I Wish

I woke up the next morning at half nine, an hour before I was supposed to go meet the creepy chick at the library. I woke up in the same position I had for the past three days; Louis’ arms wrapped tightly around me. I could feel his light stubble against my collar bone, telling me his face was buried in my neck. I smiled, moving around slightly. In response, he moved too and let out a little moan.

“Louis, I have to get up.” I mumbled. He groaned out an unintelligible response and I giggled. “Lou, baby, come on. Move.” I said. He sighed and I felt him release me. I rolled out of bed and watched him grab my pillow and pull it to his body in replace of where I had been, and promptly fall back asleep. I smiled and headed into the bathroom.

The first thing I did was take a long look in the mirror. I did this every time I went into the bathroom, or simply passed a reflective object. My life was so different, everything flipped upside down, yet I looked the same as I always had. Mind you, I had never been very appreciative of my looks. I felt like I was slightly skinnier than the normal girl, and my bones popped out in the most unfortunate places. And the layer of freckles that covered the side of my face and my nose wasn’t exactly appealing either, but I was grateful that if anything, my reflection in the mirror was still the same.

After examining myself, I stepped into the shower and took another of my signature long showers. I liked to enjoy my time under the rough stream that pounded out the kinks in my neck and back. If there was something I didn’t miss about my old life, it was my shower in my tiny apartment. It barely had enough pressure to get the shampoo out of my blond locks.

After a half an hour in the water, I stepped out regretfully and headed to the closet conveniently placed in the bathroom so I could change quickly into a set of clothes. I apparently had very good fashion sense, one very close to that of Eleanor Calder, and I found myself wearing shirts that cost more than an entire outfit from the old days. Trying not to think too much about my old clothes, I searched the closet for something comfortable, as I wasn’t yet used to the stiffness of my old wardrobe. I settled on a decent looking set of clothes and changed quickly into them before heading out through mine and Louis’ bedroom and into the living area.

Niall was seated on the couch, shirtless, eating a giant bowl of cereal and chuckling at a cartoon that played on the TV. I raised my eyebrows at the sight.

“Well well well, look who’s up before noon.” I said, and he stuck his fruit-loop covered tongue out at me. I stuck mine back out at him, and settled onto the couch next to him.

“What are you doing up so early?” He asked, his mouth full. I rolled my eyes at his barbaric ways.

“I could ask you the same question, big boy.” I said, smacking a hand against his stomach. I was met with a surprising amount of muscle, and stopped myself from looking surprised.

“Couldn’t sleep, I was too hungry.” He said, grinning cheekily at me. I grinned back, feeling my cheeks go a bit red. What was with that?

“Hey Ni, you have really nice eyes.” I said randomly, surprising myself just as much as it surprised him. He raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly.

“Thanks, Ry. So do you.” He said, nudging my shoulder with his. I smiled again, feeling very happy that he liked my eyes. “So really, what are you doing up?”

“I’m going to the library in a bit.” I said, picking at my nails. They had little white spots on them. I needed more calcium in my diet. He nodded slowly.

“Right. And I’m the queen of England.” He said, before taking another huge bite of his cereal. I rolled my eyes.

“I’m actually going to the library, you loser.” I said, poking his arm. He nodded, unable to speak through his mouthful. He swallowed loudly.

“Want some?” He asked, gesturing at the bowl. I shook my head as he plunged the spoon into it, and shoved the heaping thing in my face. I laughed and held his arm away from me. He laughed too, pushing it towards me.

“No Niall!” I called out, laughing slightly.

“Why not? It’s good!” He exclaimed, getting up on his knees. He placed the bowl on the table in front of us, and used his recently freed hand to hold one of my arms down from pushing him away. I felt the side of the spoon hit my cheek, soaking it with milk, and laughed loudly.

“Niall!” I said, laughing choking my words. His hand slipped, and he lost his balance. I felt his cheek collide with my shoulder as the spoon spilled behind me, soaking the back of my leggings with milk and soggy loops. I couldn’t breathe through my laughter, which stopped as soon as I noticed how close our faces were. His laughter died off slowly after mine. I felt our noses slide across each other gently. He had freckles across his nose.

“Room service!” I’d never seen Niall move as quickly as he did in that second. He shot to the other side of the couch almost as quickly as I stood up.

