Settle Down

We sat side by side on the couch watching TV. I was nursing a mug of chamomile tea, while niall was drinking a cup of coffee he had gotten from the coffee shop down the street. “It’s going to be warm and sunny in LA. I’m happy, we need some nice hot weather for a change.” Niall murmured, looking up from his iPhone.

“Great, I love the sun.” I smiled.

“Were leaving at around five, so we have a few hours to run amuck around the city before we have to dash off.”

“I’ll go get changed.” I replied, standing up and making my way over to the washroom. I left the door open, pulling out my makeup bag and turning on the tap, letting the water run warm. I pulled out my face wash, prodding the stream of water to test its temperature. When I was sure it was warm enough, I spread some wash between my fingers, and rubbed it over my warm damp face. I washed my face, humming slightly as I scrubbed. I then rinsed it all off, patting my face down with a soft fluffy towel. I pulled out a tinted moisturizer and smoothed it all over my face, noticing Niall out of the corner of my eyes.

“Watcha doin?” Niall strolled on, taking a seat on the closed toilet.

“Getting ready.”

“Ooh, what does this do?” Niall asked, picking up a blush. “Is this a blusher?”

I smiled, watching him try to open the compact of blush, and give up after a few short moments. I put on some mascara, and then slid on some lip-gloss before topping my cheekbones off with blush. I grinned self-consciously as Niall watched intently, his eyes scanning my face.

“I’m going to get changed. I suggest you do the same.” I padded out of the room, turning a corner and walking up to my bag. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a light blue button up shirt. I changed swiftly, taking a few moments to eye my bump in the full length mirror. It was getting quite round now, and very heavy. It took me a few extra moments to do things with this large protruding stomach that always got in the way. Just as I was walking out into the hall Niall strolled out, wearing black jeans and a black hoodie. “I can drop you off at the mall so you can get a bit of shopping done.” He smiled, stuffing his feet into a pair of blue high tops.

“Niall, I don’t nee-“

“Your going. Now come on, lets go.” He said stubbornly, ushering me out the door and down a few flights of stairs. We strolled out onto the street, making out way down the street to where Niall’s car was parked. He pulled out his keys, fumbling around with a few keys before finding the right one. He pressed the button, eliciting a small beep from a black range rover.

“Do you have the same car in every city?” I asked, opening the door and sliding in.

“Pretty much.” He grinned, hopping into the driver’s side. He started the car as I adjusted my seatbelt, shifting around in my seat. He pulled slowly out of the spot, starting his way down the empty street. I fiddled with the radio stations, settling on one that was playing one of my high school favorites; an Ed Sheeran song called Wake Me Up.

Would you ever feel guilty if you did the same to me?
Could you make me a cup of tea to open my eyes in the right way?
And I know you love Shrek
‘Cause we've watched it 12 times
But maybe you're hoping for a fairy tale too
And if your DVD breaks today
You should've got a VCR
‘Cause I've never owned a Blue ray, true say

I sung along quietly, grinning to myself as Niall joined in.

And now I’ve always been shit at computer games
And your brother always beats me
And if I lost, I’d go across and chuck all the controllers at the TV
And then you’d laugh at me
And be asking me
If I'm gonna be home next week
And then you'd lie with me 'til I fall asleep
And flutter eye lash on my cheek between the sheets

“I didn’t know you could sing.” Niall smiled, his gaze flicking between the road and me.

“There are lots of things you don’t know about me.” I replied, looking out the window. I could feel his intense gaze on me, searching my profile for any sign of emotions. I kept my face blank, not wanting to give away all my secrets to him. There were some things that only a few people in my life knew.

“Here we are.” He said, pulling into a large parking lot of a mall. He drove about for a few seconds, settling on a parking space not too far from the entrance.

“What will you be up to today?”

“I may as well come along. I don’t really care who sees us together; they can say what they want.” He replied boldly, resting his hand on the small of my back as he led me towards the doors. He opened the door, letting me enter first before following closely.

“There’s a maternity store just ‘round the corner here.”

We walked a short distance, and I followed him, turning a corner and slowly following Niall into the store, which sold clothes for both mother and child.

“Look at the little onesie!” Niall cooed, holding up a teensy blue cotton footy pajama.

“Here we go.” I laughed, parting form Niall and making my way over to the clothes.

“Would you like any help?” A saleswoman approached, a broad smile across her lips.

“I’m looking for a dress, something a bit more dressy.”

“Well, we have our dresses over in this section here.” She beckoned me, leading me over to the opposite end of the store.

“Nialler, I’ll be over here.” I called over to the man who was oohing and awing over the miniature clothes.

