Counting the Stars

“Your biggest fear and… go!” Niall whisper shouted, “Birds!”

“Birds,” I responded at the exact same time as he did. We began to laugh at our matching responses, “For the longest time I thought I was the only one afraid of those evil creatures with wings. It’s good to know I’m not alone.”

Niall smiled widely, “Ducks are the worst.”

I nodded eagerly, “I agree. Ducks are the absolute worse.”

We continued on with our 20 question game for quite some time. It was 2 in the morning and we couldn’t sleep. At around midnight I had been in the small kitchen area, searching for food and Niall had walked out. After chowing down on an entire bag of chips, we began the game. We had answered almost every single question with the exact same answer and it was beginning to creep me out.

“If you were from Ireland, we could be long lost twins! I’m starting to think my mom had you and then shipped you off and this is all some real life version of the Parent Trap,” Niall laughed after we answered another question the exact same way.

“I’d like to think that, but I look like the male version of my mom, so I don’t think that would work out very well,” I overdramatically sighed.

“You could have played along! Come on Kyle, get with it! We could have been in the news and in magazines! The headlines would read 'Twins Find Each Other After Years Apart'” Niall dramatically cried, throwing his arms around, mocking a temper tantrum.

“You say that as if you aren’t already on the news and in magazines,” I smirked, rolling my eyes.

He grinned widely, “Touche, you got me there.”

“Well Niall, I’m going to bed. It’s 2 in the morning and I’m tired,” I said, standing up from my seat.

“Goodnight Kyle!” He replied, waving to me as I walked back to my bunk.

This was not good. I couldn’t get close with Niall. It would only end badly.

---

“ELEANOR’S COMING! ELEANOR’S COMING! ELEANOR IS COOOOOMING!” Louis shouted as he bounced around the hotel room we were currently in.

“Louis, we get it. Eleanor is coming and so is Danielle,” Zayn sighed, frustrated with his overly excited friend.

“Don’t be a Mr. Grumpy Gills, Zayn. Just because Perrie can’t come doesn’t mean you have to take it out on us,” Louis smirked wildly, continuing to bounce around.

Zayn glared daggers at Louis, “You know not to bring up Perrie. That’s a touchy subject.”

“Oh, I forgot. You’re apparently “dating” but yet she goes out with other guys and makes sure the paparazzi see her. Sorry mate,” Louis smirked again.

Liam shook his head, sighing, “Okay Louis, that’s enough. Zayn has asked us time and time again to not bring up Perrie. Let’s drop it and go to the airport to get Eleanor and Danielle.”

Louis bounced around the hotel room once more before bouncing out the door behind Liam.

Zayn threw his arms up in frustration, “Well I’m going back to my room. I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

Harry instantly threw himself onto Zayn, tackling him to the ground, “You can’t just leave us all here so you can sit inside your room like a loner!”

The exchanges between the guys continued on for another ten minutes, Niall eventually joining in the conversation. I didn’t dare join in on this specific one, trying to avoid the topic of relationships. Niall had brought up Caroline again, asking if she was going to come out to a show once we performed in California. The topic of Caroline had become a recurring one after I said we had left our relationship on mutual terms, deciding we were better as best friends. I had told Niall that Caroline would be perfect for her, which was a mistake. All the guys did was tease Niall about how he had a lady waiting back in California.

This was what made it an absolute mistake. In the past week that I’ve known the guys, I may or may not have developed a slight crush on Niall. When I say may or may not, I mean that I did. There was no way I could ever say anything, because as far as Niall was concerned, I was a guy and I knew for a fact he didn’t swing that way. We were the closest out of everyone on the tour and he began to tell me just about everything. I felt bad because I was pretty reserved and didn’t tell him as much, but I made sure to always listen. I figured if I told him anything, I’d somehow let something slip that would lead to me confessing I was a girl than everyone thing would go downhill from there.

“Kyle, why are you so quiet? Come dog pile Zayn with us!” Niall laughed, jumping off of the bed and onto Zayn and Harry.

