Taking Chances

We were all seated around a table in a small Italian restaurant not far from the school. Zayn was sitting on my right, Rebecca on my left. Liam, on her other side, kept making conversation with her, and I noticed that she blushed every time she answered.

Leaning over with a smirk, I whispered in Zayn’s ear, “Aw, I have a feeling that Louis’ going to have a new couple to ship soon.”

Zayn furrowed his brows in confusion as he looked around me at the two. “What makes you say that?”

I sighed in frustration, trying not to laugh. “Um, I don’t know…everything about them, maybe?”

He shook his head and turned his attention back to his menu, ignoring me completely.

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest, hearing Louis and Harry whispering on the other side of the table. Smiling, I snapped my fingers a couple times. “Hey, now, you two. No secrets. Tell me, is Larry Stylinson for real now?”

“You bet, babe,” Harry grinned as he threw an arm around Louis’ shoulders and went to kiss his friend’s cheek.

“I’d love to,” Louis chuckled as he shoved Harry away from him, “but Harry’s a little taken.”

“No way!” I exclaimed, my eyes turning into saucers. “Who’s the unlucky girl?”

Harry flushed and kept his mouth shut, so Zayn interjected. “Her name’s Charlie. She’s from Spain.”

“Oooo,” I cooed with a huge grin. “A Spanish girl, huh? What does she look like?”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Harry mumbled, a blush filling his cheeks.

“Oh my God!” I laughed and threw a hand over my mouth. “Are you blushing, Harry?!”

“No,” he muttered, coloring further.

“Holy shit. Okay, you just ruined every chance you ever had of changing the subject. Who is this girl, what does she look like, and when the hell can I meet her?!”

Zayn chuckled before answering my questions. “Her name’s Carlota Reyes, or Charlie. She’s got blonde hair, gray eyes...average-ish height, I think.”

“She’s super fit,” Louis spoke up, giving a thumbs-up.

“And you can meet her if you move to England,” Niall filled in. “But if you turn down the offer, then you’ll never get to.”

Hm. Another reason to take the offer. I added it to my ever-growing list. “How old is she?” I asked Harry directly, smirking. “Older than my mom?”

Harry coughed, blushing again. “She’s fifteen.”

I stopped for a second. “Wait, hold the crap up. What?! She’s only fifteen?! Who are you, and what have you done with the Harry I know and love?”

“I knew you loved me!” Harry answered with a cheeky smile. “Just took a bit of prodding for you to admit it.”

“Don’t get smug,” I warned him. “But is she really only fifteen?”

“Yeah,” Niall answered, “but she doesn’t act it at all. She’s very cool.”

“She is,” Louis agreed. “And Harry thinks so, too. They’re just all over each other all the time. He’s crazy about her.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” Harry whined, burying his face in his hands, letting his curls fall like a curtain in front of them.

“Absolutely not,” I chuckled. “She sounds fantastic. I need to meet her. And I have to thank her for putting up with Harry’s insanity.”

“Then come to England with us,” Zayn mumbled, slipping his hand into mine under the table.

“We’ll see,” was all I said, even though I was pretty sure what my answer was going to be. I just didn’t want to announce it. “So tell me more about this girl.”

Just then, a waitress came over, cutting off my prodding about Charlie. “Hi,” she greeted, pulling out an order pad. Then, her eyes looked around the table, taking in the faces of the five boys around me. “Uh…wow, you guys are One Direction.” She turned to me. “And Bailey Austin, right?”

Whoa. She pointed me out. That was weird. “Yeah,” we all answered at the same time.

“Awesome.” A grin exploded onto her face as she readied her pen. “Okay, can I take your orders?”

We all went around the table, ordering different sodas with our meals. Except for Rebecca, who ordered water instead.

“Weirdo,” I chuckled, nudging her with my elbow.

“What? I don’t like the…bubble stuff,” she explained, miming a soda’s bubbling with her hands.

I let out a burst of laughter, which Liam soon backed up. “Aw, Rebecca, you’re so adorable,” I cooed, poking her cheek.

She swatted me away and stuck her tongue out at me.

“I can see why you two are friends,” Liam joked.

“Two little peas in a pod,” I laughed. And just then, I felt a pang in my stomach. Going to England seemed like the best choice. I’d get to be with the boys again, revive my career that I so desperately wanted to, and I’d be able to meet Harry’s new girlfriend.

But I’d miss Rebecca, who I would never ask to drop out of school to move with me to England, and I’d miss Mom.

Was the sacrifice worth it?

“…Bailey’s song,” Harry finished.

“Wait, what did I miss?” I broke in.

Louis smiled at me. “The story of how Zayn had his revelation that he just couldn’t go on without you anymore.”

I felt my face fill with a blush, and Zayn let out a groan. “You guys make me sound pathetic.”

“It was kind of pathetic,” Harry shrugged. “He was almost crying over how much he missed you.”

“Poor baby,” I laughed, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

“Well, the alcohol helped,” Niall butted in.

“Oh, yeah,” Harry smirked evilly. “I forgot about that bit.”

“What? Did you guys all sit around and drink until you got to be weepy drunks?” I laughed.

“I’m not typically a weepy drunk,” Zayn defended. “I’m a fun drunk.”

“That’s true,” Louis seconded. “You should see him dance.”

“Oh, God,” I sighed. “I don’t even want to know.”

Just then, our waitress came back with our food and drinks, putting them all in front of us quickly. “Can I get you guys anything else?” she questioned with a smile, her cheeks flushed.

“I think we’re good, love,” Louis assured her.

She turned a deeper shade of pink as she nodded and walked away.

“You brat,” I directed at Louis, reaching to the middle of the table to grab the parmesan cheese. “You’re going to give her a heart attack.”

He shrugged. “Not many people are immune to my charm.”

“I’m so lucky that I’m one of the few that are,” I shot back jokingly.

Louis rolled his eyes before saying something to Harry, and I ate my ravioli slowly, thinking so deeply about the possibility of going to England that I blocked everything out.

What I needed to do was talk to Mom about the whole thing She'd be able to help. At least, that was what I hoped.