Snowed In

Alicia sighed as she leaned against a wall, she was already getting sick of all the drama that was going on. She was a simple girl, she liked to sit in a quiet room and just be alone, but here there was no alone. Glancing around, she slipped away and hoped no one saw her. She just wanted a minute to herself, but as she walked down an empty hall she heard footsteps behind her.

“Ali,” Liam said causing the girl to sigh.

“It’s Alicia,” she grumbled. “Why is it you never call me by my name?”

“Because I like Ali better,” he told her as he caught up to her.

“I guess it’s better than Leesh,” she sighed, giving up.

“Who calls you that?”

“My mom,” she told him as she pushed her hair back and leaned against a wall. “She thinks it’s cute.”

Liam scrunched up his nose, “I don’t think so, it sounds like a pet accessory.”

“That’s what I said,” she said a little surprised. She hadn’t thought he’d understand. They never saw eye to eye and yet there was at least one thing they agreed on now.

“Looks like I found the one topic that doesn’t lead to an argument,” Liam replied as a smile spread across his lips. “What’s your mom like anyway?”

“She’s nice, a little embarrassing, but what mom isn’t?”

“My mom isn’t,” he said watching as she slid down the wall and stretched her legs out in front of her. “She’s actually pretty cool. You’d probably like her.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, she never agrees with me either,” he replied before biting his lip and moving to sit next to Alicia.

“Sounds like a smart woman,” Alicia joked her eyes glancing at the boy before returning to the wall before her.

As Liam chuckled, Ali felt his hand graze hers, just the pinkies touching, but it was enough to make her bite her lip and look to her lap. Her hair fell from behind her ear and hid her pink cheeks from the boy’s sight. She didn’t want him to know how he affected her. She didn’t know what it meant herself. It was like she had a crush on him, but she never did before. ‘Maybe it’s just from being stuck here,’ she thought. She couldn’t possibly like Liam Payne.

“She is,” Liam finally said. A quiet fell over the two for a few moments before he looked over at Ali, “Can I ask you something?”

Biting her lip, she looked over and met Liam’s brown eyes. “Well, you just did, but sure.”
Chuckling a little, his eyes closed for a moment and opened. “Have you,” he began as his fingers slowly crept more over her hand. “Ever thought about…” Whatever he was saying was cut off by a loud crash as a skylight down the hall from them caved in. It seemed that it couldn’t handle the weight of the packed snow. Cold air rushed in as Alicia and Liam jumped up and hurried to the group.

“Guys,” Liam shouted as they entered the main lobby. “We have a problem.”

“What?” Zayn asked from where he sat.

“A skylight caved in.”

The group in the lobby all looked worried and it seemed with good reason. After a moment, they decided to shut the door to that hallway and hope that it would be alright before heading back up to the suite. It was already getting cold downstairs, but on the upper floors it was warmer. As they neared the suite that they’d been staying in, Liam caught Alicia’s arm.

“Hey, do you mind coming with me?” he asked. “I wanna check something.”

“Um, sure,” she said as the others shrugged and went back into the room. Alicia couldn’t help but notice that Sam looked uncomfortable as she followed Niall through the door, but it wasn’t Ali’s place to say anything.

Following the short haired boy, she was surprised when they went back to the lobby. He went behind the desk and grabbed a key. It was fancy and it belonged to the only room that still had a key instead of a computerized lock. Shooting Alicia a smile, he waved the key.

“Wanna check out the Presidential suite?”

“Yes!”

The two quickly headed to the top floor, neither talking until they made it to the door. Alicia looked over to the boy with brown eyes and smiled. She’d never been near the Presidential suite and she was sure it would be amazing. As he slid the key into the lock their eyes met.

“Here we go,” he said and the door swung open to reveal a living room like area with a fire place and bar.

“Whoa,” Alicia whispered as the two stepped into the space. “It’s like an apartment.”

Smiling Liam went over and opened a couple doors, revealing two bedrooms and a bath. It was nicer that the suite they were staying in and had a fireplace for when it got cold. Alicia was already thinking that it was a better option.

“It’s great isn’t it?” Liam said as he stood in front of the window to see that the snow had stopped falling. “I just remembered that it was the only room in the lodge besides the lobby with a fireplace.”

“We should probably get everyone else,” Alicia replied, joining him at the window. “The snow stopped.”

“Yeah.” A silence fell over the two as they looked out the window.

“You never asked your question,” Alicia noted as her eyes slid over to the boy.

“Oh.” Swallowing, Liam turned to her. “It’s really not that important.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright,” she said with a shrug as she started towards the door.

Liam followed her, but as they entered the hallway he reached out, “Ali?”

Feeling the pressure of his hand on her arm she turned around and was met with his brown eyes, he looked nervous, his teeth pulling at his bottom lip before suddenly they were crashing against hers. His hands quickly found their way to her hips as he gently pressed her against the wall. Before she realized what she was doing she was kissing him back, their lips fighting for dominance as her hand gripped the fabric of his shirt. Then reality hit. Her eyes popped open and she pushed the boy away. Shock was written across his handsome face as his heavy breathing slowed.

“Why would you do that?” Alicia yelled her fists slamming against his chest. “Why would you kiss me like that?”

“Because I’m practically in love with you,” Liam yelled back. “Can you really not see that?”

“Not when you have a girlfriend,” Alicia shouted tears welling in her eyes as she tried to create space between them. “Does Mia mean anything to you? Or did you just decide that you wanted a good fuck in case we died up here?”

“Ali, I…”

“Save it, Payne,” she snapped, interrupting him. “Just save it. And for the thousandth time, my name is Alicia.”

Pushing him one last time, she hurried off towards the suite where the group was. She couldn’t be near Liam, not after what had happened. She wouldn’t be that girl. Alicia wanted nothing more than to press her lips against his one more time, but she wouldn’t be the other woman. She wouldn’t be like her mom. Walking into the suite they were staying in, she tried to hide that she’d been crying the whole way back, but she was sure she didn’t do a great job. Before she could say anything, Liam walked in the door and gave her a pained look before moving towards the rest of the group and telling them about the Presidential suite.