Both Sides of the Story

“You were fantastic!” Reese beamed at the boys as they came off stage. “Really!”

“You mean me, right love?” Louis smirked.

“Oh, um, you were great!” Reese blushed.

Louis laughed and tugged her into a hug and swung her around.

Shaking my head at their cuteness, I turned to the other boys.

“Well done!” I smiled. “They loved you… as usual, I’m sure.”

“Oh, please,” Niall waved a hand. “Folie e duex stole the show.”

It was my turn to blush now. “Thanks.”

After the rest of the boys were congratulated, it was only Liam and I left backstage.

“You were brilliant,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” I sighed. Our little spat earlier hadn’t been forgotten by either of us.

“Come here,” he said gesturing towards the stage.

“Liam,” I wondered aloud. “What are you doing? People are still in the seats.”

“It’s empty,” he assured me. “Just come on.”

I sighed before ducking through the curtains and following him.

“Whoa,” I whispered.

The venue was dark and empty, the sole light in the place burning high above the stage.

“Cool, huh?” he said sitting down on the edge of the stage.

“Very,” I nodded taking a seat next to him.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier,” he started. “You’re right; I had no grounds doing that. I guess it just kind of got to me that you’re a runner and a singer and you’re doing that to your body. But I shouldn’t have gone about telling you that the way I did. I’m sorry.”

I smiled a little and put my hand on his knee in assurance. “Liam, I think it’s sweet that you care, and honestly, I need to stop. But it’s kind of a stress thing. I’m sure Zayn can be the same way. I want to stop, I really do. It’s just hard.”

“You sound like Zayn,” he chuckled lightly. “Why don’t you two try to quit together? Like a New Year’s Resolution.”

I thought about that for a moment. “You know, I like that idea. I’ll have to talk to him about it.”

“Good,” Liam nodded as he helped me stand up. Pulling me into a hug, he spoke to my ear. “I’m glad you aren’t too upset.”

“I’m still made at you, Payne,” I countered with a laugh. “Just not entirely, grade A pissed.”

*****

“What does one wear to a movie marathon with One Direction?” my sister mused as we walked back into our suite that night. Jackson, Alec, and Lee had all opted for their own celebration of drinking and video games.

“You sound like you’re going somewhere important,” I snorted. “Oh, wait. Louis’s there. It is important.”

She responded by throwing a pillow at my head.

“Hey!” I pointed at her. “That could have been lethal! I’m lucky to be alive. You should be happy you didn’t kill me!”

“Oh, aren’t we all,” Reese rolled her eyes. “Help me find something to wear.”

I stood next to her as we stared at the armoires and chests of drawers that contained all of our clothes. Deciding to take action, I threw a few items at her.

“Go brush your teeth, wash your face, and change. Put on some perfume while you’re at it,” I pointed. “And make it snappy!”

She grumbled something about my bossiness, but I ignored it. I had my own outfit to find.

*****

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Reese asked twenty minutes later.

I stopped in my tracks. Reese almost never swore and when she did, it was always good to stop and listen.

“What?” I turned to look at her.

“We have on the same shorts,” she gestured to the Victoria’s Secret shorts we both sorted.

“Oh well,” I shrugged. “What does it matter?”

“We’ve never been the matchy-matchy twins,” she protested.

“We’re not ‘matchy-matchy’,” I assured her. “Let’s go. Harry promised food.”

*****

“I need some air,” I said standing up from my position on the couch next to Liam an hour later. We were in the midst of the fifth Harry Potter movie and I had seen it so many times, I could quote it.

Despite my attire, I didn’t find myself too cold outside on the balcony. Taking out a cigarette and the lighter I had stolen from Zayn (it’s green neon metal, how cool is that?), I lit up. The night was actually quiet. I looked down below to see only a few pedestrians and idle taxis in the slightly windy winter night.

I heard the sliding glass doors open and close behind me. I didn’t bother turning around, I knew it had to be Liam.

And sure enough, it was. I felt him droop some fabric across my shoulders. It was one of his hoodies.

“Thought you might be cold,” he said into my ear.

I really wasn’t, but I nodded all the same.

“Thanks,” I said as I stubbed out my cigarette. “It was a little windy.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” he said gesturing to my squashed cigarette. “I’m not going to go all weird on you.”

I laughed. “Thanks, Liam. But it’s fine. I need to get into the habit of not smoking whenever I feel like it.”

“A step in the right direction,” he nodded. “Are you alright?”

“Me?” I asked. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It seems to me that your mother rattled you and your sister,” he said rubbing the back of my hand.

It sent shivers down my spine. As much as I tried to hide them, Liam saw and wrapped an arm around me. I could only hope it was too dark for him to see me blush.

“She just knows how to push our buttons. We’ve dealt with it long enough,” I shrugged.

“So I can assume that you’re not going home for Christmas,” he said.

“Damn,” I muttered. “That’s next week?”

He nodded. “We’ll be on tour by then. But we want to do something to celebrate Lou’s birthday.”

“Of course,” I nodded. “That would be fun.”

“So you’ll help us plan something?” he asked.

“Sure,” I nodded taking out my iPhone. “But Reese might be more help. She knows him better than I do.” I started to click around on the screen. “Okay, so Christmas Eve, we’ll be in Paris. How perfect is that?”

“I’ll take it you like Paris,” he smiled.

“Love would be more accurate,” I chuckled. “C’mon, let’s go back inside.”

*****

Sitting back on the couch three movies later, I felt my eye lids begin to droop. It had been an early concert, so it wasn’t too late when we started our marathon. But now, in the early a.m. hours, I could feel fatigue setting in. My sister was already asleep on Louis’ shoulder and their hands were intertwined.

What the hell? I thought as I looked at them. Had I missed something?

Deciding that the best way to get a direct answer would be tweet something and have them go red-faced when the see it, I took out my phone and snapped a picture.

‘@BexIsBetter: Having a movie marathon with @ReeseRules @Real_Liam_Payne @zaynmalik @Harry_Styles @Louis_Tomlinson and @NiallOfficial. What the hell is this?’ I attached the picture of Lou and Reese before bringing my legs up to my chest.

“You had best fall asleep before Louis sees that,” Liam whispered into my ear. He had been reading over my shoulder.

“You’d protect me, right?” I giggled. His breath tickled.

“Of course,” he smiled. “But really, you’re dead on your feet. Go to sleep.”

I nodded before leaning my head on his shoulder and letting his arm droop around me. It was a nice ending to a great day.