Status: Active
The Way I Love You
Chapter Nine: Banana Milkshake
A/N: I’m eating pie and it’s a great life.
The Way I Love You
~Chapter Nine~
The smell of French fries hits you like a whipping torrent. You walk into the kitchen, where the boys were crowded around the island. Poking your head through their shoulders, you realize that they were marvelling at a mountain of Macca’s French fries and a stack of burgers. Sometimes, the unhealthy antics of the boys scare you a little bit. It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if Liam had been smart enough to order something healthy knowing that he ordered pizza for lunch, but maybe Daddy Direction isn't always exactly sensible. Oh well, you like Maccas.
“Can we eat now, Steph?” Louis asked, not taking his eyes off the tower of burgers.
It didn’t occur to you that they were being patient and waiting for you. Niall looks at you with pleading eyes.
“Yeah sure, go for it.” you nod, before snatching a burger and running into the lounge. They come into the lounge, taking all the food with them, and placing it on the coffee table. You gather around to eat like that day on the tour bus, except the difference this time is Cara’s not here. You suddenly feel bad for Cara, as she was missing out on so much. Today was arguably one of the best days of the holidays, at least for you it was.
You take a bite of what seemed like a hamburger, closing your eyes for a brief second to savour the taste like people do on cooking shows when they taste food. It was only sensible to lick up the sauce on your lip and attack the mountain of fries before the boys wipe it all out. If your observations were correct, all the boys were on their second burger, except for Niall who was probably on his third. Now it made sense why Liam always orders the whole store.
Five large milkshakes were also on the table. Lime, strawberry, banana, chocolate and lime again. It did seem like the time for you to enjoy a banana milkshake.
Wait, hold on a second, you think. Isn’t there six of you here, instead of five?
“Uh... Liam?”
“What.” Liam puts a ketchup-smothered chip in his mouth.
“I don't think there's enough...” you say, gesturing to the five milkshakes.
“Yeah, sorry Steph... They ran out apparently. You're gonna have to share with one of us.” Liam chuckles sheepishly.
“Lime!” Niall calls.
“Chocolate!” Louis yells.
“Strawberry!” Harry tries to shout, but his raspy voice didn't really let him.
“Lime.” Liam smiles.
“Ba-na-na.” Zayn smirks, wiggling his eyebrows.
What a great way to make things awkward.
“So? Who are you gonna share with? Or are you going to have some water?” Liam says, handing out the shakes.
“Water's good fer' your body.” Harry adds, grinning along.
You roll your eyes.
“Steph can share with me!” Niall exclaims, holding his cup infront of you.
You smile, but you shake your head. “Sorry Niall, I like banana.”
His smile drops.
You turn to Zayn and before you register what you’re about to do, words start flying out of your mouth. “Can I share with you, Zayn?”
You didn’t know whether to be shocked at what you just said or the sudden burst of courage you had to say it. It was a sticky situation; after telling Zayn that you are hopelessly in love with him, you go around kissing Niall, and you think you might like him as well. Wow, Steph, make up your mind.
“Yeah, okay.” Zayn says, draining out your sea of thoughts.
You give a small smile before picking up the last chip. The burgers were gone and you only had one which wasn’t that fair, but the scent of ‘not being fat around boys’ was fresh in the air.
Niall looked a bit sad as he sucked on the straw of his shake. You and Zayn take turns with the straw and you end up moving closer to him so you claim it whenever he slurped too much. The banana flavouring was spot on. Or maybe it was Zayn's saliva. You don't know, but this shake tasted nicer than any other one you've had for a long time.
The sun had waved goodbye and the sky was a dark shade of blue. Liam pulls the curtains and turns on a little chandelier on the ceiling. Shards of glass reflected the light so there were little dots illuminated on the carpet. It was a stunning display.
You glance at the clock. 7pm.
“Guys, we're gonna watch a movie in here, not the theatre today. So I'm turning off the chandelier.” Louis sighs and flicks a switch on the wall. The chandelier light, which was no more, was replaced by a little lamp in the corner of the room.
“What're we watching?” you ask, taking a seat infront of the middle couch.
