My Lucky Star (One Direction Affection: Book 2)

24: The Return of General Tommo

♧ 24: The Return of General Tommo ♣




I glance over at Eleanor, who simply gives me a shrug, as if saying 'That's Louis for you!' before turning her gaze back to her boyfriend who is still pacing around in front of everyone.

When I asked him for advice on where the best places to put flyers up would be, I didn't expect him to blow things out of proportion. I didn't ask for him to set up squads to cover each section of the town. I barely even got my question out before he jumped out of his seat and yelled at everyone to come downstairs, claiming that they have been given a top secret mission. 

"Alright everyone, as you may have heard, we've been given a mission," Louis says as he flips through a large stack of flyers in his hand. "And we are going to finish this mission if it's the last thing we do because we are the One Direction Soldiers."

One Direction Soldiers? And to think I thought Tour Guide Tommo was bad. I vaguely remember Niall warning me about another Tommo that I have to worry about and I'm guessing it's this one, General Tommo. 

"Our mission is simple," General Tommo continues pacing. "We have already finished Phase One: Twitter Attack. And now we are at Phase Two: Get these flyers up as quickly as possible without any causalities. I have yet had any so I don't want to start now-" He stops pacing in front of Liam. "And yes, I'm talking to you, Shorty."

Everyone looks at Liam.

"But I'm taller than you," Liam deadpans

"However, as your general," Louis continues, ignoring Liam. "It's my job to not lie to you. So i'm going to be blunt. Some of you may die."

"You say that before every mission," Paige points out.

How many missions have they had? 

"And if that happens," Louis continues, ignoring Paige's comment. "You all have to go on and leave that person behind no matter what. We can't lose anymore time."

"Is he serious?" I hear Trinity whisper to Niall.

"General Tommo is always serious," Niall answers, giving me a smile as he does so.

And in that moment, I have a mini vision of Trinity being the one to be left behind. I didnt even want her to come along, but considering she was already at the house, we had no choice but to bring her. I quickly push any thought of Trinity dying of exhaustion aside as Eleanor's voice breaks my thoughts.

"So, what if that person is you?" Eleanor asks Louis as she raises her hand. 

Louis, of course, acknowledges her. Suddenly Louis' face grows sullen as the corners of his lips drop and his blue eyes expand. "You'd really leave me, El? I thought you loved me?" Louis asks her in a small voice.

Guilt covers her heart shaped face as she shakes her head violently. "What? Of course I do! I'd never do that to you. It was just a question, I swear!"

And just like that, Louis' face is back to normal. However, it isn't relief that washed over his face. It's disappointment. He puts his thumb to his temple as he takes a deep breath.

"El, that was a test," Louis tells her. "And you failed. Miserably."

"What? Well, that wasn't a fair test," She mumbled as she crosses her hands over her chest.

"I know, babe," Louis puts his hand on her shoulder lovingly and for a second, I see the real Louis and not one of his "Tommo's". "But, all is fair in love and war. And in your case, it's both. This is war and we need to leave behind our troops, no matter how devilishly handsome and funny and amazing they are."

"He must be talking about me," Zayn jokes and Louis glares at him. Louis drops his hand and continues to pace up and down the pavement.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. I'm giving you each separate teams and area's to cover," Louis says as he hands a large stack of papers to Harry. "Team Curly will consist of Curly himself, his overly innocent girlfriend, and The Quiff Master. You lot will be covering the area North of here."

"Why am I on Team Curly?" Zayn asks. 

"What's wrong with Team Curly, huh?" Harry asks.

"My hair isn't curly," Zayn continues. "Why couldn't it be Team Quiff?"

"Because I don't have a quiff," Harry points out as he leans against the wall. "And Team Curly sounds way better."

"And because that name is stupid," I say, nudging Zayn in the arm. 

"You're stupid," Zayn retorts to me.

"Lame comeback," I tease. "What are we in kindergarten?"

Before Zayn can even respond, Louis begins.

"Listen here, Quiff Boy," Louis says pointing at Zayn dramatically. "I make up the rules and you're on Team Curly because this is my territory now."

"Okay, f-" Zayn starts.

"That's it!" Louis shouts. "Drop and give me twenty!"

The look on Zayn's face is priceless. His eyes grew the size of watermelons and his jaw drops to the ground. Everyone else is trying hard not to laugh at Zayn's unfortunate punishment.