“Coming love!” He replied, weaving through the racks of fleece blankets.

“Husband?” The sales woman asked.

“No, just a friend.” I replied slowly, confused at his sudden change in behavior.

“There are paps over there. Keep it lovey-dovey until I say so.” He leaned over and whispered in my ear. I nodded slightly, still following the woman into the corner of the store.

“This one would gorg on you.” I cringed slightly at the use of the word ‘gorg’ but smiled when I noticed the dress she held up. It was gorgeous, black lace with a nude backing.

“Ok, could I have a change room set up for that? I’m just going to have a look around before I try anything on.”

“Or course.” She sashayed away, weaving around a small cluster of teenage girls snapping pictures with their camera phones.

“I can’t believe this stuff still happens to you.” I motioned over to the giggling group of girls.

“Well, the band only broke up last December. I guess people still listen to our albums?”

I listened, flipping through a rack of shirts and picking out a black sheer button up shirt, and a pale pink cotton tee with a faded grey cross over the breast pocket.

After about thirty minutes of standing Niall had made his way over to the rocker department, and was rocking back and forth gently, settled into a plush grey chair. He was tapping away on his iPhone, his foot bobbing up and down.

“I’m just going to go try some stuff on.” I patted his shoulder, ambling over to the change rooms.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” He called to my back.

I smiled at a sales woman as she ushered me to a change room, placing my clothes inside. I stepped in, trying on the lace dress. I pulled it over my bump, patting it gently. After realizing there were no mirrors in the change room I stepped out of the room, observing myself in the three mirrors positioned in the corner of the room.

“You look beautiful.” Niall piped up from a bench off to the right of my change room.

I caught his gaze in the mirror, smiling self-consciously and pressing my lips together when I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. I looked past Niall, noticing two of the sales women looking over and whispering.

“You really like it?” I asked a final time, studying my side view in he mirror.

“You’ll blow all the other girls away.”

-

After an exhaustingly long day of shopping we drove back to the flat in silence. We had thirty minutes to pack up before driving down to the airport. As Niall pulled up to the apartment, his phone chimed loudly. He shut off the car, and hopped out, staring at his phone. We walked up to the flat, climbing the stairs with bags in hand. I sighed when we finally made it to the fourth floor, and opened the stairwell doors. Niall puled out the keys from his pocket, opening the door and waiting for me to go in first.

“Do you have a suitcase I can borrow? My backpack won’t hold all these clothes.” I laughed, holding up the large bag filled with baby clothes Niall had bought.

“Hey, in my defense, who wouldn’t wanna dress up their son in teeny tiny high tops?” Niall retorted, opening a closet and pulling a small suitcase out.

“Thanks.” I said, placing the bags down and picking up my backpack, dumping its contents into the hard shell luggage. I stuffed everything in, sitting on top of the suitcase to get it closed. “There. Ready.” I grinned at Niall, who was walking into the room with his large leather bag slung over his shoulder.

“Lets go.” He smiled, tucking his laptop under his arm. He locked up behind us before we made our way over to the elevator.

“So, about today. Were taking a plane, here at the London airport. Simon is making us be out in public more for publicity on the ‘relationship’ or whatever the fuck he wants to do. So while in public, for now, were dating.”

“Got it. Act lovey dovey while the paps are ‘round.” I saluted after we got into the elevator. I watched as Niall pressed the ground button, and my heart lurched a bit when the elevator jerked downwards before beginning a smooth descent.

-

The taxi slowed to a stop in front of the bustling airport. Niall slipped on his sunglasses, hopping out of the car and making his way around to trunk. I got out of the taxi, wobbling slightly before steadying myself on the side of the car.
I made my way around to Niall, accepting my suitcase and wheeling it around to the sidewalk. Niall followed closely, placing his hand protectively in the small of my back, steering me through the sliding doors. The moment we walked in, quite a few people turned to stare, and one teenage girl wandered past, giving us a double take before staring at Niall, her mouth slightly ajar.

We hustled through customs and security, dropping off our bags and making it just in time for our flight. We collapsed into our seats, and I took window; like always. I got settled in, and flipped up the middle armrest to get it out of the way. Niall yawned, blinking sleepily.

“Sleep on the way there. I bet the boys will be ready to greet you the moment we get to LA.”

“I suppose your right. I may as well get as much sleep as I can before staying up 24/7 with the boys.” He confessed.

“Please buckle up your seatbelts, the flight will be departing soon.” The voice over the loudspeaker announced as the plane began to move. It drove into a lane, slowly picking up more and more speed before catching the air and jerking upwards, beginning its ascent.

