CHAPTER FOUR: AFTER CONCERT CONVERSATIONS
Throughout the night, I had tossed and turned due to my jetlag and now I was paying for it dearly. I stumbled into the kitchen area of the bus in search of some caffeine-fueled beverage. “Is there any coffee?” I mumbled sleepily, refusing Louis’ offer of tea. Four English lads chuckled gently. Niall was too busy shoveling food into his mouth to come up with a reply.
“What is it with Americans and coffee?” Zayn piped up.
“What is it with British people and tea?” I retorted. I was met with Louis’ awestruck face and four shocked gazes. Kristie laughed.
“Sorry boys, Elaina’s just a bit cranky in the mornings,” she explained, smirking.
I glared at her, “I am not cranky!” I protested. “This time difference is getting to me,” I sighed, rubbing my eyes wearily, as I popped in a K cup into the Keurig machine.
They immediately looked sympathetic, “Did you sleep at all last night?” Louis asked.
“A little,” I admitted. Liam met my eyes and I looked away, blushing. This didn't go unnoticed by Kristie, whose eyes opened wide, silently asking me. I paid very close attention to the coffee machine, blushing profusely. I then prepared my coffee and downed the mug. Kristie stared at me. “What?” I asked, stretching.
“I’m just waiting for hyper Elaina to show up,” she said. “I mean, from what I remembered, that much caffeine,” she pointed at my mug, “would have you bouncing off the walls. Why aren’t you bouncing off the walls?” she asked me accusingly.
I laughed, “College life, sweetie, and 4:30 morning practices,” I explained, shrugging lightly, “You should see the amount of Redbull I go through every month.”
Her eyes widened even more “You can stand Redbull now?” I nodded, helping myself to a waffle. “Oh geez,” she muttered and she burst out laughing. We all looked at her like she was crazy.
“What?” I demanded.
“I was just thinking… If you can stand Redbull now, I wonder how much chocolate is now needed to get you hyper,” Kristie grinned. I rolled my eyes.
“I assure you, dear, the amount remains the same,” I winked. When we had finished breakfast on the bus, we met up with Paul, who gave us our rooms and what we can do for the day. Niall and Kristie were in a room. Zayn, Harry, and Louis were rooming together in the big suite. This left Liam and me. The two of us were silent as we walked up to our room.
“Here we are,” Liam announced as he opened the door with a flourish, “Home sweet home for the next two nights,” he sang. I giggled. “Alright, the lady gets first pick,” he gestured toward the two queen beds.
I shrugged, “I don’t care.”
“I insist,” Liam said in an overly dramatic accent. I laughed.
“Well if the gentleman insists,” I joked, copying his accent. My smile suddenly faded. “I pick this one,” I murmured, plopping my bags on the bed closest to the wall of glass windows. I sat down on the bed, staring at the tiny crowd of people cheering below. Liam didn’t say anything as he set his bags quietly on his bed.
“You know,” he said, “I’m so relieved that you chose the bed closest to the windows,” he heaved a dramatic sigh, “I was always afraid that some crazy fan would skydive or rappel down the side of the building and enter my room. At least I can get away faster when my bed is closest to the door,” his face completely serious as he pointed at the door. That drew out a small laugh from me. He smiled at me. “So seems like you got the worse end of the deal,” he shrugged lightly, “I can make a quick getaway.” I didn’t respond. “If you’re scared, don’t worry, Liam will come to your rescue,” he grinned at me. “I promise I won’t make a quick getaway and leave you behind,” he offered. I smiled ruefully. “Alright so, what shall we do today?” he asked me in the dramatic accent. I shrugged and was about to reply when the door threw open.
“There you are,” Kristie huffed. “Liam, if you’ll excuse me, Elaina and I have a very important shopping trip,” Kristie said, tugging me up.
“We do?” I asked, confused.
“I’m gonna have to borrow Elaina for a couple of hours.” Kristie said to Liam, ignoring me completely.