"But I was going to agree wit-"

"Thirty!" Louis demands, cutting Zayn off once more.

"What the h-"

"Do you want me to make it fifty?" Louis threatens.

"You've got to be joking," Zayn begs.

"Does this look like I'm joking?" Louis asks taking a step closer to Zayn as he points at his oh so serious face. "Is putting up flyers a big joke to you? Huh?"

I can just see the confusion on Zayn's face. "No?"

"Then drop and give me twenty!" Louis commands.

"I thought it was thirty?" I point out.

"You're right," Louis nods as he turns to Zayn, extending his finger to him once more. "Make that thirty push-ups!"

Zayn turns his head so quickly that I think he is about to break his neck. "See what you did?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say sarcastically. "I guess I'm just too stupid to realize the consequences."

He purses his lips, knowing full well that I'm using his last insult against him. 

"Zayn, chop chop!" Louis urges.

Zayn gives me one last death glare before he actually drops to the floor, getting in push-up position. The moment he begins, everyone starts cracking up. Here Zayn Malik is doing push-ups in the middle of the sidewalk. It's a funny sight.

"Let this be a warning for you all!" Louis tells us as he points to Zayn. "Now, moving on to the next group. Team Leprechaun will consist of the only Irish Lad of the group and his extremely opinionated girlfriend and-" Louis pauses as he looks around. I freeze when his eyes land on me. "And The Party Pooper."

"Party Pooper?" I repeat. "Why am I the Party Pooper?"

"Because I'm still mad at you for stopping that food fight," Louis says stubbornly.

The food fight that was weeks ago? The food fight that I refused to take part in because that meant reliving an intimate moment that I had with Niall? Louis is really still upset over that?

"Seriously? That was weeks ago," I say lamely. "I deserve a better name."

"She's arguing with you!" Zayn yells from his spot on the ground. He had just finished his set of push-ups and is now resting against the side of the building, making the cement a nice chair. "Make her do push-ups!"

Louis looks at me for a few seconds and then back to Zayn. "Don't tell me what to do, Quiffy! Another thirty push-ups for you!"

"Are you ki-" Zayn starts to complain, but the nasty look Louis is giving him makes him rethink what he was about to say. With a long sigh, Zayn flips back onto his hands and knees and begins his second set.

Louis turns to me. "You're always going to be the Party Pooper, alright? Now go stand with your team. You'll be covering places east."

Louis hands me a stack of flyers and in that moment I realize something that I should have realized minutes ago. Something that is even worse than getting a nickname such as The Party Pooper.

Something like having to spend the next couple of hours with Niall and Trinity.

I look back over at Louis, getting ready to protest again, but I catch sight of Zayn doing his push-ups and then I quickly decide against it. Slowly, I make my way over to Niall and Trinity, trying hard to keep a straight face. It's just putting up flyers, how bacd can it get? I think to myself, hoping to god it won't be bad.

As I stand next to Niall, I feel his shift next to me and soon I feel his hot breath at my ear. 

"Don't worry," Niall whispers and I have to force myself to look straight, restraining a shiver. "You'll always be Miss. Beatz to me."

I feel him pull away and I immediately feel cold. I know Niall didn't mean that in any flirty way whatsoever, especially with his girlfriend two feet away, but I can't help but feel the butterflies that filled my stomach when he whispered. 

His hot breath on my neck didn't help the cause either.

Dear god, help me.

"Alright," Louis says, catching my attention again. "Team Tommo will consist of only the most awesome people. So, it'll be me as it's leader, of course, and my amazing girlfriend and Daddy Direction by default," Louis comments.

"Hey!" Liam complains. "By default? Am I not awesome enough?"

"Do you want to do twenty push-ups as well?" Louis warns.

Liam takes one look at Zayn who just got done with his second set and shakes his head. "I'll pass."

"That's what I thought," Louis says. "Now, you have your teams and your area's! We will meet back at the flat at 1600 hours. Does anyone have any questions?" 

Paige's hand shoots up and Louis takes one look at it and looks back at us, screaming, "Let's move out! Go! Go! Go!"



~*~



"How much longer will this be?" Trinity complains.

I look over at her in annoyance for what feels like the hundredth time within a span of five minutes. We are waiting for Niall to come out of the shop and Trinity took the liberty of telling me every second how bad her damn feet are hurting.

