With a Lack of Wanderlust

I awoke on the grass the next day feeling better than I had in weeks. The early morning sun shined brightly on my face, but it felt better than it had the day before. What had really happened to me that night? Before that, I would’ve never had a second thought about jumping off a balcony or even leaving the house after dark.

Turning over, I looked to find Louis’ space empty. I felt his jacket still around me and, out of curiosity, I brought the sleeve up to my nose and smelled, a grin forming on my face. It wasn’t like the axe or Hollister cologne that I was used to. I rolled over on the grass, giggling a little bit. How had I not noticed that he smelled that good?

I couldn’t be falling in lust could I? I shook my head at that thought that hadn’t entered my mind for years.

“Isabelle?” I sat up and looked toward the side of the house to find my mom walking toward me. I got on my feet quickly as she approached me. “What are you doing out here? I’ve been looking for you all morning.”

“I was just, uh, I slept out here. It’s nice at night time.”

“Were you with a boy?” She demanded and a surprised look soon came on her face, “Wow, I never thought I would be saying that.”

“No,” I said quickly, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest. I looked over toward Liam’s lawn to find him and Niall kicking a soccer ball back and forth. Liam was looking at me and attempting to only discreetly laugh. I turned back to my mom.

“Well, come inside then, you look parched.”

I let out a sigh of relief, heading back to the house with her, thankful that she hadn’t noticed that jacket I was wearing wasn’t mine.

---

After getting a drink of orange juice, I had decided to try unpacking a bit. Since I couldn’t put my clothes anywhere, instead I was just making my suitcase a more organized mess. I pulled out my iPod from my carry-on bag and stuck my ear buds in, tuning everything else out so I could focus.

Not exactly everything, though.

“NO DUDE!” I heard coming from outside and looked up from my suitcase. The yelling continued. I paused my music and took my headphones out of my ears so I could hear better, “NO! WHAT IF IT GETS LOST.” It was Niall.

I stood up and opened my balcony doors, walking out and looking toward Liam’s backyard, just as I heard “Fine!” echoing.

“OH BLOODY HELL,” I heard Liam say quickly and watched the soccer ball as it headed toward me. I moved inside for a quick moment, coming back out once I saw it roll across the pavement.

“What the hell are you doing?” I picked it up, bouncing it back and forth between my hands.

“Can I have it back?” Niall whined, putting his hands in the air.

I laughed, throwing it toward him, but face palmed as soon as I saw my iPod go flying with it. “Aw, fuck.” I slid my hand down my face, having not realized I had been still holding it. I saw Niall catch the soccer ball, but my iPod was close to hitting the ground and breaking.

“Got it,” Liam said before swiftly jumping down to grab it.

--
“Give it back!” Liam and I were standing on either sides of the fence in between our houses and I reached out to grab my music player. He put the hand he was holding it in in the air, only bringing it back to face level to continue scrolling through my music, “Liam! Can I please have it?”

“Your music isn’t even that good why would you want it,” He laughed, still looking.

“Excuse me.” I went to grab it again.

“OHHHHH LEONA LEWIS.” His mouth made an ‘O’ shape and he looked at me, shocked, sticking the headphones in his own ears, “I LOVE HER.”

I shook my head, Niall and I laughing as Liam screeched out the lyrics to “Bleeding Love.”

“Come on, Liam, give it back.” I said in between giggles, holding my hand out. He just grabbed it and continued singing.

Finally, he stopped, “Come hang out with me,” He said, giving my hand a light tug, pulling me against the fence and closer to him. He pulled the ear buds out with his free hand and put the chord around his neck.

“Will you give me my iPod then?”

“Maybe.”

“Well fine,” I let go of his hand and walked around to his side, where he was already going into the house. Niall was left alone, dribbling the ball. He looked a bit sad, but I figured he was just concentrating so I continued to follow Liam.

“So you like Leona?” He asked, his grin still on his face.

“Yeah, well, what I know of her stuff.”

“That’s--” He turned back to me, taking a quick look at my torso, “Hey is that Louis’s?” He pointed to my sleeve, his eyebrows furrowed together.

I hadn’t even realized that I was still wearing it. I merely nodded.

“When did you get that?” He didn’t sound demanding, only confused.

“Last night,” I explained, “We both couldn’t sleep so he brought me around back. He’s very good with astronomy, it’s amazing.”

“Hold on, I forgot I had to ask Harry something.” Liam said quickly. He ran up the stairs and I sat on the last step to wait.

After about 15 minutes, I was becoming impatient and worried that I’d done something wrong. Niall came through the door, a towel around his neck and the soccer ball under his arm, “Hey,” he gave me a crooked smile, “Lookin‘ a lil uneasy there, yeah?”

“No it’s cool,” I returned the smile to assure him.

