When I Think About You

Chapter 28: My Own

"Lil, a radio show wants to interview you tomorrow." Paul announced as the boys and I were eating out dinner in Liam and Niall's room.

"What? Me?" I asked confusedly after I swallowed the bit of sirloin that was in my mouth.

"Yeah. They wanted an interview with you alone. Apparently, you're establishing quite the fan base here in America." Paul answered with a grin which made my eyes widen as I reached a shaky hand out to my glass of Shirley Temple mocktail. Zayn must have sensed my uneasiness since he grasped it in his hand before putting the straw up to my lips. I took a dainty sip to moisten my barren throat.

"Are you okay, Lil?" Louis asked worriedly. To answer him, I just shook my head and looked blankly ahead of me.

"What's happening to Lil?" Niall piped up.

"She's nervous," Louis said softly before grasping my left hand and rubbing soothing circles on the back of it. "You'll do great, Lil. You always do. And I'm not just saying that because you're my sister."

"What if I screw everything up?" I managed to croak out hoarsely. The boys looked at me with worry in their eyes. I think this is the first time that they've seen me this nervous.

"You won't, love. You'll leave them coming back for more." Zayn whispered and smiled at me. I managed a small smile back at him despite the queasiness in my stomach.

"You always tell us to just be ourselves.. Now, it's our turn to give you your own advice. Just be yourself and don't lie. Nothing good will come out of lying." Liam said wisely which made me tear up a bit.

"Yeah, Lil. You're an awesome, smart, and funny girl.. Everyone will love you even more." Harry encouraged along with the boys. I smiled at them and breathed in deeply to steady myself before full-out grinning.

"You guys are right! I can do that interview. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?" I said enthusiastically which made all of us laugh quietly.

"That's more like it, Lil. I'll be there during the interview if you want." Louis piped up.

"But you have a signing tomorrow. You can't be absent. The same applies to all of you. No one can be absent tomorrow. I mean, think of all the girls who will be crushed if their 'future husband' isn't there?" I said jokingly which made the boys roll their eyes at me. My eye-rolling is quite contagious.

"What time is the interview, anyway?" I asked Paul.

"12 to 12:30." He answered.

"The signing is at 1. We can still make it if we go with you." Zayn said with an adorable pout on his face.

"No, Zayn Jawaad. You will be late. I don't want any girls getting angry at me for making all of you late. I can do the interview on my own." I said stubbornly.

"There's nothing we can do now. She has her 'stubborn face' on." Niall commented.

***

The interview couldn't have arrived later. Right now, I'm walking up to the booth that will serve as my interview area today. I feel like I'm in the Hunger Games and that' the arena. I hope they have bread. Mmmm.. Peeta. Wait! Let me rephrase that.. Mmmm.. Zayn. There.

Thank God I decided to wear a loose, white blouse, comfy high waist denim shorts, and a pair of striped Toms. Anything tighter and I would've suffocated.

"Good morning! It's so awesome to finally meet the ever-famous Lillian Tomlinson! My name's Gale, and that's Josh. You can take a seat over here." Gale, a lady in her mid-twenties, greeted enthusiastically. I smiled and returned her hug before sitting down.

"Nice to meet you, too." I answered both Gale and Josh.

"So, let's do this thing, shall we?" Josh, a guy in his late-twenties, said with a grin on his face. I nodded and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. The boys would probably be listening.

"Good day, people! Right now we're here with the ever-popular Lillian Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson's little sister.. and Zayn Malik's girlfriend. So, Lil, how are you?" Josh said enthusiastically. I licked my lips to moisten them before speaking.

"Life's great! Everything's awesome." I answered; running 'Keep calm. Just be yourself. Don't lie.' over and over in my head like a mantra.

"Tell us, how do you like LA so far?" Gale questioned.

"It's so lovely here in LA. We've only been here for three days but I already love it." I praised.

"What do you like most about LA?" Josh asked.

"I'd be lying if I said the sun. I prefer London's cloudy skies over LA's sun. But, I'd have to say the shops." I answered truthfully. Gale and Josh chuckled which made me grin.

"It seems that you have quite the fan base here in the US. What can you say about that?" Gale asked before sipping her macchiato from Starbucks. An assistant handed me a caramel frappuccino and I smiled graciously as I took it and laid it down on the table.