“You ordered room service?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly. He grinned and nodded. Just like that, the tension was gone. I laughed and shook my head, glancing quickly at the clock. Time for me to go. We walked together to the door and I swung it open to find a hotel worker standing there with a cart that had several covered plates on it.

“Thank goodness you’re here, cheers mate.” Niall said brightly, patting his stomach fondly. I giggled and stepped past the worker.

“I’ll see you later Niall.” I send, starting off down the hall.

“Do you need Paul to come with you?” He called after me, and I shook my head.

“I’ll be alright, it’s just down the street.” I called back, pressing the button for the elevator.

“Alright, be careful!” He called after me and I smiled and nodded before getting into the waiting elevator.

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I was sitting at the table in the corner of the library for about two minutes before she came. She materialized out of nowhere, it seemed, and there she was, sitting in front of me with a smile on her face. The smile made her look strangely normal, although there was nothing normal about her purple eyes and ghostly pale skin.

“Are those contacts?” Were the first words out of my mouth. Her grin grew broader.

“No. They’re my natural eyes.” She said in her musical voice.

“So purple…” I muttered, narrowing my own blue eyes slightly, before shaking myself out of it. “So do you have a name, or do I have to keep referring to you as creepy chick?” I asked bluntly, leaning back in my chair. She shrugged.

“My name is neither here nor there, but if you insist upon calling me something, I guess you can call me Alicia.” She said, and I raised my eyebrows.

“Right. Alicia it is then. So why did you ask me to meet you here, Alicia?” I asked.

“I have the answers to everything you want to know.” She said simply, and I pulled in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Everything?” I asked, doubting it immensely. She nodded.

“Everything. The questions that had plagued your mind since you woke up Wednesday morning in someone else’s bed, with someone else’s boyfriend, in someone else’s life.” She said, and a hand flew to my mouth. I leaned forward, my spider like fingers grasping the wooden desk beneath them.

“You know?” I said in a hushed whisper, and she nodded once more.

“Ask me.”

“Why am I here?” I asked, my voice sounding just as desperate as I felt. If she was willing to give me answers, I would be a fool not to take them.

“You made a wish. You wished you could have Eleanor Calder’s life. So here you are.” She explained. I shook my head quickly.

“I wished to have her life, not to be her!” I exclaimed and she shook her own head. Her hair didn’t seem to move.

“But you’re not her, are you? Look at yourself. You look the same as you used to. You act the same way you used to. You thoughts are no different. The only thing different is the life you are living, which is not your own. Therefore, you are not Eleanor. You are playing her role in her life.” She explained. I fell silent, letting her words go through my mind.

“Where is she, then?” I asked the question that had been on my mind since day one. “Where is Eleanor?”

“Right this second, she’s sitting on the couch in your flat. She has no idea what’s going on. She woke up Wednesday morning in your bed, with your cat snuggled to your chest. She spent the first day pacing around your apartment. The second day, she went out in search of her family. She found her mother, who had no idea who she was. She was passed off by her own family as a One Direction fan. The third day she slept all day. Today, she is angry.” She said. I covered my mouth with my hand, tears coming to my eyes.

“I have to do something.” I muttered.

“Do you have any more questions?” She asked, ignoring my words. I nodded quickly.

“Why am I here? I know you told me about the wish coming true and everything, but why did it come true? Why me? There has to be millions of girls around the world wishing for someone else’s life. Why did my wish come true?” I asked, my voice quick and still in a hushed whisper.

“I don’t know the answer to that. Maybe you did something to deserve it. Was your life before this something to be desired?” She asked, and I shook my head before I even had time to think about my answer. She nodded. “That’s why. I guess they thought it was your turn to experience all the greatness life has to offer.”

“Who’s they?” I asked. She didn’t answer, and I let it go, already forgetting the question I had asked. “Are you here to help me?”

“I can’t take you back to your old life. I can’t snap my fingers and make everything go back to how it was. I’m here to help you get through this. To answer your questions.” She said, and I nodded slowly.

“How do I get back to my old life?” Even as I spoke the words, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back to my old life.

“I don’t know.” Alicia said simply. I nodded, expecting the answer.

“What do I do?” I whispered.

“The first thing you have to do is book a flight.” She said. I frowned, confused.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’re not going anywhere. The flight isn’t for you. It will leave from London Heathrow Airport and arrive here in Los Angeles.” She said.

“Who’s the flight for?” I asked. A ghost of smirk flashed across her face.

“Eleanor Calder.”