After about twenty minutes Niall had fallen fast asleep, and he had been ever since. His head was in my lap, resting on a pillow, and his body was covered with a plush blue blanket. I stroked his arm absentmindedly, drawing patterns with my fingers. He shifted slightly, and he mumbled slightly in his sleep. I brushed some stray hairs our of his eyes, glancing down and noticing a small smile form on his lips.

“Would you like anything miss?” The flight attendant asked, rolling up with a cart of snacks.

“Um, I’ll take a bag of chips.” I replied, thinking Niall would be hungry later when he woke up.

“That’ll be 2.50.” I handed her the money, accepting the bag in return. I tucked it into the side pocket, resting my head on the wall of the plane.

“We will begin our descent soon, please buckle up your seatbelts.” The loudspeaker crackled.

“Niall, wake up sleepy.” I shook Niall’s shoulder slightly, eliciting a mumble of protest. “C’mon, you gotta wake up.”

“Uhg.” He moaned slightly, managing to get himself into an upright sitting position.

“Where are we?” he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Almost in LA. Buckle up.”

-
“I share a place with Harry, I’m not sure if he’ll be here or not though.” Niall said as the taxi pulled up to a large house.

“Is this your place?” I asked, staring at the massive house. It had large glass windows and a massive garage; the front yard was neatly trimmed, not a single hair of grass out of place.

I hopped out of the cab, touching my abdomen lightly as I stared the house down in awe. Niall placed the bags down beside me, and I accepted them with a smile, pulling up the handle. I slowly followed him up the walkway, and stood quietly as I watched him unlock the front doors. They swung open, revealing the large foyer. When you stood in the doorway you could get a glimpse of the living room in front of you; its large, masculine furniture placed around a massive TV. The TV was on, and sitting on the couch was Harry himself. His head was turned around, looking intently at us.

“Hazz? Mate what are you doing here?” Niall stuttered, dropping his bags down into the large foyer.

“Mate, I just- I don’t want to fight anymore.” Harry confessed, jumping off the couch and approaching us.

“Oh god, good. I hate fighting. Its bloody awful.” Niall sighed, walking up to Harry and giving him a man hug. The two men made amends, talking and laughing happily. I smiled as I watched them interact as if they had never gotten into a fight in the first place; like the old friends they were. Just as I was about to pipe up I heard the doorbell ring, followed by many short raps on the door. I spun around, watching as Harry made his way over and whipped the door open, revealing Liam, Louis and Zayn.

“Gotcha!” Zayn yelled at the top of his lungs, spraying whipped cream all over Harry before running into the room and attacking Niall with the spray of white fluff.

“Oh god mates stop it!” Niall laughed, holding his hands up in a weak act of defense as all three boys went at him, spraying him down with loads of whipped cream. In no time he was covered, and gave up all acts of defense, instead joining into the fun and licking it off himself.

“Mm, tastes pretty good.” He licked the back of his hand; much like a cat would clean itself. Harry and Niall exchanged a quick glance, both nodding at each other before turning to me with smirks on their faces.

“Just as a- initiation as one may call it.” Niall started.

“To the One Direction gang.” Harry continued.

“Group hug!” They sang in unison, running up and giving me a big messy hug. I smiled as they rubbed the sweet white foam all over me, not missing a single spot. They smeared their hands everywhere, laughing like maniacs as the rest of the boys added a steady stream of whipped cream to the mix. One lone hand roamed over my breasts, making sure to get the cream everywhere. They all moved away, studying their art carefully.

“I think were missing something, don’t you think so Liam?” Niall asked, stroking his chin. Liam’s eyes lit up, and he bent over, rooting around his bag before pulling out a jar of maraschino cherries. He pulled one out, twirling it around in his fingers with a smirk plastered on his face. He handed it to Niall, who shook up his can and unleashed a coil of cream on my head, topping it off with the cherry. The boys whipped out their phones, lifting them up to take a picture, and I pouted unhappily for the pictures.

“This is going on twitter.” Niall laughed, already sending out the tweet. “Liv, what’s your twitter?”

“Oh, I don’t really use it anymore. It’s livnicole.” I smiled, walking up and peering over his shoulder at the tweet he was sending.

@livnicole #initiation

I laughed, bending over and rooting around in my bag for my cell. I pulled it out, turning it on for the first time in weeks. I looked up to notice the boys all snickering and Niall, who was beet red.

“I’m going to wash this off and take a shower. I’ll be down later.” I waved, starting down the hall.

“Niall will join you!” Zayn called out. I looked back, noticing Niall’s blush that had grown even redder.

