Charlotte's POV
Marisa and I stood in front of the Sorin's house with our mouths open. I don't know what we were expecting to find –but this wasn't it. It was a mansion. Not literally –I guess it was a mini mansion.
"Whoa," Marisa managed.
I shook my head and made my way to the doorstep, ringing the doorbell.
"Char? Marisa? Is that you?" Amalia's voice rang through the entry. "I'll be right there."
"Intercom," Marisa mumbled. "That's fancy."
Seconds later the large wooden door opened to reveal Lauren and an older women standing next to her.
"Hey, Charlotte," Lauren smiled. "Marisa! Nice to see both of you again! Come on in."
We entered into a grand entry way.
"This is my mom," Lauren introduced us.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sorin. Thank you for letting us get ready here." I shook her hand and Marisa did the same.
"You are always welcome," she greeted us. "So far away from home, both of you; my home is your home."
"Such a great host," Amalia laughed as she entered down the winding spiral staircase. She gave the two of us hugs before escorting us to her bedroom. Lauren followed.
"This house is beautiful!" I said as we walked through the upstairs hallway. Picture frames filled the walls.
"Oh my goodness. Lauren, is that you?" Marisa had stopped suddenly and was pointing to a picture on the wall.
Lauren must have known what picture she was looking at because when I turned around to see her expression she was laughing.
"That's me all right!"
Marisa seemed confused, "But you aren't very old at all. And that is Louis, isn't it?"
Finally, I looked at the picture she was pointing at. It was clearly Lauren, just about seven years younger. She looked about nine; and there was a boy kissing her on the cheek. That's when I realized it was Louis. He looked around twelve.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, taken back.
"How long have you known each other?"
"Come to my room and we'll explain," Amalia herded us through a door, leading us to a room painted bright purple. The furniture was black wood. There was a white fluffy rug on the floor, and wall accents all over the room.
Marisa and I sat down on the bed which was covered with a black and white comforter.
"Waiting," we said at the same time.
The two sisters came and sat next to us.
"We've known Louis ... well, actually Louis has known us all our life. We used to live next door to him in Doncaster. We moved to London when I was ten and Lauren was eight so that my mom could follow her fashion career dreams. By then, our families were so close that we stayed in touch. It just happened to work out that now my mum works with the band."
Marisa slapped her head, "So Louis introduced you to Niall."
Amalia chuckled, "Yeah. Funny thing is he wasn't trying to set us up. We would just spend time on tour together so we might as well get to know each other ..."
"That's cute," I smiled.
"But what about you and Louis?" Marisa asked Lauren.
"He's my best friend," she shrugged. "That's how it's always been. I don't think I'd ever want to risk losing that."
"So you don't like him like that?" I interrogated.
"I love him," she grinned shyly, "but I couldn't love him the way that he deserves to be loved. Plus, I've seen how Amalia's life has been impacted by the whole fame issue. I'm just not strong enough to do that. It would drive me insane ... I guess I'm just content with being his best friend."
There were flecks of pain in her eyes. Part of me wondered if she and Louis had tried and failed at being more than friends. They were only three years apart –that wasn't that big of a difference.
The conversation slowed as we started to get ready. There was plenty of room for the four of us to get ready in. By the time we had finished, Amalia's room was trashed. It smelled of hairspray and burnt hair. Clothes were spewed across the room. Make up was scattered everywhere.
"DINNER!" Mrs. Sorin's voice called over the intercom.
The four of us headed to the kitchen that smelled of homemade pizza.
"Mom's a great stylist," Lauren complimented, "but an even better cook."
She was right. The food was delicious.
"I am so full," I smiled after I had stuffed my stomach with pizza.
"That was so good, Mrs. Sorin!" Marisa thanked her.
"Thank you girls," she accepted the compliment. "You need to have plenty of energy for those dates tonight." She winked. "Now, Charlotte, if that boy doesn't make a move tonight, please tell me so I can slap him on the head tomorrow!"
I chuckled.
"Seriously though," Amalia placed her arms on the table. "I can't believe he hasn't! Niall says he's crazy about you!"