"How many times are you going to ask that?"

"Well, I'm sorry but my feet are killing me," Trinity retorts, putting her hand on her hip.

"That's your fault for wearing heels," I point out as I look down at her black high heels. I don't even know what would possess a woman to wear high heels on a daily basis but for some stupid reason, Trinity is all for adding three inches to her height everyday. 

"My fault?" Trinity repeats defensively. "How was I supposed to know we were going to be walking around?"

"Well, it'll be cool if you didn't complain," I say. "Because as of a couple of days ago, this is your Charity Project as well."

"But don't we have people who do the advertising for us?" She asks as she takes a mirror from her bag. "I mean why are we the ones handing out flyers like poor people?"

I know I'm supposed to be trying to be nice to Trinity and believe me, I am trying, but there has to be a time where I draw the line. And that time is now.

"Excuse me?" I say, dropping my arm to my side as I look at her in disbelief. "Need I remind you who this charity event is for?"

Trinity pauses for a second, her eyes pulling away from the mirror to look at me, and it's then that I realize that Trinity has no idea who this charity event is helping. What. The. Hell.

"Helpless children?" Trinity guesses lamely.

Before I can even go off on her, I hear the front door pull open and Niall step out, waving to someone inside. He turns back at us, smiling. "That guy was so nice. He gave me a free cup of coffee."

"Coffee?" Trinity asks. "You know how that's bad for your teeth. Didn't I tell you this?"

"But what was I supposed to do?" Niall asks sadly. "I didn't want to be rude."

"Turn it down politely," Trinity suggests. "Niall do you really want gross stained teeth?"

I look at Trinity in annoyance. Is she really trying to tell Niall what he can and can't drink? What is she, his mother?

"Coffee never hurt anyone and Niall's a big boy,"  I tell Trinity. "I think he can take care of himself without you telling him what to do."

"I'm just trying to look out for him," Trinity informs me. 

"Well, you're not his mother," I reply. "So stop acting like it."

"And you're not his girlfriend," Trinity retorts quickly.

I almost have to take a step back. Yes, I know I'm not his girlfriend. I know that. But why did it hurt so much to have Trinity say that? 

Because it's the truth. That's why it hurts.

"Okay," Niall steps in. "Can you both stop?"

"I didn't start it," Trinity mumbles annoyingly.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "Niall's right. We still have a lot to do," I mutter as I turn to Niall. "Did he let you put up the flyer?"

"He did us one better," Niall says. "He took extra ones and said he'd put them up in his other coffee shops around the city."

I raise my eyebrows in astonishment. All day people have been slightly off putting when I have tried asking them if I could put my sign up on their front door. It wasn't until the first couple of rejections that I faced until I realized that maybe I should leave the asking to Niall, considering owners are more open to helping out the already famous, which unfortunately included Trinity in her own way.

"Great! So does that mean we'll finish sooner?" Trinity beams. I can just see the hope radiating off of her overly tan skin. Dear god.

"More than likely," Niall nods, tucking the remaining flyers under his arm.

"Thank god," Trinity says with relief. "My feet feel like they are going to fall off."

I watch Niall as he takes one look at her footwear before looking back up at her, a slightly disturbed in the 'I-can't-believe-you'd-even-consider-wearing-those' kind of way. Its funny how close our reactions are.

"Well, if your feet are hurting so bad why don't you just stay here at the shop?" Niall suggests, pointing back to the coffee shop. "Maddy and I can finish up the rest of the rounds."

Trinity takes one look at me and then returns her gaze to Niall as if he just suggested she run her feet through a meat grinder. "No, it's fine," Trinity says quickly. "I can finish this."

Translation? There is no way in hell that I am going to leave you and Maddy alone.

Trinity doesn't need to say what is on her mind because I can see right through it. The icy stare she's giving me, the quick way she responded when Niall suggested that he and I go off. Trinity has jealously oozing right out of her. Too bad Niall can't see it.

"Are you sure?" Niall asks, glancing down at her feet once more. "I mean, I'm sure Maddy and I can do it."

"Yeah, Trinity," I urge. "Didn't you say if you take one more step your feet would fall off?"

Trinity purses her lips. "Did I say that?" She asks. "It was just a figure of speech."

"Yeah, I'm sure," I say nodding my head at her. 