“Where’s Liam at?”

“He just went up to talk to Harry about something, I guess.” I bit my lip and it seemed that he’d just noticed the sweatshirt as well, his eyebrows lifted for a moment. How did everyone seem to know that was Louis’s jacket? I could’ve easily had the same as him!

“Oh.” He said, sounding quite taken back, wiping his forehead with the towel, “Well if he hasn’t come down in a bit, you want to come help me make something to eat? I’m starving.”

“Sure,” I laughed, thinking of how Liam described him the other day. I got up to follow him into the kitchen, which I had not seen until then, but it was just as glamorous as the rest of the house.

“Okay, I make the eggs, you make the pancakes, got it?”
“Ey ey, capt’n” I saluted him as he set the pancake mix and measuring cups on the counter with a chuckle. I stirred water in with the mix, getting a bit of it on my finger and wiping it across my nose.

He looked at me, trying not to laugh, “You know you’re supposed to do that to the other person, no? Like,” he grabbed some for himself, and swiped it across my forehead, “like that.”

“No, I like making myself a mess,” I smiled, turning to the stove.

“You’re…interesting.” Niall shook his head, letting out a sigh.

“Nah, just weird,” I smiled wide at him.

Before I could get anything cooking, there was a yell from above and then the stomping of feet down the stairs. Eventually, in came Louis with just a towel around his waist. He had soap in his hair and continuously wiped his eyes and mouth with one hand, the other holding the towel.

“Who flushed the bloody toilet twelve…fuckin’…times?”

“Um…” I leaned against the counter, unsure of what to say. Hi, Louis? Nice to see your abs? I’m not sure who flushed the toilet but you look absolutely lovely? Niall groaned beside me.

“Fuckin’ hell.” he said, “Louis, such a nice way to welcome the girl here, aye?”

“Oh hey,” He leaned against the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, finally noticing me through all of his rage, “just problems with the water I’m sure that’s all.” He cleared his throat, tightening the towel around his waist. “Y’know.”

“Yeah,” I laughed and looked at Niall as Louis just stood there, most likely unsure of what to do. He was shaking his head, visibly mad.

I heard more bounding down the stairs and Harry and Liam popped their heads into the kitchen, smirks on their faces. “Well shit!” Liam whispered, but I think Louis was too caught up in figuring out what to do or who had done it or why to hear him. Only a few moments later, Harry stepped into the kitchen.

“YOU!” Louis screamed out in anger.

“What?” Harry looked surprised, giving him a once over, “Put some clothes on. And you forgot to wash all of that bloody shampoo out of your hair again.”

I turned back to the stove with a light giggle and poured three circles of batter into the pan that Niall had laid out for me. I nudged him with my hip, which he returned, and I looked up at him, “You think Harry did it?” I whispered.

“No, it was Liam.” He whispered back simply, putting the scrambled eggs on a plate before turning back to me with a shrug, his face showing barely any sign of emotion.

Louis and Harry were still having a conversation behind us. “Are we still going out tonight Louis?” I heard Harry ask hopefully.

“What are you even talking about?” Louis replied. I turned to see him still standing against the counter, confused.

Harry glanced at me before responding, “Why are you ashamed of our relationship?!”

“What?” Louis shook his head, “You‘re being awfully confusing. I‘m not fuckin‘ Madison. Have you smoked something this morning?”

“STOP BEING SUCH A TEASE, LOUIS.”

I turned back to the stove to flip the pancakes. Niall was just standing and watching them, still shaking his head with a bored look on his face.

“DOESN’T HE SEEM LIKE A BLOODY TEASE TO YOU, ISABELLE?”

Before I could even think of what to respond to that with, Niall spoke up, “Louis put some pants on or something, and Harry stop doing everything Liam tells you to do. It‘s not getting him anywhere.” Even though I’d only known him a short time, it didn’t seem like Niall ever even got mad.

“But I--”

“Just go, and tell Liam to stop being so damn selfish.”

They both left the room, Louis confused and Harry surprised. I finished making the pancakes a while later, setting them down on the table before sitting beside Niall.

“Are you alright?” I asked, noticing that he still seemed tense and he hadn’t even touched his food.

“I don’t understand why he can’t just try to get you to like him instead of trying to sabotage Louis. He’s done this before and it has gotten him no where. He’s a smart lad but he never learns a thing when it comes to girls.” He let out, frustrated.

“I don’t know, it’s Louis’s fault that I even know that he…finds interest in me.” I paused, trying to wrap my head around it, “which, to be honest, I don’t understand. And so now he doesn’t know what to do. He was fine before.”

“That’s why I don’t tell Louis anything.” He laughed, annoyed, to himself, “Here’s a lesson for ya, don’t tell him a single secret, or he’ll tell the world.”