When I got to my apartment, the first thing I saw was Josh sleeping on my couch.
Shit.
I entirely forgot to let him know I wasn't coming back. I also forgot about the ball game until now, which means we missed it.
Walking up to him, I threw my bags to the floor and tap on his shoulder.
"Josh?" I whisper. "Wake up. I'm sorry I didn't text you that I wasn't coming home."
He groans and shifts his back against the couch. "Mmhm. What?"
"We missed the game, didn't we?" I ask. I expected Josh to get upset, but instead, he pulls me down onto the couch into a hug.
"Yeah," he yawns. "I don't care though, I'm just glad you're safe. You never came home and I got worried. I must've fell asleep on the couch."
Josh snuggles into my neck.
"Are you going to tell me where you were?" He asks.
"I'll tell you but you have to keep calm. If you freak out I won't be telling you anything."
"Yeah, whatever. Fine." He sticks his tongue out at me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"I slept over with Harry Styles," I admit quietly.
"This is not the time to joke around, Aubrey. I was seriously worried. Now tell me where you were."
"I'm not joking. I literally slept over at his house."
"You're not joking?" He questions, half in shock.
"I'm not."
"How did you get there then?"
"I was followed home by some guy and hopped Harry's fence without knowing. He let me stay the night since I couldn't get out without the fans going nuts."
I stifle back a laugh as he starts to freak out. It's very cute.
"You stayed the entire fucking night with One Direction? And you never even texted or called me to say you were okay? Or that you were with my idols?"
It doesn't take long for me to burst into laughter.
"Okay, relax a little bit," I chuckle.
"I can't believe you never even let me know."
"I was busy, man. And a little freaked out that someone followed me home."
Josh scratches his head leans forward on his hands.
My phone vibrates on the glass table and I reach for it.
"Pass me my phone, eh?" I ask.
Josh tosses my phone towards me. My screen lights up again with a text from Harry.
H: Hey, Lea, right?
Aubrey: hey harry. that's me
H: Did you get home alright?
Aubrey: yeah, thanks for asking. :)
I look up to see that Josh has started dozing off next to me. I move to the kitchen and pull out a pan, placing it on the stove.
I open the fridge door and pull out the materials for a grilled cheese.
H: What are you up to?
Aubrey: just making lunch. you?
H: Getting harrassed by Niall because he wants a sandwich. Lazy bastard. I'll text you later :)
I butter the bread and throw it on the stove in the form of a grilled cheese. Turning the nozzle, flames quickly appear undernearth the pan.
I turn off my phone and put my attention to the stove. That's when a notification pops up from twitter.
And another one.
And another one.
Then, more mentions, and a few people start following me.
Where is this coming from?
Simultaneously, I remember that there were probably pictures of me out there with Harry. Oh, look at that! The Directioners probably found my twitter.
Opening the app with a sigh, I go through thirty new followers. Most of which have either a picture of one of the boys or one of their names as a username. Yep, they definitely found me. How? I'm not sure. They couldn't even get my name right.
I open my messages back up and click on Harry's icon.
Aubrey: your fans found me on twitter :/
I flipped my grilled cheese and waited a few moments before a new message popped up in my screen. Untying my bandana, I fold it and throw it on the counter.
H: Hmm... and your username would be?
Aubrey: find it yourself, hun
H: I will, no worries.
I flip my grilled cheese onto a plate, turn off the gas stove, and head over to the table. I try my best to be quiet and not wake up Josh, but that fails as soon as I pull the chair out from the table.
"Huh? What's going on?" He mumbles groggily. I watch him blink twice before sitting up. "Man, Aub, I had the weirdest fucking dream ever."
"Mhm. And what was that?" My phone vibrates with another Twitter notification.
"Well, we went shopping and you dragged me through this candle shop and all these clothing stores and -" Josh pauses for a moment as he notices a bag on the table with the name of the candle store on it.
"Oh shit," He mutters.
"That really happened, didn't it? You met One Direction. No, you didn't just meet them, you slept over in their house and you got Harry to cook for you and you met Louis..." He babbles on endlessly. It's like he just heard that for the first time.
I laugh and shake my head. "Yes, that was real. Will you get over it if you meet them too?" Josh's jaw drops before he runs over to me.
"Y-you're s-suffocatin-ng me," I gasp as he brings me into his chest and squeezes as hard as he can.
"I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not sorry one bit." Josh has a massive smile plastered across his face. "We need to celebrate. You up for that?"
"Uhm, it depends what you have in mind."
"How about... clubbing!" He says, pure excitement visible in his grin.
"No way. Clubs mean drinks and drinks don't go well with me." My head flickers back to unwanted thoughts of the first time I went to a club.
I had originally gone with a group of girls around a year ago, but went home with this other guy I didn't even know. All I can say is that I may have made quite the impression on him. He wanted my number when I told him it was just a one night stand.
"Pleeeeeeeeassseeeeeeee?" Josh begs, giving me his best puppy dog face. He was one of the few people I knew that could actually pull that on me.
"Stop that!" I scold him with a smile. He continues to look straight into my soul with a pouty face.
"Oh, fuck, whatever. Let's go fucking clubbing," I sigh, giving up. "But I'm gonna call some of my girls and see if they want to come with."
