Begin Again

“Lana, no,” I told my best friend sternly.

“Why not?” She whined causing her British accented voice to sound very much unappealing and grabbed my shoulders to stop me from walking away. “He’s a great guy and you haven’t been on a date since…”

“Since Brandon. I know and I plan on keeping it that way. I’m not going to end heart broken again, I told you this.”

“Oh, come on. You know you can still go on a date with out getting your heart broken. It’s just one date. If you don’t like Liam, then fine. Go on with your bitter life. But you have to go. It’s not anything formal, it’s just lunch in that little café on the corner. He’s such a gentleman and you will enjoy your time with him, I promise! He hasn’t had it easy either, you know. His girlfriend Danielle broke up with him out of nowhere a couple months ago. So you’re not the only going through a rough time. Just give it a chance, you never know, it might spark into something real,” she pleaded me, shaking my shoulders in the process.

Maybe she’s right; it is just one date. If I just go and eat lunch with him, she’ll get off my case about being bitter and it’s not like I’ll fall in love with him after one date.

“Fine,” I finally responded. “I’ll go, but I’m not making any promises that there will be a second date or that I’ll even like him.”

“Yes! Thank you, you will not regret it, I promise!” She squealed and wrapped her arms tightly around me. I just patted her back softly, grunting. “I’m going to call him right now and let him know it’s happening.” She turned on her heel and pulled out her phone, walking to the kitchen. I stood in the main room of our flat, watching her talk to Liam happily. She noticed and smiled, “oh here Liam, Addi wants to talk to you!”

“What? No, I don’t!” I whispered harshly, waving my hands to stop her but it was too late, she was already heading over to me. “Ugh, I hate you,” I concluded quietly to her before snatching the phone from her. “Erm… Hi, I’m Addi.” I hit my palm to my forehead, thinking about how stupid that sounded. He soft chuckle came through the speaker.

”Hi, Addi. I’m Liam.” I could hear the smile in his deep accented voice. My lips turned up at the corners slightly when I heard his British accent.

“Hi,” I responded stupidly.

”Hi.” He paused and an awkward silence filled the air. ”Uh, anyway… Lana tells me you’re interested in going on that date she planned for you and me.” I nodded but then realized he couldn’t see me so I cleared my throat.

“Yeah, that’s right.” I glared at my best friend as she continued to beam at me.

”Okay, well maybe we could meet at the café today if you’re free.”

“Of course, sure. What time?” I asked him, glancing at the clock. 11:24am.

”Well, erm, how about at two?”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

”I look forward to it. Bye, Addi,” his deep voice said through the speaker.

“Buh-bye.” I handed the phone to Lana and glared at her before walking to my room to get ready for Liam and mine’s date.

* * *

I hit the lock on my car and looked at my phone, clicking the unlock button at the top to check the time. Five minutes till two. I walked into the small café, pulling my sunglasses off and tucking them into my small bag. I looked around the room half-expecting the boy to be late but once my eyes landed on a boy that looked as Lana had described, I was pleasantly surprised. His deep brown eyes looked up from the table when I walked in and a small smile played on his lips while he gave me a small wave. I returned the same smile and walked over.

Liam almost jumped out of his seat when I neared and walked to the other side of the small table, pulling out the chair for me. My cheeks blushed a light pink when he did this and I just thanked him softly, taking a seat in the vintage iron chair. Brandon never did that for me and the more I think about it, he never acted like a gentleman. He only cared about himself and always showed up to our dates late. Liam was already a major step up from my ex-boyfriend.

“So, eh,” he started. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

“You too,” I responded quietly. Well, this is just awkward.

I kept my eyes on the small paper menu, scanning over the many pastries and lunches they had. There was awkwardness between us and it made me uncomfortable, making me fidget and clear my throat every couple of seconds. Clearly, he felt the same way since he continued to shift in his seat and look around the room.

“So… This is awkward.” I heard Liam’s deep voice finally say. I just let out a loud laugh and nodded.

“I know right?” He gave me a toothy grin and rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.

“I’m so nervous right now too. I’ve never really done this kind of thing and this is the first date I’ve been on in a while,” he told me softly.

“Don’t worry, me too. It’s been a good eight months since my last boyfriend and we barely went on dates.”

