The Love Club

Fourteen

I awake relaxed, tucked in a burrito of warm blankets and quilts. I slowly open one eye to the sunlight filtering through the window in the space between the two curtains. Gatsby licks at her paw, promptly ignoring me from where she lays a few inches away from my face. 

All in all, it’s an ideal morning. The boys have the day off, which means my responsibilities are few and far between. I should probably get up and do something productive, but I’m having far too much fun laying in bed, so I let out a quiet hum of satisfaction and roll to my other side, shutting my eyes again.

Somewhere in the room, my phone is buzzing quietly, but I choose to ignore it. It’s probably Harry trying to convince me to go for a run with him again, despite the fact that I’m constantly repeating to him physical activity is not my forte. 

I’m in the process of falling back asleep when a rapid knocking sounds throughout the room. I start awake, my hands flying out to grasp at whatever is in the vicinity in a panic. Gatsby hisses at me when my right hand settles on her, squeezing a little too tight for her comfort. I apologetically scratch behind her ear before throwing my comforter off and walking over to the door. 

“What?” I snap as I glare up at Niall. He pushes his way past me into my hotel room, which seems to be a trend with any member of One Direction who shows up in the hall outside my doorway. 

I’m fuming, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he plays with his hands, pacing back and forth at the foot of my bed. Gatsby’s head follows him like a tennis ball at a match.

“What do I do, Mina?”

“You could get out of my room so I can finish sleeping,” I spit at him bitterly, but he waves this away, like my bitterness is a fly to be swatted at before it lands on his ears. I cross my arms over my chest and let out an annoyed huff.

“I didn’t sleep last night. She doesn’t like me.”

I frown. He’s met Tinley once and he’s already distraught. 

“Niall, you don’t even know the girl. She doesn’t know you.”

“It’s the principle of it all,” he snaps, and I step back at his short tone. While Niall has always been somewhat impatient, he’s never been so ill-tempered. 

I sigh in defeat, running a hand through my messy hair before shutting the door behind me with my foot. The last thing I need is someone watching this scene unfold from the hall, a passerby or a fan leaking Niall’s meltdown to the press. 

“Explain to me what this is about,” I plead, crossing back over to my bed. I fall into it, pulling the covers over my lap as I look up at him. Gatsby must be alarmed by Niall’s unusual behavior, because she mews softly before coming to lay down beside my hand. I scratch at her head affectionately, appreciative of her company.

“Girls like me, Mina,” he begins, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. “They really like me. And this one, you say she’s the one I hired you to find and she hates me. I’m a joke to her. What do I do?”

“In her defense, she sort of hates everyone,” I offer, but he only glares at me, so I try a different tactic. “Do you want the truth, Niall?”

“Yes!” he cries exhasperatedly, flinging himself backward onto my mattress. Gatsby hops to my lap in surprise, eyes on me as if I allowed this to happen. I ignore her in favor of focusing on the distressed boy band member, who after rubbing his eyes in exhaustion has finally fixed them firmly on my face. 

“You’re kind of a dick.”

“What?” he sputters.

I shrug, unashamed.