My Lucky Star (One Direction Affection: Book 2)

14: First On My List

♧ 14: First On My List ♣

"Can you pass me the chocolate?" Liam asks me.

Forcing myself to get up, I stick my hand in the bowl, feeling around for a piece of candy. My heart literally breaks when I feel nothing but the smooth surface of the blue bowl.

"Are you kidding me?" I complain, letting myself drop back down in exhaustion.

"What?" Liam asks, looking at me worried.

"We're out of chocolate," I say sadly.I literally feel like crap. How can we be out of chocolate?

Liam shoots up in his seat, exerting more energy now than he has in the past two weeks since we've returned from Ireland. He reaches forward, taking the bowl from my hand and peers inside. Once he finds no chocolate, he drops the bowl on the floor in frustration. 

"How can we be out? We just filled it up this morning," he asks in disappointment. 

"It's because you guys have been eating too much."

I don't feel like lifting my head to see who made the comment, but luckily I don't have to. 

"There's no such thing as too much candy," I tell Paige as I continue watching TV.

"It is if that's all you've been eating for the past two weeks," Paige comments as she walks over to the window, "Have you two even seen daylight?"

Before we have time to complain, Paige parts the closed curtains, letting a beam of light pour into the once dark room. I grab a pillow, shielding my face from the blinding light. 

"What're you trying to do?" Liam yells, covering his face with his eyes.

"Kill us, probably," I mumble, then loudly I add, "Okay, we've seen the sun, can you shut the curtain now before we go blind?"

"Nope," She says stubbornly. "I can't let you two do this to yourselves. You two haven't gone out since we came back from Ireland."

I understand why Paige is doing this. It's true, ever since the wedding reception, Liam and I have been in the worst funk since Funky Town. Of course, it was expected of Liam to be miserable, but my misery came as a complete shock. I guess, telling them that I'm heartbroken over Niall's and Trinity's relationship would've been smart, but considering I'd prefer it if I could just deny all my previous feelings towards the certain Irish boy, that didn't happen. So, naturally, I went with the whole being-surrounded-by-people-in-love-made-me-realize-what-I-just-lost excuse. Lame excuse, but everyone bought it. Except Zayn, who keeps sending me little pity looks here and there.

But really? How am I supposed to take the sudden relationship of Trinity and Niall? I mean, it hurt. It still hurts. I'm friend-zoned. Friend-zoned like no other.  How am I supposed to react when Niall and Trinity walk into the flat, holding hands? How am I supposed to act when Trinity lays her head on his shoulder? How am I supposed to react when she kisses him? 

I react by trying my best to not put myself in a situation where I have to react. The worst thing for me to do is have to see Niall right now. Even when he isn't with Trinity, I can't be near him. I don't even think we've talked for more than two sentences since Ireland. 

But what can I do? 

What sucks more is that at times I feel that Liam is luckier. At least he got to hear it from Danielle. At least he got the chance. Me? Nope. Couldn't he at least said, "Hey, Maddy. I don't like you, which is why I'm with Trinity now. Have a nice day." Is that too much to ask? All I got was Niall announcing their sudden relationship, no explanation whatsoever. 

It sucks. That's all.

"Not true," I say in my defense. "I went out yesterday."

"Really? Where to?"

"Okay, when I say 'went out'," I explain. "Uh, I mean, that I took out the trash."

Paige gives me a hard look, menacing whether or not to punch me in the face or hug me. Considering that she sighs, I can assume she's giving up any hope of hurting me. 

"Hey, Paige, can you do us a huge favor?" Liam ask, turning his head to look at her.

"What is it?"

"Can you go to the store and buy some more chocolate?" Liam lifts up the bowl, showing her the sad sight of it's emptiness. "We're out."

Paige gives Liam an unamused look, although Liam wasn't trying to be funny. "Okay, that's it," Paige says putting her hands on her hips. "Both of you, come on."

"What's happening?" I ask, confused. 

"You both need to do something," Paige tells us. "So, you're gonna help me with a little project."




~*~



"Okay," I say, taping the wrapping paper together. "Paige, can you please explain why we're wrapping all of Louis' belongings?"

Paige looks up, mid-cut and gives me a wide smile. "Well, I've been meaning to get Louis back for being, well, for being Louis."

