Taking Chances

The next couple of weeks passed by without much dramatic incident. I called Gabby, and she was going to fly into England as soon as possible to sign the record deal. I was scarred for life when I walked in one Charlie and Harry hardcore making out on his bed, and they looked close to going all the way. With us in the other room. Which was gross. I still shuddered when I thought about it.

On the night of the giant party, Zayn and I stayed in his apartment, watching classic eighties movies and kissing. It was a very low-key evening, which was just the way the two of us liked it.

A few days later, Charlie had some problems with the tabloids catching her and Harry together, but the whole thing had blown over. I hadn’t talked to her about the Twitter problem much, but I assumed she still got hate, just like I did. But I’d learned not to log on to the actual site when I was in a bad mood or feeling poorly about myself, which she had to learn in time.

One afternoon, the day before Rebecca was supposed to arrive from Emerson, Zayn and I were sitting in the living room, reading. Once in a while, I’d sing under my breath, which made him smile, though he thought I didn’t notice.

“Is Rebecca going to stay here?” I questioned, putting my book into my lap and looking over at Zayn.

“Uh, if you want her to,” he replied with a shrug. “Does that mean you’re finally going to share my bed with me?”

“Um, no,” I laughed. “That means that I’ll sleep on the floor next to the couch.”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor.”

“Well, I’m not sleeping in your bed!”

He shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal. We’ve shared a bed before.”

My mouth dropped open. “Hey, I was having an emotional trauma. Normal rules didn’t apply.”

He threw his hands up in the air, backing off the subject. “Alright, whatever you say.”

“I hate when you say that.”

“Why? It gives you what you want.”

“Yeah, but it’s so…patronizing.”

He let out a small laugh. “I’m not trying to be patronizing.”

“I know. I’m just telling you what it sounds like.”

He opened his mouth to retort just as the door burst open. Charlie and Hanny hurried in, both dressed for the day, while I was still in my pajamas that Louis had so kindly informed me looked made for men. Which, technically, they kind of were.

“Bailey,” Charlie exclaimed, her gray eyes wide and expressive, “you didn’t come to the party with us last week.”

“Uh…nope,” I responded, chuckling a little, not getting where this conversation was going.

“Why?”

“Because I’m…I don’t really like to party,” I told her slowly.

She stared at me in complete shock. “YOU DON’T LIKE TO PARTY?”

Hanny started giggling at her friend’s shock, but I just jumped about a mile, dropping the book from my lap onto the floor.

Zayn laughed at my shock and crawled off the couch, getting my book for me. I mumbled a thank you to him, which he accepted with a nod, before turning back to Charlie. “No,” I replied, “I don’t.”

“Why not?!” she gasped. “You’re a star! Stars party all the time.”

“Uh, not me.” I felt my face heat up even more. The whole situation was freaking embarrassing. “I’m just…not into that kind of scene. I’m socially awkward, and I can’t dance, and I’m so afraid that I’m going to make a fool out of myself.” I swallowed after my word vomit and looked back up at the young girl in front of me. Not that she looked young in the least. I always had to remind myself that she was only fifteen.

“No way, Jose.” Charlie shook her head and reached forward, grabbing my hand and yanking me to my feet. “You’re coming with me.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, turning to shoot a scared look at my boyfriend. Not that he was any help, since he was just laughing at the situation in front of him.

“To Hanny’s place. We’re all going to get dressed up, and we’re going to go to this great club tonight. Everyone.” She turned around me and looked at Zayn. “You, too, sweetie.”

He shrugged. “If Bailey’s going, I’ll go.”

“I’m telling you,” I insisted, stepping in between Charlie and Zayn, since I wasn’t entirely comfortable with her calling him sweetie, “I really can’t dance. At all. I look like a bee flew into my pants.”

“No, you don’t!” Zayn interjected from behind me.

I turned to glare at him, but my attention was brought back to Charlie when she said, “Neither did Hanny, and now she’s a sexy beast.”

Hanny did a thumbs-up from behind Charlie, giving me a big smile.

I groaned and turned back to my boyfriend. “Zayn, please. Help me here. You know I’m going to be awkward.”

He got to his feet and walked over, putting his hands on my shoulders when he reached me. “Bailey, this could be fun. You never know. You could find out that you like dancing with us.” He leaned close to my ear and added in a breathy whisper, “Plus, you’ll only have to dance with me. We’ll have fun.”

A shiver went up my spine, but I suppressed it. “Okay,” I replied, pulling back. I turned back to the girls and let out a loud sigh. “You guys win.”

Hanny let out a squeal while Charlie grabbed my hand. “C’mon, we’re going to get you ready now.”

I closed the door behind us and almost got my arm ripped out of the socket from how hard Charlie was pulling me. “So, wait, what am I going to wear?” I called out to them.

“Hanny’s got loads of clothes for partying,” Charlie informed me. “You can borrow something from her.”

My eyes grazed over their bodies, my chest tightening. “Um…your clothes are not going to fit me,” I commented seriously. They were a lot smaller than I was in chest size, waist size, hip size…everything.

“Oh, trust me,” Charlie grinned as we entered Niall and Hanny’s apartment. “When you’re looking for a dress to party in, tighter is better.”

That didn’t make a ton of sense to me, since I wondered how the hell I was supposed to breathe or dance if I was in a dress that was too tight.

But when they started unloading the closet, depositing different dresses onto the bed, I realized that they were all kind of tube dresses made of a stretchy material that didn’t really have a size.

“Oh, dear lord,” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “This is going to be a hot mess.”

“Try this one!” Hanny suggested cheerily, throwing a dark green dress at me. “It matches your eyes.”

I stared down at the thing, ignoring the growing tightness in my stomach, and started toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Charlie asked, turning to face me.

“Uh, to the bathroom? To change?”

The two Spanish girls exchanged a look. “Really? We’re all girls here. Does it bother you?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

Uh. Kind of. “I guess not,” I mumbled.

God, it was going to be a long, long day.