“Go ahead,” Liam said, shrugging. “You two probably want to catch up.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Kristie beamed at him, and then she glanced at me “We have a lot of catching up to do.” As soon as she closed the door of the suite, she turned to me. “Alright what’s going on between you two?” she asked mischievously.
“Nothing’s going on,” I answered noncommittally, “Why’d you ask?”
Kristie rolled her eyes and huffed at me, “Alright fine, what happened last night?”
“Nothing happened last night,” I replied, not meeting her gaze. Kristie smacked my arm hard and glared at me. “What?” I said innocently.
Kristie crossed her arms, “I’m gonna take away my chocolate deal if you don’t tell me,” she playfully threatened.
I pretended to be terrified, and clutched my chest, “No! Please! Not my chocolate!” I cried.
“Oh, you mean this?” Kristie pulled out a Godiva bar out of her purse. My eyes widened and silently cursed her. She knows I can’t resist Godiva chocolate. “Spill and I’ll give you this,” she waved the chocolate temptingly in front of me.
I heaved a sigh, “Nothing much happened. We talked.” Kristie opened the bar of chocolate and broke off a piece. She popped it in her mouth. “Hey! You said if I told you, you’d give it to me!” I protested.
“I’m gonna need way more than that, honey,” Kristie rolled her eyes. “’We talked.’ That’s it? I want all the juicy details. Tell me,” demanded Kristie.
I glared at her, “You are the worst friend ever,” I complained, looking longingly at the chocolate.
“If you want it, you better tell me!” Kristie sang gleefully, cackling.
“I couldn’t sleep, he offered me tea. We talked about Danielle. Then I went to bed,” I said in a rush. “Can I have my chocolate now?” I asked pleadingly, trying to reach the delicious Godiva bar.
Kristie pulled the chocolate bar out of my reach. “Was it a good or bad talk about Danielle? What happened? C’mon, it has to be better than that.”
I wrinkled my brow and groaned. “I don’t know! He said he couldn’t sleep because he had too many thoughts and I asked if he was thinking about Danielle. And then he told me how Danielle broke off the engagement and that was it! Ok?” I was getting extremely frustrated and conflicted. There were a ton of confusing feelings that I wasn’t sure about.
Kristie looked at my face closely, “There’s something else,” she urged.”What happened after that? There’s no way you two stopped the conversation immediately after that.”
I looked away. “He asked me if I believe in true love and love at first sight,” I whispered.
“Oh,” Kristie was slightly shocked. “And what did you do?” She asked gently.
I buried my face in my hands, “I ran off!” I cried. “I ran off because I am a fucking coward, ok?”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Kristie grabbed my hands and forced me to look up. “You are not a coward, ok? Just because you’ve been hurt before and fear that you will again, doesn’t automatically make you a coward! Everyone has those moments and I am sure he understands. You are my brave, chocolate-loving friend and if anyone dares to hurt you, they’ll have me to answer to! Plus… There’s the crap-load of chocolate after the breakup,” She smiled and handed me the rest of the bar, “Just if you ever fall again, I’ll be there for you. I wasn’t there when Frenchie did, but I sure as hell will be this time and crush his nuts.” I smiled lightly and shook my head at her. Kristie wrapped her arm around my shoulders and guided me out the back door of the hotel, avoiding the screaming crowd in the front. We hopped into the waiting car. “So,” she started casually, as the car started moving toward the closest shopping center, “Do you feel like you’re developing feelings for him?” She asked gently.
I sighed, “I don’t know. I’m just scared of what’s gonna happen,” I admitted. Kristie nodded understandingly.
“I know, hon, but at least give him a chance. He’s almost in the same boat as you are. Danielle just broke off their engagement, for heaven’s sake! He’s probably devastated!” Kristie said.
I nodded, “I’m trying,” I whispered.
“Then good,” Kristie grinned, “Now let’s do some shopping!”