There were plenty of couches in the lounge, and they were unbelievably comfortable, but the temptation of sitting on the floor was pulling you down.
“The Little Mermaid.” Louis answers, placing a disk in the DVD player and prodding a few buttons.
You gasp. “Really?!”
The boys break into hysterics, leaving you confused like you always are.
“You are so, so, so, so, so, so, so gullible Steph.” Harry chuckles, shaking his head.
You start laughing too, maybe because Niall was laughing and his laugh was highly infectious.
The introduction for the movie starts to play. Someone turns the lamp off and you are left in darkness, expect for the light from the movie that was displaying emitting from the television.
Familiar music starts playing.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone?!
A sudden burst of happiness erupts inside you. Harry Potter can be considered your favourite series of books and film. Niall comes to sit next to you on the floor. You greet him with a smile, and he lays his arm around your shoulder. You are extremely tempted to lay your head on Niall's chest again and feel his heartbeat. But you resist.
Louis shuffles to change his sitting position. Everyone was dead quiet, eyes glued to the large TV screen.
“Are you a fan of Harry Potter?” Niall whispers. His breath tickled your ear.
“Biggest Potterhead around!” you turn your head to Niall. His face was leaning into yours. Barely a centimetre away. It was dark, and you couldn't see his eyes that clearly, but you could roughly make out where his lips were. Sitting up straighter, you brush your lips gently across his. The bird flaps like it did when you kissed him earlier.
Niall breaks into a massive grin. You turn back around to the television in time to see Harry, Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. Niall pulls you closer to him.
It took you a whole lot of resistance to keep yourself from crawling further onto him, but your efforts are overthrown when he gently squeezes your arm. Slowly, you move your head closer to his chest, and let it land where his heart was.
It never occurred to you before, but Niall smelt very, very nice. A deep inhale informs you that fresh strawberries was his scent for tonight.
The sound of Niall's heartbeat plays as a background thump for the rest of the movie.
•••
You awake on a cold bed, despite a rather thick blanket tucked over you; the bikini bottom you were in didn’t really help make things warmer. It was still dark. You look around, and it seems that you were in one of the spare rooms in the boys’ apartment.
The most accurate theory would have been; you fell asleep during the movie and one of the lads, probably Niall, carried you in here.
It was 12.30am according to a digital alarm clock on the bedside table. Summer always has those cold nights; you shiver, punching your legs to make sure they weren’t infected by pins and needles. Goosebumps on your thighs were a clear indication that no matter how awkward it may sound, you need some pants. You sigh a little bit when you realize that your clothes were in your bag which you left by the pool. Stealthily, you creep out through the door, shuddering as you attempt to navigate yourself to Niall’s room. Surely he would have a spare pair of boxers to lend a friend. You turn around a corner. There were two doors on either side.
Trying your luck, you decide the one of the left side. Perhaps if you remembered what Liam told you earlier about the room locations, it would’ve been easier. Subtly, you open the door, silently celebrating the fact that it wasn’t locked. You creep to the bed, and peer at who was sleeping in it.
Zayn.
That's right. You should've recognised this room, due to the fact that you were here before. Maybe he always sleeps shirtless, even on chilly nights like this one. It was hard to analyze him properly because it was too dark, but he looked amazing even in this lack of light. Memories of what you did in this room and how intimate you got comes flooding back. You didn’t go there, but you still got really close to each other.
It surprises you, even after kissing Niall and whatnot; that you are itching for that feeling again.
Just one kiss ok, Steph? One kiss and then out you go. One. One and only one.
You lean in and kiss him. Lips were soft and smooth. It was an understatement to say that your heart was about to jump out of your chest, but you would say it actually did when he starts to blink.
“Steph...?” He mumbles, in a low and quiet voice. “Why are you in my room...?”
Screw the boxers, they don’t matter anymore.
“My bed was cold... and I was wondering if I could... um... sleep on your bed?” Lucky humans don’t have superior vision in the dark otherwise there would be a brilliant display of red on your face.
There was an awkward silence.
“Sure, climb in.” you were actually startled that he sounded, welcoming.
