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Liam's POV
Walking home from the shelter, Georgia gave my hand an almost-imperceptible squeeze. I glanced slightly over at her, curious. She was smiling quietly to herself, and I wondered if she had even noticed the slight tightening of her grip on my fingers. But I had. And I loved the feeling of her small hand in mine. Hers were so soft and tiny, mine dwarfing and totally encompassing hers. I ran my thumb over the back of her hand, making it seem just as absentminded as her squeeze. Still, she stiffened, then relaxed, smile widening at the corners. I smiled too, turning my attention to Hoot, who was trotting happily in front of us, happy to be outdoors on a rare almost-sunny morning.
I was still a little bit in shock over everything that had happened in the past two days. Hands-down, this was the best birthday I'd ever had. The boys and the amusement park, which had to be one of the craziest and most hilarious stunts they've ever pulled, and now Georgia, giving me Hoot and, in turn, making one of my childhood dreams come true. I've always wanted a puppy, and she couldn't even know how deeply her present pleased me. It hadn't fully sunken in yet, the magnitude of what she had done. She had taken something that I mentioned in passing a couple times and recognized how important it really was to me. I shook my head. In just under a summer, she already knew me better than Sadie or close to anyone else ever did.
I glanced over at her again, eyes gently perusing over her form. The way she looked was as familiar as the back of my hand. Her shoulders were slightly hunched, as if to ward off the world, and her beautiful curls cascaded over her shoulders and around her face. I tried, and failed, to restrain myself from reaching over and moving a lock out of her eye. My free hand seemed to move of its own accord, and I watched in shock as it took hold of a handful of curls, tugging on them playfully and tucking them behind her tiny ear. She shivered a little, even though the morning was mild, and glanced up at me, smile in her eyes. My eyes moved over her heart-shaped face. From her small mouth to her perfectly straight nose, rosy cheeks, and finally to her expressive blue eyes, flecked with green and gold, rimmed by dark lashes, and, at all times, positively full to the brim with her emotions. You could tell just what she was feeling simply by glancing at the expression in her eyes. Right now, they were happy. Crinkled at the corners happy. I adored it.
I noticed that we had both halted on the sidewalk, oblivious to our surroundings. I reached for words, any words, to express myself, but my mouth flailed open and closed like a dead fish. Finally, I settled upon, "George, I- um. Well, errm," Brilliant, Liam. Brilliant. OKAY. You can do this. Channel your inner hero. Think of all the movies. Think of how when Buzz finally admitted his true feelings to Jessie they lived happily ever after. I took a deep breath, meeting her eyes. She peered up at me quizzically, waiting for me to say something- anything. Floundering, I came up with the awe-inspiring; "Thank you, Georgie." I tweaked her nose, making her wrinkle it and allow a bubble of laughter to escape her lips. "You have no idea how much this means to me." She blushed, ducking her head and releasing my hand.
"Don't mention it, Liam. I had more fun seeing the look on your face that anything." She half-whispered, cheeks tinted pink. Then she looked up suddenly. "Race you home?" She glanced at me, a very Louis-ish glint of mischief in her eyes. I conceded immediately, securing Hoot in my arms. "3... 2..." She was off like a shot. "ONE." She yelled, already several paces ahead of me. I exclaimed loudly, taking off after her slight form.
I purposely didn't overtake her until we reached the complex, panting and gasping for breath. She finally caught hers enough to do a little happy dance and choppily say; "Beat ya." I growled something unintelligible about being caught off guard, when in reality I let her win. Anything to see the bright smile that was standing in front of me right now. I wanted nothing more, in that moment, than to take her into my arms, just to see how she fit against me. There was so much life in her, just in her eyes, and I was completely entranced by it. It seemed like this was happening a lot lately. The two of us, dancing around what neither of us would say. It seemed like we were captivated by each other, making the moment almost magical.
The spell was broken, unfortunately, by Louis, who chose that moment to barrel through the door, barely noticing us and very cryptically saying something about "running an errand," which Louis never does, before practically running off. Georgia and I exchanged a look.