“But I’m too lazy to jump onto you guys,” I shrugged.

“Y’know Kyle, sometimes I think you’re secretly a girl because all you do is sit around and complain. Come on and be manly!” Niall stated, pointing a finger accusingly my way.

A look of panic must have spread across my face because Niall, Harry, and Zayn all began to laugh like crazy. Niall’s eyes widened, “Oh lay off of it, Kyle. We know you’re not a guy! You don’t even look like a girl.”

I began to laugh awkwardly, agreeing with them. That was yet another blow to my self-esteem. The whole point was for me to look and act like a guy, but there was something about being told that you look exactly like a guy that stung down deep inside.

“The guys just picked up Eleanor and Danielle, they said they’ll be back in 20 minutes,” Harry said as he checked his phone.

“Maybe you should put some clothes on then, Harry. I don’t think any more people need to see you in your boxers,” I laughed.

20 minutes later and Harry has us all hiding in closets, preparing to jump out and ‘surprise’ Eleanor and Danielle. Since it was Harry’s ‘genius’ plan, he got to hide in the master closet with Zayn while Niall and I were squished in the tiny hall closet.

“You know, for being a drummer, you don’t seem as buff as most,” Niall whispered, keeping his voice down to avoid being yelled at by Harry.

I shoved him against the wall, “That hurts my heart, Horan.”

We continued to joke around until we heard the door open and we instantly shut up. Louis immediately began yelling for us, trying to figure out where we were. Niall rose up three fingers and began to count down slowly. Once he put his third finger down I pushed the door open and jumped out, screaming. Niall followed suit and soon Harry and Zayn ran out from their closet.

“You guys are so stupid,” Louis stated simply, “Anyways El, this is Kyle. He’s our new drummer who took Josh’s place for this tour. Kyle this is Eleanor.”

I smiled politely and stuck my hand out for her to shake, “Pleasure to meet you Eleanor.”

She grinned, shaking my hand, “Same for you, Kyle,” She turned and looked at Louis playfully, “Maybe Kyle will teach you a few pointers on how to be a gentleman.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a very gentlemanly person,” Louis scoffed, throwing a hand over his heart to mock hurt.

Liam rolled his eyes at the antics and pushed the girl with wildly curly hair my way, “Kyle, this is Danielle.”

Once again, I smiled politely and shook her hand, “It’s also a pleasure to meet you, Danielle.”

The greetings continued on in the same fashion, the girls much more comfortable around the other guys than they were around me. It was understandable seeing as they knew them, and I was the awkward new drummer. It didn’t bother me much though; I had kept to myself for the majority of the tour. If they guys weren’t forcing me to talk to anyone, I didn’t talk. Not after my drunken scene I had caused after the first show. I left the guys to talk with the girls and went to my room, which was connected to the guys’ room.

“Kyle, we’re all running down to get some food, do you want anything?” Niall asked, sticking his head into my room.

“I’m not really hungry. Plus, I need to call my mom back,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. My mood had taken a sudden turn for the worse. You would have thought I was on my period.

“Kyle… Not hungry? Well, whatever momma’s boy!” Niall said in a sing-song voice, leaving the room.

Once I was sure everyone had left the room and went out to get food, I gathered up a new outfit and went to the bathroom. It was time for a much needed shower, seeing as I have only had about three since our first stop in Texas, which was over a week ago. I started the shower and got in immediately, not even caring that the water was still cold. I showered quickly, not wasting anytime. Stepping out of the shower, I picked up my clothes and dropped my towel.

“Louis this isn’t funny… Where are- oh my gosh,” Eleanor stood in the bathroom door, wide eyed.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” I mumbled, pulling my towel back over me.

“But… I thought. What.. I?” Eleanor just stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“Uh… If I can get dressed, do you mind coming with me to my room so I can explain?” I looked at her desperately, my hands clinging to the towel tight.

She nodded, pointing her finger to my room, “I’ll be waiting in there. Hurry up because you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”