Facetime, Travelling, and The Vamps

Chapter 22

Connor's POV

When we all saw that Liv had a countdown to homecoming, (which we all thought she was dreading) we flew right over to the States. We figured we would surprise the girls, except for a major flaw: we didn't know where the dance was. So we resorted to calling Alli, who we had promise not to tell anyone else we were coming.

We get all dressed up the day of, and arrive pretty late. We can't see much past the crowd of bodies, even Tris can't tell who's who at his height. We push through the doors, scanning for the familiar red of Kat's hair. Where there's one of the trio, there's the rest.

"Are you sure they're here?" I ask.

"Of course I am, Alli said they would be," James says.

"We'll get Liv back." Brad pats my shoulder. "Don't you worry." We shift to lean against a wall so people can't stream by behind us in case Liv passes by. I scan the crowd, looking for Liv, and sometimes I have to double-take because I think that someone's her, but it isn't really.

Brunette, tall, slender. Brunette, tall slender.

There!

No, not her.

Wait...

In the doorway...

It's her. I know it.

My eyes lock with hers, my focus only on her. A hand appears on her shoulder, and she talks to the person it belongs to. She looks back at me then looks down, backing away and finally turning. I push off of the wall, determined to find her before I lose her again. I can hear the guys calling my name, and I shrug off a hand that lands on my shoulder. I push through the crowd and through the doorway, the room inside dark, only the strobe lights giving me any way to see. I try and look for a sudden movement, but there's only couples at the edges and the mass of people in the middle of the room. I pick a spot near the door-if she moves to leave I'll see her. Someone strides up to me.

"Connor Ball?" she asks.

"Yeah, and who are you?"

"Lauren. Why are you here?"

I sigh. "Liv Woods. Ever heard of her?"

Lauren narrows her eyes and crosses her arms. "She's like my sister. What do you want with Liv?"

"I want to make sure everything's okay, she hasn't talked to any of us in months," I say.

"Liv is perfectly fine. Now go away and don't make a scene."

"I will as soon as I talk to Liv."

"Not gonna happen."

I sigh. "Fine." I turn away and make to leave but follow where Lauren goes with my eyes. When I'm sure she can't see me, I follow her and find Liv.

"He won't be bothering you tonight," I hear Lauren say, and I stop behind her.

"Shit." Liv makes an annoyed face. "What do you want to talk about Connor?" She crosses her arms.

"I want to talk about what happened between us," I say.

"Well I don't." She and Lauren walk away.

I sigh. "Awesome." I walk back out the the boys, who give me questioning looks. I notice Kat's left. "No luck," I say.

The boys all groan. "Seriously?" Brad says.

"This is absurd," James says. "Maybe one of us should say something to her."

"No, it's alright," I say. "Let's just go."

We walk right out of the dance. I know that Tris wants to say something, he and Liv are really close. I see him type something out on his phone, and he gets a response in moments. I don't ask what it is, I'm having enough trouble not looking back or running inside again. We get in the car and drive back to our hotel, where I don't even bother with pajamas. I just fall onto my bed and fall asleep.

Liv's POV

I watch them all leave, and I feel a pang in my heart when Connor doesn't turn around. I almost run after them, but my phone vibrates in my hand, stopping me. It's from Tris.

I'm disappointed in you, I expected you to say something.

It's complicated.

Not really. You love him, he loves you. There's nothing complicated about it.

He hooked up with Liz!

He didn't "hook up" with her, they had a civil conversation. Con's not like that.

I know he's not, that's why it's complicated! It's my stupid decisions that get in the way, okay? Is that what you want to hear?

Of course not, Liv.

I don't respond after that, I just bury my face in my hands.

I royally screwed up.