Taking Chances

“Um…” I trailed off, blushing fiercely as I rubbed the back of my neck, “I really don’t know. I just…I have a different life here, Zayn. I’m going to school. I just…”

His eyes bore into mine as he defended his position. “I know. But, Bailey…you have so much talent. And I’m not the kind of person to tell someone to drop out of school, but…will you?”

I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat, but I just ended up making it worse. “I…I don’t know what to say. I have to think about it. Is that okay?”

He came over to me, rubbed the tops of my arms, and kissed my forehead. “Of course you can think about it. I wouldn’t expect you to answer right away.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, going up on my tiptoes and pecking him on the lips. “Wait, where are the rest of the guys?”

“Uh…” Zayn trailed off as a grin spread across his face. “I left them outside. Really, they could be anywhere.”

I let out a sigh. “Alright, come on. We’re going to find Rebecca, and then we’re going to find the guys. Okay with you?”

He smirked at me and responded cheekily, “I dunno. I’d much rather stay here and catch up a bit.”

He ducked his head, his eyes half-closed, but I put a hand on his chest. “C’mon, lover boy. You’ve gotten your fill today.”

I started walking away and heard him mutter, “Shit,” under his breath with a groan.

Suppressing a smile, I ventured out into the hallway, turning back for just a second to tell Zayn to make sure he locked the door.

After a few minutes of searching, I finally found Rebecca getting a bottle of water from the vending machine. “Hi,” I greeted.

She stood up from her crouched position and looked over at me, her face immediately turning bright red. “Oh, Bailey…I’m so sorry for walking in on you and…whoever that was. I didn’t know that you had a boyfriend, and I definitely didn’t know he was in there.”

I laughed. “I’m sorry for scarring you. I didn’t tell you I had a boyfriend because I kind of didn’t. We went out for a couple months, broke up, and now we’re back together. It’s complicated. My life’s a bit of a soap opera.”

Rebecca looked confused, but didn’t ask anymore questions, figuring that they wouldn’t help straighten out the situation.

“Zayn,” I called, “you can come in now.”

The sound of footsteps drew nearer as my boyfriend walked into the room, smiling sheepishly. “Hey, Rebecca,” he greeted with a small smile. “Sorry for that awkward first encounter.”

She shrugged, blushing further as she realized who the boy was. “It’s fine. Just a warning next time would be nice.”

“I hear you,” I agreed, shooting a playful glance at Zayn. “Alright, now come with us, Rebecca.”

“Where are we going…?” she questioned, picking her backpack up off the floor.

“You’re going to meet the rest of the boys.”

“I’m going to meet the rest of One Direction? Uh…why?”

“Because we’re all going to be great friends,” I chuckled, nudging her. “And you’re going to like it, hear me?”

“I guess,” she snickered.

It took about five seconds to find the boys in the campus, as they were arguing quite loudly about what superhero was the best. A few people stared as they walked by, but since the boys were being so rowdy, no one wanted to risk their safety by stopping.

“HEY!” I screamed as I got closer. “You guys, this isn’t even an argument. Batman’s the best superhero, hands down, case closed.”

The boys all looked up at me, grins breaking out on their faces. “Bailey!” Liam shouted in excitement while Louis came over and gave me a huge hug, lifting me up off the ground and spinning me around.

“Whoa,” I laughed as Louis put me back down on my feet. “Quite the greeting.”

“I missed you,” Louis exclaimed. “And I missed shipping you and Zayn, and I missed giving you guys a hard time. Why did you have to leave us?” He hugged me again, which I reciprocated for a second before prying him off me.

“You know why I had to leave.”

“But you’re going to be joining us again, yeah?” Harry piped up from behind Niall, his eyes sparkling with hope.

“She doesn’t know,” Zayn answered for me. “She’s going to think about it, which I think is more than fair.”

“Fair my arse,” Niall muttered. “You should just come back to England with us.”

“Hey, I’ve got another life now, dude,” I responded, sticking out my tongue. “Plus, I’ve got midterms.”

“All the more reason to drop out,” Harry chuckled.

I shot him a look and, from the corner of my eye, saw Rebecca standing uncomfortably. “Oh my God, I’m so rude.” I cringed and walked over to Rebecca, throwing my arm over her shoulders. “Guys, this is Rebecca, my roommate and best friend. She’s basically the most awesome person ever.”

Louis was the first one to walk over to her, hand extended. Then, he turned to me, eyes narrowed in mock-anger. “And here I was, thinking that I was the most awesome person ever in your eyes.”

“Oh, please,” I rolled my eyes dramatically, “that was so six months ago.”

Louis pouted for a second while Liam came up behind him, a smile on his face. And soon enough, Liam and Rebecca were chattering away like old friends. Which was incredibly cute, since Rebecca could be pretty damn shy around unfamiliar people.

“So,” Harry started, a cheeky smirk on his face, “how’s your mum? She doing well?”

“I actually was talking to her when I found Zayn in my room,” I laughed as I walked over to join the larger group. “She’s great. And not asking about you at all, so back off.”

He gave me an irritated look, which I answered with a grin. “You should go try to hit on another cougar.”

“Your mum’s the only cougar I want,” he replied, winking suggestively.

“I hate you. Why did you come back with everyone else?”

“Because you really love me deep, deep down inside. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself.”

I rolled my eyes again and changed the subject. “Okay, so who wants to go out to dinner tonight? Wait, how long are you guys here?”

Niall shrugged. “However long it takes to get your answer, I guess. We’re not on tour anymore. We’ve got some time where we’re just going to be working on the new album.”

“Back in England,” I breathed. Which meant, of course, that even if I did take the offer, Zayn and I would have to do the long-distance thing. That would suck an incredible amount.

“Yeah,” Niall answered. Behind me, I could still hear Liam and Rebecca talking. It sounded like they were hitting it off pretty well, as they were laughing to punctuate almost every other statement.

“…England,” Harry was saying.

“Wait, what?” I questioned, raising my eyebrows innocently.

Zayn chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist, squeezing my middle in a fast hug. “Harry said that if you take the offer, you’d be recording in England, too.”

I swallowed. So we wouldn’t have to do the long distance thing. That shouldn’t have swayed my opinion, and it didn’t that much, but if I said that it didn’t alter my thoughts at all, I’d be lying.

“Alright, who’s up for food?” Louis broke in, feeling out of the conversation.

“Louis, it’s only four thirty,” Harry reminded his friend.

“So? Niall, are you hungry?”

“Always,” the blonde answered him with a huge smile.

“Great. So let’s go. Have any suggestions, Bailey?”