"Well.. I'm not sure how that happened since I'm not really an artist. The only times I perform are when I'm in the shower and when I know that the boys are the only people within hearing distance. Other than being Lou's baby sister and Zayn's girlfriend.. I'm no one significant." I said with a small smile.

"Oh, you MUST be significant back home. Boys falling down at your feet... professing their undying love for you.." Josh said good-naturedly.

"No, no. I never took much notice of the boys back home." I answered with a lady-like laugh.

"Forgive me for researching, but it says on your Wikipedia page that you  used to be bullied back when you were in Doncaster." Gale piped up. I smiled at her and shrugged nonchalantly to show her that I wasn't offended by her stalking me.

"I have a Wikipedia page? Wow. I don't really Google myself like Zayn does when he's bored, so, I didn't really know until now," I answered with a laugh. "But, yeah. I used to get picked-on back when I studied in Doncaster. They called me... what was that.. Lillian fat-face, and Lillian the fatty pig since I used to be fat when I was a kid. I used to go home in tears and Louis would hug me until I stopped crying. Then, we'd go buy ice cream." I explained with a smile on my face.

"You seem to not be affected by it now." Gale pointed out.

"I'm a bit affected, but, I can't really voice the violent thoughts in my head, can I?" I answered which made all of us laugh. "Besides, I believe in karma. They'll get what's coming to them. And, I'm sexy and I know it."

"You listen to LMFAO?" Josh asked.

"Zayn and the boys made me listen to it. And, i got hooked. They're getting sick of hearing me sing it every time." I said with a laugh.

"Any pets back at home?" Gale piped up.

"Only one. A shih tzu. Her name's Duchess Fleur Adelaide Tomlinson. I used to have a rabbit named Louis back when I was four." I admitted.

"Louis?" Josh inquired.

"Yeah. I named him after Louis because both of them liked eating carrots. But, he died since my lovely brother forgot to feed him when I went to visit our grandmum for three days. I think Lou just ate Louis' carrots, though."

"You seem to get along with your brother so well; unlike most siblings your age." Gale commented.

"We get along because Lou's a kid at heart and so am I. Our mum thinks we never really grew up; mentally. I still get grounded when Lou and I go home to Doncaster.. that's how immature I am." I admitted with a laugh, causing both interviewers to join me.

"We couldn't fail to notice that you stick to a light color scheme for your clothes. You also have an affinity for stripes. And, I love your shoes." Gale praised.

"Thank you. Louis bought almost half of my shoes. He got these for me a few months back; hence, more stripes. So, you can thank him for completing my outfits. We both have an affinity for stripes. I think that's just a Tomlinson thing. And, as for my color palette, I like subtle colors so I can fit in the crowd and stand out if I choose to. I'm not one for fame, though so you won't see me strutting around like I own the place.. unless, of course, if I'm fooling around with the boys." I answered with a grin.

"It also said on your Wikipedia page that you're a big fan of the Hunger Games..." Josh trailed off.

"What's not to love about the Hunger Games? Zayn reads a few lines to me before bed. He's too sweet for his own good. But, I love him all-the-more for it. I mean, where can you find such a perfect boyfriend like Zayn?" I asked with a huge grin on my face. Just talking about Zayn made my jitters go away.

"Tell us more about Zayn." Gale said enthusiastically.

"He's... perfect. He always tells me that I'm beautiful even if I look like a herd of buffalos trampled me in my sleep. And he always makes me laugh." I gushed which made Gale and Josh 'awww'. I would have said more, but that would be like opening mine and Zayn's relationship to everyone.

"What pops up in your mind when someone mentions one of the boys?" Josh asked.

"Niall: food. Liam: dad. Harry: curly hair. Louis: carrot.. sometimes dork. Zayn: sexy. Louis will probably ground me for airing that thought about Zayn. Lou, please don't ground me." I said with a laugh.

"What do you think of the boys' fame?" Gale asked.

"It's great! I try to keep them grounded with Liam's help, though. I don't want them losing any fans over their airiness or anything like that. They love what they do, and they deserve everything that they have now." I said proudly.

The interview continued on until it was 12:30. I bid goodbye to any people who were listening and hugged my interviewers farewell before hopping in the car that took me here and laying back during the drive to the mall.