“What? Why not?” I shrugged. “He must have been a shit boyfriend then.” I let my eyes drop to the menu, not saying anything. “I’m sorry, I just… I need a filter,” he said, laughing nervously. I shook my head.

“No, you’re right. He was an awful boyfriend,” I informed him.

“Well, my girlfriend of two years just broke up with me out of nowhere if that makes you feel better…” I saw his eyes look over my face intently before he continued. “I thought everything was going absolutely great and I thought that she could be the one… You know?” I gave him a small smile and nodded. “Then one day she told me it wasn’t going to work anymore. We both had barking mad schedules and she knew she wouldn’t see me very much while I am on tour.”

“Oh you’re a musician?” He looked at me slightly surprised.

“Yeah, I’m in One Direction.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of you guys. I didn’t know you were the Liam in that group… Lana didn’t tell me. I, uh, sorry. I didn’t know,” I apologized, slightly embarrassed. “I like your music though…” I added. He let out a soft chuckle.

“It’s quite alright. I just thought Lana might have informed you. I shouldn’t really assume everyone knows who I am…” I laughed and he grinned. “Anyway, well I guess I could inform you of who I am. I’m Liam Payne.”

“Hi, Liam… You make it sound like we’re in an AA meeting.” He laughed and shook his head.

“Oh shut it,” he said, laughing. “I’m nineteen.”

“Me too!” I exclaimed a little too happily and he let out a chuckle. My cheeks turned a light pink color. “Sorry, I’ll stop interrupting now…”

“It’s okay. Well, my best mates are my band mates. They’re always there for me and they’re the best boys you could ever meet. What about you?”

“Hmm, well Addison Montgomery is my name.” I stared at him for a moment. “I don’t know what else to say.” He smiled and nodded.

“Well, I can tell by your accent that you are American. When did you move here to London?” I opened my mouth to continue but the waitress came up asking for our orders. After we ordered, the waitress stood there for a moment staring at Liam before he smiled at her, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. I noticed her cheeks turning a dark red before she turned around and walk away quickly. I looked over at Liam, raising my eyebrows and he shrugged with a small laugh.

“Anyway… I moved here about three years ago when I was sixteen because my mom got promoted and had to move. My dad stayed back in the states but I had been planning for years to come to the university here and I decided to move here with her. My mom moved back to the states when I turned eighteen to be with my dad again.”

“How did Lana come in the picture?” I poured a little bit of sugar into my hot tea that the waitress had brought over for me.

“We were neighbors. You know ever since she moved here. We just got on so well and we decided to get a flat together in the city when we both got into the university. What about you? How did you know her?” I asked, taking a sip of my hot tea.

“I’ve known her since we were young. We went to school together until I started going to the college in Wolverhampton to study music technology. We’ve always been good mates so we kept in touch over the last few years.” I nodded and looked around the small café taking in its cute appearance. It was silent for a minute or two, but it wasn’t awkward like before. “Can I ask you a question?” My eyes moved over his features, taking them for the first time since they begun the date. I noticed how soft his features looked, how calm he looked.

“Yeah, sure. What is it?” I asked finally, looking into his dark brown eyes.

“What happened with your boyfriend?” He asked gingerly. I softly bit on the inside of my cheek, thinking about Brandon.

“He sent me a text message one day and told me it’s not going to work,” I answered quietly. “He didn’t give me any kind of explanation or anything. I knew it was coming eventually but I thought he would have the decency to do it in person.”

“A text message?” He asked in disbelief. “Wow…” He breathed out. “He was stupid to let you go, you know.” I shrugged and stirred my tea with the small spoon.

“I’ve realized over the last couple months that he was never a good boyfriend. I was too in love to see the signs. He didn’t appreciate me for me. He tried to change me and I let him do it.” A soft sigh fell past my lips before I continued; “He got me to dye my hair red even though I hated it. I changed it back the moment he ended it. He wanted me to change into someone I wasn’t and I wasn’t happy. I didn’t know it at the time, but now that I think about it, I spent more time being upset and angry with him then actually enjoying my time with him.” My eyes studied his face slowly while he took in everything I had just said. I noticed the small scuff that was growing on his chin, jaw, and above his upper lip. I took notice of the freckle that was on his left cheek. His nose was smooth and it fit his face perfectly. He had slightly thin lips but his bottom lip was a little more plumped than his upper lip. They were pink and they looked incredibly soft. His gentle, deep voice filled my ears as I continued to take in his features. I lifted my green eyes back to his brown ones and I realized he was asking me a question. “Er, what?” He flashed me a small smile before repeating his question.