Niall’s POV

“Niall will join you!” Zayn called out to Liv’s retreating back. I blushed furiously, stuffing my hands into my pockets nervously as she laughed. The moment she was out of view I elbowed Zayn in the side, hard.

“Ow!” Zayn whimpered, rubbing his arm with a pout on his face.

“Shut up.” I mumbled.

“Oh come on, don’t act all innocent now. You would do the same to me.” Zayn laughed.

“Hey! Jumping to conclusions mister.” I pouted. “But yeah, your kinda right.”

“I’m hungry, lets make some cookies.” Louis whined, bounding over to the kitchen and pulling ingredients out of the cupboards.

“Did you go grocery shopping?” I asked Harry.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I got enough for two constantly hungry men and a pregnant woman.” Harry laughed.

“So you got those little mint Oreo cookie things?”

“Of course.”

-

“I’m just going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.” Harry smiled, getting off his stool and turning down the hall. I watched his retreating back turn the corner and the soft echo of his footsteps slowly fade away.

“I’ll be right back.” I mumbled to the boys, before following Harry down the quiet hall. I watched as he bypassed the washroom, instead making his way up the stairs; I stealthily followed, intent to see where he was going. I heard a door open at the top of the stairs, and Harry froze, peering around the corner and waiting a few seconds before continuing his way. He walked past his room, peering into the washroom and then turning into my room. I hid at the top of the stairs, noticing him standing at the entrance to my room and cock his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips. He strode into the room and elicited a muffled “I thought I would find you in here.”

I waited for a while for Harry to emerge. After a minute, I tiptoed to the door of my room, looking in and watching as Harry tilted Liv’s head upwards slightly. They locked gazes, and Liv’s lips parted slightly before Harry planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

My vision blurred red for a moment, and I moved out of view, taking a moment to calm my now sporadic breathing. I took off down the hall, dashing down the steps and out into the backyard. I collapsed onto the small concrete bench, running my hands through my hair and gripping the edge of the rough bench so tight my knuckles turned white. Why are you so pissed off about this? She isn’t even yours anyways, and she’ll never be. You’re not good enough for her. She’ll never love me back. It’s always, always Harry who gets the girl. That’s how it’s always been anyways. Even after what he does to them they still go crawling back for more. I thought bitterly, shutting my eyes tight. I stood up, inhaling deeply before steering myself around and back into the house.

“What were you doing outside?” Liv chirped, descending down the stairs in a pair of my pajamas.

“I- uh, just needed some fresh air.” I lied, smiling back.

“Are you okay? You look upset.” Liv fretted, walking up and placing her hand on my arm.

“I’m ok.” I replied harshly, moving out of her touch and walking back to the kitchen. The boys were all laughing, a huge mess surrounding them in the kitchen. I walked up and took a seat beside a crestfallen looking Harry.

“When did you make this mess?” Liv laughed, striding into the room with a large smile plastered on her face. She looked around at the boys, who all were covered in flour, munching away at fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

“We made cookies!” Louis piped in, offering a cookie to Olivia. Liv walked up and accepted it, taking a bite out of the still-warm cookies.

“Ohmigod these are amazing! Niall, have you tried these yet?” She asked, taking a seat beside me.

“No, I haven’t yet-“

“Here, try some.” She held it up to my mouth. I took a bite, enjoying the warm, melted chocolate chips. “Uhg, that’s amazing.”

“You guys have to teach me how to make these one day. Then I can be that mum who always has fresh baked cookies when the kids come home from school.” She grinned, continuing to eat the massive cookie.

“It’s Zayn’s recipe. We can give it to you if you like.” Liam offered.

“That would be awesome, thanks guys.” She smiled, and then yawned.

“You tired?” I asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t get much sleep on the plane.”

“Well, it’s late at night in London. You should head to bed now, or at least take a nap.”

“I’m just going to get something to eat before. I feel like something- minty.” She sighed, opening cupboards in search of food.

“We have those mint cookie things.” I offered, standing up and making my way over to her.

“You mean the ones with the mint cream stuff? The Oreo ones?”

“Yeah, yeah here.” I opened a cupboard, pulling out the box of cookies.

“Uhg, yum.” She sighed, ripping open the box and hopping onto the counter, swinging her feet playfully as she opened the cellophane wrapper.

“Mm, how did you know to get these?” She moaned, the open box in her lap. “Do you boys want any?” She offered the box around, handing it to Zayn who in turn handed it off to the rest of the crew.

“You know what makes them even better? When you nuke ‘em.” She hopped off the stool and padded over to the microwave, placing the cookie inside. She turned the microwave on for ten seconds which was ‘just enough to warm them up, but not too long that they’ll melt.’ She then pulled it out, grinning broadly when the chocolate started to melt all over her fingers.