***

I slipped my shades on before hopping out of the car and grabbing a hand-made placard that I made a day ago when the boys went to an interview.

"Are you sure you want to fall in line, Lil?" One of the bodyguards that the boys insisted I bring said seriously. I nodded and grinned before falling in line with him a few feet away from me; in case I got mobbed.

"Did you tune into Lil's interview?" The girl in front of me asked the girl beside her.

"Oh yeah! She's hilarious." The other girl answered. I smiled and unrolled my placard before holding it up. It said 'IT'S ONE DIRECTION, BITCHES!!'

From where I stood, I could see only a blur of faces since my eyesight was just that bad. My phone screamed 'Vas happenin'!?', Supermaaaan, Potato, This is curly, and Lillian Jane Tomlinson over and over which made me laugh quietly. Obviously, the Potato ringtone was for Niall, This is curly was for Harry, and Lillian Jane Tomlinson was for Liam. Liam said it in such a serious tone when I recorded it which made me set it as his ringtone on my phone.

From: Zayn Jawaad <3
Love, where are u?
I love you. :*

From: Louis Tommo
Wer the bloody hell r u?
Stay safe u little bugger. XX

From: Nialler the Leprechaun
Oi, Lil, what's takin' so long? xx

From: Curly Hazza
Lil, where the fuck r u? x

From: Daddy Liam Direction
Lil, answer us. We're worried.
Try to get here soon. X

I smiled at the screen before typing and sending them a group message.

To: Curly Hazza; Daddy Liam Direction; Louis Tommo; Nialler the Leprechaun; Zayn Jawaad <3

I'm almost there. Just ten more minutes. :3

***

After waiting in line for exactly 9 minutes, I was almost at the table. The boys kept looking around which made me giggle. So far, no one has recognized me. Thank God for sunglasses. I held the placard up and Harry tapped Niall's shoulder before grinning and resuming signing some albums.

"Did you get the Yearbook Edition?" The girl behind me tapped my shoulder and asked this.

"I really don't have anything with me." I answered sheepishly. She didn't seem to recognize my voice; good. The girl looked at me in distaste before forcing a smile on her face.

"Next." A body guard said to me before ushering me forward. I stopped in front of Niall and grinned like a fangirl.

"Hi, what's your name?" He asked me. I held the placard up before reducing my grin to a smirk.

"Lillian Jane Tomlinson." I answered before lowering my glasses a bit.

"LIL!" Niall screamed which made me laugh. Everyone looked over at us and the boys scrambled over the table to wrap me in a group hug. Literally.. Over the table.

"I survived." I stated smugly. Louis ruffled my hair and I laughed as I tried to push him off. Zayn attacked me in a warm hug before pressing a gentle kiss to my lips then my forehead. Niall hugged me tightly as did Liam and Harry.

"We can talk about the interview later. You have albums to sign." I said and ushered the boys to their seats. A new chair was brought out for me, and Zayn placed it in between him an Louis. I sat down and asked Zayn for his phone. He handed it to me without any protest and I kissed his cheek in thanks.

I unlocked his Blackberry and saw that the picture where we were kissing was his wallpaper; the sight of it made my heart beat faster. Smiling, I placed our phones in my cross-body bag and zipped my bag before resting it on my lap.

"So, baby sis.. How'd the interview go?" Louis asked as he signed an album. I looked up to the owner and smiled at the girl that asked me if I had a Yearbook album. I wanted to tell her 'I don't have one since I hang out with the boys all the time.' but refrained myself from doing so.

"It was good. But, I'm sure that you guys tuned in to it." I said an nudged him gently.

"Fine. You caught us." He admitted which made us laugh heartily.

"Zayn Jawaad, don't draw on the table." I scolded Zayn who was doodling on the table with his Sharpie.

"Sorry. I love you." He said with a small pout.

"Oh, okay. I can never be angry at you." I said softly before pecking his lips.

"How come you always forgive Zayn easily?" Louis pouted.

"Because the pout looks better on him, Lou." I answered with a laugh. "Besides, you killed Louis the rabbit."

"I did NOT!" Louis protested.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Lou." I humored him and grinned before silently watching everyone who got the boys' autographs.

All in all, I can categorize this day into the 'Good Days' folder in my mind.