You grin to yourself and crawl in, facing the wall so you were on opposite sides of the bed. Under the duvet, it was like a heater.
Zayn moves closer to you, and wraps an arm around you, so technically, you were spooning. Cara tells you about spooning all the time, especially since she’s always staying the night at her boyfriend’s, but she never said it felt this good. Like you had put on a cuddly jumper, like you just drank a full cup of cocoa; your body temperature soared immediately and you were no longer shivering.
He kisses your hair. “Good night Steph.”
The hairs on your neck prickle with a sort of excitement. “Night, Zayn.”
He shifts closer and within minutes, you could hear him snoring. For some odd reason, if felt as though your body frame fitted perfectly with his. You intertwine your hand with his that was on your waist.
Your eyelids feel heavy and you blow a kiss to the night, before falling into a deep slumber.
•••
“Harry! Give back my waffles!” A voice shakes you out of your sleep. You rub your eyes, welcoming the sunlight streaming through the window. Morning had arrived.
You hop out of bed, Zayn wasn't there. Apart from your hair looking like a demented bird’s nest, everything else was okay.
You note that last night was the first time in your whole entire life that you had slept with a bikini on and much to your embarrassment, it was also the first time you had slept with a guy on a bed? Your thighs were bare as you didn’t end up borrowing some boxers. You dig through Zayn’s drawers, rather careful not to look like you’ve been snooping through them, and pull out some green basketball shorts. It was probably clean, because it smelt quite nice. You put them on and walk into the lounge.
“Ha-rry! I said, give me back my waffles!” Niall's voice gets louder as you walk closer to the table. Liam, Louis and Zayn were eating their plate of waffles casually, while Harry was holding up two plates above his head.
Niall had a frown on his face and he looked like he was about to shoot someone.
You walk around the table and behind Harry, taking one of the plates from his hand.
He was surprised that the weight on one of his hands had gotten lighter, but then he realized you took a plate off him. He shoots you a disapproving look.
You chuckle and hand the plate back to Niall. He smiles, but then he sees the boxers that you’re wearing and he goes back to a frown.
“What were you doing in Zayn's room last night?” He asks, eyes digging deep into mine. Astonishingly, he can tell which room I spent the night in by looking at the boxers. The boys must know each other inside out.
Niall seemed a bit snappy, like a mother telling their teenager off for staying past curfew.
“Sleeping.” You reply simply, taking a seat next to him.
“Is that all? Are you sure?”
“Yes, Niall. That's all we did.” Zayn answers for you, cutting hard on his waffle
Niall looks at you sceptically, not even a trace of belief.
“Niall, I'll sleep with you next time I come over, if I ever do, okay?” you say, etching a small smile on your face.
Niall lights up with a smile. “Promise?”
“Promise.” you reply, sliding a plate infront of you.
“Wait, what day is it today?” you ask, squeezing some maple syrup on your waffles.
“Monday.” Liam answers, leaning forward to pick up his mug.
You freeze. Monday?! First day of school?!
Oh lord.
You check the time. 10.40am.
A colourful range of words start blasting from your mouth before you take a deep breath to clam yourself down.
“Sorry guys, I am super duper late for school, oh my God, I need to go! See you around, bye! I love you! Oh my God, I'll text you guys tonight or something! Bye!”
You mumble as you leap of your chair, grab your bag from the lounge, dashing outside, slamming the door behind you. The boys were probably at a loss of words and Liam would then start blaming himself for not knowing that you had school today.
You were in that flimsy white top you packed yesterday and Zayn's green boxers, barefoot running on the marble floor. You sprint outside the apartment complex and take a passing taxi back home where your mum would be standing outside the door, prodding her watch and shaking her head, totally unimpressed by your carelessness.
They would’ve got back at 7am from their road trip, if according to schedule, and that means they would know you either didn’t come home for the night, or went out extremely early this morning, which is unlike you on all occasions.
You check your iPhone. 35 missed calls and 104 new texts.
A/N: Facebook won’t load what the hell.