"It was," She says through clenched teeth. "Now, let's just finish this up, okay?"

"If you say so, Princess," I say sarcastically. "After you."

I extend my arm down the sidewalk in the direction of the next row of shops, showing Trinity the way. She gives me a nasty glare, making sure Niall doesn't catch sight of it, whom is just looking at Trinity, waiting for her to walk.

Trinity takes a deep breath as if mentally preparing herself for some marathon not a three block walk. Slowly, she takes a couple of steps forward. It's obvious that she is trying to walk normal but the undeniable limp has Niall running to her aid.

"Okay, Trinity," Niall says as he wraps his arm around her waist. "I think you should just wait for us."

"No, no," Trinity argues, shaking her head violently. "I can do this."

"You were limping," Niall states flatly. "I appreciate your enthusiasm to help, but don't hurt yourself in the process."

He appreciates her enthusiasm? To help? 

"Bu-"

"No, buts," Niall interjects as he begins draggingTrinity over to the entrance. "Just stay here, we'll come back and get you when we're finished."

As Niall is pulling Trinity over to the coffee shop, I can't help but think of a few things. I know it just might be my over active imagination again, but I can't help but think that Niall is trying to get rid of Trinity. Or at least that's what I can't help but to hope for. I mean, it's either that or Niall really doesn't want Trinity to be walking around in her godforsaken heels once more. 

Personally I prefer the first option.

Another thing that I can't help but notice is how easily Niall is dragging Trinity off. It's almost as if she isn't putting up a fight. Did she give up? Does she know that she can't walk anymore? Or is she simply just happy that she won't have to go around putting up flyers anymore?

However, this question brought up the last thing. What if Trinity doesn't actually care if Niall and I are alone? And what if she doesn't care because she doesn't see me as a threat? Could that be a reason why she was the one to persuade me to make up with Niall? 

Because she knows that I don't ever have a shot with Niall.

Trinity is his girlfriend and not me.

I feel my stomach drop as I think that. 

I watch as Niall pushes Trinity through the coffee shop door. Before she is out of view, I push away all previous thoughts and yell out, 

"Don't forget!" I shout. "Don't drink any coffee! It'll stain your teeth."

And the last thing I see is the dirty look Trinity is giving me before the door is shut behind them.



~*~




"How many more flyers do we have?" I ask as I look over at Niall.

He flips through the significantly smaller stack, counting. "About five more."

"Wow, we went through those pretty fast," I comment. 

Ever since we ditched Trinity, we were handing out flyers left and right. Of course, I wouldn't dare say this out loud to Niall. 

"Yeah we did," Niall agrees. "Thanks to my uncanning ability of persuasion."

"Your uncanning ability?" I repeat, raising my eyebrow in speculation. "Is that so?"

"Of course!" He replies quickly. "I mean, you saw that lady at the last shop. I almost had to stop her from taking the whole stack."

I think back, clearly remembering that scene. Poor old woman never had the chance. Once Niall asked her to post up a flyer on her door and then flashed his world class half smile, she was gone. Who could blame her?  

"You sounded just like Zayn there," I tell him jokingly.

Niall purses his lips and for a second I think I said the wrong thing. That is before Niall nods his head slowly and says, "Zayn, huh? I guess I'll take that a a compliment."

I nod my head. "Yeah, I guess you can," I answer slowly.  "But, I hate to point out that that wasn't persuasion," I tell him.

"What?" Niall asks, looking at me with wide eyes. "That was definitely persuasion. It's one of Guitar Lad's special qualities."

"Well, Guitar Lad, I hate to break it to you but you nearly gave that woman a heart attack just by smiling at her. You didn't get her with persuasion, you got her because of your looks."

"What? I didn't," Niall disagrees, giving me a strange look.

"Oh really?" I question. "I almost saw that ladies ovaries burst the moment you touched her shoulder to thank her."

"You're kiddin' me!" Niall laughs.

"Oh, I'm not," I say, "In fact, you probably could've made that woman do the Electric Slide wearing a coconut bra while reciting your national anthem backwards."

Niall stares at me for a few seconds and for a moment, I think I said something offensive. However, right when I was aout to say something, Niall erupts into a fit of laughter. He stops walking and leans himself up against a brick wall. His laughs are loud and unique. I've heard Niall laugh before but nothing like this. And just listening to Niall laugh makes me want to join him.

