(A/N: Please don't judge me at the part near the end of this chapter. I tried, OK?)
Niall
"Go fish," Liam says.
I let out a sigh and reach for the pile of cards in the middle.
Liam and I are always home alone, it feels like. Louis and Harry are always caught up in their love lives. They never have any time for us. It's like we're side characters in a story or something. Liam has Cheryl and everything, but he's not with her nearly as much as Louis and Harry. He sees Cheryl an appropriate amount of time. The other boys are just psycho.
"Got any 7s?" Liam asks. I glance down at the ever growing pile of cards in my hands and see the 7 of clubs sitting in the middle. I let out a groan and toss it at his face.
"How 'bout we stop this game," Liam suggests. "Neither of us are enjoying this."
"But we have nothing else to do!" I protest. We've been bored all day.
"We'll figure something out," Liam says, nonchalantly. "We've just got to stop this god awful game."
"Alright," I sigh, once again, and drop the cards I'd had onto the table top. "I'll google 'What to do when home alone.'"
I reach for my phone and click the 'on' button. I'm bombarded with notifications from all sorts of social media platforms. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest (don't judge me. A man's gotta love Pinterest)... What threw me off slightly was the amount of concerning comments on Instagram.
'IS HARRY OK?'
'WHAT HAPPENED TO HARRY AND LIA???'
'WHO WAS THE GUY?'
'ARE THEY OKKKK?????????'
Confused, I show Liam my phone screen.
"What?" he asks no one in particular. "That's strange. What happened?"
"I'm not sure," I say, very worried for my friends.
I go into my internet browser and immediately Google: Harry Styles and Lia Stokes. Within seconds, many answers have appeared before me. I look at the news section of the search and see articles from different websites with similar titles.
'Harry Styles and girlfriend, Lia Stokes, held at gunpoint at cinema.'
'Superstar threatened with gun while out for movie date.'
"Oh my god!" I exclaim, quickly closing down the browser and going to my phone app. I dial Lia's number as fast as I can. "Liam! Call Harry!" His hands fumble as he attempts to call Harry.
"IT'S GONE TO VOICEMAIL!" Liam screams after hardly any rings. "WHAT DO I DO? HE'S PROBABLY DEAD NOW!"
"CALM DOWN LIAM!" I scream back at him. "JUST CALL AGAIN!"
He nods furiously and goes back to his phone.
My phone, however is still ringing. I'm beginning to grow impatient because usually after this many rings it would have gone to voicemail already.
I was about to give up when I swore I heard the voice of an angel. "Hello?"
"Lia?" I ask, hopefully.
"Yeah?" she asks, confused.
"Are you OK?" I almost scream. At this point Liam had already come by my side, mouthing the word: speaker in my face. I sigh and press the little button. "By the way, you're on speaker, Li."
"Alright," she responds. "We're OK, yeah. Just really shaken up."
"What happened?" I ask, very curious. "It's OK if you don't want to talk about it. I'm just curious."
"No, no, it's alright," she says, faintly. "We were leaving the cinema and Jeremiah, you know him, my ex, came up to us and pointed a gun at Harry. He started yelling some profanities and he was really angry. Then he got angry at me and pointed it towards me. And he was going to shoot but the police came up behind him and arrested him. Harry says that if he doesn't get prisoned for attempted homicide, he'll be in big trouble for punching an officer. So at least we're safe for a bit. And Harry's security guard is gonna come with us whenever we go on a date, just to be sure.
"That's great," I say, letting out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were hurt."
"I'm fine," she says. "Now um, I best be going now. Gotta call mum and tell her I'm OK. Oh, and look at that, Harry is getting a call now. Bye!"
The line goes dead, leaving me a little confused. She sounded alright the whole chat and then at the end she got all weird and rushed. Like she was trying to avoid me somehow.
"That was weird," Liam admits, stating the obvious.
"You think?" I say, turning off my phone. I slump back into the chair I was in earlier, my cards still sprawled across the table. "I think she was trying to avoid me."
"Can I ask you something?" Liam asks, sitting back in his chair.
"Shoot," I reply, emotionless.
"Do you still feel the same about her?" he asks. I nod an ashamed nod. I know I shouldn't feel the way I do, but I can't help it. She makes me feel like no other girl has before. It's terrible. I know she's with Harry. "Do you think she knows that you like her?" Liam asks.
