Try to Scream

The hotel we stayed at was pretty packed. Cora and I ended up sharing a room, Harry and Niall had one, Liam and Zayn had another and Louis and El shared. The band decided to go for their bus. The rest of the team filled into their rooms.

Cora tried to bribe Liam many times, have him switch with her then he could trade with Niall. But of course, Daddy Direction tsked and shook his finger at her. I didn’t mind, either way. Sure, sharing with Niall would have been nice, but at the same time, I didn’t want to get too attached yet. This week apart would be a test, if we still raced for each other’s arms when we met on the bus after the vacation, then it might work. If not, then we could focus on other things.

I was trying to deal with this the right way. I didn’t want to get hurt and I didn’t want to hurt Niall. I wanted someone to talk about this with, but Cora was living it up as Zayn’s official girlfriend. I didn’t blame her, nor was I upset about it. She’d admired him for so long, now that she had him, I didn’t feel right getting in the middle of that.

I knew I could talk to El about it. But the problem was, I hardly knew her, I didn’t want to burden her with my troubles. She had her own, anyway. All the rumors about her boyfriend being gay, but in the time I’ve spent with them, the only gay I got from Louis was his nearly perpetual happiness. It was almost sickening sometimes.

In the end, I retreated to her anyway. The boys were at an interview, Cora followed. So I was left with El anyway. “How well do you know Niall?” I asked her as we sat in her hotel room painting our nails.

“As well as I can from afar. I mean, we’ve talked, we get along, but we aren’t BFF’s.” She tossed her long curls behind her shoulder and looked up from her toes. “He’s a great guy, from what I’ve seen. Lou seems to think he’d be a great boyfriend. If you’re worried, don’t be.” I looked at my hand. “Listen, I’d trust him with my best friend if it came down to it. I can assure you, you’re in good hands.”

I sighed, “I just don’t want to get hurt.”

“You won’t. If he hurts you, I’ll hurt him.” She smiled at me just as I looked up.

I started back on my nails just as my phone started going off. “Hello?” I asked, not bothering to check who it was. My mother’s voice frantically started screeching in my ears. The jumbled mess of words were incomprehensible. I set the brush down and sat up, “Mom, calm down, what’s wrong?” My heart beat uncontrollably.

“Someone broke in the house. They destroyed it.” She sighed slightly. “We were out to eat when it happened, I’m not sure if anything of yours is missing, you’ll have to check when you get home.”

I rested my head in my free hand, “Don’t scare me like that! I thought someone died!” I talked to her a bit longer before hanging up. The boys stopped in for a quick visit and a bit of food. Niall offered a few things to me, but I wasn’t hungry.

I thought about what El said. Since the first day blew over, we’d gotten pretty close. To have her say Niall was a good guy, I believed her. I trusted her opinion. I put my faith in what she knew about it. What she knew was also what she was told by Louis. Louis was an honest guy.

The day went by slowly. The boys had almost no time between all the interviews. Cora eventually got bored with the constant girlfriend questions and joined El and I back at the hotel for a few movies. We eventually went out for dinner and met the guys again.

“I’m bored!” Louis screamed as he plopped himself beside his girlfriend. “Let’s have an adventure.” His eyes looked around at us, probably evaluating our reactions.

“Yeah, last time you said that, we all got in trouble.” I added.

Niall wrapped his arms around my waist. “Yeah, I wasn’t allowed to eat before the endless photo shoot either!”

“Guys!” Louis growled, “You’re all party poopers.” He nuzzled his face against Eleanor’s neck, causing her to giggle. “It’s only 6. My grandmother parties harder.”

We all rolled out eyes and got up. “I’m changing first.” I kissed the end of Niall’s nose and walked out of the room to my own. I grabbed my navy blue top with the crochet collar, my cream colored shorts and a pair of flats. I ran my fingers through the mess of curls El put in my hair earlier and met the others in the hallway.

Niall pulled me back into his grip, “Let them go ahead for a minute. I have something for you.” I turned to look at him.

A small pout found my lips, “You don’t need to buy me things.”

“I know, but I saw it while we were out and I knew you’d love it.” He pulled out a blue box, as every girl knew; it was a Tiffany’s box. I instantly wanted to scold him, it must have cost so much. He handed it to me and watched my eyes scan over the perfectly tied ribbon.

“Niall….” He put his hands up and shook his head. I pulled lightly on one end of the ribbon and watched it fall apart. My hand hesitated on the lid of the box. His blue eyes gazed into mine as I took a deep breath. When the lid was off, I looked down at the blue pouch. I pulled it out and Niall grabbed the box. I could see how excited he was about giving it to me. When I opened it and found a small silver chain, my heart dropped. On the end of the chain was a little ladybug. Diamonds covered the head. “W-what? This is amazing.” Niall pocketed the pouch and box and put the necklace on me.

He started humming the chorus of one of my favorite songs. As he finished, he kissed the place where the clasp met my skin. “Plant my lips where your necklaces close.” He hugged me tightly as he whispered the words in my ear. “Just so you won’t forget me while we’re away.”

“I don’t think that would ever be possible. Thank you, though.” I laced my fingers with his and pulled him down the hallway to meet the others.