Chapter 3
When I entered the restaurant, I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked back at Louis and a smile spread across his face. "Did you set this up?" I asked.
"Yeah. I thought since you'd be living with me for the weekend you were going to meet them sooner or later," he said, his smile not once leaving his face.
I stepped towards him to give him a hug for the third time today. Something about him seemed comforting. Every time I hugged him I felt as if I was meant to. I couldn't figure out why. "Thanks, Louis," I said into his shirt. I could feel the rumble in his stomach as he let a small chuckle escape his lips. He pulled away from me, and we started toward the four boys.
"Hey lads. Glad you could make it. This is Ellie. She's the contest winner I was telling you about. She'll be staying with me at my flat this weekend," he said to the boys standing in front of us.
I could feel the heat in my cheeks rise as the boys introduced themselves.
"Hi, I'm Liam, the smart one," the guy with the buzz cut said as he gave me a small wave before putting his hand back in his pocket. I smiled in return.
"Hello, love. I'm Niall, the funny one," the one with blond hair and an Irish accent said. He smiled at me and the heat in my cheeks grew.
"Hey. I'm Zayn, the vain one," the guy with sleek black hair said. I let out a small giggle and smiled as he put air quotes around the word vain.
"And, last but not least. Hi. I'm Harry, the flirt," said the curly haired boy with green eyes. He winked at me, and I looked down at my feet trying to hide the blush on my cheeks. He took my hand and planted a kiss on my cold skin. He smiled as he pulled away. I'm pretty sure he noticed my cheeks burning up.
"Hi, I'm Ellie Wilson. It's great to meet you guys," I said with a big smile on my face. The boys all smiled back at me.
"Are you hungry, Ellie?" asked Liam. As if on cue, my stomach growled.
"Uh...yeah. I guess I am," I laughed.
"FOOD!" yelled Niall. We all laughed at the hungry Irish boy's outburst.
We got a table next to a window in the back of the restaurant. I sat next to Louis and Harry. Niall sat across from me, and Zayn and Liam sat next to him. Our waitress came up to our table and took orders for our drinks. She looked to be about twenty-one. She had bright red curly hair laying on her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to be a hazel color, and she had three different holes in each ear. "Alright, Pepsi and for you miss?" she said as she turned to me.
"Um...can I have an iced tea please?" I asked.
"Sure thing sweetie. I'll be right back with those," she said in her American accent before walking away.
"So Ellie. Tell us about yourself," suggested Zayn.
"Um...what do you want to know?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Tell us about your family and friends," said Liam. Before I could speak, the red-headed waitress came back with our drinks. Thank you's were said all around as she took our orders. Once she left, I took a drink of my tea. "So tell us Ellie," Liam encouraged.
"Well...um...I...," I couldn't find the words to explain my family again. The pain from that dreadful night was slowly returning. I looked down at my hands resting on my lap as the tears started to form in my eyes. Louis saw the tears starting to come, and he pulled me in for a comforting hug. I let the tears fall from my eyes as I buried my face in Louis' shirt.
"Did I say something?" Liam said his voice laced with concern.
"No, Liam. It's not your fault. She's just had a few bad experiences," Louis explained for me. He rubbed my back to comfort me. The tears stopped falling from my eyes as I pulled away from Louis' embrace.
"Its okay, Liam. You didn't know," I said and gave him a half smile. "But telling you wouldn't be so bad."
"Are you sure, Ellie?" Louis asked a bit concerned. I nodded and turned to tell the boys.
"It all started a few days after I was born, and my mother was released from the hospital. My birth mother didn't want me I guess. So she left me on the doorstep of the Doncaster Orphanage. No one knows who my birth mother is, but I don't really care. If she didn't care about me, then why should I care about her," I explained. Before I could continue, Zayn cut me off.
"Maybe it wasn't her choice to give you up. Maybe she couldn't take care of you. What if giving you up was the hardest thing she's ever had to do?" he said.
"I know it wasn't that hard for her. She just left me in a basket by the front door. No one saw her. If she cared about me, she would have knocked on the door and handed me to Ms. Rose. She wouldn't have left me there out in the cold," I explained. Zayn nodded and I continued with my story. "I was adopted about ten months later by my parents. My mum always used to say that when she saw me she knew I was meant to be her daughter. Everything about my life was great up until seven years ago. My parents died in a car accident. I was sitting in the back seat, but only suffered from minor damages. My parents died on impact."