"So, you're wrapping up his things?" Liam asks in confusion, holding up a pillow that he just got through wrapping. 

"Well, if you say it like you you make it sound lame!" Paige tells us as she continues cutting.

"Because it i lame," I admit. "I mean, it seems like you found this on the Internet."

Paige's cheeks grow red and she quickly tilts her head down in an attempt to hide the blush. "Well, the pictures looked cool."

I feel bad for Paige. It's obvious that she's never pranked anyone before. "Well, if this doesn't work," I say, and then add silently to myself, And it probably won't work. "I'll help you with another plan and it'll be awesome and Louis will regret anything remotely embarrassing that he's done to you."

"Thanks, Maddy," Paige smiles. "I really hope this works though. I spent a lot of money on this gift wrap."

We continue wrapping in silence. We wrap everything from the pillows on his bed, to the pens on his desk, to his bedposts. The only thing we didn't wrap was his bed sheet, which we just covered with a sheet of red gift wrap. I hated to admit it, but it looks like Christmas all up in the Louis Fortress. 

"So, Liam," Paige says, breaking the silence as we finish off wrapping the last few smaller items. "Your birthday is in two days."

"It is?" He asks, his voice flat.

He doesn't remember his own birthday? Poor guy.

"Yeah," Paige continues, forcing an overly cheery tone. "Are going to do anything special to celebrate?"

"Not anymore," he says sadly.

Again, everyone grows quiet, the only sound is the wrapping paper crumpling. Paige and I both know what that means. Liam and Danielle obviously had plans for his birthday. Maybe a romantic date? A cute picnic dinner in the park? I don't know, but whatever it was, it's cancelled for sure. And once again, I feel bad that all of this happened to Liam. In the time that I've known him, he seems like such a sweetheart. Why would anyone want to break his heart? Why? 

Paige places the last piece of tape on the notebook, placing it down on it's spot on the desk. "Well, that's the last of it. Louis and Harry should be back any second now."

"So, we're good?" Liam asks.

"Yeah, thanks you guys for helping," Paige thanks.

Liam nods before heading out the door, probably already halfway to his room or the living room to go sulk. Deciding to follow him, I begin making my way out of Louis' room and to the kitchen. When I push through the kit hen door, I notice that Paige is following close behind.

"Maddy, do you think I can talk to you about something?" Paige asks me nervously.

"Yeah of course," I say

"Okay, listen," She starts off.

"Uh, oh. This can't be good," I think.

"I know things are probably still tough for you, but I don't think it's good for Liam to see you still miserable," Paige says. "I'm really trying not to sound inconsiderate, but its been a month since 'That Day', as you call it. Maybe you should show Liam that it's not getting to you."

"What? I'm totally fine," I lie, waving it off.

"Totally fine?" Paige repeats. "You really expect me to believe that?"

What Paige doesn't know is that I am over Andrew. I'm completely over him. Yes, I'm upset, but I'm tired of him bringing me down. I just wish that once I started pulling myself back up, I wasn't brought back down so quickly. It seemed that right when I thought things were getting better, everything went to shit. Or at least the only thing that I could find myself caring about did.

Niall.

"Look, we've all been there," Paige continues. "Broken hearts suck. Losing the one you love is the worst and I'm sorry it happened to you but letting it keep you down for this long? That's unhealthy. I'm really not trying to sound heartless, it's just I'm worried about you. About both of you."

I can see the concern in Paige's brown eyes. True concern. And if it's one thing I appreciate about Paige is that she wears her emotions like clothes. Picking out her feelings and thoughts is so easy a blind man can do it. And just seeing the pain and worry on her face made me feel like I need to get over this.

Or at least try.

"Okay, Paige," I say, putting a smile on my face. "I'll try to be better."

"Thank you," Paige says as she reaches across the counter, pulling the newspaper across the smooth surface to me. "Here, you'll probably need this then."

I grab the paper curiously. "I do?"

"Well, yeah," She explains. "I figured, you know, what a better way to get back on your feet than to get a job."

My eyes once again drop to the morning paper, where the words "The Classifieds" were in bold. A job. Duh. Wasn't that my original plan from the moment I moved in here? I don't even know how I got by almost a month of not even looking for a job. I guess, Liam just never took the time to remind me, especially considering my problems are the least of his worries right now.

