I didn't want to wake up this morning. I'd much rather lay here, being embraced by the arms of the man who has turned my world upside down. This feels like a dream. A beautiful dream. Filled with pastel pink skies, sweet sugar on my lips, and fuzzy teddy bear hugs. But it's so much better than a dream because it's real.
Harry feels so soft yet strong against my touch. I feel so comfortable like this was meant to be happening. I cuddle in closer into his chest. His arm must be numb laying underneath me. I feel bad about it but he seems too deep in sleep to notice it. I let my hand rest against his side, my fingers itching to wander around his rib cage. My head steadily moves up and down with the rhythm of his breath. My eyes slowly open, not able to resist looking at him. I let out a quiet sigh, getting lost in his beautiful features. How did I get lucky enough to be laying right next to him?
A phone suddenly starts loudly piercing through the room. It was mine. I let out a soft groan, cringing at the sound, hoping it doesn't disturb Harry. I gently but quickly move and turn to the nightstand where my phone was laying. I want to turn it off the fuck off but I see it's my mother.
Harry stirs on the bed, mumbling something incoherent. I silently curse and practically fling off the bed, grabbing the device and answering. I hear my mom's confused 'hello's' through the phone as I hurry towards the balcony.
"Hello?" I quietly speak into the phone when I'm at a safe distance, leaving the balcony door closed so I don't have to be so quiet.
"Lacey? You awake?"
I hadn't realized how much I missed my mom's voice until now. It feels like it's been a while since I've talked with her. Not since our conversation about my future. We've only texted back a forth a few times since.
"I am now."
"Good. How's it going over there?"
I am instantly pleased with the view I have. My elbows rest against the railing as I look over and am able to see the blue, open ocean less than a mile away. The sun is shining and the seagulls are flying around. The air is fresh and crisp. This is paradise. I still feel like I'm dreaming.
"It's amazing," I honestly say.
I hear my mom chuckle. "Really?"
I realize she still doesn't know I'm not in Sacramento in our home, doing my same old boring routine.
"Well, Netflix and junk food all day does sound pretty amazing," she adds, "I can't say I'm not jealous."
I stay silent. I can feel a giant hole in my heart, like the one I was talking about last night. My mom was over at my aunt's house, taking care of their kids and working from there while I'm here with my best friends and new foreign friends, alone in this beach house where we live every day like it's our last. And she didn't know a thing.
"Lacey?" My mom breaks me out of my thoughts with a laugh. "Did you fall asleep?"
My throat aches. My impulsive tendencies are creeping up. I try to swallow the guilt away but I don't think I can do this anymore.
"Laceyyyy?"
"Mom?"
"There she is!"
"Mom," I repeat, clearing my throat.
"What?"
"I'm, uh, not home," I simply say, my stomach turning into knots. I stand up straight, not caring that the air is raising goosebumps on my skin and probably getting me sicker.
"Okay," her voice was still chirpy, "Well, where are you? At Gigi's?"
I chew on my lip, inhaling sharply. The dispute I had with Gigi about lying to my mom rings in my head. Gigi was right. About everything. I knew that during the argument. I knew that now. My eyes stare at the ocean, hoping and praying she doesn't get mad. This might be the worst mistake I've ever made. I might have just sealed the coffin on my summer. But I couldn't keep lying to her.
"No.."
"Oh, um, at Bella's? Or with Liam?"
"Mom.."
"What, Lacey? Where are you? You're starting to worry me."
My eyes squeeze shut at the change in her voice. She sounded confused and concerned. I don't blame her.
Here goes nothing.
"I'm.. in Laguna Beach."
"Laguna Beach?"
Fuck. I can't go back now, can I?
"Really?"
"Yeah.."
"Laguna Beach? Isn't that, like, six hours away? When—"
I let out a sigh as I pull my phone away, hearing her finish her question from a slight distance. I couldn't tell if she was mad. She just mostly sounded confused. I quickly go to our messages and send her my current location.
"Check your messages."
A few seconds later I hear her let out a breathy chuckle, sounding like it was out of disbelief. "Wow, you're actually in Laguna Beach.."
"I'm sorry," I quickly say.
"For what?"
"I lied to you." I take another deep breath. "I've been staying here at Gigi's family's house for some time now."
She doesn't say anything for a few seconds. She leaves me in a pile of nerves as I wait for her to say something, even if it's to yell at me.
"How long?"
"For a little over two weeks," I estimate. I can't really count the days right now. I'm too busy whirling with so many thoughts and emotions.
"Two weeks?" She sounds so surprised, which I understand. "Lacey, why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know, I'm sorry! I thought you wouldn't let me come here and I didn't just want to stay at home all summer. I'm sorry." I've never talked more quickly in my life.
She lets out a sigh. "Lacey," she pauses, "Is it just you and Gigi's family?"
"Um, no," I say as I nervously play with the chipped white paint of the railing, "it's Gigi, Bella, Maggie, Liam, all of them. Plus Gigi's brother and his friends.."
My voice grew quiet towards the end of my sentence. I don't know how she's going to react to all this new information. She's quiet again, probably absorbing all of this and wondering how much time she would take before coming down here and looking at this situation for her own eyes before taking me home.
"I'm sorry," I repeat, trying to soften the blow. I was also genuinely sorry I lied to her. I hear her sigh out again. She takes a few seconds to talk again. At this point, I'm preparing for the worst. I'm preparing for her telling me to pack my shit up and go.
"Lacey, it's fine."
My eyes almost pop out of my skull. Huh?
"It's not really fine, actually," she quickly corrects herself, "you lied to me. You disclosed your location to your own mother. You're 7 hours away from home and didn't bother letting me know?!"
"I know. That was stupid of me."
"Very stupid, Lacey. What the hell were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking about myself," I admit to her and to myself. "If it makes you feel any better, Maureen is taking care of our house daily. I'm in constant contact with her.."
I hear her heavily sigh again. She had every right to feel all the negative emotions towards me: anger, disappointment, etc. I did a shitty thing. I can only take responsibility for it now and make it better.
"Well, Lacey, I appreciate your honesty, even if it's late."
"Yeah, sorry," I breathe out. "I really am, mom."
"Is it just you guys?"
"Yes."
"And Gigi's family knows you're there?"
"Yes, her parents gave us permission and everything."
"Okay, I'm going to need a picture of everyone there as soon as possible."
"Got it."
