Rumored Nights

The sun had fallen and now the sky was dark as the moon appeared in the distance. We were on our way to Missouri, leaving Chicago behind. I also must have left my feelings for Liam somewhere in Chicago too, because right now I was cuddled close to Louis.

It felt so wrong, yet so right all at the same time. I knew Liam would be heartbroken if he saw what was going on, but I couldn’t keep myself from enjoying Louis and just being with him in his comforting arms. It was as if nothing mattered but Louis and me.

“Alex?” Louis whispered sexily in my ear.

“Yeah?” I replied, not so sexy, as I shivered from his breath on my skin.

And before I knew it, Louis’ soft lips were on mine, kissing me sweetly at first and then turning into a passionate and beautiful kiss.

When we pulled away from each other, Louis looked into my eyes and smiled his loveable smile without saying another word, but holding me close.

I loved how Louis always kept me guessing, but still at the same time I knew everything that was going on in his head.

I also loved how Louis just randomly kissed me. It was so cute the way he just said my name and then somehow our lips were touching and we were suddenly so involved in each other.



After the kiss, Missouri just blurred by. Everyone was consumed in their own business of doing nothing really. We were all either sleeping or reading or listening to music. Or, in mine and Louis’ place, holding hands and snuggling.

Louis’ book had fallen from his hand and he was now sleeping. His cute mouth was opened a little and his pretty eyes were shut. He looked absolutely adorable as he slept, yet sexy at the same time.

Since Louis seemed to be unconscious, I began to look around at all the other boys, just to see what they were doing in their boredom.

In the seat next to Louis and I sat Niall and Harry. Harry must have thought Louis had a brilliant idea, because Harry, too, was asleep. But he didn’t look quite as comfortable as Louis, because his face was squished against the bus window.

Niall was intently watching the bus’s featured movie ‘Friend Green Tomatoes’. He must have paid the five extra bucks for the headphones to hear it. Too bad the last bus didn’t have a movie on it. But, then again, the last bus had been more fun. Or, at least so far…

In the seat in front of us that held Zayn and Liam, I could see the top of their heads. Zayn’s head was bouncing to the rhythm of the music he was listening to. Liam’s head was up against the window as he stared out it, watching Missouri flash by.

I watched, as best as I could, Zayn take out a bag of MandM’s (the and symbol isn't working) to snack on, who knows where he got it from. Possibly Harry’s bag. Why not? It had everything else we’ve needed so far.

As Zayn was still bobbing his head to the music, probably mouthing the words, he attempted to open the package of candy, but had some…problems.

Zayn tore open the paper package like he hadn’t eaten in a year. I heard the paper rip loudly and, not a second later, the sound of falling candy followed.

“Awww shhh…” He didn’t finish, because he tried to pick up his mess. Colorful candy coated chocolate was spread across the aisle of the bus and I could only imagine what the seat looked like. So, of course, I had to look.

“Zayn!” Liam moaned as he discovered he was showered in an assortment of rainbow candy.

I peeked over the seat to see a pile of candies in Zayn’s lap and the rest spread about the seat. There were little candies getting stuck in every crease of their clothes, some even in Liam’s hood and I even saw an orange one in Liam’s hair. Zayn looked almost the same.

“Sorry,” Zayn apologized as he tried to brush the candy off of his friend. But Liam just slapped his hand away.

“Do you think you could go, like, five minutes without making a mess?” Liam sighed as he flicked candy off of himself and shook the pieces out of his hair.

“Oops,” Zayn laughed as he began to eat the pieces that sat in his lap. Liam just had to roll his eyes at Zayn. “Wan some?” Zayn offered a candy from his lap to Liam.

“Uh, no thanks. I have plenty of my own.” Liam shook his head.

“Fine, suit yourself.” Zayn shrugged as he popped a few more candies in his mouth and chomped away on them.

“Mmmm…” Liam grumbled as he kept finding random candy all over him.

“Mmmm is right! They melt in your mouth and not in your hand.” Zayn smiled.

“You are such a dork…” Liam smiled as he threw a candy at Zayn and it bounced off his head.

“I’m a dork?” Zayn threw one of his candies at Liam.

And it began. They started having a candy fight.

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt…then it’s hilarious.

Zayn kept throwing candy at Liam as they bounced off his head. To say the least, they were acting like five years old.

“Ow!” Liam joked as he picked up a blue candy and chucked it harder than he should have towards Zayn.

“OUCH!!” Zayn screamed in pain. And, sadly, he wasn’t kidding. “MY EYE!!!” Zayn went on whining as Liam began laughing at him. “STOP LAUGHING! THAT HURT!” Zayn cried as he held his hand over his injured eye.

“Sorry, it’s just so…” Liam couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re such a baby. It was just an MandM…” Zayn pouted some more.

“Hmmm…” Louis moaned in a sleepy voice, opening his eyes. “What’s going on?” He yawned.

“Oh, Liam hit Zayn in the eye with an MandM.” I told him as I leaned on the seat to continue watching.

“Oh.” Louis shrugged.” Wait, did you say Liam hit Zayn with an MandM?” Louis raised an eyebrow, wondering if he had heard me right the first time.

“Yeah, in the eye.” I laughed. Louis leaned over the seat with me to watch.

“I’m not a baby. How would you feel if someone threw candy in your eye?!” Zayn whined and Liam just laughed some more.

“Shut up,” Harry moaned, his face still uncomfortably against the window.

Niall was still interested in his movie so he tried to ignore whatever we were doing.

“Hey guys, want some?” Zayn offered Louis and I some candy, completely forgetting about his wounded eye.