I've never thought about that before. Maybe she does. Maybe that's why she was so awkward. Oh god. She must hate me now. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I bow my head in defeat. I'm such an idiot.
Liam noticed my face and nods without saying a word. He awkwardly stands up.
"I'm a horrible person," I say. "Aren't I?"
"You brought this on yourself," he shrugs, standing up. "I'm going to the workout room."
He left, leaving me feeling really stupid, idiotic and just about every other synonym.
><><><><><
Louis
I look back at the mirror one last time to make sure I look how I want to. I need to look perfect.
God, I'm such a teenage girl. I think I'm surrounded by my teenage fans too much.
I comb my hair with my fingers so it looks right and I fix the collar on my dress shirt, even though nothing was wrong with it prior.
I'm going out for a nice dinner with Kaia tonight. I want to make sure I look the part, seeing she always looks so beautiful.
I picked out a jet black suit with a white dress shirt underneath. I also had a black tie and black dress shoes. I wore all back because Kaia wouldn't tell me what she was wearing and I didn't want to be that couple that wears completely different colours. It looks really bad. And black goes with everything so I know I'll match her.
Finally being satisfied with my look, I exit the bathroom and walk towards the door to the master bedroom where Kaia was changing and getting ready.
I knock gently on the closed door and call out to her. "You ready, love?"
I feel the doorknob turning from the other side. The wooden door opens, revealing my beautiful girlfriend, shyly smiling at me.
She was wearing a knee length, royal blue dress, which wasn't too extreme of a royal blue, but just enough to bring out the blue in her eyes. The dress was simple, cut in at the sleeves and fitted at the waist. It fit her perfectly. Her hair was down with small curls in it towards the bottom. Around her neck was a golden chain with a circle pendant hanging from it. Her shoes were the same gold colour as on her neck, and pretty tall off the ground but not too tall. I could tell she's done something new with her makeup but she knows I don't think she needs any. She's beautiful just the way she is.
"Woah..." is all I can mutter at the sight of her.
"Do I look OK?" she asks, almost worried.
"Yes!" I exclaim. "You're more than OK. You're so beautiful!"
She smiles, turning a bright pink on her cheeks.
I hold out my arm for her to hold on to and lead her to the car.
><><><><><
"Name?" the hostess at the restaurant asks.
"Tomlinson," I reply. "I spoke to someone on the phone about a special reservation, I believe."
"Ah, yes," she says, looking at the screen on the counter beside her. "Right this way."
We follow her through the maze of tables to our destination. On the way, Kaia looked up at me with a surprised look. "Special reservation?" she asked, confused.
"Hang on," I replied. "You'll see. Soon." I smirked at my suspension skills. I could tell that it was bothering her.
The hostess stops at a closed door, near the back of the restaurant. "Just go through this door," she says, gesturing for us to open it. "A waiter will be in to help you soon."
She leaves us to walk in alone. I push open the door and hold it for Kaia. Once she's inside, I follow behind her. The room was big, but not too big. It was dimly lit using only candles, creating a romantic feel. In the centre of the room there was a circular table, draped in a white table cloth. On either side there was metal chairs with intricate designs on the back. A flowered centrepiece stood in the middle of the table.
"Louis," Kaia awes in amazement. "How did you manage to do this in one day?"
"I know people," I shrug, pulling out a chair for her. Once she's sat down, I push in her chair and go to the other side of the table to sit down myself.
We look at the menu for a bit.
"What are you thinking about getting?" I ask, not knowing what to get myself.
"Hmm..." she replies. "I'm not quite sure. The specialty salad looks good but so does the pasta dish."
I look down at my menu in complete confusion. What's with these fancy restaurants and their confusing menus? It all looks like gibberish to me.
"Haven't they got a cheeseburger on this menu?" I ask in frustration.
Kaia laughs at me. "They do, Louis," she giggles, pointing at one of the menu options. "Right there."
"But that's not even English," I protest. "How do they expect someone to understand what it means?"
"That's why there's descriptions of the food underneath it," she says.
I look down at what is supposedly a cheeseburger and read the description.
A round of ground beef with melted cheese in between two bread buns.
Well... What do you know? It is a cheeseburger.