"How old is her brother?"
"25."
"And his friends?"
"Around the same," I say, making my best guess.
"Are you all being safe and responsible? If anything breaks, if neighbours call the police, if anyone gets hurts, Lacey—"
"Mom, don't worry," I quickly assure her, "we're all being safe and respectful."
"Mhm," she says but I knew she believed me. At least somewhat.
I feel a giant weight lifted off my shoulders as I come clean about everything and answer all her questions truthfully. I wanted to be as reassuring as possible to her so I don't add to the mix of her own plate, with the wedding plans, taking care of her niece and nephews, her work, etc.
"How long are you planning to stay?"
I wondered how'd she react if I told her for basically the whole fucking summer.
"Mmm, well, for a month or more?"
"A month?!"
"It's 'cause Gigi's parents are getting rid of this house in August and we just want to make the most of it."
I panicked with my answer. She can very well not want me here for that long. Whatever she says, I promised myself I would respect it and try to understand it.
"It's also one of the last summers we all have together," I add, "I just want to take advantage."
"Okay," she finally says, sounding like she wasn't mad or disappointed, just trying to be understanding. And actually a tiny bit mad. "I get it. Just.. please be careful, Lacey."
"I am, mom."
"I mean it," she says firmly, "I want you to call me if anything goes wrong. I don't care if you get a paper cut or Liam trips, you're going call me and tell me. Understood?"
I smile, trying not to chuckle at what she said. "Got it."
We've all had our fair share of accidents here, from my volleyball bruise to Liam getting so drunk at the party and stumbling everywhere and scraping his knees and elbows, to my more traumatic experience at the club and the party. There's some things I had to keep to myself for her and my own sake.
"And I'm going to talk to Gigi's parents."
"Okay."
She lets out a long sigh then chuckles softly. "Jesus, they own a beach house in Laguna?"
"Yeah, it's insanely sick," I chuckle.
"Send me pictures," she says, "I will warn you, though, it might tempt me to go over and stay with you guys."
I laugh. If my mom was here, it definitely make things more interesting.
"One more thing."
I look out at the view as I wait for her to continue.
"I don't want you to feel like you need to hide things and lie to me."
"I know, mom.. I'm sorry."
"I want you to share your life and what's going on in it as much as you want with me. I'm here for you."
I swallow back tears, not expecting for that to hit as hard as it did. Damn, I feel so guilty for lying to her in the first place.
"I know you're an adult now and you graduated college.. but I can't help still thinking of you as my little ladybug. My Laceybug.."
That just pushed my tears the edge. I had to squeeze my eyes shut to hold them in. She's hasn't called me that in forever. That was the nickname she gave me when I was five years old, when I was dressed as a ladybug for Halloween. The older I got, the less she used the nickname. I didn't mind it, though sometimes it embarrassed me when she would call me that in front of my friends. Liam uses his version of it every now and then. I hadn't realized how much I miss hearing it.
"I may overreact or get mad at you but it's only because I love you."
I blink back tears, silently sniffing and speak even though it feels like there's thorns in my throat.
"Love you too."
"Well," she breathes out, "I'll let you go. You probably have suntanning and swimming to do."
"I'll text you later," I tell her.
A part of me wishes I went with her to my aunt's house in Colorado for the summer..
"You better."
..but I would have never met Harry and everyone else. I would have never made these amazing memories that would last me a lifetime.
We exchanged a few more sentences before saying our goodbyes. As soon as I hang up, I let out a loud breath. I can't believe I came clean to her and it didn't end up in an arguing match. I underestimated her and can't think of why I did anymore. I make a mental note of taking pictures to send to her. I take a quick one of my view, wanting to capture this beauty.
I continue staring at it and lean my elbows against the railing again, chills running through my body as the wind picks up. I felt so good at the moment. Being honest to people was doing me more good than bad. First, Harry then my mom. I was beginning to realize that I make situations more worse in my head than they are. I, then, thought about the other thing I have yet to be honest about.
Maybe I should continue this streak and talk to Gigi..
If it all goes well, this could go down as one of the best days I've had so far, which says a lot because almost every day has been great. I just can't help thinking about it going completely the opposite. The thought of it alone crushes me.
"Enjoying the view?" A husky voice calls from the balcony door. I turn my head, a smile on my face, matching Harry's. He was leaning against the frame, rocking messy hair and the large white duvet from the bed hanging around his shoulders, covering his bare chest.
"Yes," I answer him in a sweet voice, my smile tattooed on my face.
He smirks, eyes falling down to my feet then dragging up in a quick motion. "I am too."
I jokingly roll my eyes at him, not being able to hold back a loud laugh. I turn my head back, blushing a bit, and stand up straight, watching the waves again. My body is soon engulfed by the warmth of his body. He comes up behind me and wraps his arms around mine, sharing the blanket with me.
"You're going to get more ill standing here with those thin pieces of fabric you call shorts."
I lightly scoff. My pajama shorts weren't that thin. But he wasn't wrong though. I would have started shaking because of how cold I was getting if he hadn't come in and shared his warmth with me. I would not have worn these shorts if it wasn't for the fact that I shaved my legs yesterday and it felt so good against the fuzzy blankets. He wasn't complaining about them when he kept running his hands on my calves as we were laying last night. I'm pretty sure he fell asleep doing so. I know I did.
I hold onto his arms with my hands and lean against him, the movement coming naturally to me, continuing my peaceful watch of the ocean.
"Good morning to you, too," I sarcastically tell him.
I liked playing around with Harry like we do. It's a fun part of our daily interactions, even if I get so nervous and flustered on the inside.
"Mmm.." he murmurs as he nuzzles in the crook of my neck, "..mmmmorning."
He felt so warm against my cool skin. I thought the difference in our body temperatures would make him not want to touch me but he didn't seem to mind. I couldn't help but too lean more into him and bring him closer to me. He moves his head back up and rests his chin on my shoulder.
"Who were you on the phone with?" He asks after a few seconds. "I don't mean to be intrusive. I'm just curious. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
I smile while my stomach does a flip, finding it so adorable and respectful that he didn't want to upset me by a question that didn't seem intrusive to me at first glance.
"My mom."
"Oh."
I let out a breath, slightly turning my head to him. "I told her where I was."
"What do you mean?"
Every time he talked, his chin would dig deeper into my chin. It didn't hurt or bother me, it just felt funny.