Vote-Comment-Fan
-KebabWoman
Song Recommendation: ‘If I’m James Dean, you’re Audrey Hepburn’ by Sleeping With Sirens
The Way I Love You
~Chapter Nine~
The smell of French fries hits you like a whipping torrent. You walk into the kitchen, where the boys were crowded around the island. Poking your head through their shoulders, you realize that they were marvelling at a mountain of Macca’s French fries and a stack of burgers. Sometimes, the unhealthy antics of the boys scare you a little bit. It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if Liam had been smart enough to order something healthy knowing that he ordered pizza for lunch, but maybe Daddy Direction isn't always exactly sensible. Oh well, you like Maccas.
“Can we eat now, Steph?” Louis asked, not taking his eyes off the tower of burgers.
It didn’t occur to you that they were being patient and waiting for you. Niall looks at you with pleading eyes.
“Yeah sure, go for it.” you nod, before snatching a burger and running into the lounge. They come into the lounge, taking all the food with them, and placing it on the coffee table. You gather around to eat like that day on the tour bus, except the difference this time is Cara’s not here. You suddenly feel bad for Cara, as she was missing out on so much. Today was arguably one of the best days of the holidays, at least for you it was.
You take a bite of what seemed like a hamburger, closing your eyes for a brief second to savour the taste like people do on cooking shows when they taste food. It was only sensible to lick up the sauce on your lip and attack the mountain of fries before the boys wipe it all out. If your observations were correct, all the boys were on their second burger, except for Niall who was probably on his third. Now it made sense why Liam always orders the whole store.
Five large milkshakes were also on the table. Lime, strawberry, banana, chocolate and lime again. It did seem like the time for you to enjoy a banana milkshake.
Wait, hold on a second, you think. Isn’t there six of you here, instead of five?
“Uh... Liam?”
“What.” Liam puts a ketchup-smothered chip in his mouth.
“I don't think there's enough...” you say, gesturing to the five milkshakes.
“Yeah, sorry Steph... They ran out apparently. You're gonna have to share with one of us.” Liam chuckles sheepishly.
“Lime!” Niall calls.
“Chocolate!” Louis yells.
“Strawberry!” Harry tries to shout, but his raspy voice didn't really let him.
“Lime.” Liam smiles.
“Ba-na-na.” Zayn smirks, wiggling his eyebrows.
What a great way to make things awkward.
“So? Who are you gonna share with? Or are you going to have some water?” Liam says, handing out the shakes.
“Water's good fer' your body.” Harry adds, grinning along.
You roll your eyes.
“Steph can share with me!” Niall exclaims, holding his cup infront of you.
You smile, but you shake your head. “Sorry Niall, I like banana.”
His smile drops.
You turn to Zayn and before you register what you’re about to do, words start flying out of your mouth. “Can I share with you, Zayn?”
You didn’t know whether to be shocked at what you just said or the sudden burst of courage you had to say it. It was a sticky situation; after telling Zayn that you are hopelessly in love with him, you go around kissing Niall, and you think you might like him as well. Wow, Steph, make up your mind.
“Yeah, okay.” Zayn says, draining out your sea of thoughts.
You give a small smile before picking up the last chip. The burgers were gone and you only had one which wasn’t that fair, but the scent of ‘not being fat around boys’ was fresh in the air.
Niall looked a bit sad as he sucked on the straw of his shake. You and Zayn take turns with the straw and you end up moving closer to him so you claim it whenever he slurped too much. The banana flavouring was spot on. Or maybe it was Zayn's saliva. You don't know, but this shake tasted nicer than any other one you've had for a long time.
The sun had waved goodbye and the sky was a dark shade of blue. Liam pulls the curtains and turns on a little chandelier on the ceiling. Shards of glass reflected the light so there were little dots illuminated on the carpet. It was a stunning display.
You glance at the clock. 7pm.
“Guys, we're gonna watch a movie in here, not the theatre today. So I'm turning off the chandelier.” Louis sighs and flicks a switch on the wall. The chandelier light, which was no more, was replaced by a little lamp in the corner of the room.
“What're we watching?” you ask, taking a seat infront of the middle couch.