"Why don't they just say cheeseburger instead of trying to write me a very descriptive essay?" I ask.
"The waiter is coming soon," she informs me. "Why don't you just ask him?"
As if on cue, a waiter pushed open the door and walked in, wearing a white, button up dress shit and black dress pants.
"Hello," he says in a sort of mix between an American and a posh accent, but looks southern American. "My name is Carlos. I'm your waiter today. Can I start you off with any drinks this evening?"
"I'll have a water, please," Kaia replies, looking up, sweetly at the waiter. I was too distracted looking at her to tell him what I wanted to drink.
"Sir?" Carlos had to ask me, to snap me out of my trance.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," I apologize. "I'll have a regular Pepsi please."
"Is it alright if it's coke?"
Does he even know who I am? A One Direction member may never have coke. We've pledged our allegiance to Pepsi. No. Never will I have coke while still in this band.
"I'll just have a water," I say, subtly throwing shade at him.
He nods and opens his mouth again.
"And are you ready to order your meal or do you need a bit more time?"
"I think we're ready," I say.
"I'll have the piatto di pasta, please," Kaia says. "Could I get no tomatoes on it as well? And light on the sauce."
I look at her with a gaping mouth. "You can speak this strange language?" I ask her in disbelief.
She chuckles. "It's Italian, Louis," she says. "And I'm not fluent but I know how to pronounce some things."
"Well then..." I reply, shifting uncomfortably.
"And for you, sir?" the waiter asks.
"I'll have the..." I look back down at the menu item and try to pronounce it. "Hamburger all form-ag-ee-oh. No that's not it. From-eeg-aye-oh. That's not it either. Fro? For?" I sigh in frustration. "Oh, for gods sakes the cheeseburger."
"The hamburger al formaggio?" Carlos, saying it with perfect fluency.
"Yes," I pout, upset that I couldn't one-up my girl friend.
"Alright," he says. "That shouldn't be too long. And I'll go get your drinks for you."
"Thank you," Kaia and I say in unison as he walks off in the other direction.
Once he's out of earshot, I turn to my girlfriend. "Can you believe he asked me if I wanted coke?"
"Why is that such a bad thing?" Kaia asks, confused.
Riiiiiiight. I forgot she wasn't a super fan. She probably hasn't seen the Pepsi commercial.
"One Direction has sworn an oath," I say. "An oath to never drink the opposing soda to Pepsi. Pepsi's long time rival: Coke. Ever since we've done that commercial."
"Woah!" she exclaims. "You really did a commercial for Pepsi?"
"With Drew Brees," I add.
"How come you never told me this?" she asks.
"I thought you knew," I reply. "Most of the fans know. And it's kinda hard to bring up in a conversation. Hey! Guess what! I was in a commercial for Pepsi with an NFL star! That's probably more weird than bringing up One Direction to someone who doesn't know."
"I suppose..." she nods in agreement.
Carlos, the waiter comes in once again, holding a circular platter. Standing on the dish are two glasses of ice water. He takes the glasses off the plate and places them on the table for us. We thank him and he informs us that the dinner shouldn't be too much longer.
While we wait, we talk about everything possible to talk about. When Kaia and I get going, we could make a conversation last for hours upon hours. It could be the most random stuff but we could still keep the other engaged. We talked about how stupid the American presidential race is, we talked about the difference between our football and American football, we talked about high school...
After what felt like only a few seconds, Carlos came in again with our food.
I looked down at my plate with a grin. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until the food was in front of me. I hadn't eaten since 1:30 in the afternoon and if was now nearly 7, so that was understandable. And the food looked so good. There's a reason this place is rated five stars. Even though it was just a cheeseburger, the meat looked perfectly cooked and juicy, the cheese looked melted to perfection, the bun was a golden colour and was so soft and warm. I can't wait to eat it.
I pick up the smooth bread in my hands and hold the burger towards my mouth. I take a big bite and am instantly pulled into a world of amazing burgerness. I actually close my eyes, the burger is so good.
"This is probably the best burger I've ever had," I mumble, my mouth still crowded with food. My words were probably unrecognizable.
"The pasta is delicious as well," Kaia says. "Cooked really well. The only pasta better than this is mum's. Hers is absolutely perfection."