"I told her that I was staying here and not at my house where she thought I've been for the past days."
"Oh. How'd she take it?"
"Better than I thought she would," I say and turn my head forward again.
"That's good. I'm glad."
"Me too. It feels good to be honest."
I think about our situation and don't want him to think the wrong thing.
"With her," I quickly add, "I've never lied to her about something this big."
Harry and I have been lying to our best friends. We mutually agreed to keep it that way since our first date. I am beginning to change my mind, though..
"Good start to the day then," he says before picking his head back up.
I nod, feeling like this beautiful moment on this balcony was going to come to an end but I'd be fine with staying out here with Harry forever.
"I'm gonna go hop in the shower," he says, his hands moving to my arms and begins to softly rub them up and down. "I can make you breakfast if you're willing to wait until I get out."
I smile at him. Why was he being the cutest being on earth this morning?
"Or I can make us breakfast while you're in the shower," I suggest, "and eat when you're ready."
"This is why we make a great team," he chuckles before leaving a kiss to my temple and moving away from me. He moves one side of the blanket off of us, letting the cool air come in for a second. He moves it back around me and lets the blanket drop on my shoulders, giving it all for me to use. He starts to walk off, looking back at me. "I'll only be a few."
I nod at him, bringing the blanket closer to me. "Okay."
He sends me one last smile before he disappears back into the room. I let out a content sigh as I turn my head back to the world around us. I've become so infatuated with that man, it's not even funny.
"Or," I hear Harry say.
I turn back around and see his head had popped in. He had a cheeky smile on his face.
"We could both hop in the shower, hop back out, and then make breakfast."
Oh, my god..
"Not today," I tell him with a laugh, my cheeks probably pink.
"But another day?" He says with both eyebrows raised.
"Go shower already!" I shake my head at him, laughing as his cheeky grin goes back into the room with him. My hands cover my face, feeling my hot cheeks and my lips that were still smiling widely. He's making me feel all sorts of ways with the ways he talks and acts. I don't know how to handle it all.
I go downstairs once I've changed into a fresh pair of pants and shirt. I don't really hear or see any signs of anyone else awake until I reach the kitchen. Bella is serving herself a bowl of cereal when I enter the room.
"Hi," I say as I smile at her, making my way into the room, feeling like I'm floating instead of walking.
"Hey," she says back and does a double-take at me. "You're unusually chirpy today.."
"What?" I say, acting overly offended, "I'm a normally chirpy person."
"Not at 10 in the goddamn morning."
I may have an idea as to why that is. My smile hasn't left my face since I've left the balcony. She gasps and pops her light green eyes at me.
"It's because of a boy!" She says with a loud whisper. I giggle at her, shaking my head and deny it but she doesn't believe me. "And I know what boy it is!"
I laugh as I walk around the counter so I can get started on breakfast. I had no plans yet as to what to I wanted to make.
"It's also because I finally told the truth to my mom," I contently sigh. "She knows where I am now, no more hiding."
"Did she freak out?"
"Yeah but not as much as I expected."
"That's good, I'm happy for you!" She nods and goes over to sit on one of the stools. "So what's been going on with you-know-who? Fill me in." She begins to dig into her bowl of colorful cereal.
I want keep last night's bump as brief as possible, not wanting to revisit it so much. "Last night," I say as I grab the carton of eggs out, "Adam and I got into an argument and Harry joined in."
"What?" She gasps again. "Really?"
"Yeah. He overheard me telling Adam that I had no feelings about him whatsoever and I only thought of him as a friend, or more like an acquaintance."
"You told Adam that?"
I nod, heating a pan up. "He was suspicious over Harry and I."
"Then what happened?"
"Adam left and Harry and I started going at it a bit. I told him that I was only trying to cover up for Adam but he didn't believe me at first."
"Shit."
"Yeah, I felt a tiny bit heartbroken, honestly. He made it seem like there wasn't anything between us."
"Well, that might make things easier, I guess.." She said that with a low voice, avoiding eye contact. I look at her with scrunched eyebrows, not really sure what she meant by that.
"What do you mean?"
She looks up and blinks at me. I can tell she was holding something back. She takes a deep breath in.
"Well.."
I was so focused on her I forgot about the eggs I was making.
"I've been thinking about this whole thing and.."
I turn the stove off when I see the eggs looked ready. I go over to take some bread to toast. "And what?"
It wasn't like Bella to drag on like this.
"I feel really bad about lying," she finally spits out, "like, I feel like a really bad friend, especially to Gigi."
How the fuck do you think I feel? I want say.
"If Gigi knew something that had to do with me and I didn't know about it, I think she would tell me. No hesitation."
I don't know how to feel about what's she saying. On one hand, I completely understand. I feel absolutely horrible about going behind Gigi's back to hang out with her brother. I'd rather not but I don't think I'd be able to fully explore what Harry and I could be if I told Gigi. If she didn't approve, I don't think I'd want to continue on with Harry, which made me feel weird and sad. It's something that's been hanging over my head since the very first day.
On the other hand, I'm a bit angry. How long has she been feeling this way? She's been so supportive and rooting for us ever since I went to the pool store with Harry. So I'm left wondering when exactly she started feeling this way because she's been so eager to help us since the beginning.
"That's why that fight between you and Harry might have been for the best."
My hand almost cuts my fingers with the sharp knife I was using to cut an avocado open. A fight? It was a quarrel, at most. And did she say for the best?
"I mean, it's not anything serious, right? I know you two like each other but where's this leading to? Because it's either a hook up or a real relationship at this point and from what I gather, it's neither."
Wow.. there's a lot to unpack here..
"Um," she says with a sudden change to her voice and expression, maybe suddenly realizing what she was saying, "you weren't finished with your story. What happened after the fight?"
Again, not a fight.
Her attitude towards Harry and I had been so opposite right now compared to other days and I wondered how she changed her mind so quickly. Or why she decided to tell me how she really felt when I woke up feeling happier than ever.
"We got over it," I simply say. My hands were shaking as I begin spreading avocado on a toasted bread slice. I haven't looked up from what I'm doing in a couple minutes. I was so overwhelmed with this negative feeling inside of me. I sigh and stop my tasks to look up at her. "Do you really think it's best for me not to be with Harry?"
She sighs then shrugs. "I just don't think you should put a guy you've known for a few weeks before your best friend."