“No thanks. Is your eye, like, all of a sudden better or something?” Louis smirked as he grabbed a red candy out of Zayn’s hood anyways.

“Oh yeah…” Zayn remembered and covered his eyes. “Owwww…my eye!”

“Shut up,” Liam rolled his eyes and threw another candy at Liam.



Louis and I relaxed back in our seats, trying to get comfortable again. Louis tried to fall back asleep, but he couldn’t. There was too much on his mind.

After a little while more, the bus had finally passed through Missouri and was now coming up on the outskirts of Kansas as the sun started to come up.

“Alex…” Louis whispered in that same, sexy voice. I thought I was going to get another amazing kiss, but when I looked up I could tell he had something on his mind.

“Lou?” I asked back, quietly.

“Alex, I…I know I’ve already told you this, but I’m…I’m falling more and more in love with you and I can’t help it…” He began and I thought he had said it a little too loudly.

I hopped up to see if Liam was awake or if he’d heard a thing Louis had just said. But he was sound asleep, unaware of what was going on.

“Shh!” I advised Louis as I put my finger to his lips. It was partly because I didn’t want Liam to hear and partly because I didn’t know if I wanted to hear this. I knew if I did it would make things even harder and I just couldn’t handle that.

Louis gave me a pleading and sort of hurt look.

“Can you keep it down now…just a little bit?” I asked, kind of urgently. “Liam could have heard you.” I tried to explain. Louis nodded like he understood, but I knew he was quite hurt.

He tried so hard not to get upset over Liam and I, because he knew all the trouble this would cause and he hated drama.

“But Alex…I just…I love you and I keep saying that I’ll wait for you, but I feel like I’m waiting for nothing.”

“Louis, I…” I tried to speak, but he stopped me.

“It feels like you want me, but only part of the time. But Alex…I want you all of the time and I want you to feel that way too.” He pleaded. “I love you.”

“I never wanted to hurt you…but I never wanted to hurt Liam either. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I just…I need some time.” I sighed.

“It’s okay. Take your time. I’ll still be here for you when you figure it out.” He smiled and gave me a small peck.

Why did he have to be so amazing and wonderful and sweet and understand and just all around a great guy?

It made my choice so much harder. Sometimes I wished one of them could just be mean. Then I wouldn’t have this problem. But they were Liam and Louis; two amazing guys who would give me the world. And I had to choose.

“Thank you…” I said softly as tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Don’t cry…” He cradled me in his arms and kissed me again.

“I love you.” I whispered as I closed my eyes.

“Shh…he might overhear.” He whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine.



When I woke up from my longer than usual sleep, we were already in Kansas. Everyone was already awake, even Louis, who was still holding me in his arms. I guessed Liam hadn’t seen us. At least I hoped.

I heard Zayn and Liam laughing in the seats in front of me, so I knew Liam hadn’t heard or seen anything. That or he was really good at hiding it. But I bet it was the first one.

I hadn’t realized it, but the bus was stopped and people were getting out of their seats.

“Are we at the pit stop already?” I asked, wiggling out of Louis’ grasp.

“Yep!” Liam called out, standing up and stretching.

“I have to pee!” Harry announced in urgency.

“Do you have, like, an overactive bladder or something?” Niall asked, shaking his head.

“No…why?” Harry looked at him.

“I don’t know. It just seems like you always have to pee. Or at least you always have to announce it…”

“Oh, well. I don’t know.” Harry shrugged.

Everyone got out of the bus and headed in the directions of the bathrooms so Harry, and whoever else had to, could go.

I managed to slip a kiss to Louis, without anyone seeing, before we all separated and entered the appropriate bathrooms.

It wasn’t that long afterwards that the boys went to some picnic tables after their business was taken care of to wait for me.

“Zayn!” Liam sighed.

“What?” Zayn looked at him innocently.

“I have MandM’s coming out of everywhere!” He laughed, shaking a couple out of his hood. “I had like ten up my shirt!”

“Sorry!” Zayn apologized. “I don’t know why YOU’RE complaining. I’M the one who didn’t even get to enjoy their chocolaty goodness!”

“Zayn, I must say, that takes talent to open a bag of candy and get it in someone’s shirt, hood, and who knows where else. And STILL manage to get some on you too.” Louis laughed and the rest of the boys joined him.

Niall sprawled himself out on the picnic table as Louis leaned up against it in that sexy way of his. Liam was still discovering various M&M’s in his clothes. Harry sat at the picnic table, trying to push Niall off (or at least that’s what it looked like). Zayn was just sitting there, being amused with everything that was going on around him.

“Hey,” I laughed, shaking my head at them.

“Hey,” They all replied back, most of them seeming kind of bored. That was, until a ringing sound interrupted them.

“What’s that?” Harry looked around.

“Is that my phone?” Zayn asked.

“Well, it’s ringing…it just might be.” Niall looked up and then laid his head back down.

“Sweet! I get reception here?! I thought it was dead!” Zayn exclaimed, excited a little bit.

“Are you going to talk about your phone or pick it up?” Liam laughed.

“Oh yeah…I should get that.” Zayn reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. “Hello?”

We all watched closely and then began to wonder…

If all of us were here, on this road trip together, who was there trying to get ahold of one of us?

“Hello?” Zayn asked again.

Zayn stood up and a concerned, yet confused look spread across his face.

We all looked at each other, wondering who it was or what was wrong. Niall sat up and Louis joined him on the table as Liam came closer too.

We all watched Zayn’s expression, not sure what we were reading. Was he mad? Was he confused? Was he worried or concerned?

“Lola?!” Zayn yelled loudly in an astonished and annoyed voice.

We all looked at one another, Niall and Louis almost falling off the table.

LOLA?!