Taken

Chapter 23: The Truth Comes Out

I emerged from the bathroom in a red dress that went just above my knee, with matching heels. My hair was curled, half of it up in a ponytail, and the other half hanging loose around my shoulders. For once, I was wearing make-up. My eyes were lined in black, my lashes coated with mascara, and my eyelids were done in the smokey eye. I had a light coat of lip gloss on.

Harry and Louis looked up at me where they sat on the couch. Their eyes widened, and they immediately stood up, walking over to me. Their eyes roamed over me, but not in a disrespectful way.

"You look beautiful, Amber." Louis said. I smiled, looking at the ground as I blushed.

"He's right, you know." Harry said, tilting my chin up, and grinning at me, causing his to show. "You do look beautiful."

"Thanks, guys. Should we go?" They nodded, and held out their arms. I smiled, and hooked my arms with theirs. Neither one of them had dates, and of course I didn't either, so I agreed to go with them as friends. I needed to keep them close because of my plan, and heck if I could have fun with two of my best friends, then hey!

Lou and Harry led me to the door, and out into the hallway. I turned my head, admiring the both of them. Harry was wearing a pair of black pants, a white v-neck tshirt, and a red blazer with white red converse. Lou was wearing a pair of grey pants, and a white long sleeved button up shirt with suspenders, and a pair of TOMS.

It wasn't exactly formal party, but at the same time, it wasn't casual Wednesday. The three of us walked down the hallway to the elevator. Louis pressed the button, and the doors slid open. The boys stepped aside, letting me walk in first, and they followed behind.

When we reached the lobby, the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. The first thing my eyes landed on, was my best friend, dressed in white pants, a red button up shirt, a grey jacket, and Supras. Our eyes met, and even at the distance I was from him, I could tell his bright blue orbs were shining. The two of us just stared at each other, and I swear time stopped, and the rest of the world fell away. It was just us.

The sound of a throat clearing caused me to jump. Time resumed, and everything else appeared again. I looked away from my best friend, to the two boys standing in front of me.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?" I asked, looking between the two of them. Louis and Harry looked at each other.

"Yeah," Louis said, returning his gaze to me, as Harry looked over his shoulder at Niall. "I asked if you were coming."

"Oh. Of course! Sorry." I stepped out of the elevator, taking Lou and Harry's arms again, and allowed them to pull me over to Niall. I didn't even realize Zayn and Liam until they said something.

"You look amazing, Amber." Zayn said, giving me a smile.

"Stunning is the word for it." Liam said, elbowing Zayn. I smiled at the two of them.

"What do you think, Ni?" Harry asked from beside me. I shifted my eyes back to Niall, and waited silently. He said nothing for a bit, slowly looking over me. After a while, he spoke.

"Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe how she looks." I grinned, and pulled away from Louis and Harry to wrap Niall in a hug. He hugged back, and I stepped away from him as the elevator dinged. I didn't turn around. Instead, I studied my best friend. I heard the doors slide open, and just like that, the atmosphere changed. The air was filled with tension that you could cut with a knife.

There were a few quiet sighs and groans from the boys, and I swear I saw Niall roll his eyes. Without even turning around, I could have guessed who it was based on the other boys' reactions, but Niall's eye roll threw me off.