I looked around at the boys and saw sympathy in their eyes. "So now I live with my aunt and go to Hayfield High School. I have a few friends, but I'm not very close with them. However, my best friends, Lilly and Nick are more like family to me. We do everything together. I'm known as the "quiet" girl in school. I'm also known as the "smart" one. I love One Direction, and I still can't believe I won that contest. I'm so grateful. And if I could change anything about my life, I wouldn't because everything that has happened turned me into the person I am today."
Silence fell over the boys for a few minutes while they let everything I said sink in. Harry was the first one to speak up. "You've lived a hard life. I don't know what I would do if my parents died in a car crash let alone be in the car when it happened."
"Yeah, I know. I didn't talk for a month after it happened. My aunt was worried sick about me. She took me to a few doctors, but they all said the same thing. I would start to talk again when I was ready. When I finally started talking again, my aunt was relieved. She didn't think I'd ever speak again," I explained.
"I'm sorry I asked. You didn't have to tell us," said Liam. He still had that look of concern in his eyes.
"Its okay. It actually helps to talk about it. It's been seven years since its happened, and I've never told anyone about that day. My aunt would always explain it for me."
"Well, I for one am happy you told us. Now we have a bit of an idea of you who are," said Niall with a smile. I smiled back at him as the waitress came with our food.
The rest of lunch went by in a blur. The food here was great. The boys told me about crazy stories from being on the road and visiting America. They told me about their experiences on the X-Factor and briefly explained their families. When lunch was over, the boys and I all went back to Louis' flat.
"Home Sweet Home!" Louis yelled as we entered the flat. I smiled at Louis' excitement and the boys made themselves at home. Niall made his way into the kitchen to find food. Typical Niall. Liam found a seat on the couch next to Zayn and Louis. I sat next to Harry on the love seat.
"How about we watch a movie?" suggested Zayn.
Niall came back into the room with a bowl of popcorn in his hands. He sat on the floor at Liam's feet while munching away at the buttery snack.
"A movie sounds like a great idea," said Harry. He turned to look at me. "Since you're the guest this weekend, why don't you pick the movie?"
I got up from my spot next to Harry and staggered over to Louis' movie collection. I looked over all of the films before finally picking one. I took it from its place on the shelf and handed it to Louis. His eyes widened as he read the title.
"Bloody Bones? Are you sure, Ellie? This movie is pretty scary," he said still with wide eyes.
"Yeah, I love scary movies. I've never seen this one, though. So I thought we could watch it." I made my way back over to my seat beside Harry. Louis slowly got up and put in the film.
"You're sure?" he asked before hitting play.
"Yes. I'll be fine. If I get scared, I have five strong guys here to protect me," I joked. Louis let a small laugh leave his lips as he pressed play.
I was on the edge of my seat during the entire movie. Eventually, I made my way into Harry's comforting arms. I would hide my face in his chest when the little girl with an axe appeared on the screen. He didn't seem to mind. He had his arm around my shoulder the entire time. When the movie was over, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
I looked over at Louis. There was fear in his eyes but a half smile on his face. "Well, did you get scared?" he asked. I nodded frantically and hugged Harry as images of that little girl reappeared in my mind. He rubbed my back to comfort me. I must say it did help a bit. I pulled away from Harry and looked around at the boys. Zayn was passed out on the couch with his mouth slightly open. Liam was texting on his phone with not a trace of fear on his face. Niall was on the floor rocking back and forth trying to recover from what he just watched. Louis was taking the disc out of the machine and placing it back on the shelf. And Harry was looking down at me with a smirk on his face.
"Alright, so, it's four o' clock right now. We were going to go to my parents' house for dinner. But if you need more time before we leave, I'm sure they can wait another hour," Louis said with a smile on his face.
"No, I'm fine. We can go, just let me grab a jacket from my room," I replied. I flew up the stairs and into my room. I grabbed my hoodie from where I threw it on the bed earlier and headed back downstairs. The boys were waiting for me at the front door.