Which is exactly what I do.

So there I was laughing as if nothing is wrong. As if my life is completely normal. As if I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. As if I know what the future holds for me. 

As if it's only Niall and I.

Just me and him, laughing in the middle of the sidewalk.

All laughs stop short the moment a low growl comes from Niall. We both stop and look down at his stomach, which is once again releasing a low mumble.

"Well, it looks like it's time to eat," Niall says patting his stomach.

"Yeah, I can tell," I agree as I look around at our surroundings, trying to figure out where the heck we are. I see a small antique shop, a magazine stand, a clothing store, and several other small buildings that lined the sidewalks. "What do you feel like?"

"There's a really good place down the street," Niall tells me as he points up ahead.

I squint my eyes to catch a glimpse at what he is pointing to. The first thing I see is a large sign with the words 'Burger Bill's' written across it in large, block lettering. "That burger joint?" I ask Niall.

"Yeah, unless you don't feel like burgers," Niall says quickly.

"Oh, no burgers are fine," I reassure him. "I'm just surprised you didn't suggest Nandos that's all."

"I thought about it, but we are no where near a Nandos," Niall tells me sadly.

"Well, to that burger place we go," I say cheerily.

Fifteen minutes later, Niall and I find ourselves sitting down at Burger Bill's. We already ordered our food and now Niall is just getting napkins and straws. As I'm waiting for him, I look around the restaurant. Or, I wouldn't call this a restaurant but this definitely isn't a fast food place. It's like a Fastauraunt.

There, Fastauraunt. New word.

Suddenly I feel the air around me grow heavier and that's when I notice that everyone is staring at me. Ignoring their gazes, I look up and see that Niall is now seated in front of me, our tray of food set on the table next to a stack of napkins. Next to the straws are about five cups of ketchup. 

"I'm guessing you have an undying love for liquid tomatoes," I joke as I point to the cups of ketchup.

"Liquid tomatoes," Niall repeats. "I like that." As Niall sits, he looks down at the ketchup and answers me, "And of course, who doesn't love ketchup?"

"This girl," I answer as he hands me my burger.

Niall's eyes widen. "You don't like ketchup, either?"

"Never have and I don't plan on starting anytime soon." I say. "But either?"

"Trinity doesn't like ketchup either," Niall tells me as he unwraps a burger and pours a cup of ketchup over the patty. "She says it adds unwanted calories."

"Really?" I say in annoyance. "I can't believe her sometimes."

Niall looks up at me and shrugs. "I know you don't like her but believe it or not, Trinity does have her moments."

I hate that he said that because I know he is telling the truth. I have seen Trinity in one of her moments. They're rare for me, but I know they happen. What's sad is that I still haven't gotten Niall a Birthday present. 

But, I will. I can promise that.

"Well," I answer finally. "As long as you're happy."

Niall nods, looking down at his burger. "Anyways, I still can't believe you don't like ketchup!"

"It's gross," I say scrunching my nose. 

"But," Niall says in complete shock. "You're American! Aren't you supposed to love this stuff?"

"Wait, what?" I ask, trying to see if I caught this right. "So, you think just because I'm American, I am obligated to drench my fries in that red paste?"

"Well, when you put it like that it sounds borderline racist," Niall admits, unwrapping his burger. "But if you say it more like-" Niall clears his throat and then begins talking. However, when he does begin talking, I almost choke on my food. In a thick valley girl accent, Niall says, "Like oh my god, I love ketchup! I like can't go a day with out that yummy red sauce!"

My jaw drops in shock as I laugh in a 'I can't believe you just said that' kind of way. "Wait," I say between laughs. "Do you actually think that was less offensive?"

"Well, that's my best American accent," Niall beams proudly. "It's pretty realistic huh?"

"Yeah if you're portraying a blonde bimbo," I say, automatically thinking of Trinity as I say so.

"Hey, not all blondes' are bimbo's," Niall tells me as he takes a bite of his burger. 

As he brings the burger away from his lips, a blob of ketchup makes it's home on the corner of his mouth. I immediately purse my lips as I try to keep a laugh from escaping. However, the oblivious look on Niall's face as he munched away on his deluxe burger makes me laugh. The second my laugh escapes, Niall looks at me curiously.