There were plenty of couches in the lounge, and they were unbelievably comfortable, but the temptation of sitting on the floor was pulling you down.
“The Little Mermaid.” Louis answers, placing a disk in the DVD player and prodding a few buttons.
You gasp. “Really?!”
The boys break into hysterics, leaving you confused like you always are.
“You are so, so, so, so, so, so, so gullible Steph.” Harry chuckles, shaking his head.
You start laughing too, maybe because Niall was laughing and his laugh was highly infectious.
The introduction for the movie starts to play. Someone turns the lamp off and you are left in darkness, expect for the light from the movie that was displaying emitting from the television.
Familiar music starts playing.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone?!
A sudden burst of happiness erupts inside you. Harry Potter can be considered your favourite series of books and film. Niall comes to sit next to you on the floor. You greet him with a smile, and he lays his arm around your shoulder. You are extremely tempted to lay your head on Niall's chest again and feel his heartbeat. But you resist.
Louis shuffles to change his sitting position. Everyone was dead quiet, eyes glued to the large TV screen.
“Are you a fan of Harry Potter?” Niall whispers. His breath tickled your ear.
“Biggest Potterhead around!” you turn your head to Niall. His face was leaning into yours. Barely a centimetre away. It was dark, and you couldn't see his eyes that clearly, but you could roughly make out where his lips were. Sitting up straighter, you brush your lips gently across his. The bird flaps like it did when you kissed him earlier.
Niall breaks into a massive grin. You turn back around to the television in time to see Harry, Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. Niall pulls you closer to him.
It took you a whole lot of resistance to keep yourself from crawling further onto him, but your efforts are overthrown when he gently squeezes your arm. Slowly, you move your head closer to his chest, and let it land where his heart was.
It never occurred to you before, but Niall smelt very, very nice. A deep inhale informs you that fresh strawberries was his scent for tonight.
The sound of Niall's heartbeat plays as a background thump for the rest of the movie.
•••
You awake on a cold bed, despite a rather thick blanket tucked over you; the bikini bottom you were in didn’t really help make things warmer. It was still dark. You look around, and it seems that you were in one of the spare rooms in the boys’ apartment.
The most accurate theory would have been; you fell asleep during the movie and one of the lads, probably Niall, carried you in here.
It was 12.30am according to a digital alarm clock on the bedside table. Summer always has those cold nights; you shiver, punching your legs to make sure they weren’t infected by pins and needles. Goosebumps on your thighs were a clear indication that no matter how awkward it may sound, you need some pants. You sigh a little bit when you realize that your clothes were in your bag which you left by the pool. Stealthily, you creep out through the door, shuddering as you attempt to navigate yourself to Niall’s room. Surely he would have a spare pair of boxers to lend a friend. You turn around a corner. There were two doors on either side.
Trying your luck, you decide the one of the left side. Perhaps if you remembered what Liam told you earlier about the room locations, it would’ve been easier. Subtly, you open the door, silently celebrating the fact that it wasn’t locked. You creep to the bed, and peer at who was sleeping in it.
Zayn.
That's right. You should've recognised this room, due to the fact that you were here before. Maybe he always sleeps shirtless, even on chilly nights like this one. It was hard to analyze him properly because it was too dark, but he looked amazing even in this lack of light. Memories of what you did in this room and how intimate you got comes flooding back. You didn’t go there, but you still got really close to each other.
It surprises you, even after kissing Niall and whatnot; that you are itching for that feeling again.
Just one kiss ok, Steph? One kiss and then out you go. One. One and only one.
You lean in and kiss him. Lips were soft and smooth. It was an understatement to say that your heart was about to jump out of your chest, but you would say it actually did when he starts to blink.
“Steph...?” He mumbles, in a low and quiet voice. “Why are you in my room...?”
Screw the boxers, they don’t matter anymore.
“My bed was cold... and I was wondering if I could... um... sleep on your bed?” Lucky humans don’t have superior vision in the dark otherwise there would be a brilliant display of red on your face.
There was an awkward silence.
“Sure, climb in.” you were actually startled that he sounded, welcoming.
You grin to yourself and crawl in, facing the wall so you were on opposite sides of the bed. Under the duvet, it was like a heater.
