That Summer

Chapter Fourteen

"Phoebe, tell me more about this little friend of yours."

"Well, let's see," I start, thinking back to our childhood adventures. I'm in the car with Uncle Paul, who is driving me to the airport to pick up Lizzie while the boys are rehearsing for their Charlotte, North Carolina concert tonight. Its been a few days (four or five?) since the day of the cheating incident and the talk. After that, Niall and I spent the entire day together; we watched movies, went out for dinner, etc. Needless to say, after the stuff he's treated me to these past few days, I had pretty much forgiven him.

"First off," I begin, "she's crazy. I mean, crazier than Louis."

"Wow," my uncle breathes. "That's saying something."

"Yeah. She basically knows everything and anything there is to know about One Direction," I add. "So you can guess that she was pretty excited about this opportunity."

"Oh, so she's one of their obsessed fans?" he questions.

With a laugh, I say, "She prefers the term 'dedicated'."

We finally pull into the airport. Lizzie's flight had a stopover in New York, but should be here any minute. After showing the security guards his badge, we're allowed access into the passenger terminals. It takes us a few minutes, but with some help from various workers, we're able to find the waiting area for the NYC flight, which has already landed; we're waiting for the passengers to be released. They finally are a few minutes later, after Uncle Paul made me tell him more about Lizzie's obsession with the boys; I had to swear that I'd tell her to stay calm when she meets them.

My best friend appears once a few people have exited the plane. She's dressed in blue shorts and a white-and-black-spotted long-sleeved short, her wavy dark brown hair loose, dragging her carry-on. Her brown eyes spot me immediately. "Phoebe!"

"Lizzie!" I take off towards her, engulfing her in a gut-wrenching hug. "I've missed you, best friend!"

"I've missed you more!" she says. "I'm still mad at you for disappearing on me, by the way."

I laugh. "Oh well." I walk her over to where Uncle Paul stands waiting. "And this"--I gesture to him--"is the famous Paul Higgins."

But Lizzie isn't paying attention to me; I turn to her and find her pulling a notepad and pen out of her purse. "Paul, can you sign this for me?"

Uncle Paul chuckles, taking the pen and signing. "Phoebe tells me you're quite the fan," he says, handing her the notepad and taking her carry-on as we head over to baggage claim.

"I am," she says. "I'm still convinced that this is all a dream. And if it is, it's a cruel dream."

"If it is a dream, we're all stuck in it," I add.

Lizzie picks up her big suitcase, a purple and green plaid patterned one, and then we're off. There's no paparazzi in sight (not really a surprise, but I had gotten used to seeing them everywhere), so our walk from baggage claim out to the parking garage to the SUV is quite relaxing. I climb into the back seat with her, and a couple of minutes later, Uncle Paul jumps in and we head back to the hotel.

"So," she starts, "tell me about the boys."

"What do you want to know?"

"What are they like? For real?" she asks after giving it some thought.

I pause, thinking for a moment. "I'd say they're just like we saw them on the video diaries, for the most part. Louis is still just as hilarious, and Liam is the same sensible, sweet, 'Daddy Payne' guy that he was. But the other three have really, really, come out of their shells. Harry is very, very flirtatious, so be warned. Zayn is still fairly quiet, but when he cracks a perverted joke, you won't be able to stop laughing. And Niall, well..." I stop for a moment, feeling the blush rising to my cheeks as I think about him. "Niall is Niall," I finally say. "Carefree, selfless, silly, always hungry--"