Both Sides of the Story

“FML,” I muttered as I tugged at my hair. I had just gotten out of the shower and stood in Reese’s and mine large en suite bathroom in nothing but my bra and panties. My hair had been blown dry, but it wouldn’t do anything.

“You okay in there?” Reese knocked.

“No,” I grumbled. “My hair’s being a bitch, my feet are killing me, and I have to go to this party tonight and act like I’m having a good time. Oh! And to top it all off, Liam’s acting weird.” I let a sarcastic tone slip into my voice.

My sister opened the door and came to stand at my side.

“Relax, Bex,” she prodded. “Stress doesn’t look good on you.”

“Ha-fucking-ha,” I spat. “Help?”

She nodded and motioned for me to turn around. I felt her hands weave through my hair, using bobby pins, hair spray, and a curling iron. Every now and again she would stop before getting back to work.

“What do you think?” Reese asked turning me towards the now un-fogged mirror.

I gaped at the beautiful curls that were now pinned to my head. In a mere fifteen minutes, my sister had created a fucking masterpiece.

“Good, huh?” she smiled.

“Amazing,” I agreed hugging her.

“Uh, no offense, Bex,” she said pushing me away. “But you’re kinda almost naked and even though we’re sisters, it’s still a little weird to be hugging you.”

I sighed. “Right. I’ll go get my dress while you finish getting ready in here.”

I walked out into our suite in search of my dress. I found the beautiful blue number hanging in its garment bag and I quickly slipped into it.

“So I thought about you’re Liam complaint,” Reese called from the bathroom.

“Oh yeah?” I asked as I fiddled with the zipper. “What about it?”

“You need to talk to him,” she said flatly.

“Yeah, see that would work great if he would be in the same room as me for more than ten minutes and I could actually get him alone,” I said sarcastically.

“That was my problem with Louis, and we worked everything out.”

“You followed him into the fucking men’s room!” I countered. “Where the hell was he supposed to go? Down the toilet like in Harry Potter?”

“I’m just trying to be helpful here, sis,” Reese assured me as she emerged from the bathroom dressed in her silver dress. “I think it would work.”

“You think a lot of things,” I grumbled.

Reese rolled her eyes. “Come on, finish up your make-up and then we have to be outta here. Graham and the boys are waiting on us.”

*****

“Well don’t you two look nice,” Lee smirked.

“You act like you’ve never seen us in anything but our sweats and hoodies,” I rolled my eyes.

“That’s what it feels like sometimes,” Jackson agreed. “But you do look good, girls.”

“Thanks,” Reese smiled. “You guys did a good job too.”

“Not too shabby, if I do say so myself,” Alec said appraising himself and the two other males.

“Let’s get a move on,” Graham urged us. “We’re going to be late.”

“Take it easy, Graham Cracker,” I nudged his shoulder. “It’s all good.”

He rolled his eyes (we’re all doing a lot of that tonight aren’t we?) and motioned for us to get into the waiting SUV.

*****

The party was in full swing once we cleared the red carpet. The dance floor was practically bouncing and I could pick out Harry and Niall dancing with a few bottle blondes. Zayn was coming back in from the balcony, most likely from having a smoke. That upset me a little. While in Paris, we had ditched out last pack of cigarettes in the Seine in preparation for our New Year’s resolutions.

Louis almost immediately found his way to Reese and tugged her away. The boys of Folie e Deux got themselves drinks and girls almost right away. Graham drifted away to talk with Paul and I found myself alone.

Liam was nowhere to be seen, no matter how long I looked. I couldn’t see him on the dance floor with any girls- thank God. He wasn’t at the bar. (I, however, had visited the long counter several times.) And I couldn’t see him sitting at the tables. Where was he?

I leaned against the wall farthest from the bar and people-watched. Or at least, I was until Harry came to get me.

“Come dance, love,” he prodded.

I frowned. It was only okay to call me love if you were Liam, and Harry most certainly was not Liam Payne.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Fuck no, Haz.”

“Fuck yes, Bex.”

“Don’t use my words against me,” I scowled.

“Someone’s pissy,” Harry noted. “What’s got your panties in a twist?” He appraised my dress. “If you’re wearing any.”

Yet again, I rolled my eyes. “Fuck off, Harry. I’m not in the mood.”

“Just dance for one song, at least,” he insisted. “Please?”

I looked at the curly haired boy in front of me. His expression was firm but his eyes softened when I met them.

“Yeah, okay,” I set my beer down on a passing tray and let him take my hand.

“I never took you as a beer girl, you know,” he shouted over the music. “More like a sex on the beach like your sister.”

“Just because we’re twins, doesn’t mean we have the same taste in alcoholic beverages,” I sighed. People are always comparing us.

Our talking ended then as we continued dancing for nearly three songs. The dance floor became more crowded and our bodies became more pressed together. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something.

Liam.

He was practically storming out onto the balcony and I had a sinking feeling it had something to do with me.

I pushed away from Harry and moved as quickly as I could out the door and into the frigid Barcelona air. Liam stood with his back to me and he leaned forward against the stone railing of the balcony. He didn’t look my way.

“Liam?” I asked carefully. “You okay?”

“You think I’m okay?” he burst out. “You think that I’m okay? I walk into that stupid party only to found my band mate and the girl I’m practically in love with almost grinding on each other! You think I’m okay?”

I gaped at him. Practically in love? Whoa.

“You think I wanted to be ‘grinding’ on Harry? I can barely stand him. I only danced with him to get my mind off of you and how I was terrified that you hated me for some reason!” I threw my hands up in the air.

Liam’s face softened and he held my gaze for a long minute.

“What?”

I looked away from him and out to the Barcelona skyline. “I was scared that you were angry with me for what I had said at the interview and that I wouldn’t be able to fix it. You’ve become so much to me, Liam, and I don’t want to lose that and-,” he cut me off.

Liam’s lips crashed against mine in one, fast moment. His hands held my jawline and his thumbs rubbed my cheeks. I stood frozen, not sure of what to do.

“You have no idea how badly I wanted to do that from the moment I met you,” he breathed out. “Because I have. Really, really badly.”

I didn’t know what made me do it, but I grabbed Liam’s neck and brought his lips back down to mine.

In one kiss, I felt everything changing. There was no more best friends between Liam and me. It was something much, much more.

“Paris isn’t my favorite city anymore,” I gasped out.

Liam cocked his head to the side and looked at me. “What?”

“I suddenly really like Barcelona,” I smiled.

Liam chuckled as he pulled me into his arms. Fireworks went off and shouts from inside told us the clock had struck midnight.

“Happy New Year,” he said quietly.

Happy New Year indeed.