"I told you so!" Marisa roared. "Zayn told me the exact same thing!" She explained.
"He's playing safe," Lauren shrugged. "He's scared to get hurt again. You guys know how broken he was after Danielle." The last part was aimed towards her mom and sister who nodded.
"It's true," Mrs. Sorin glared at me with a troubled look, "I've never seen a boy so down. Promise you'll treat him right. Those five boys are the closest thing I have to a son."
"I promise," I gulped.
"No pressure there," Amalia laughed. "Relax Char, I know what you have going through your mind, but for once you have to think about no one but yourself. After tonight, the press is going to get a hold of both of you. Fans are going to get involved. If you want to survive, you have to focus on you and Liam or," she looked to Marisa. "You and Zayn. It's going to seem impossible at times. I've been close to breaking down thousands of times. The most important thing, though, is letting the boys know what's wrong. They will help you through it because they have to deal with the same thing. It can be a whole lot of ugly, but it can also be amazing."
Amalia was speaking purely from experience. Her words hit like a bullet. It was the realization I needed. I knew what was happening but apparently, I hadn't put two and two together.
"It'll be okay," Lauren placed her hand lightly on my shoulder. I must have had a panicked look on my face. "You like him?" It was a question that wasn't really a question. "Then don't let him slip through your fingers because you are scared."
I nodded; I knew she was right, and I also had figured out what had happened between her and Louis.
"It'll be okay," Marisa said. She wasn't freaking out about Zayn, so why was I so worried about my date with Liam. Oh right, because hers isn't a date.
"I know it will," I tried my hardest to smile. As unconvincing as I'm sure it was the others let it drop.
We helped clean up before running back to clean Amalia's room. It wasn't long after we finished that the doorbell rang. After triple checking our reflections in the full length mirror, we made our grand entrance down the stairs.
I was the last to go down the stairs. The second my eyes met Liam's my stomach jerked. He looked perfect. He was wearing dark jeans –not the loose ones but not the tight ones. A brown belt held the jeans low on his hips. He had a white v neck on the revealed a small strip of his toned chest. Over his t-shirt he had a white and blue button down that wasn't buttoned. He looked flawless and adorable –and he was my date. The thought made me smile.
His eyes watched me down the stairs. I could feel it.
"You look beautiful," he said as he pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Not so bad yourself." I winked and he laughed.
I gave hugs to Niall and Zayn. Zayn and Marisa left quickly because they had a movie to catch.
"Have fun," I whispered to Marisa before she left. She had given me a smile that showed more confidence than nerves.
"Are we ready to go?" Niall asked.
As he said this, I realized that I actually had no idea where we were going. I had texted Amalia and asked her what she was wearing –that had been how I picked out my outfit.
Liam took my hand and led me to the car. Niall drove and Amalia sat next to him in the front seat. I sat next to Liam in the back.
"Where are we going?" I asked once we had left the neighborhood.
"Dancing," Niall smirked.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh you little American, don't take it dirty. It's a restaurant that has a dance floor –good food, good music, good dancing." Amalia lifted her hands in the air awkwardly dancing.
Liam chuckled, "You think I'd take you to some nasty club on our first date? I'm much classier than that. I'd wait until at least the forth date." He grinned letting me know he was joking.
I poked his chest, "For some reason I don't see you as a clubber."
"Nah, that's Harry." The car erupted in laughter, "However, I do love to dance."
"Really?" I asked surprised.
"No, I hate it," he grinned. "I'm much too awkward."
"Lucky for you, I'm an awkward dancer, too," I chuckled.
"Two awkward dancers should make for some good awkward dancing!"
I laughed again, laughing away any worries I had. It was so easy to be around Liam.
After driving a few minutes longer, Niall pulled the car into a crowded parking lot.
"Ready to get this party started?" Liam took my hand helping me out of the car and closing the door.
"Ready," I smiled weakly.
He pulled me to his side, wrapping his arm around me.
It was as though he was telling everyone that I was his. He was claiming me.
The thought brought butterflies back, but this time, it was the good kind.