure you do have something," I told him shyly, taking another sip from my cocktail.

The more I sipped from it the more I felt it getting to me – I started to wake up more. The alcohol in it gave a nice little touch but it was also getting me tipsy.

"Pizza," I heard the food being called out by someone with a rather strong accent. I looked to my other side and smiled at the girl who had the food in her hands.

"That would be mine," I told her as I put my hand up a bit. She smiled at me and put it down. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, good eating!" she told me as best as she could which I found really sweet.

The food smelled amazing and even though it was piping hot I couldn't wait to just bite into a slice. It was a massive pizza by the way and I knew I was going to have to ask the lady or someone to get me to wrap it up so I could take it back to my room. I wasn't about to bin the food when I could eat it whenever I got hungry after dinner.

Mine and Harry's conversation died out once I got my food but I mean of course I was going to give my full attention to the pizza. Harry was gorgeous, obviously, but I had to take care of my hunger and he wasn't able to do that.

I only got half way through my pizza and by that time my best friend and her fiancé left the table. The only younger people around the table were me and Harry on my side who I kind of knew, the others were from Aiden's family and friends and stuff.

"Harry?" I called his name for no reason at all. But I caught his attention anyway as he looked at me with a huge smile playing on his lips.

"Hey, love. What's up?" he asked me as he focused his eyes on me. Of course, this caused me to blush and my face was probably as red as a tomato.

"Do you want a slice of this pizza? I literally can't eat the rest," I told him pointing to my plate. There were around four slices left and that meant if he decided to eat one he'd ask the others next to him and those would want one as well. Hopefully.

At least that was my plan.

Although I never shared my food. It was mine and only mine. In this case however I decided on not actually taking it back to my room because it would stink and I just couldn't be dealing with that.

"No thank you, but-, lads, do you want pizza?" he asked them just like I was hoping he would.

And thank fuck they said yes. They took all of it and I was well happy.

When they took it away from me I quickly downed my water and started to push my chair out with my feet.

"Where you off to?" Harry asked me curiously.

"Back to my room I think. I'm stuffed as hell and I just wanna lie down," I told him and I only then realised how easily I talked to him. "It was great meeting you-,"

"I'll walk you back," he cut me off and I just looked at him with my lips slightly parted, eyes a bit glossy due to the fact that I was a bit tipsy and rosy cheeks. "If you don't mind."

"Uh, sure, I guess," I muttered lowly as I got up then once I was standing I pushed my chair back.

It was quiet between us as we were leaving the restaurant and made our way onto the little path to go back to our rooms. Or I just assumed his was that way too or else he probably wouldn't have said he'll walk back with me.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" he asked me as he started a new conversation with me. I couldn't believe how much he talked honestly. It was like he was afraid of the silence that sat on our shoulders when it was just us two.

"Yeah, it's crazy to think that my best friend is getting married."

"I know how you feel. I have known Aiden ever since I was born," he laughed quietly which made me smile. He was such a lovely person I couldn't believe I ever thought that he could be nasty and rude. But I guess you just can't help but be judgemental when you first hear about someone and see their social media page. "He will always be my brother from another mother, you know? It's a strange feeling to see him getting married to the love of his life."

"How long have you known Mia?" I asked him which was a first. Since we got introduced to each other, he was the one who bombarded me with questions and I just answered them all.

"It's a funny story actually," he said. "I've known her since high school. She moved to Holmes Chapel where I grew up and I kind of knew her. We were just like, you know, the type of friends or more so acquaintances who said hi to each other when they passed in the hallway and stuff. We also had English together."

"Oh, right," I said while I nodded a bit. "I knew she moved to Holmes Chapel for like three years or so but then they moved."

"Yeah I heard of that and then once she started college she met Aiden," he said. "I was a tad surprised when he was telling me about her and stuff because her name sounded familiar and everything. Then when he introduced me to her I didn't quite recognise her until she said my name."

"Was it her accent that gave it away?" I asked him with a light chuckle. It is a known fact that Mia James, well soon to be Mia Parson, had one of the strongest accents and no matter where she went, the city and other people's accents didn't rub off on her at all.

"Yes, oh my god, when I first heard her speak I had to ask back at least five times what she wanted and she only asked me where a certain room was," he told me as a loud laugh escaped from his lips and I couldn't help but join him.

His laugh was contagious, not to mention how incredibly adorable he looked as he was just there, having fun. I must have stared at him for longer than I should have because when I looked a bit more up I found him already looking at me. My cheeks heated up as my eyes were looking into his and his smirk just grew bigger.

"Right, um, so you're gonna be Aiden's best man and you'll also be my dance partner tomorrow," I said quickly and it was so random I honestly didn't even know how the subject came to mind. I looked back in front of me as I tried to keep my cool though it was way too hot outside so it wasn't quite working. "Just so you know I expect you to be a good dancer."

"Yep I'll be the best man and your dance partner," he confirmed. "I'm happy to tell you that I did go to a few classes when my mum's best friend remarried. She basically forced me to go but because she knows how I am she made my sister come with me too."

"I'm glad to hear that," I smiled. "Hopefully, you'll be good and if not, well, try not to step on my toes," I teased him and he just laughed at me. "How old is your sister by the way?"

"My older one, Gemma, is twenty six, will be twenty seven this year which is crazy. Then I also have a younger sister. She's turning twelve in July."

"So you're the middle child," I guessed and he just nodded which I saw when I slightly turned my head into his direction.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked me this time like I thought he would.

"Yeah, I actually do," I smiled. "I have two brothers, one's younger and one's older. Being the only girl in my family apart from my mother, I feel like I became really independent plus my brothers are as well."

"It's good to be independent," he said. "You can't exactly rely on other people these days. Most of them will turn their backs on you when you need them but when they are the ones seeking for someone's attention, they expect you to be there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I have been there but I decided that was no way I wanted others to treat me, you know?" I told him honestly and the fact that I was so open about this topic especially with Harry was a bit strange. Like I said I didn't trust people easily but he made me want to talk and I had no clue how he accomplished that.

"What happened when you told them you've had enough?"

"I didn't exactly tell people. I just stopped being there for them to just use me. I stopped caring for them, giving them my time and I didn't try anymore," I carried on with my rant. It had been ages since I opened up to anyone so in a way it was lovely to have Harry next to me with open ears. "They didn't try either which just let me know that I wasn't that important to them."

"I'm sorry they treated you that way, whoever these people may be."

"It's fine, honestly. Don't worry about it because I'm not that arsed either."

"I get that it just sucks that people like that still exist and they still have the power to make others feel bad and basically used."

"I know but honestly, there's nothing that can be done about it. You just gotta have to deal with it all. That's what I have done."

//

carrington and harry finally met and made proper conversation! hopefully it wasn't too boring and at least it got one of you's excited for what's to come :)

let me know what you thought and don't forget to vote! 🌹