So I wasn't going to post another story but this was requested by my good friend "Giatrix." Thanks for the help!

I named it after one of my favourite songs, "Another Empty Bottle" by Katy McAllister.

If you did want to make a request, feel free to PM me or leave a review. I am currently working on a story idea that has been requested by Jazmin so if you're reading this, don't worry, I've not forgot about it! :-)

Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter One

One drink. That was all it took to take the pain away.

Lily stared at the empty glass that sat on the table in front of her and circled the rim with her finger. The music echoed throughout the room, occasionally growing louder and louder as if to purposely try and burst Lily's eardrum. The loud sounds of drunk teenagers enjoying a night off from university work could be heard in the background, and it was putting Lily off her thoughts. It completely ruined the atmosphere.

She hadn't even realised that Iain was talking to her.

"Lily. Are you listening to me?" He asked.

"Sorry," Lily whispered, shaking her head at him. "What did you say?"

"I just asked if you wanted another drink," he said, already picking up her empty wine glass. "On me, yeah?"

"Um...Yeah..." Lily gulped and pushed her glass towards him. "Sure. Red wine again, thank you."

"No problem," he sighed, as he stood up. "When I've got these, maybe we can talk about why you're so distracted this evening."

Lily thought that Iain would have known why that was. Wasn't it obvious? She allowed a heavy sigh to escape her body, and her brown eyes turned to stare out of the window that they were sitting near. The once blue sky was now black and miserable, and it matched the atmosphere extremely well. It was as if Cal had sent her a message, letting her know that she was the responsible one but also letting everyone else know as well.

It made her feel sick.

"Red wine for the lady," he announced, strolling back over and placing a full to the brim glass down in front of her.

Lily was quick to notice that he'd kindly bought her a large.

"What's wrong then?" Iain asked, sitting back down and having a sip of the pint that he'd just ordered for himself. "You're my girlfriend, aren't you? I can tell when there's something wrong."

"Nothing's wrong as such. I'm just thinking about Cal," Lily whispered, a small sigh escaping her lips.

Iain felt awful. He missed Cal, just as much as everyone else did, but he also knew that they had to move on. However, Lily was struggling to get her head around the fact that he was no longer with them.

"Yeah. Poor Ethan, huh?" Iain sighed.

Ethan hadn't come to the pub with them. He couldn't. He said that he wasn't ready for any social nights, and that they would never be the same without Cal. He was right in a way. Cal always enjoyed a good party.

"Poor Ethan," Lily repeated under her breath, and had another sip.

The taste of alcohol swam around inside her mouth. For a few seconds, it was as if she could just forget everything that had happened. Getting knocked down by Gem, the argument between her and Cal, Cal's death. It had been such a rough couple of months and although she knew that alcohol wasn't really the right way to go about things, she liked it.

"Anyway, Cal will be proud of you for what you did in his hearse," Iain mentioned, hating the awkward silence that had filled the air between them.

"Shut up," Lily laughed, as she felt herself blush a bright shade of red.

She downed the rest of her wine in one, receiving quite a shocked but pleased stare from her new boyfriend.

"It's really good to see you letting your hair down for a change," he stated, his smile growing wide at the sight of a happy and relaxed Lily. "You seem more at ease than usual."

"I guess what happened with Cal, has made me realise that living on the wild side every now and again is important, because life's too short," Lily said.

"Wow Chuckles, you're full of surprises lately," Iain said jokingly. "Don't go too wild on me, will you?"

"I'll try not to," Lily laughed. "I'll get the next round, alright?"

"You don't have to do that," Iain said. "I haven't even finished this one yet."

The time seemed to be flying by. One by one, their colleagues slowly started to exit the pub. Elle had her boys, Charlie and Duffy wanted an early night, and Robyn and Max needed to get back to Charlotte who was being looked after by their mum. Soon, Iain and Lily were the only ones left out of their group.

"We should be going soon," Iain suggested, glancing up at the clock and realising how late it actually was. "You can stay at mine tonight, alright?"

"No, let's have one more drink first," Lily whined, reaching over and giving his arm a playful slap.

"Wow, careful Lily," he laughed, shaking his head at her. "Am I not more appealing than another drink? I'm getting old now, you know? I need my sleep."

"One more and then we'll go," Lily promised. "It's nice here, just the two of us."

"It'll be just the two of us at my flat," Iain muttered under his breath. "We can stay for a bit longer though if you want to. Like I said before, it's nice to see you letting your hair down for a change."

"Thank you," Lily whispered and grabbed their empty glasses, whilst stumbling out of her chair. "I'll get these," she said.

"I think you've had a bit too much tonight," Iain joked, laughing at the state that Lily was in, as the two of them walked in the door later that night. "Why don't you lay down on the sofa and I'll make us some dinner?"

"It's late," Lily whined, collapsing back onto the sofa with her hands held to her face.

"But we haven't eaten and I'm starving," Iain said, leaning down and stroking her hair back so that he could plant a kiss on her forehead. "I'll put a pizza in. That won't take long to cook."

He stood up straight and looked down at his half asleep girlfriend, thinking about how lucky he was. Even when she was tired and tipsy, she still looked beautiful. He'd never imagined him and Lily to get together, especially not at Cal's funeral, but he was so pleased that they did.

He gave her another loving kiss and rubbed her knuckles with the tip of his thumb. He then walked into the kitchen and shut the door behind him, allowing her to get the sleep that she clearly needed.

So there is the first chapter. I hope you liked it. Leave a comment and let me know what you think x