I want to throw up. She's said the words I didn't want to hear but I knew were true. Nothing's harsher than the truth that you've been trying to dodge slapping you right in the face.
"Not even if you want them with your whole being?" I say, my voice breaking as my shoulders slump down.
"Oh, Lace," she says before coming over and embracing me with her arms. I hug her back, feeling drained of how easily my moods have been changing lately.
"Bells, how can I just ignore someone who makes me feel so happy? I've literally never met anyone like him. I don't know what the fuck to do."
She comforts me by rubbing my back and then pulls away to look at me. "It's okay, Lace."
"But it's not. I have no idea what I'm doing. And I don't mean to keep dragging you in my shit and I'm sorry you have to lie for me but please help me."
She sighs out. "I don't know what to do either, Lace. I've never been in this situation before."
"Makes two of us," I say with a breathy chuckle, wiping away the single tear that was able to escape.
We stay quiet for a few seconds.
"You really like him, huh.."
I nod almost instantly. That's the only thing I knew for sure. She inhales and exhales then claps her hands together once.
"Okay, forget everything I said earlier."
"Wha-"
"If there's one thing my momma always told me, it is to follow my heart, no matter what. You need to follow yours."
Why do I feel like we've had this sort of conversation that ends up in the same way a couple times before? The thought almost makes me laugh out loud.
"But I don't want to keep putting you in this position-"
"It's fine. I'll get over it." She gently smiles at me while shrugging. "If you two end up getting serious, we'll tell Gigi. It's not like she'll force you to break up, right? And if this thing only lasts until tomorrow then so be it. At least you'll know that you followed your heart and G doesn't have to find out. Hell, maybe you can tell her about it in a year and you guys will just laugh."
I let out a small laugh, quickly getting over this weird emotion.
"You're smiling again!" She adds and pokes my cheek.
"I feel better, thank you."
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was honestly talking out of my ass. You can continue count on me, dude. Gigi won't have to know a thing."
"Know what?"
We both whip our heads so quick at the voice. Chills ran up and down my spine when I meet eyes with Gigi. My head began to spin when she walks into the kitchen.
"Uh," Bella stutters out, equally surprised as me.
I felt like I couldn't speak. I don't even think I can breathe. Like there was no air in my lungs.
"What thing?" Gigi repeats, eyeing both of us.
Bella quickly notices that I am not able to speak out a proper response and that I can even barely look at Gigi right now so she takes it upon herself to say something.
"Right, um, well.." She clears her throat.
I had no idea if Gigi was able to hear us and if she listened to our entire conversation before she came in. Her face wasn't giving anything away. I'm feeling faint at the thought. Was it always this hot in here?
"Damn it!" Bella suddenly exclaims, lightly slapping the counter beside her. "It was supposed to be a surprise!"
"What was?"
I look at Bella with wide eyes, wondering where she was going with this. She lets out a loud breath as she looks at me.
"Well, no point in keeping it a secret anymore.."
Bella?!
"Lace and I were talking about how grateful we are to be here.." she begins explaining.
Oh, my fucking god, where was she going with this?
"So we came up with the perfect way of showing you our appreciation."
"Okay, what is it?" Gigi asks, now very intrigued and impatient in what Bella was going to say next.
Makes two of us.
"Well, um, we wanted to surprise you with a big, fancy dinner?"
My face releases the tension it was holding this entire time for a second.
"A dinner?" Gigi looks confused but still intrigued.
"A big, fancy one," Bella says with a smile, more confidence in her voice, "with fancy dresses and fancy wine and.."
She loses her train of thought as she looks at Gigi. I look at her too. She had her eyes narrowed in at Bella the entire time, like she wasn't believing this. I feel like I should step in. I fear she would call us out for lying and find out what we were really talking about.
"And," I say, "we were going to cook you your favorite foods and listen to fancy music..?"
It was a few painfully long seconds until Gigi's face finally changes to a positive one. She grins and begins to squeal.
"Really?! For me?"
Bella and I both look at each other before looking back at Gigi.
"Yep," Bella answers with a tight smile.
"Yay!" Gigi exclaims and hops over to us, giving us a big hug.
We're going to be the world's biggest assholes if we don't go through with this now.
"So when should we go shopping?"
"For what?" I ask.
"Our dresses," she says like it was obvious, "I'm sure none of us brought fancy dresses."
"We can go tomorrow?" Bella suggests.
"But isn't the dinner tonight?"
"Is it?" I say, turning to Bella with a tight-lipped smile, not recalling us stating a date.
"Um, I guess so," Bella says with a small shrug.
"Okay, let's leave in 20," Gigi says and sends us a smile before running off. Bella and I give each other the same look.
"Bruh, how the fuck are we going to pull this off?" Bella says once Gigi leaves.
"I don't know," I say, "you're the mastermind behind this!"
"You're welcome, by the way!"
I chuckle and thank her. If it wasn't for her coming up with a lie on the spot, I don't even know what would have happened. But now this lie is becoming the truth. Planning a fancy dinner for tonight will surely be interesting..
"Okay," she sighs out, "first things first, we need to let everyone on in the plan."
"What is the plan exactly?"
"I don't know," she groans.
"I haven't even had breakfast yet," I say as Liam walks in the room.
"Ladies," he greets us before walking towards the fridge.
"Liam, we need your help."
"Whoa," I mutter out at the same time Liam whips his head around.
"You need my help?"
Bella nods at him. Liam looks at us with a confused expression.
"What could you possibly need my help with? You realize there's four people in this house you should ask for help before coming to me."
"Please," Bella pleads, "you're a good host. I need some of your magic for what is going to be a long day."
Liam was instantly intrigued and comes closer. We begin telling him what was going to happen tonight (if we somehow manage to get everything ready by then) and how we basically have no plan.
"Why can't you just do it another day?"
"Because she got all excited and she assumed it'd be tonight," Bella begins explaining, "the least we can do is try to have it tonight."
"First of all, why are you doing this?" He snorts.
I can't believe we're throwing a big dinner for Gigi just to cover for Harry and I.. I'm such an asshole.
"Are you going to help us or not?" Bella asks with her arms crossed.
"Fine," he sighs out after thinking it through for a few seconds. "Is Zoey awake?"
"I don't know, why?"
"The girl makes lists and detailed systems for almost everything. Need I say more?"