"What?" Niall asks, holding his burger out. "Don't you agree with me?"

Before I can respond, a voice comes from behind.

"Excuse me?" 

I turn around and I catch sight of two girls. The first girl, the one that spoke, is tall, maybe fourteen or so, with dark hair. The other girl, who looks to be about ten, is standing behind the taller girl, holding her arm. The resemblance between these two is undoubtful. They are somehow related and I'd guess sisters. The same dark hair and light grey eyes. 

"My little sister-"

I knew it! They are sisters.

"-Was wondering if she could get your autograph," The older girl says holding out a small notebook.

My eyes shift to the little girl who is looking at me curiously, before her eyes go back to Niall who is now out of his seat and kneeling down next to the girl.

And that's when I notice he still has a bit of ketchup on his face.

Does this boy not know he has something on his face?

"Of course," Niall says to the girl. 

"Hey, Niall," I whisper urgently as I touch the corner of my mouth, indicating that something is there.

"Hold on," Niall says to me before returning his gaze back to the small girl. "I'll give you an autograph, but only if you tell me your name first."

The girl looks up at her older sister, who nods, urging her to speak up. The girl takes a step forward and almost naturally, Niall reaches out and grabs her hand reassuringly. I'm sure this would be a really cute moment, and in all honesty, it is. However, the splotch of red on the corner of his mouth diverts all attention away. I'm just surprised no one has told him just yet. 

Shyly the little girl leans forward and whispers into Niall's ear. 

"Lilly?" Niall repeats in a caring tone. "Well, Lilly, I'd love to give you an autograph."

I can't help but smile myself as I see Lilly's older sister hand Niall the small notebook. Lilly's face is just glowing. I can even see the pure joy and excitement radiating off of her older sister. I don't know if she is a fan or if she's just happy her little sister is happy. Either way, it's cute.

"There you go," Niall announces as he hands Lilly back her journal. 

"What do you say, Lil?" Her older sister says, nudging Lilly in the back slightly.

Lilly barely whispers out a thank you. A mouse is louder than her.

"I'm sorry," Her sister speaks up. "I don't know why she's acting so shy. Lilly usually can't shut up about One Direction."

"It's normal," I say before I even have a chance to realize what I just said. Niall and the sister both look at me. For a moment, I think that they have forgotten I was even there. 

"It is?" Niall asks skeptically.

"Well, for me at least," I say with a shrug. "Remember when I first met you? I could barely talk."

Probably because moments before he almost ran me over, but that is besides the point. 

Niall continues looking at me skeptically, obviously neither of us want to relive the 'I almost killed you' thing. So, he says, "How can I forget?"

"You can't," I tease.

My eyes drift back down to Niall's mouth, finding the ketchup. "But you probably did forget to wipe your face after you took a bite, huh? Isn't that right, Ketchup Face," I joke as I point to the corner of my mouth once more.

Niall's eyes widen as the two girls chuckle at Niall's embarrassment. "I do? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried!" I say defensively. "It's not my fault you didn't listen. Now, come here."

With a small laugh, I reach forward on the table and pick up a napkin. Getting up from my seat, I lean over, towards Niall. I don't know what made me do this or why I even felt the need to make a big show of it. I didn't even need to do this. It would've been much easier to just hand him the napkin but before I can even think about what I'm doing. I'm running the napkin over the corner of his lips.

However, I don't stop there. I continue the trial over his soft lips, tracing over ever dip and curve of his lips, picking up any traces of ketchup in the process. I can feel butterflies fill my stomach as I realize just how close we are. My eyes flicker up and I notice that Niall's isn't looking at my eyes, but my lips. 

I feel my heart pound away in my chest as I beg my breathing to stay normal. Niall's eyes suddenly lock with mine and for the first time since the night on the balcony, I feel like I can get lost in them.

Suddenly, from the kitchen, a loud noise sounds, causing Niall and I to jump away. 

And that's when I remember that we aren't alone.

I look up, hoping to god that the scene they just witnessed didn't look like anything more than a friend slowly wiping the other friends face. 

God, even in my head that sounds intimate.

But how can it not? I mean, the close proximity. My feeling his soft lips through the tissue. I mean the boy was practically kissing my fingers through the tissue.

I shake my head, trying hard to clear everything. Taking a deep breath, I toss the napkin at Niall, "There you go," I say teasingly. "I'm sure you're capable of getting the rest."