"Date?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Date." We laughed together, then turned to trudge up the stairs. As I held open the door to the flat for her, she unhooked Hoot's new leash, and he trotted into the flat ahead of us. It very soon became apparent that not only had George, amazing thing that she was, managed to surprise me, she had also kept the secret from the rest of the boys as well. When a very confused Niall scooped up little Hoot, looking quizzically at the two of us, George told them the entire story. In unison, Harry and Niall's mouths dropped open, and they immediately began to coo over Hoot. Zayn stood by me, slow smile spreading across his face. Not a pout or a signature smirk, but a real smile. Happy, open, trusting. A Zayn not a lot of people get to see. And it was directed right at Georgia. I could tell she knew this was something rare, because her returning smile was so big, so megawatt, that I thought it might fall off her face. When he wrapped her in an embrace and whispered something to her, I knew what she had done had catapulted her into Zayn's very small circle of people he decides to trust. She looked at me, over Zayn's shoulder, in wonder and patted him on the back, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
The rest of the day passed in a flurry of activity. We had a few radio interviews slated, but thankfully we could do them from the house. Georgia had the day off work today, so she hung around with us, made popcorn and cookies, and joked with Paul. Radio interviews were our favorites, the lot of us, because we never had to do anything except talk on the phone for a few minutes. Paul had scheduled us interviews with several stations in the area, and quite a few from outside London. We basically spent the day messing with the interviewers and being quite crazy. The very last interview we had slated was the longest one. We were meant to answer questions and play games for the station for around an hour. The interviewer was hilarious, a guy in his mid thirties. He'd talked with us before, and we were always dying laughing and making jokes at each other's expense. We began by answering his required questions, about recording and girls and whatnot, then fielded some listener calls, answering questions and singing a bit a capella when requested.
The last girl who called in sounded quite young. She was meek at first, squeaking out a greeting when she got through. We asked her her name and where she was from, and then the interviewer, James, asked her what she'd like to ask us. She took a deep breath, then said; "I've seen pictures of all five of you with one girl this summer. She looks kind of like Harry. Who is she?" We all looked over at Georgia, standing in the kitchen. She immediately blushed and began shaking her head vehemently. We all exchanged a look. Operation: Pull Georgia in was in full swing.
Harry was the first to speak up. "Does she really look like me? I always thought I was much more handsome than her." Georgia exclaimed indignantly from the kitchen. The interviewer chuckled, countering.
"Really though, lads. The press has been going mad over this. Exclusively, who is she?" We exchanged glances, looked at Paul. He nodded and shrugged.
"Well, James. Her name is Georgia. You could say she's my second sister." Harry said. "We grew up together. She moved to the States when we were thirteen, but she's back for university and we've been spending a lot of time together." Harry drawled, winking at George, who was now beet red.
"Yeah, Jem, ya see, she's the unofficial sixth member. That's an exclusive. We were all smitten from the start." That from Louis. "We don't give her a minute's peace. The price she pays for all of us actually liking her." Louis sighed, while James laughed.
"So which one of you is her favorite?" He inquired.
"ME! I AM ME ME"
"COME OFF IT, NIALL, OBVIOUSLY I'M HER FAVORITE."
"BUGGER OFF. I'VE KNOWN HER THE LONGEST"
"NO. NO. SHE LIKES ME MORE THAN YOU LOT."
"SHE'S MINE!!"
"LADS!" I finally yelled. I could hear James cracking up through the phone. The listeners were probably loving this. "James, we've got her right here." I snuck a look over at her. Her eyes were growing wide and she was shaking her head and backing up. "Why don't we ask her?" Everyone in the room turned to her.
"Oh yes, put her on. We'll make her answer some deeply personal questions." She was trying to run. Paul scooped her up in his arms, plopping her down at the table, where Niall wrapped his arms around her and forced her to stay.
"Okay, James, we've got her. She's trapped by the strong Irishman over here." Louis informed everyone.
"Hullo, Georgia, was it?" James asked, making his voice deeper and kinder.
Niall nudged her, smiling and nodding encouragingly. She sighed. "Hello, James. Yes, it's Georgia here. I blame you for this, buddy." He laughed.
"So, tell us. Who is your favorite lad in the band?" He asked, feigning secrecy. She laughed and pretended to think for our benefit. We all made puppy dog eyes at her, and Niall gave her a kiss on the cheek. She giggled, finally answering.
"Honestly? I couldn't ever choose. I've gotten to know them all so well. They're my best friends. I can't pick! Errm, obviously I've known Harry the longest, so he knows me better than most anyone in the world. Louis never fails to make me laugh, make me feel safe, or generally improve my mood. Niall and I's thoughts are on the same wavelength. We don't even have to talk to get what the other is thinking. Zayn gives me the best advice, about anything. And Liam's the sweetest, and also the only one who will watch Disney movies with me for twelve hours straight. So, basically that all to say that they're the best mates a girl could ask for."
"AWWW" We chorused, engulfing her in a group hug, while James voiced over in the background.
"Sounds like a lot of closeness over there, lads. So, Georgia, you love Disney movies?"
"You have no idea!" I answered for her. She stuck out her tongue at me. "She likes them even more than me. We've spent entire days on the couch, watching them. She sings aloud to ALL of the songs."
"HEY! You sing them too! Especially in Aladdin, you particularly enjoy the harmony in A Whole New World. You told me that just last week, Payne."