LIAM'S POV
I watched her walk out the door, sighing softly to myself. Never have I felt this strongly toward someone before, but Elaina always distanced herself from others. I could see it in her eyes when she looks at me.shes so beautiful when she smiles, but then instantly pulls herself back. It was driving me crazy. Like last night, on the bus, I hadn't meant to ask her if she believed in true love, it just slipped out since I was wondering about the fact that I never have gotten over anyone so quickly. But when I did, she suddenly ran off. There was a kind of hurt always present in her eyes and I got the feeling that she's been seriously hurt by someone. It made me furious at the dick who had dared hurt Elaina. I wanted to hunt him down and make him see what he had done to Elaina and maybe pummel him. I was trying to help her, picking up the broken pieces of her heart along the way, leaving cuts on my fingers but the pain didn't stop me from giving up on her. And that's when I realized that was exactly what I was doing: trying to heal her, trying to put her back together. And I'm not giving up on her. I smiled to myself. Elaina, what have you done to me? I wondered. The lyrics from "She's Not Afraid," popped into my mind.
But every time I tell her that I want more, she closes her door
She's not afraid of all the attention
She's not afraid of running wild.
How come she's so afraid of falling in love?
I shook my head, laughing to myself. I'm going to show her. I decided. I'm going to show her how to love again.
ELAINA'S POV
A few hours later, we had come back from our shopping trip just in time to attend the boys' first concert of the tour. Kristie and I sat in the front row, enjoying our first ever One Direction concert. We screamed and sang along like the thousands of other fans in the arena. The two of us swooned multiple times when the boys changed into tank tops and displayed their amazing arms. I swore Kristie was near fainting when Niall showed off his guitar playing skills. We shook our heads, laughing at the boys' antics when they fooled around onstage. At the end of the concert, Kristie and I decided to go back to the hotel since the boys were doing a meet and greet afterwards. Kristie and I parted ways and I headed to my room. I pulled the curtains open and enjoyed the night view of the city. I got ready for bed but since my jet lag hasn't passed, I couldn't sleep. After multiple attempts, I gave up, pulled a chair over to the window, and curled up on it, gazing at the tiny lights of the city. I don't know how long I stayed there, but soon the door opened and I poked my head out from behind my chair.
Liam walked quietly in and stopped when he saw me. "You're still up?" he breathed, "Why didn't you go to bed?" he asked.
I shrugged, "Couldn't sleep," I said. Liam raised his eyebrow. "Jetlag," I explained. He nodded.
“Ah,” he said. “Well I’m going to take a quick shower, and if you still can’t sleep after that, we can think of something,” he suggested. I nodded and turned back to the window. After a few minutes, I hear a faint shuffling behind me. I peeked out from behind my chair and my jaw dropped to the floor. And stayed there. Liam was standing at the end of his bed, rifling through his suitcase. He stood there, the lower half of him wrapped in a white towel, his upper half still glistening from his shower. Oh…. My…. God… I screamed mentally. His muscles rippled as he leaned down to grab a shirt. My mouth dried up at the sight of him as he gently tugged a shirt over his head. I sighed silently as his muscles got covered up. Oh my god, he’s so hot! My Liam-obsessed brain swooned. Why is he so freaking hot? How can someone be so hot? It moaned. He slipped on a pair of sweatpants and I just about groaned in disappointment. I hid back in my chair and pretended to stare out the window, images of shirtless Liam still in my mind’s eye. I heard soft padding footsteps coming towards my way. “Hey,” he said softly. “Didn’t manage to fall asleep?” I blushed profusely.
“Um… yes,” I mumbled. “No… I meant no…” I babbled. He chuckled gently.
“Well what do you want to do?” he asked.
I looked at him in disbelief, “Shouldn’t you go to bed?” I asked.
He shook his head, “No, there’s always an adrenaline rush after the concerts, especially after the first concert of the tour. Did you enjoy the concert?” he asked. “I saw you in the crowd; you look like you were having fun.” He grinned at me, as he sat down on my bed.
I blushed, “Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” I said, “You guys were funny.”
Liam laughed, shrugging “It’s what we do,” he explained. I nodded. “I know what we should do,” he exclaimed, sitting up. I shot him a questioning look. “Well I don’t know much about you, do I?” He asked, his cheeks turning pink. “We should play a little game, get to know each other. How about it?” he asked.