I need to push all my thoughts on Niall and Trinity aside. I can't let them consume my life. It's obvious that whatever there was between Niall and me, he's over it. Now, it's my turn to move past this. I need to get my life in check and moping around will not help me in any way.

So, getting a job is the first thing on that list.

How bad can this be?

Suddenly, we hear the front door open. Right as it does, Paige's brown eyes widen in excitement. 

"Oh, they're home!" Paige whispers.

An eager smile spreads across her face as we hear Louis and Harry return. Paige puts her finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet. We listen in anticipation as we hear a pair of footsteps go down the hall to the bedrooms. The footsteps echo through the house, on top of the mumbles from Harry and Louis. 

Just then, the noise stops and Paige's smile widens.

"Oh my god!" Louis shouts.

Paige does a little victory dance, clearly happy with Louis' surprise. That is, until the next words he says echo throughout the empty house.

"This is so cool! It's just like Christmas in July, but August version! Thank you, Santa!"

Well that backfired for Paige.




~*~



How bad could this go? 

When I thought that, it wasn't a challenge. Because apparently job hunting can go really bad.

Really, really bad.

What does it take to get a job around here? Huh? Do I need to flash some cleavage just to get a freaking application? Every place that I've gone to is either not hiring or they accept their application "online" or not accepting applications from people without the proper training.  I mean, come on! Is serving Orange Chicken not considered a worthy skill? What would people do if they didn't get their Orange Chicken? There would be madness I tell you. Madness!

But, obviously, people in the Italian or coffee bistro industry don't understand that. 

So, I continue on my way, walking into every possible worksite that would hire me and at the end of the day, I didn't get very far. Maybe about five applications from the twenty-five places I went to. Paige is going to be disappointed. 

Walking around, I kick a rock out of frustration and watch it as it skids across the sidewalk. As I walk back up to it, I kick it again, this time as it bounces down the sidewalk, it hits against a building, ending my short-lived fun of kicking a pebble. Instinctively, I look up at the building and am surprised by how familiar it is.

There is no way I can forget the flashing blue and red open sign, or the large display of drums in the front window. And there is no way that I can ever forget the large blue sign with white, block letters, spelling out the stores name. 

Beatz Music Store.

With an excited smile, I pull open the doors and step in. Immediately I'm greeted with a whiteboard, that reads '50% off on all records!'. Next, the rows and rows of music come into view and My smile grows. The back shelf is displaying guitars, keyboards, and any other type of instrument they could get there hands on.

Just being in here. Just being back here makes me remember all the days I'd spend in this place. It's good to be back.

"Maddy?"

Hearing his low, melancholy voice just made everything in front of me a little bit more realistic. Turning around I see Montey, making his way over the counter and towards me. His hair is just as black as it was when i left here. Although it's only been a month since I've last been here, it feels like much longer. Beatz was like my second home.

"Montey!" I say as I pull him into a hug. The familiar scent of detergent and newspaper fills my senses. 

"I haven't seen you in a long while," He says as we pull out of the hug. He smiles, creating crows feet at the corner of his old eyes. "For a moment, I thought you fell off the face of the Earth."

"Might as well have," I say scratching the back of my head nervously.

"So, what? You're too good for half priced music and half assed service?" Montey asks with a low laugh.

That's one thing I loved about Beatz. I can come in here and not be bothered by it's workers every five seconds with them asking me if 'I need any help'. I mean, if I needed help, I'd ask for it! But not in Beatz. They let you do your own thing. They are so chill, which is a perfect reflection of Montey. With his sleeveless band t-shirts, washed out black jeans and forearm tattoo's you'd expect he'd he strict when it comes to his store. But no. As long as you're not stealing or defacing his merchandise, he could care less about what you're doing. Just appreciate the music.

"I missed this place," I tell him truthfully.

He nods in agreement. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm actually out looking for a job," I say.

"Really? Dressed like that?" he says bluntly. 

At his remark, I look down and realize that I'm still in my plaid pajama bottoms and tank top. No wonder no one bothered giving me a chance. I am dressed like I don't care. Good job, Maddy.

"I didn't even notice I was wearing this," I admit, running my hand down my face in embarrassment. "I guess my minds been somewhere else lately."