The three of us head upstairs to see if we can quickly make a plan so we can be ready to shop. I make a pit stop to my room to give Harry the breakfast I told him I would make him. I'm been sneaking a few bites of my own avocado toast as I make my way up. Harry is sitting on the bed putting on a pair of socks when I walk in. He smiles at me as I go to him and give him his plate.
"Thank you," he hums, "you didn't have to bring it up here."
I give him a shy smile. "I wanted to make more food but something came up."
"No, this is looks delicious," he pauses, "but not as much as the chef."
I roll my eyes at him, fighting the butterflies I got just by looking at him. I sit down next to him as he takes his first bite.
"You're being awfully cheesy today."
"What can I say?" He says with his mouth full. "You bring it out of me."
I giggle at him and not say much as he eats. I can't stay for long anyway. I'm just going to give him the heads up before I go over and see what's going on with today's plan.
"Would you happen to have," I pause, "really fancy clothes with you?"
"Erm, how fancy?"
"I don't know. Maybe like a nice sweater or a suit.."
"A suit?" His eyebrows quirk up at me. "You're asking me if I brought a suit to a beach house?"
I nod. "Did you?"
"I did not."
"Damn," I mutter. The guys are going to have to do some shopping of their own too.
"Why are you asking?"
I exhale loudly before speaking. "We're throwing a fancy dinner for Gigi tonight. It's a surprise, even though she already knows."
He lets out a chuckle. "Really?"
"Yeah. I have no idea how we're going to pull it off."
"How can I help?"
We both walk in the room where Bella, Liam, and Zoey were conversing. By the time we got there, Zoey had a diagram, a menu, a list of ingredients, and categorized jobs and set people off into teams for those jobs.
"Holy shit, Zoey," I say, my jaw dropped looking at her work.
"What'd I say?" Liam says, "she's a fucking beast."
"Oh, hell no," Bella suddenly says, "I am not cleaning shit."
"Relax, Bells," Zoey says, "the house isn't that messy anyway."
"And this whole thing was your idea," Liam says.
"It's sort of Lacey's too!"
While it wasn't my actual idea, it was me that made Bella come up with the idea. Essentially I was responsible for this whole thing. I owe it to Gigi and to everyone else not to screw it up. I had to pull my own weight and makes sure it all goes perfectly.
"I'm calling a house meeting," Zoey says.
Gigi was in the shower as we all gathered in the living room. We had to force some people to wake up and join us because this was an urgent matter. We needed all hands on deck.
"Wait, what is the reason behind this?" Beau asks after Bella tells them tonight's plan.
"A fancy dinner?" Maggie asks. "What does that even mean?"
"Yeah, I'm confused," Sierra says.
"What's on the menu?" Niall asks.
"Why the fuck does Zoey have all those papers for?" Adam says.
"Okay, everyone," Liam loudly says as he stands in front of the room, "Pay attention because we need everyone's help."
"We're going to have a really fancy, five-star restaurant quality food and wine," Bella explains again, "And we're all gonna get dressed up."
"Why?" Maggie asks.
"It's for Gigi. It's sort of a surprise dinner for her."
"Is it her birthday or something?" Zayn asks.
"No," Zoey answers, "it's a thank-you dinner."
"Thank you for what?" Adam asks.
"Wait, we're dressing up?" Sierra asks.
"Say no more. I'm in," Beau chimes in with a smile.
"It's a thank you for letting us stay here," Bella says, "we're here because of her."
Harry snorts. I turn my head to look at him. I turn back after a few seconds of him avoiding my eye.
"And yes, we are dressing up."
"Like formal wear?" Louis asks.
"Yes."
"Like suits and shit?" Adam asks with scrunched up eyebrows.
"If you guys have any."
"No," Niall says with a small chuckle. All the guys slowly shake their head, obviously not packing a suit with them to a beach.
"I brought one," Beau says with a smug face and Liam high fives him when he says that he did to.
"Why?" Adam asks.
"For emergencies."
"Yeah," Liam agrees, "you never know."
"Any nice formal wear would do," Bella adds, "some of us are going out to shop if anyone wants to come."
"Wait a minute," Maggie says, "this is a real thing? We're actually spending money on this?"
"Yes," Bella says, looking like she was starting to get annoyed with all these questions.
"For Gigi?"
"Yeah, it's a token of appreciation," I say.
I understand why everyone was sort of confused and wasn't on board right away. A big dinner that's going to great lengths might seem unnecessary but it's not like we can call it off now.
"Listen, I know it's totally last minute," Zoey jumps in, "but it won't seem like much if we all cooperate."
"How is this gonna go down?" Sierra asks with a yawn. "And what the fuck is a 'fancy dinner' anyway? Are we going out to eat?"
"Surely it's an American thing, right," Louis asks, "like, um, Thanksgiving?"
"Sure," Bella says.
"What do we have to do?" Harry asks, making an effort to get involved. I try to hide my smile at that.
Zoey had to explain her plan three times:
- The girls would have to go shopping for those who need outfits. We would hit thrifts first so we don't have to spend too much money. Five people would go, alternating shopping for clothes and shopping for groceries to eliminate time.
- The rest of the house would need to clean the kitchen and the dining table.
- Find any fancy silverware and table clothes.
- Liam would make a playlist of classical music.
- Cook a meal similar to a roast.
- Get ready and meet for dinner at 7 pm.
I check my phone for the time. It was 12:15. I fear that if we don't start now, we might not be ready when we're supposed to be.
"So, who's gonna do what?" Louis asks.
"Gigi, Bella, Lacey, and another girl and guy will do the shopping," Zoey says as she looks at her charts, "but you can't spend more than 2.5 hours there."
We already knew what we had to buy food-wise. It was the shopping for clothes part that would take the longest. We would have to be shopping for basically everyone in the house so it would be multiple calls and sending pictures of different items to see what everyone wanted. They would need to tell us their accurate measurements because it would suck getting something that doesn't fit them because they weren't there to try it on.
"The rest," Zoey continues, "are going to clean. As far as the cooking goes, it's up to everyone if they want to help."
"Hell yeah," Adam says, "I'll make a mean turkey piccata."
"What else is on the menu?" Louis asks.
"Mostly Gigi's favorites: roasted red pepper pasta, quinoa, asparagus, and roasted potatoes."
They all talk briefly amongst themselves as they decide who was going to cook what. I was just glad they're finally getting into tonight's plans. Even if Gigi knew about tonight, there was still some things we can keep a surprise.