James laughed again. "You know, ironically, there's a game we play here, where we play the first few bars of a song, and two people have to guess them until one gives up. Who wants Liam Payne from One Direction to play against his best friend Georgia Kane? Except... Disney version?" All the boys shouted their enthusiastic "Yes'" Georgia looked at me. I shrugged, she smiled.
"Liam... just promise you won't cry like a little girl when you lose to one." She said snarkily, smiling sweetly in my direction.
"Only if you promise to grovel for my forgiveness when I win." I shot back, matching her saturated expression.
"The game's afoot!" James yelled. Georgia won the coin toss, and therefore was allowed to start the game. James started the music. The first strains of "A Whole New World" played through the phone.
"A Whole New World." Barely three seconds had gone by. Harry and Niall whistled. They were on her team, along with Paul. Zayn and Louis were backing me up. My turn was next. I smiled when I heard the beginning of my song.
"You've Got a Friend in Me." I smugly stated. "Too easy, James, too easy." With that, the game really amped up. We went back and forth for at least five minutes.
"Beauty and the Beast."
"Hakuna Matata!"
"Kiss the Girl!"
"Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious!"
"Go the Distance."
"Part of Your World!"
"Colors of the Wind."
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Neither of us were skipping a beat. I wasn't sure whether I should be proud of my performance or embarrassed that it was so easy. I settled for proud, until it came to my turn again. Music played through the phone, but I was unsure of it's origin. My cheeks flushed red. I hated to lose. I had to remember this song. Several seconds passed, but I was still drawing a blank.
"I don't know." I mumbled.
"OI! Georgia! If you can answer this one, you're the official winner!" James was just as into the game as we were. She looked at me, smug look on her face.
"Of course, James. It's I See the Light, from Tangled."
"Ding ding ding!! Ten points to the saucy gal from Holmes Chapel! Don't cry too hard, Liam. And, guys, thanks! That's all the time we've got for today. Stay cool, brothers."
Everyone chorused their goodbyes, then clicked off the call. All the boys were teasing me mercilessly for losing. Even Paul, standing in the back and cradling Hoot in his large arms, was joking around at what a failure I was. I bent to one knee, as much as it pained me, in a symbol of subservience, hands raised to Georgia.
"You are the princess of Disney knowledge. All hail." The boys all dropped to their knees as well. She smacked Niall on the head, since he was closest, and walked away, giggling. Harry and Louis joined her in the kitchen, where they decided to make rice krispy treats. Knowing what a sticky disaster that was about to become, Zayn, Niall, and I decided to go pick up some movies for our cinema night.
Paul told us to be careful and lay low, so we pulled on hats and sunglasses and stepped out. The movie store was right around the corner, and we got there, thankfully without being recognized by anyone. We entered the store, dispersing around and picking up a couple of movies each. As we went through, Niall held up "X-Men."
"Oh, that's one of Georgia's favorites. We should get it." I exclaimed, adding it to the pile. Niall and Zayn exchanged a knowing look. "What? It is."
"Oh, mate. You've got it bad." Zayn shook his head, smirk playing across his face. Niall laughed a bit too loud. I just stared at them.
"What do you mean? I don't have anything. I don't have anything bad." I countered, ducking my head. Was I that transparent. Did she know I was infatuated with her?
"Come on, lad. It really isn't that hard to see. Why don't you just... I dunno, tell her?" Zayn answered, scooping up the movies and sliding them across the counter to the checkout girl. I stood, frozen to my spot.
"Yeah, mate. I mean, without sayin' anything, you're never gonna be knowin' anything. She could be your princess." Niall said. Now I knew they were being serious. Niall rarely ever talked like that, and when he invoked his special pet name, it was definitely something to take to heart. "I just don't like seein' you strugglin' and her waitin' round for you to say somethin'. You gotta treat her right, mate, cos she's been through a lot." I lowered my eyes.
"What if she doesn't want me?" I asked, voice tiny.
"Then she's crazy." Zayn answered simply. "You have to try, Li. I've never seen you like this. How could you even think she wouldn't want you. Were you even there this morning? The girl obviously cares about you. It isn't fair to her. Do something about it." Niall nodded along with Zayn's aggressive pep talk. I knew they were right. She was the one I wanted. I didn't want to hold myself back anymore. She and I knew each other better than most anyone. I already couldn't imagine my life without her. I squared my shoulders.
"You're right. I have to do something about it." Then and there, I decided. I wasn't going to let her get away from me again.
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Sorry it's been so long since my last update! I was at the beach with some friends. I know, I'm a Disney dork. I'm proud. My favorite movies are Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid and Tangled. COMMENT AND TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE. PLEASE? ILL DEDICATE A CHAPTER TO YOU. DONT DISAPPOINT ME. watch me get 0 comments. that's cool. whatever. I love you guys ayways. Thank you tons and bunches for reading. *Mwah mwah*