Because of Niall.

I almost tell him, but I don't. And in all honesty, I don't want to tell the whole world that I'm living with One Direction right now. So, instead, I redirect his attention.

"So, um, is that a new display sign?" I ask, pointing to a random sign.

"No," Montey replies with a laugh. "Man, you've been gone one month and forgot my one rule."

That's totally true. If it's one thing that I know about Montey besides his love for music, it's his love for saving money. If he could still use it, it doesn't need replacing; that's his motto.

"If it's not destroyed, why buy a new one!" I say, mocking. Montey's deep voice. "It was a long month," I add sadly.

"I'll say," he agrees. "But what have you been up to that's more important than your weekly piano lessons? I shit you not, that boyfriend of yours has been in here more times than you have."

Andrew has been here looking for me? I instinctively look around the shop, luckily I don't spot him anywhere. Just three customers over by the records shelf, taking advantage of that sale I'm sure.

"Really?" I ask in shock.

"Oh yeah, he's always in here looking for you," He says and then adds. "That blondie, too."

I should've guessed Jessica would be with him. "What'd you tell them?"

"Well, at first I told them that I don't know where you were," Montey tells me. "But after the fourth or fifth time, I just told them that you died."

"Oh my god," I say rolling my eyes. "No wonder they kept calling."

"Well, what do you expect? I'm not your dad. They're you're friends, shouldn't they keep track of where you are?" He asks. 

"Yeah, not really," I admit.

"What?"

"Andrew and I aren't dating anymore and Jessica and I aren't speaking," I say sadly. "It's a long and dumb story and I'm sure you don't want to hear about it."

In fact, I'm almost positive. Montey was never one to want to barge in on my love and if it involves any sort of relationship drama, he stays away. I guess that part of the reason he's never gotten married. He can't take the bipolar aspect of most relationships these days and I don't blame him.

Without a word, Montey reaches behind the counter and picks up a wooden broom, handing it over to me. "Here ya go."

Gingerly, I take it. "What's this for?"

"To clean," Montey tells me dumbly.

"Well, I figured," I say with a laugh. "But why are you giving it to me?"

"Well, I was planning on sweeping out the front, but I figured my newest employee could do that for me on her first day," Montey says with a sly smile as if he is in on some sort of inside joke.

A smile spreads across my face as I understand what he's saying. "So, you're hiring me?"

"Why else would I give you a broom, kid?" he asks laughing. 

I don't know why this comes as such a shock to me but this is the perfect job for me. Way better than serving chinese food, that's for sure. Maybe finding my way back to Beatz was meant to be. I mean, who else would hire a girl in her pajamas? Just Montey. 

"I officially welcome to the Beatz Crew! Now, get to work!"

_______________________________________

A/N: 

A bit of a sloooow chapter. Really slow actually. Haha but Maddy has a JOOOB! :D Yay! :D :D :D And Paige is the worst when it comes to "getting people back" she's not an evil genius :P Oh well, not everyone can be Louis :)

Oh, Liam and his chocolate :)

Hopefully this chapter is shorter, I'm trying to go back to shorter chapters :)

----------------------> Aren't those covers coolio? :D :D Owlchild made them for meeee! THANK YOU SO MUCH! So, she gets the dedication for this chapter because of her hard work! She's the first person (besides Katt haha) to make me something for the story, so that's freaking awesome! So, really, THANK YOU it's nice knowing you took time out of your day to make something for meeee :D 

Okay, so i'm sorry that I haven't been replying to your comments on the last chapter, but most of the comments are similar (occasionally you'll see one involving drugs...*cough* Jeans14 *cough* haha) and i'd pretty much be responding the same thing over and over again! haha so, just know, I read every comment and they all make me smile and laugh :D You guys rock! 

A few things, this story is strictly in Maddy's POV. I won't be doing the boys POV. I know you guys want to know what they are thinking, but that takes away from the story I think. and having only one POV makes a story more real to me. And no! I will not tell you guys "spoilers" haha some people ask me questions and i'm like "what? I can't tell you that! haha are you crazy! :D". there is only one person who I talk to about the story and that's the friend that I wrote 1Dentity for :)

Vote, comment, wrap a present, and go out in public in your pajamas! :D

I luff you all! see you at chapter 15 :D