"Yaayy!" He pulls me into another hug before heading into his room.
Technically, it isn't his room. But he's here so often and he's even slept in it, so it's basically his. He has his own set of clothes in there and his own pillow. I pretty much have the same thing at his place.
I finish eating my grilled cheese and slip the plate into the dishwasher before grabbing my bags. I quickly head into my room and close the door behind me.
Throwing my bags on the bed, I sit down and pull out my phone. I add three contacts to a group chat before composing a new message.
Aubrey: hey girls. anyone up for some clubbing tonight? i'm bringing josh ;)
The Josh card would surely convince at least one of them to join me. A lot of my friends thought Josh was unbelievably hot. He is, of course; I can't deny that. But we're just friends and that's all we'll ever be. He can go hook up with my friends for all I care.
Mel: Hey. I'd love to come. Can I bring a few of my own? and which club?
Aubrey: bring whoever you want. just lemme ask josh where we're going first
I go out of my room and knock on the his door. No answers comes, so I head to the washroom and try again there.
"What's up?" He says.
"Which club are we going to tonight?"
"I feel like The Underground Hub, if you want?" He says through the door. I yell okay as he turns the shower on.
I run back to my room before texting back.
Aubrey: we're heading to The Underground Hub. you familiar?
Mel: Yep, got it.
Leah: I'm bringing the boyfriend. meet y'all there!
I go to my closet and search through all of my dresses. I have no clue which one I want to wear.
Eventually, I choose to ditch the dresses. I go with something simple but gorgeous - a black crop top that fits me tightly with high-waisted shorts. The shorts are covered in a pink floral design, very vintage. To match, I decide on a pair of black pumps.
I take my makeup bag off my bedside table and head to the small mirror on the wall. Grabbing my wipes, I gently remove all traces of makeup from my face to start from scratch. It doesn't take long for me to finish my makeup.
I don't mean to sound vain... but damn, I look hot.
Pulling on my heels and grabbing my purse, I head out into the hallway. I watch as the washroom door opens and out steps Josh. A white towel sits at the bottom of his hips, threatening to fall off. His abs glisten with water droplets... Mmmm. I watch as his eyes rake up and down me. I can't complain, really. After all, I'm doing the same thing.
His wet hair flops messily over his forehead, little bits of water dripping onto the carpet. He sorta looks... hot. Like, really hot.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," He says, breaking the silence with an unbelievably straight face.
I look him straight in the eyes, and we both burst out laughing at the inside joke. Like, ball your eyes out laughing. I'm surprised his towel hasn't fallen off yet - he is literally banging his head against the wall with laughter.
"Stop! My makeup is going to run!" I continue to laugh until tears brim my eyes.
"Yea, mhm."
Eventually, the laughter dies down. At the same time, we both open our mouths to talk, then simultaneously shut them to let the other speak. Then we try again.
"You look hot," We both say in sync. It wasn't awkward at all, which was nice.
We burst out laughing again.
It's a good thing I friend-zoned him. However, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate his God-given beauty, though.
---
Josh walks out of his room with a grey t-shirt and a pair of black skinnies on. Simple but enticing.
"You ready?" He says as he puts on his sunglasses. I follow his movements, slide mine on, and walk out into the hallway. I turn around the lock the door before sauntering to the elevator. We both step in and wait until we reach ground floor.
The lobby is empy, as always. I break the silence as soon as we get into the fresh air.
"Hey, my hair's flowing now, eh?" I say, letting out a small laugh.
"Sort of. It's still tied back." He gives me a smile and continues to walk forward.
It's not much longer until we hit the main streets. We walk down a few blocks and then turn left before seeing the long line of people. A blue neon sign reads, The Underground Hub. I can already hear the bass pounding through the streets as the sun begins to set. It's now 8 pm.
When we reach the end of the line, I find my friends and join them. They aren't much farther than the back, but it's better than nothing.
I chat them up for a while, catching up on little things that happened during the summer. Mel, a girl shorter than me with blonde, straight hair cropped at her shoulders, tells me that she went home and visited her older sister who recently had a baby boy. The thought made my insides fuzzy - I love babies.
Mel brought three other friends, of which I slowly get introduced to. The only one that sticks out is a girl named Briana. She seems really nice, even with the appearance of a bitch. Her long blonde hair falls past her shoulders in waves and her eyes are soft with kindness. She's very gorgeous, and to top it off, tall, too. I think I'll be pretty good friends with her.
The other girl I invited, Leah, came by herself despite saying she was bringing her boyfriend. Her black curly hair and ebony skin are a beautiful combination with her killer curves. She's shy at first but easily warms up.
I feel a poke on the back of my shoulder and turn around to see a girl my height with dyed hair past her shoulders.
"Abbs!" I yell over the ever loud tunes. I greet her with a hug before complimenting her hair. It was bright aqua, and looked great with her ivory skin.
"You look great!" We both say at the same time, laughing. I'm already having a good time without alcohol. We both turn back to the group and talk some more.
Another person pokes me in the shoulder. On most days, I'd get annoyed, but I'm in a generously good mood. I roll my eyes and turn around.
"Yeah?" I say, not bothering to look at the person.
I look up only to meet a familiar pair of blue eyes, speckled with dots of green.
Louis.