I nodded, “Ok,” I allowed. I joined him on my bed. We faced each other cross-legged on my bed.
“Ok, I have an app on my phone,” he mumbled, pulling out his phone. “The boys get bored,” he explained, “So we ask each other the most random questions.” “Alright, I’ll start,” he grinned. “This one is easy, favorite color?” he questioned.
“Aqua green,” I replied, “Well actually my favorite range of colors is green, but aqua green is my favorite color,” I said. “You?” I questioned. “Purple” I blurted out before he could reply. I turned a violent shade of red. “I’m something of a fan, as you can tell,” I mumbled. He laughed and passed me the phone. I picked a random question “Favorite piece of clothing to wear?”
He thought for a few seconds “My baseball tees, you?”
“Sweatpants,” I replied.
“If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?” he asked.
“I want to fly,” I said immediately. “What would be yours?”
“Invisibility would be nice,” he mused.
“What is your worst haircut?” I asked, laughing.
He raised an eyebrow, “Are you trying to imply something here?” he teased me. “Hmm… I would probably say my worst haircut would be when I was little, my mom gave me a haircut and it was long in places and very, very short in others,” he said, laughing.
“Um, my worst haircut would be when I thought it would be a good idea to get bangs. I ended up with a few wisps of hair in the middle of my forehead,” I said.
“What has been your worst and best present?” he asked.
“My worst present would be a collection of horror movies. My best present would be a cardboard cutout of you,” I mumbled in a rush. He laughed. “What? It was the best since I never thought I would meet you!” I tried to reaffirm myself.
“My worst present would be a set of spoons from the boys,” he said, shaking his head. I laughed at him. “It was Louis’ idea,” he explained, “he thought it would be funny,” he shook his head. “My best present would be my dog, Brit, since I’ve always wanted a dog.” The questions got more and more ridiculous as we competed with each other to see who could come up with the hilarious answers. Somehow I had ended up curled up in his lap, with his arms around me and the covers snug and warm around us as we asked each other questions. He was starting to get sleepy and I felt bad that I kept him up so late.
“We should probably get to bed,” I said, yawning. There was no response and I looked back at him. He was sound asleep, his head leaning against the headboard. I smiled at the sight. I didn’t have the heart to wake him up. I shuffled gently to reach around him to turn off the light and I pulled the covers over me and fell asleep instantly. To tell the truth, it was the best sleep I’ve gotten in a couple of weeks.
…
I woke up, blinking against the soft light. I was entirely too warm. Sleepily, I turned my head. Liam was snuggled up against me, his arm thrown over me, holding me close to him. His slow, even breathing hot against my neck, as he slept peacefully. Just when I tried to untangle myself from him, trying not to wake him, he shifted. “Oof!” I gasped as I fell flat onto his chest.
He stirred, tightening his arm around me. “Good morning,” he said sleepily, smiling lazily up at me. I felt the urge to smile back at him so I grinned down at him like a silly girl.
“Hi” I said shyly. Ohmygod, I just slept with Liam Payne! My brain yelped as I just laid on his chest in shock. Ohmygod, I’m lying on Liam Payne’s chest! Ohmygod, I’m in bed with Liam Payne! Oh my freaking god! My brain freaked out. I got up as fast as I could and scooted away from him. “Um, I’m going to take a shower,” I called over my shoulder, turning red, as I scrambled toward the bathroom, grabbing the nearest clothes from my suitcase. Holy freaking shit, my poor brain weakly mumbled in shock as I closed the bathroom door. What the hell just happened?
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Again, I just want to thank my lovely, dear readers for reading! It really means a lot to me to see the number of readers go up. This is the first scene in which I wrote in Liam's POV and I would really like feedback on his part. So please comment and vote! And once again, I would like to point your direction toward my lovely Kristie's "Be Your Burden" (by bakerscoyne)! If it were not for Kristie's urging, this chapter wouldn't have been published today, so as a thank you to her, would you guys please go read her story? Thanks so much! ^_^
-Elaina