We're out the door by 12:30. It was us plus Zayn and Sierra going to shop. We took a little over 20 minutes to get to our first thrift store that we found nearby. I had no idea what to expect but I hoped we could all find something.
"How the fuck are we supposed to find outfits for 11 people," Bella says as soon as we enter the store. It was filled with endless racks of colorful clothing that looked liked it had been here since the 2007.
"Let's go to the dresses," Gigi chirps, practically skipping around the store.
"I'm going to the men's section," Zayn says.
"I'll help you find suits in a bit!" Gigi tells him.
My eyes immediately zero in on the bold, long dresses hanging towards the back of the store. The girls and I beginning sorting through the racks, pulling out some and putting it back. We had an idea of how each of us liked to wear when it came to dressing up. The thing is, we were limited by the donations of this store so this was going to be an interesting challenge.
"What do we think about this?" Sierra says as she holds up a hot pink dress with ruffles on the sides of the bottom. It was long and sleeveless and had a silk fabric.
"Wait," Bella snorts, "I actually kind of like it."
Sierra hands it to her and Bella examines it closer. It was just tacky enough to actually be cute.
"The color is pretty," Gigi comments, "the ruffles throw me off but it's not bad."
"Yeah," I agree, "can't hurt to try it on."
Bella nods and lays it across our small shopping cart. We continue looking through the dresses and seeking advice from each other. We send pictures of potential dresses to send to the girls back at the house.
"Guys," Sierra says and we all turn our heads towards her, "what about this? It's very prom but I kinda love it." She holds up a light grey sleeveless dress with a very long skirt that cascades down. It has a built-in belt covered in silver jewels.
"It's nice," I tell her, "it'd look really good on you."
"It gives me such 2000's vibes," Bella says, "I dig it."
We hear a sudden gasp coming from Gigi. She rushes towards us with red fabric in her hands.
"I think I found the one!" She squeals.
"Well, show us!" Sierra says back, matching her excitement.
"I don't want to jinx it," Gigi says with a chuckle, "You'll see it when I try it on. Crossing my fingers it fits good."
I'm relieved this store had options for us. We were mostly looking for long, fancy dresses, not too picky because we knew we didn't have a lot of time, options, and money.
"Maggs texted back," Bella says, "she wants the blue one."
That was a good choice. It was dark blue with sequins everywhere and was sleeveless. I would have picked it myself but I wanted to keep looking. Besides, I wanted the girls back at home to have first pick since they can't be here.
"I'll try it on and send her a pic since we have similar body shapes," Gigi says as she puts her dress and Maggie's down in the cart.
"Yeah, that's smart," I say before going back to the dresses.
"I'm gonna go help Zayn with the suits," Gigi says with a giddy tone before walking away.
"Where's the black one?" Bella asks, eyes glued to her phone, "Zoe wants it."
"This one?" I ask, holding up a short black dress with a skater-skirt type of bottom and long sleeves. It also had a silver beaded neckline.
"Yeah," Bella says after careful observation. "I'm sure this'll fit her. I'll double-check the size."
I was starting to feel like I wasn't going to find one. Some of them caught my attention and I was willing to try them on but I still wanted to look for one that I really liked. Just before I moved onto another rack, my hand lands on a soft black fabric. I was intrigued by the black feathers I spot from it. It was pretty long dress. The material was like a bandeau and felt like it was stretchy. It was sleeveless (that seems to be the theme going on between us) and had a feather detailed along the square neckline. It looked like a plain black dress but I loved that. It was the small design details that made it less ordinary.
"Try that on!" I hear Sierra say next to me.
I look back at her then check the size. I shrug and nod my head, placing it in the cart. I look back through the dresses, even the ones I've already looked at. I feel a buzzing in my pocket. My stomach flips when I saw Harry was calling me. I take a breath before distancing myself from the girls and answering.
"Hello?"
"Hiiii," Harry says back. I can hear the smile in his voice. My stomach is filled with butterflies.
"How's the shopping going?"
"Pretty good. We're finding some good fits," I say as my free hand mindlessly touches the clothes that was right in front of me.
"Cool," he hums, "Erm, can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Can you pick out a suit for me? Gigi and Zayn are sending me the literal worst outfits I have ever seen."
I burst out in laughter, my head turning to see if I can find either one of them.
"I'm dead serious," he continues, "I know Zayn is, like, a designer but his style and mine's are so different."
I would have to agree with on this. Zayn dresses very punk with his leather and graphics tees and black jeans and combat boots. I've noticed Harry has more of a hipster meets Bowie vibe with his jeans and patterned shirts and yellow swimming trunks. He's all over the place yet so stylish. He's the only one who can pull it off.
"I don't want to wear a plain black and white suit. That's not my thing."
"What would you like to wear then?" I ask, trying to hide my laughing. He sounds like a kid not wanting his mom to dress him.
"Give me color," he says, "I'm a sucker for colored suits. I don't care about anything else other than it has to fit well, of course."
I hear that I just got a text. It's from Harry. He just sent me his measurements.
"I'll see what I can find and send you pictures."
"Don't bother."
"What?" I ask as I make my way towards the men's section.
"I trust you."
I nearly stopped in my tracks hearing that. I don't want to say anything back because it's such a perfect thing to hear, I didn't want to ruin it. But of course, me being me, I decide to make an awkward, dumb joke.
"Are you sure about that? I see a very tempting yellow suit right now.."
He laughs and it sounds so beautiful, even through the phone. "If it's in my size, then why not."
I laugh with him, walking closer to the yellow suit I was staring at. Unfortunately, it wasn't in his size. It was more meant for a preteen.
"Do you also need a shirt thing for underneath the suit jacket?" I ask, not finding the right words to phrase my question but Harry understands anyway.
"I've only brought a black button up with me so do with that as you will."
"Okay," I breathe out, standing an aisle over from Gigi and Zayn, who were still looking at suit jackets. "What about ties?"
"Eh," he says, "I can think of a better use for them."
I stop and think about what he just said. Better use? What else can a tie do other than.. tie?
Oh.
Am I hearing correctly? Is my mind wandering and thinking about the not so innocent uses of a tie? Am I thinking about this too hard?
"Thanks, love. I'll see you soon."
"Yep, bye," I awkwardly say before hanging up as quickly as possible.
I turn a red color as I begin to stifle through the selections, trying not replay our conversation in my head, clearly having an effect on me.