Niall reacts slowly, almost as if he isn't sure what just happened either. Slowly he takes the napkin, and nods his head. 

I can feel the girls eyes on me as I sit back in my chair, watching Niall as he tries wiping any leftover ketchup, which in my opinion, I've managed to wipe off. However, I didn't know what else to do.

Not wanting to look back at Niall right now, I turn my attention back to the table. I catch sight of extra flyers. Well, at this rate, I won't feel in the mood to finish off the rest of the flyers and what a better way to get rid of them than to give them personally to fans.

"Hey, Lilly," I say as I bend down next to her. Her dark eyes are wide as she looks down at me. I show her the flyer as I say, "You know, the boys are putting on a charity event next week. They'll be singing songs and it's going to be a really fun time. I think it'd be really amazing if you and your sister came."

Lilly takes hold of the paper, examining it. Her sister peers over her shoulder and then looks back at me, "Trinity Drake will be there?"

Trinity. 

Wow, for a few moments there, I honestly forgot she even existed.

"Um, yeah," I say, forcing myself to sound happy about that. Then to Lilly I add, "And maybe you can get the rest of the boys autographs."

Then Lilly turns to her sister before answering me. I half expect her to give her puppy dog lock, considering Lilly has taken the look of innocent fan. However, all innocent thoughts go away the second Lilly speaks.

"Oh my god, Jess, we have to go!" Lilly says quickly as she tugs on her arm. "We have to or I'll die! I swear, I will."

Well, that was a quick change.

Her older sister, Jess, turns to me, almost as if saying 'Look what you've unleashed.' Then she turned back to Lilly, "We'll ask mom."

"Yes, yes!" Lilly cheers, then she turns back to me. She opens her mouth as if Sje is going to say something and then quickly closes it. She squints her eyes at me as she cocks her head, "Wait a second, I know who you are. You're Zayn's 'girlfriend', right?"

I pause for a moment. My initial reaction is to deny it all and say how good friends Zayn and I are. However, something caught my attention. Why the air quotes on girlfriend?

Before I can ask, Niall beats me to it, "Why'd you say 'Girlfriend' like that?"

"Well because everyone knows it's a publicity stunt," Lilly says knowingly. 

"Wait, what?" I say in shock. What is this girl talking about?

"Lil, what did I tell you about thinking before you speak?" Jess says harshly. Then to us, "I'm really sorry. My little sister is just repeating what she see's on Twitter and what not."

So, this is what people on Twitter are saying? This is what people think is going on? 

"People think that Zaddy is a fake relationship," Lilly says. "For the boys new album."

I hate to say it, but I liked the girl more when she was silent.

How would me fake dating Zayn even get the boys more publicity? This girl needs to learn to think for herself. 

Right as I'm about to tell her the truth, Niall speaks up.

"Maddy doesn't need to defend herself to fans," Niall speaks up. I look at him. "What's going on between her and Zayn is their business."

I want to be happy that Niall is defending me with these fans and it's sweet, but I can't help but not like what he is defending me for. Not to mention it is kinda weird seeing this side of Niall. All this time I've known him he has been the sweet and caring guy. Now, he seems annoyed with this accusation. 

"Oh, I didn't mean- I'm sorry, Maddy," Lilly apologizes.

"Don't worry about it," I smile.

"It's alright," Niall agrees. "Just do what your sister said and think before you speak. It can get you in trouble."

And suddenly, I remember that these were the words Niall had once warned Trinity about at Paul's wedding. So, if this girl annoyed Niall with that, is it at all possible that Trinity could annoy Niall at times?

Or am I just wishful thinking?

_________________________________________

A/N:

Hey! It's been a while since I updated! I'm sorry! School is kicking my butt. I decided to finish this chapter before I worked on my ten page paper! haha feel loved ;D

I didnt' edit because I don't have time. I'm going to be losing the interent soon for a couple of days I think, but hopefully only for a day :) So thats another reason I hurried and got this chapter up! So, please excuse my typos and what not!

This isn't a long note, just read, comment, vote, and don't wear heels on a walk! :D

And from now on, I'll be dedicating chapters to my favorite comment on the previous chapter. :D

I've gotta run, but you guys are still so amazing it's ridiculous! :D

Until chapter 25!

Lou :)