Secrets

“Oh, there you are, mate,” Louis greets as I walk into rehearsal about forty-five minutes late. My coffee is still in my hands, half-gone, and I have a huge grin on my face.

“Hi,” I respond to my friends, nodding briefly.

“Did it really take you that long to get coffee?” Liam laughs, his brown eyes going from my face to the coffee in my hand and back again. “Did they spike that with happy pills or something?”

“Nope,” I reply simply. “At least…not that I know of.”

I plop down on the stage next to Niall, who is examining the dark brown roots that are starting to come up under his blonde hair, using the front of his phone as a sort of mirror.

“Wait…” Zayn trails off, a knowing smile blossoming on his darkly-featured face. “This is about a bird, isn’t it?”

“Nope,” I respond nonchalantly, but Louis looks over at me, detecting the soft false note in my voice.

“What bird?” Louis presses, sliding across the floor to sit across from me. “Was she at the coffee shop?”

“No,” I respond with a shake of my head. “The pet store, actually.”

“Wait, what?” Niall breaks in, his eyebrows pulling together and creating a crease in his forehead. “Did you go to the pet store?”

“No,” Zayn laughs, leaning over to flick his blonde friend. “He was being sarcastic, Nialler.”

“Oh,” Niall whispers with embarrassment.

“Tell us about the bird!” Liam changes the subject excitedly. “Was she fit?”

“Ridiculously fit,” I nod. “And she’s a fan.”

Liam raises an eyebrow. “A fan as in she squealed and cried and fainted when she saw you, or a calm fan?”

“Calm one,” I reply, taking another sip of my coffee, wincing when I realized that it was lukewarm. “She pretended she wasn’t one. It just didn’t really take.”

“What does she look like, mate?” Zayn asks with raised eyebrows.

“Um…” I trail off, trying to remember her in my mind’s eye. “She’s got light brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and these blue eyes that just…they were really great.”

“Ooo,” Liam coos with a giant smile. “I love blue eyes.”

“Hey,” I turn to him and give him a warning glare, “I saw her first.”

Liam puts his hands up in surrender. “I was just saying, mate. Don’t worry, I’m not going to move in on her.”

I laugh a little before stating what I had been meaning to the whole time, “Oh, and I kind of told her she could come on tour with us.”

Louis, who is drinking a bottle of water, actually sputters and does a spit take, some of it coming out of his nose. After choking for a couple minutes and wiping his face with the bottom of his t-shirt, he turns to me with wide eyes. “You did what, Hazza?!”

“Are you mad?” Zayn questions sharply. “You just met this girl, and you’re inviting her on tour with us? What’s going on with you?”

I shrug, since I have no idea what the answer is. I guess I just…like her. And I never believed in anything but lust at first sight, but…my heart kind of races when I think about her. “I think I like her.”

“Like her like you want to shag her, right?” Niall tries to confirm.

I shrug again. I know he doesn’t want to hear my answer.

Louis groans loudly. “Mate, you’ve no idea what you’re doing. This girl could be crazy.”

“She’s not crazy,” I reply with conviction.

“How could you know that? Have you said more than three words with her?” Liam snickers.

“Hey!” I interject. “We had a very pleasant conversation. That’s why I was so late.”

“Oh, was it pleasant?” Niall teases. “Did you discuss the weather?”

I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him as I get to my feet, brushing the dust off the butt of my pants. “So what do you guys say? Do you think she can come?”

The boys all exchange looks with each other before, finally, Louis sighs. “If you think it’s a good idea, mate, then we’re not going to stop you. But just be sure that you’re positive about the whole thing.”

“Great,” I grin before pulling out my phone, going immediately to Molly’s number and sending her a text.