"Can you see why I wanted to take you here?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow before taking another bite.
"Yeah," she replies. "It's quite a lovely spot. I still can't believe you managed to get a private room and set all of this up."
"Anything for my girl," I reply, looking into her eyes deeply.
I'd forgotten where I was for a second. Her eyes captured me in a wave of beauty that just mesmerized me. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have a girl like her in my life. I really do love her. I love her more than words can describe.
I snapped out of my trance when her own gaze trailed back down to her plate of food waiting for her. I suddenly remembered, oh yeah, I'm in a restaurant, and continued eating my delicious cheeseburger.
The waiter came in a few more times while we were eating to ask us how everything was or if we needed a refill on our drinks or anything.
We finished up our meals, and Carlos asked if we wanted a dessert menu (we said yes, obviously).
While he was gone, I looked back to Kaia, taking in her beauty once again. The light in this room lit her up beautifully. Her eyes glistened like the ocean reflecting the moon. Her lips looked really kissable. I can't help myself.
I lean across the table, grabbing her face by the sides and pulling her towards me. I caught her off guard but soon enough she was kissing me back. Her hands rested on my shoulders as she deepened the kiss. Her lips were soft against mine. She made it feel like fireworks were exploding inside of me. Her arms snaked around to the back of my neck, pulling us closer. I could've lasted hours with her, but we were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming.
My eyes snap open and I look over in the direction of the door, where a very red Carlos is standing with a dessert menu in hand.
I awkwardly sit back straight into my chair. I suppose it was alright, though, because leaning over the table was quite uncomfortable.
The embarrassed waiter walks over to the table and passes me the dessert menu. "Here's the dessert options, if you still need it after that."
The heat rises to my cheeks as fast as it took him to hand me the paper. I wanted to bury my face in my hands and scream. He just made the tension in here 100% worse.
As soon as he leaves I drop my head on to the table and say, "That was without a doubt, the most embarrassing thing I have ever experienced."
"He just had to say that, didn't he," Kaia says, still with link cheeks.
"It was pretty clever, though," I chuckle a bit.
"Louis!" she laughs, gently kicking me under the table.
I hold my hands up in surrender. "Okay, so what do you want for dessert?"
"What do you want?"
We ended up getting a cheesecake to share. Not that we were on a budget or anything but just because we were too full from the dinner to eat a full one each. Plus it's relationship goals, so.
We finished, payed the bill and left towards my house again.
The whole way home I wanted to just stare at her. Kaia just does this thing to me. She makes me want to just look at her all day. I could probably break the record for keeping my eyes open if you put her in front of me. She was just so beautiful. She looked especially beautiful today. The dress she wore hugged her figure in just the right way. Her hair looked soft and silky. She just looked so beautiful.
When we got home, I closed the back door and held her hand.
"You're stunning," I tell her. "Absolutely stunning."
She smiles and turns light pink in the cheeks. "Aww, Louis," she says. "You're making me blush. And you're not too bad yourself."
I smirk and grab her from behind her back and pull her towards me, almost causing her to fall. I attach my lips to hers as I had in the restaurant. She kisses me back passionately, running her fingers through my hair.
She starts to walk backwards and bumps into a wall. Not bothered by it, she continues tugging at my once tidy hair. Her hands slowly make their way down to my stomach.
"Have you been working out?" she asks, pulling back from the kiss for a moment and feeling through my thin shirt. "You're, like, really toned."
"Why thank you," I smirk. "You know I love you right?"
"I love you too," she replies, leaning back in to me.
A/N: I actually suck at writing kiss scenes so I apologize for what you just read.
Previous kiss scenes have been written by my best friend because I actually suck so bad.
Also... I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE LAST WEEK. LAST WEEK WAS SUCH A BAD WEEK GUYS YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I WAS SICK LIKE TWO DIFFERENT TIMES AND I HAD AN EVALUATION AND THEN A QUIZ AND THEN ANOTHER QUIZ AND GOD I HATE SCHOOL AND THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A LOT BUT TRY STUDYING FOR THREE DIFFERENT SUBJECTS DURING THE SAME WEEK OK? OK.
OK, so that's out of me...
Please comment your feedback. Pretty pleeeease. I'll be your best friend!!!
Talk to you later,
Claire.