hiraeth ; harry lewis

iv. you did good with him

As the night went on, Val could feel herself loosening up and engaging more with the others. It was hard not to feel welcomed; she felt at ease in their company, even though they were already tight-knit.

When they moved to their final destination, a club whose name she didn't catch, she found herself dragged onto the dance floor by the other girls, who were completely plastered (apart from Flo, who had an exuberant enough base personality that she might as well be). She'd only had a few drinks - she rarely let herself get completely wasted, not liking the total loss of control, and it only ever happened in the safety of her flat with no one but her best friend around to see it - so she gave dancing a solid go before standing back and watching them all wave their limbs around to the beat.

"Are you having fun?" she yelled in Flo's ear.

"Yeah, are you?" she shouted back. Val flashed her twin thumbs-up.

"I'm gonna take a break though," she said, waving a hand up and down her body. It was incredibly hot on the dance floor, with so many bodies in such close proximity; she could feel a layer of sweat staining her skin, and it was not the most comfortable feeling in the world.

Leaving Flo with the other girls, she departed to the bathroom, scrutinising her face in the mirror to make sure it wasn't a complete disaster and taking the time to have a few proper breaths.

Even in Sheffield, with a bigger circle of friends and more familiarity with the area, she hadn't done anything like this in a while. Too busy, too tired, too sick, not ready yet; she'd always had an excuse prepared for every occasion, and everyone had known not to push her.

But that train of thought would not lead anywhere good, so Val took a moment to duck outside and let the rush of cold air anchor her to the present.

London is a fresh start, she told herself, digging her nails into her thigh and slowly counting to ten in her head. Flo is here. She's got you. Everything is fine. Everything is going to be fine.

"Val?" She flinched and turned her head to see Vik approaching her, swaying slightly but still relatively in control of his motor functions. "I saw you come out here. Everything alright?"

Deep breaths, she thought, and mustered her best smile. "Everything's fine, Vik," she replied. "Just needed the air to cool me down a bit. You lot go hard out, you know, really gets a girl quite literally hot under the collar." She nudged him in the side and inserted a teasing lilt into her voice.

"I know," he said, thick eyebrows scrunching as he stared at her, still unconvinced. "Do you want to go home? Or talk, or something?"

"Everything's fine, Vik," she repeated, more firmly, and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Let's go back inside, okay?"

He did not seem fully reassured, but he let her lead the way back into the club, the humid air and pounding music surrounding them once more. Before, it had been a welcome escape from reality, but now it just seemed overwhelming.

She had a feeling Vik had picked up on this from her visible hesitation as he looped his arm around hers and dragged her over to what seemed to be the chill, more sober group of people, hanging out in a booth on the outskirts of the establishment. It was Josh, Simon, Tobi, Chip (apparently also called Josh), Callux, Harry and Ellie, along with the two of them as well.

"Having fun?" Josh asked her, smiling.

Val leaned a hand against the side of the booth and nodded. "Heaps," she said, and despite the recent dip in her mood, she meant it. "Bit tired now, though, so I thought I'd have a breather."