I honestly felt a lot of pressure choosing Harry's suit of the night. I'd like to think I know him well him to get something he'll like but I don't. The only thing I can do is go with my gut. It's going to look on him regardless because he is basically a god.
"Look what we got!" I hear Gigi call out before I look to my side and see her coming with a cart filled with different suits.
They got a dark blue velvet suit jacket for Niall and black ones for Louis and Adam. Zayn got a light grey one with a thin white square print.
"It's up to them on how to style them," Zayn says as he walks up to us, "I've got trousers for Liam and Adam. Reckon they'll fit?"
As Gigi and Zayn discuss the suits amongst themselves, I continue my journey with trying to find the perfect suit for Harry. There was only a few colored suits that I was thinking of getting.
"What about shoes?" Zayn asks Gigi.
"Oh, shit. How can I forget about shoes?! Let's go see what we can find."
I pull out a salmon pink jacket. I purse my lips at it after checking the size. This might be an option. I back it back with a small groan when I see a giant coffee stain on the back of the shoulders. How does that even happen?
"Hey," Bella calls out, "we're gonna try stuff on."
I nod at her. "Send me pics!"
"Okay! Hurry up so you can try on yours!"
I nod back and continue my search. There's gotta be something. I walk over to another aisle where there was more suit jackets. In the midst of brown and black, I saw pale green.
"Holy shit," I actually say out loud when I pull out the fabric.
There was a very nice looking jacket that was practically the same color of Harry's eyes along with matching dress pants. It was a smooth material with buttons of the same green color. I fully inspect it all before I loved it more. I discovered the pants had a black stripe along the inner legs. That was a very nice detail. I had goosebumps just imagining Harry in this and how much it would make his eyes pop. My hands quickly search for the label to check the size. Please, let this be in his size. That would instantly give me pure relief and joy.
I gasp, staring at the small black label. It's in his size!
I could jump out of excitement in this spot. I squeal to myself and grab the suit and matching pants, holding it tight against my body. He said he had a black button down, which would match perfectly. The shoes were the only thing that were still up in the air.
I go towards the dressing room. There was two small stalls in the back of the store. I set the suit down in the shopping cart and pick up the black dress I found. Bella exits the stall moments later.
"What's the final verdict?" I ask her as I spot the pink dress in her hands.
"10/10," she smiles, "it's coming home with us."
I walk into the stall so I could try on the dress. As I'm putting it on, I can hear Zayn and Gigi talk with Bella. They had only found one nice pair of dress shoes. I guess the boys just had to wear what they brought with them.
I smooth down the sides of the dress as I look at my reflection. It was pretty stretchy yet hugged my body in the right places. The feathers were a bit itchy but it looked cute. It felt right above my ankles. I'm sure if I wore heels with this, I'd look taller because of how this dress fit. I look at my angles for a few more minutes, messing with my hair and posing before deciding I wanted to buy it.
We're a mess at the cash register because of how much we were buying separately and had to make sure we were getting something for everyone who needed it. Soon enough, we were heading out of the store and to the grocery. We ended up not going by Zoey's plan of having two groups to save time because it got too complicated at the thrift store but at least we knew what we had to get so it'd be a quick shopping trip.
"What are you guys making?" Gigi asks as I put a whole bag of potatoes in the cart.
"Not saying," I smile at her.
Zayn comes back with the tomatoes and we make our way towards the bread section for two baguettes.
"Can I make a suggestion?" She says with a small smile. "You don't have to do it or anything."
"Sure." I knew we would make it regardless of what it was.
"I loooove brownies."
I chuckle at her as we make our way down the aisles. I remember we had two boxes of brownie mix back at the house. I sneak a text to Zoey to tell her that we need to make those.
We leave the grocery store with two of our reusable bags. The drive back to the house was short and filled with Zoey and I texting each other updates. The house is mostly ready. It has been tidied up and waiting for us to set up. We found really nice tablecloths and a very fancy tea cup set that I'm sure Gigi would love. The food was slowly coming along and everyone was pitching in. This night might actually turn out perfect.
"Wash the clothes immediately," Beau tells us as soon as we walk into the house, "I swear, if there's any bed bugs anywhere, I will leave this damn house."
"Sir, yes, sir," Bella says with a firm voice and a grin as she takes all the bags from the thrift store and heads to the laundry room.
I walk into the kitchen, expecting all hands on deck but only see Liam and Niall giggling at something, their faces turned away from me as they face a counter.
"Guys?" I ask them. They immediately stop laughing and freeze up. I blink at their weird reactions and wait for some sort of explanation.
"Yeah?" Liam was the first to speak up, still turned away.
"What are you guys doing?"
"..Baking."
I try to peak over their bodies to see if I can see that he's telling the truth but I couldn't. I can, however, see empty boxes of brownie mix off to the side and a couple of cracked eggs are on the counter. I decide not to question it since I did give Zoey a heads up that Gigi wanted brownies for dessert. I start to walk away, letting them get back.
"Okay.. have fun," I say before I go to the dining table. I see Zoey, Beau, Bella, and Sierra discussing something in an almost heated way.
"There are all kinds of mosquitoes," I hear Beau say when I walk in, "and it's going to be cold as hell."
"But think of how cute it'll be with all the lights!" Bella says.
"It's not worth it," he retorts, "I am not going to get bitten by bugs and freeze to death all because you think it'll be more aesthetically pleasing!"
"The food will probably get cold too," Zoey adds.
"What's going on?" I ask, not being able to put the pieces together just hearing them vaguely argue back and forth.
"Bella here," Beau says as he points to Bella, "thinks we need to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of a little dinner party and have it outside."
"Out of everyone here, I thought you'd understand." Bella shakes her head at him.
"Oh, I understand perfectly. I understand that you'd rather get a good Instagram picture than care about all your friends!"
"You want to talk about Instagram pictures? You're the one who used Maggie as a fucking human tripod!"
"That was only once!"
"Try ten times bitch! Since it takes you nearly an hour to get one good picture."
"Oh, you did not just say that!"
"And how many likes did you end up getting? Oh, I remember! 150, you fucking flop!"
"Okay, okay," Zoey immediately butts in, "arguing is not going to solve anything."
"Yeah, come on, guys," I say, "let's talk this out."
"Talking with her is like talking to a wall!" Beau says frustratingly as Bella glares at him with a mean smirk.
"Kind of like the shape of your ass?"
