Liam’s POV
“How is she?” Lauren asks. We were in the dressing room, the only time I wasn’t with Elodie. I’d tried to convince her to come in and wait along the side like Lauren did, so I could watch over her like Louis did with Lauren. I don’t think I’ve ever been shot down so quickly. It was nice to know that she hadn’t completely changed.
“She’s feeling a lot better,” I tell her. Lauren hesitates, calculating her next question, but I already know what she’s going to ask.
Did you ever find out why?”
“Yea…” I hesitate. “But you’re going to have to ask her about it.” She nods her head as if she expected that answer.
“Is it really that bad?”
“Worse,” I answer, seeing the concern appear in her eyes. Her forehead creases and I can see she’s trying to figure out what it could be. She doesn’t question me anymore, simply giving me a nod and kissing Louis’ cheek before standing up and walking out.
“Do you know when Elodie’s planning on rejoining class?” Liz pipes up from across the room where the Aussies were all spread out.
“Just give her a couple more days,” I plead with her, watching her lips purse with discontent. She’d been asking for the past week when Elodie was going to rejoin. I’d been able to claim she was still sick, but now she was getting better and Liz was getting frustrated by the lack of work. Still, how could I tell her she had to go back to doing schoolwork after everything she told me? I try to put it out of my mind as the Aussies head for the stage and we begin our warm ups and head on ourselves. I see Louis keep glancing over to the side of the stage and I realize Lauren hasn’t reappeared to watch from her normal spot. That was odd. She always was here. The second the show was over, the two of us hurry to our respective busses. He to our normal bus, and I to the stylist bus I’d been sleeping in the past week or so to be near Elodie. I freeze in surprise when I walk in and see Lauren and Elodie sitting together on the couch. She must’ve come here after our conversation earlier I realize as they both look up. I briefly feel like I’m interrupting something, but neither of them were talking when I’d walked in and Elodie had a book on her lap while Lauren was on her computer.
“Everything alright?” I ask cautiously, looking between the girls. They both give a brief nod and I hesitate a moment.
“There you are,” Louis says, appearing on the step behind me, looking around me to see Lauren. “I was worried.”
“I’m fine. Just hanging out,” Lauren says pleasantly, shutting her computer and standing up. He smiles and I can see his shoulders loosen when she gives him a smile. “C’mon, lets go. I’m hungry and I need to finish filling out these job applications,” she says to Louis, giving him a small shove out the door. I look back at Elodie, relaxed on the couch, reading her book, not having said a word since I came in.
“I’m...ummm...I’m going to take a shower…” I say, an almost questioning tone appearing in my voice as I gesture over my shoulder to the back of the bus. She nods her head and I head back to the bathroom, showering and getting rid of all the sweat from the show. I pull on a pair of sweats before re-emerging, glad I did when I see her outside the door, sitting on her bed and twisting her book in her hands as she stares blankly ahead. She looks up as I step into the room and I pause in the doorway, hearing the voices of the others in the main room.
“Why did Lauren come in?” she finally asks. “We don’t really hang out and I’ve never seen her miss a show…”
“I’m not sure,” I reply, sitting down on my own bed across from hers. “She was asking about you earlier… I think she’s worried about you.”
“Did… did you tell her?”
“No,’” I say instantly, shaking my head. “I promised you I wouldn’t.” She gives a small nod, looking down at the bent book in her hand.
“Did she ask?” I prompt. “About… anything?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “She just came in and sat across from me on the couch.” I give a small nod and we drift into silence again.
“Why does she care?” she asks, interrupting the quiet again.
“Because she cares about you. We all do.” She chuckles darkly, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
“Yea… sure,” she says disbelievingly. “People say that but--”
“But sometimes it’s true Elodie. There are people that care about you.”
“Yea? Like who?” she bites back. “My parents who ship me off to any boarding school that’ll take me? My sister who threatened me when I was leaving because she didn’t want me to mess with her favorite band? Or maybe my so-called friends who only hang out with me for the media attention that goes along with it? Yea, I’ve got a ton of people that care.”
“How about us? Lux who missed you so much she wore a surgical mask so she could color with you when you were sick. Liz, who wants you to succeed so much she pesters me every day about you turning in your schoolwork. Any of the boys, who ask me daily how you’re doing? What about me? Do you honestly believe I don’t care about you? Are you so distrusting that you think I spend all my time with you as hoax, just biding my time until I can betray you?” I see the sarcastic sneer on her face falter and I worry I might have pushed it too far.
“But why?”
“Because. Because I’ve never met anyone who can shut down someone’s stupidity with a sarcastic comment as quickly as you. Or has gotten me to vandalize a building on a first date. Or can go from playing peekaboo with a toddler one minute to beating the shit out of a punching bag the next.”
“Those are awful reasons,” she says with a shake of her head, but a faint smile tells me the mood might have changed around.
“Nah,” I say with a grin, shaking my head. “I like them. They’re what make you you.” She raises an eyebrow, the smile peeking out a bit more and I realize it could sound as if I was saying I was interested in her. She lets out a shaky breath, hiding the smile that grows as she looks back down at her book.
“This book was stupid,” she says suddenly, changing the subject.
“Yea?” I ask with a laugh, craning my neck to look at the cover as she fans through the pages. “What was it about?”
“It was stupid. The typical happily ever after. I knew what was going to happen before I even finished the first chapter.”
“I thought you liked those,” I tease.
“I do,” she agrees, smiling back at me. “That doesn’t mean they’re not stupid.”
“You confuse me sometimes,” I laugh, taking the book from her hands and fanning through the pages myself, stopping to read the summary on the back.
“Good. That’s my goal,” she jokes. “Besides, you’re not that hard to confuse.”
“Ouch,” I say with mock hurt, putting a hand over my heart.
“Hey, it’s not my fault those puppy dog eyes of yours believe everything you see.”
“Did you just call me a dog?” I joke.
“Well… if the collar fits…hey!” she shouts with a laugh as I throw a pillow at her. She grabs it, swinging it back at me and whacking me numerous times before I manage to grab a hold of it and pull it from her grasp. She’s fully smiling now, relaxed as she settles back on her bed. “Jeez, look away you creeper. You’re staring,” she teases as she slides under the cover. I let out a laugh, but do as I’m told, hitting the lights to the back room as I slide under my own covers.
“Liam?” she asks a couple minutes later, right as I’m at the verge of sleep.
“Hmm?” I manage to say, through the sleepy haze.
“You weren’t lying about what you said earlier were you?”
“Bout what?” I grumble.
“About Lauren.”
“Course not.”
“I don’t want to tell her.”
‘“Then we won’t,” I say, rolling onto my side and forcing open my eyes so I could look over at her.
“That’s not what I mean,” she says, meeting my eyes. “Would you… would you tell her for me?” I freeze as a rush of adrenaline floods through me. “Please Liam. I can’t…I can’t talk about it. Not again. But if you… Please.”
“Ok.” I agree quietly, my mind now flooded with how I was supposed to tell a story that wasn’t mine. I hear her breathe a sigh of relief. Part of me is glad to know I can make her life easier, despite knowing that my life was becoming more difficult because of it.
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Ok, what do you think so far? Can you understand why she's so mistrusting?
Dedication this time goes to MICHAELCLlFFORD. I love long comments so thank you for that :)
Let me know what you think so far! Vote/comment/fan please