“Why did you stay with him if he tried to change you?”

“I thought I was in love,” I admitted truthfully. “I honestly don’t know if I ever was or not. I don’t know what love feels like and I’m not sure if I want to. If that was love, then that scares me.”

“Not all love is like that,” he informed me, staring intently into my eyes. I gave him a weak smile and shrugged. The waitress came over with our food and nearly knocked my tea over, but Liam caught it before it could tip completely over. I let out a soft laugh when she walked away after apologizing endlessly.

“You make girls nervous, you should stop that. It makes everyone around you uncomfortable, just saying.”

“So I make you nervous?” A smirk spread across his lips. I let out a small giggle and shook my head.

“Oh no, you don’t.” That was lie, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Damn,” he said with a smile. “You make me nervous,” he admitted shamelessly.

“Really? You don’t act it,” I responded and he shrugged, before taking a small sip of his drink.

“I’m just trying to be cool… I’m not really cool though.”

“That’s okay, I’m not either. Just like you, I’m trying to remain cool… But it’s not working very well, I think.” He laughed. “I’m more the… Superhero and book type.”

“Seriously?” He asked completely surprised. “Me too! Well, I love superheroes at least. Who’s your favorite?” I beamed at him.

“Batman, of course! He’s like the best superhero ever.”

“I agree!”

“I love Christopher Nolan’s movies. I thought they were absolutely brilliant. I love how he made batman so mysterious and stuff. Though he’s not really because he is revealed to us but still. He also owns a freaking batmobile, I mean how can you not want that?”

“I know! Honestly, if he was real, I think I’d be in love with him.” I shushed him, placing my finger on my lips.

“He is real!” I whispered seriously, but a smile broke out on my lips breaking my serious face. He threw his head back and let out a loud laugh causing me to giggle. After a moment or two, our laughs slowed to a stop, leaving us with just smiles on faces. “You know this date turned out better than I thought it would.”

“Eh, it was alright,” he teased. I pouted out my bottom lip and he mocked my actions, making me stick my tongue out at him. “No, it was great. I agree with you.”

After much more talking, we finally finished our lunch and after bickering shamelessly over who’s paying, Liam won after physically taking the check from my hands and paid the waitress. I’m sure it was quite a sight for everyone to see since I was turned away from him, slouched over my purse trying to get my money out and he was basically on top of me reaching around me to snatch away the paper.

Liam placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me out of the vintage café. He held the door open for me and I thanked him, walking to my car parked on the side of the building. He followed behind me and when we reached my car, he opened the door to my car before I could. I blushed lightly, getting in and turning my car on. He closed the door shut when I rolled the window down and leaned down slightly to look at me.

“Could I get your number? I would like to talk to you more and maybe even take you out again to a place we both would enjoy. Not that we didn’t enjoy this but it could be our plans, not Lana’s.” He continued rambling but I just held out my phone with a soft giggle, making him stop mid-sentence. His cheeks turned a soft pink color, it was barely noticeable but I saw it. He reached his hand inside of his pocket and pulled his phone, trading phones with me. I handed him back his phone and he let out a soft chuckle reading the name I put in. Batman Buddy.

“I’ll see you soon,” I said, taking my phone back. He smiled and leaned down into the window, placing a soft, lingering kiss on my cheek. My stomach filled with butterflies and I felt my cheeks burn lightly.

“Bye, Addi.” He turned and shoved his hands into his pocket, walking over to a black Audi. I watched him while he climbed into the passenger seat and I saw another boy sitting in the driver’s side. I gave Liam a small smile when he waved through the window of the car, and I returned it by wiggling my fingers. He grinned a toothy grin and I watched the Audi pull out of the small parking lot, driving away.

I cannot tell Lana she was right. She’ll never let me live it down.