Zoey and Sierra had to literally step in to prevent Beau and Bella from coming at each other. We try to calm them down. I don't know why they were so angry with one another all of a sudden. We moved to the living room so they can both sit down at a good distance from each other and have a conversation without yelling or insulting each other. I couldn't stay for long because I was being called from the kitchen. I excuse myself and go back to the room I was in moments ago. Niall and Liam were sitting on the stools now and the counter where they were previously standing in front of was clear.
"Where are the turkey breasts?" Adam asks me as he was taking out different pans. All the ingredients we bought are sprawled out on the counter.
"Turkey breasts?"
He nods and continues looking through the groceries. "Yeah, can't make turkey piccata without turkey."
"Did you check the fridge?"
Fuck. We forgot to buy the fucking turkey breasts. My only hope was that, for some reason, we already had some in the fridge from a previous grocery run.
"Yeah, nothing."
"So the thing is, Adam, um, we didn't buy any.."
His eyebrows pucker together. "What?"
"We forgot," I begin explaining, letting out a small chuckle, looking for the list of items we needed to get, "or maybe it wasn't on the list.."
"What do you mean? I asked you guys for it, like, five separate times."
"It must have slipped our minds. We were at the thrift store right before—"
"I even double-texted you about it." Something shifts in his voice. It grows colder and angrier.
"I remember that now, but it was when we were still at the—"
"What the hell am I supposed to make now?" I can tell he was trying to remain calm and if we carried on with this conversation, it would soon turn into an arguing match.
"I don't know, Adam.." I watch him carefully, not wanting to upset him more. "I'm sorry. There must be some—"
"Dammit, Lacey!" He suddenly yells, frown etching on his face. "I asked for one simple thing!"
"I'm sorry," I grow confused and slightly scared of his demeanor now, not wanting another repeat of last night, "it was an accident."
Man, what was in the air today?
"Hey, mate, it's okay," Niall says, trying to ease the tension, "we can figure something else out."
"Yeah, man, take it easy," Liam adds as they both watch him in a careful and confused manner.
"Okay," Adam breathes out, "let me make myself clearer." His voice stayed low but firm, he was still angry. "If I can't make the fucking main course then there's no fucking dinner."
"I can go to the store and get some," Niall says but Adam ignores him.
"One simple thing, Lacey," Adam continues to glare at me, "and you manage to fuck it up! How stupid can you be?!"
"Whoa, whoa, Adam," Liam says, getting up from his stool.
"I understand your frustration," I tell him calmly, not wanting to yell at him back because that's not going to make anything better, "but it was an accident. We were distracted—"
"Distracted?" He laughs humorlessly. "Oh, I bet you fucking were."
"Adam, are you okay, dude?" Liam asks while Adam looks at me with anger.
"Maybe if you didn't have your head up Harry's ass then you would have remembered!"
What
the fuck
did he just say?
"Adam, relax—"
Adam interrupts Liam, huffing at him. "No, Lacey just ruined dinner!"
"No, she didn't—"
I scoff, feeling wetness surrounding my eyes. "Are you serious right now?"
"Leave it to her to fuck things up for everybody else!" He shakes his head at me. "I shouldn't have trusted you."
I felt utterly speechless. What the actual fuck was going on? Was I missing something? Because last night everything felt fine between us before we went to bed. There has to be something more. A couple of forgotten turkey breasts couldn't be what was truly making him mad.
"You done, mate?" Harry's gravely voice cuts the tension in the room in half, walking in, a hard gaze directed towards Adam. "You feel better now yelling at her like that?"
"Of fucking course," Adam says under his breath as he rolls his eyes, "Here comes Harry to the rescue.."
"What is your fucking problem?" I finally speak up, looking at Adam in astonishment and annoyance.
"Mind repeating that, mate?" Harry walks even closer into the kitchen, jaw locked and face stern. My arm goes out and stops Harry from moving past me, not wanting things to get worse.
"Come on, man," Liam tells Adam as he appears by his side in under a second, grabbing him by his shoulder, "let's go for a walk."
I watch Adam in shock and anger as he gives me a final glare, nostrils flaring and jaw clenched before shoving off Liam's hands and walking out of the kitchen with him following behind. We hear the slam of the front door in a matter of ten seconds. I let out a heavy breath as I stare at the spot where Adam previously stood. What the fuck?
"Are you okay, Lacey?" Niall was the first to speak. It takes me a few seconds but I nod my head, removing my hand from Harry's chest as I look at him.
Harry looks angry. Like he could hurt somebody or punch through a wall. He was biting down hard on his teeth and let out heavy breaths through his nose with his eyes a shade of dark green. But when he turns to look at me, his face softens and relaxes a bit. He swallows and unclenches his fists before he opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by the new presences in the room.
"What just happened?" It was Beau. He had come in with Bella, Zoey, and Sierra. "We heard shouting."
I break away from Harry and turn to them, shaking my head slightly, not knowing what happened myself.
"I don't know," my voice was soft, blinking back angry tears, "Adam just.. I don't know."
"I've never heard him go off like that before," Bella says and I nod, agreeing silently.
"He'll cool off," Zoey says with a soft voice. I can feel her looking at me. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."
"It smells good in here!" We hear Gigi say in a singing voice as her footsteps come closer.
I barely notice the smell of warm chocolate in the air. I'm still replaying the very confusing dispute Adam and I had. It's true. I've never seen him yell at anyone like he just did unless it was at a screen and the NBA playoffs were on it. I've seen him get annoyed and argue with people. Yesterday was one of the rare times I was on the other side of it. Was last night still bothering him? Should I apologize again?
What he said to me and how he acted out was very uncalled for. Frankly, it hurt me. It's never fun when one of your closest friends yells at you and is mad at you for hurting them but you didn't even know you hurt them.
Gigi walks in the kitchen and immediately notices our serious expressions, aware that the air was still thick and tense. "Oh, shit. What happened?"
I break out of my weird trance and see everyone is still where they were when Adam stormed off. No one answered Gigi right away and I didn't stick around to find out what they said. I needed to cool off too.
I let out a shaky breath as soon as I enter the room, my muscles still tense. I was glad I didn't end up lashing back at Adam and remained as calm as I could when he was yelling at me and regret something I didn't mean to say. But now I just felt like I had all these weird, mixed emotions bottled up inside me. I knew I wouldn't feel better until I talk to Adam. Something wasn't right with him. I could sense it.