Zayn moves closer to you, and wraps an arm around you, so technically, you were spooning. Cara tells you about spooning all the time, especially since she’s always staying the night at her boyfriend’s, but she never said it felt this good. Like you had put on a cuddly jumper, like you just drank a full cup of cocoa; your body temperature soared immediately and you were no longer shivering.
He kisses your hair. “Good night Steph.”
The hairs on your neck prickle with a sort of excitement. “Night, Zayn.”
He shifts closer and within minutes, you could hear him snoring. For some odd reason, if felt as though your body frame fitted perfectly with his. You intertwine your hand with his that was on your waist.
Your eyelids feel heavy and you blow a kiss to the night, before falling into a deep slumber.
•••
“Harry! Give back my waffles!” A voice shakes you out of your sleep. You rub your eyes, welcoming the sunlight streaming through the window. Morning had arrived.
You hop out of bed, Zayn wasn't there. Apart from your hair looking like a demented bird’s nest, everything else was okay.
You note that last night was the first time in your whole entire life that you had slept with a bikini on and much to your embarrassment, it was also the first time you had slept with a guy on a bed? Your thighs were bare as you didn’t end up borrowing some boxers. You dig through Zayn’s drawers, rather careful not to look like you’ve been snooping through them, and pull out some green basketball shorts. It was probably clean, because it smelt quite nice. You put them on and walk into the lounge.
“Ha-rry! I said, give me back my waffles!” Niall's voice gets louder as you walk closer to the table. Liam, Louis and Zayn were eating their plate of waffles casually, while Harry was holding up two plates above his head.
Niall had a frown on his face and he looked like he was about to shoot someone.
You walk around the table and behind Harry, taking one of the plates from his hand.
He was surprised that the weight on one of his hands had gotten lighter, but then he realized you took a plate off him. He shoots you a disapproving look.
You chuckle and hand the plate back to Niall. He smiles, but then he sees the boxers that you’re wearing and he goes back to a frown.
“What were you doing in Zayn's room last night?” He asks, eyes digging deep into mine. Astonishingly, he can tell which room I spent the night in by looking at the boxers. The boys must know each other inside out.
Niall seemed a bit snappy, like a mother telling their teenager off for staying past curfew.
“Sleeping.” You reply simply, taking a seat next to him.
“Is that all? Are you sure?”
“Yes, Niall. That's all we did.” Zayn answers for you, cutting hard on his waffle
Niall looks at you sceptically, not even a trace of belief.
“Niall, I'll sleep with you next time I come over, if I ever do, okay?” you say, etching a small smile on your face.
Niall lights up with a smile. “Promise?”
“Promise.” you reply, sliding a plate infront of you.
“Wait, what day is it today?” you ask, squeezing some maple syrup on your waffles.
“Monday.” Liam answers, leaning forward to pick up his mug.
You freeze. Monday?! First day of school?!
Oh lord.
You check the time. 10.40am.
A colourful range of words start blasting from your mouth before you take a deep breath to clam yourself down.
“Sorry guys, I am super duper late for school, oh my God, I need to go! See you around, bye! I love you! Oh my God, I'll text you guys tonight or something! Bye!”
You mumble as you leap of your chair, grab your bag from the lounge, dashing outside, slamming the door behind you. The boys were probably at a loss of words and Liam would then start blaming himself for not knowing that you had school today.
You were in that flimsy white top you packed yesterday and Zayn's green boxers, barefoot running on the marble floor. You sprint outside the apartment complex and take a passing taxi back home where your mum would be standing outside the door, prodding her watch and shaking her head, totally unimpressed by your carelessness.
They would’ve got back at 7am from their road trip, if according to schedule, and that means they would know you either didn’t come home for the night, or went out extremely early this morning, which is unlike you on all occasions.
You check your iPhone. 35 missed calls and 104 new texts.
A/N: Facebook won’t load what the hell.
Vote-Comment-Fan
-KebabWoman
Song Recommendation: ‘If I’m James Dean, you’re Audrey Hepburn’ by Sleeping With Sirens