“Niall, try this.” She offered, holding the mushy cookie up to my mouth. She grinned broadly when I took a bite. She stuffed it into my mouth, smearing her chocolaty fingers all over my chin.

“Ohmygod that’s amazing.” I mumbled, chocolate now coating the area around my mouth.

“Ooh! I wanna try!” Louis exclaimed, bouncing up to Liv. I watched as she fed the cookie to him, then pulled more out of the box and stuffed them into the microwave.

“Hazz? Do you want one?” She asked, walking up to him with a plate.

“Sure.” He replied, accepting the plate of cookies.

“I’m tired.” I yawned. The sun was just starting to set and both Liv and I were yawning profusely.

“Which room am I in?” Liv asked, walking over to her bag and picking it up.

“Hey, don’t carry that. I’ll take it for you.” I took the heavy bag, slinging both the suitcase and my leather duffel over my shoulders.

“Thanks.”

Olivia’s POV

“Come upstairs, I’ll show you which room your in.” Niall signaled for me to follow him up the steps.

“Nialler can we sleep over? Please please please please?” Zayn, Louis and Liam all whined, following Niall.

“Why don’t you ask Hazz?”

“He said to ask you.” Louis retorted.

“Well… I suppose so.” Niall sighed dramatically.

“YESSS WOOHOO!” The boys cheered, jumping up and down like idiots. “Let’s go get the sleeping bags from the basement.” Liam yelled, leading the boys in the opposite direction. They all ran, zooming around the corner in no time.

“I hope you don’t mind. They can be a handful sometimes.” Niall smiled, starting up the stairs.

“Hey, it’s your house. You can do whatever you want.” I followed him up the stairs as he lead me towards the guest bedroom across from his.

“If you need me I'm in there.” He signaled with a tilt of his head. He opened the door, revealing the large room. To the right of the door sat a kind sized bed sat with its headboard against the wall. There was a mirrored dresser, with a short white lamp perched upon it. There was even an ensuite across from the bed, the door slightly ajar. I rubbed my foot across the fluffy carpet, smiling.

“There are extra towels and stuff like that in the closet.” He explained, placing his bag down on the bed and dragging mine over to the sliding doors. He opened one, revealing a full walk in closet.

“My gosh.” I gasped, staring wide eyed at the room. “Niall, I can’t let you do all this for me. It’s too much.”

“No, please stay. Say… say it’s for the baby” His muffled voice came out of the closet. Of course, it’s for the baby. Stop thinking he likes you Olivia.

“Oh… okay.” I replied meekly.

“NIALLERRRR? OH NIALLER?” Liam called out, yelling over Louis and Zayn’s chattering.

“In here!” He replied, stepping out of the closet. The boys hopped in, sleeping bags and marshmallows tucked under their arms.

“Can we stay in here tonight? So Liv can tell us bed time stories?” Liam asked.

“Liv-“ Niall started

“Of course you can.” I smiled, sitting down onto the massive bed.

“Niall, we got bags for you and Hazz too.” Zayn held them up, offering them to Niall.

“C’mon Niall, it’ll be fun.” I chimed, sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed.

“Fine.” He mumbled, rolling out a sleeping bag as Hazz stepped into the room.

“Hazza! I’ve got a spot for you.” Louis chirped, excitedly patting the sleeping bag beside him.

“Ooh, good. You got the marshmallows?” Harry collapsed onto the floor beside Louis.

“Of course!” Louis laughed, handing Harry the bag of marshmallows. He ripped it open, sending marshmallows flying everywhere.

“Oops.” He smiled, throwing one at Niall, who caught it with his mouth.

“TEN OUTTA TEN!” Louis cheered, dodging the marshmallows Harry was throwing at Zayn.

-

Four hours and many bags of food later Harry, Zayn and Liam were fast asleep on the floor, while Niall and Louis were tucked in bed on either side of me. We were watching Gossip Girl on Niall’s laptop, and the credits were just starting.

“That was my favorite show when I was in middle school.” I smiled, closing the laptop and handing it off to Niall.

“Sometimes I forget how much younger you are.” Louis laughed.

“Hey! I’m only five years younger than Niall. Four for Harry.” I pouted, crossing my arms.

“What time is it?” Louis yawned, settling farther into the pillows.

“It’s 1 o’clock in the morning.” Niall replied, checking his watch.

“Wanna feel him kick?” I asked the boys.

“Ooh! Yes!” Louis shot up, extending his hand. I took it, placing it on the side of my stomach and poking around.

“See, feel here, it’s hard. And here, it’s hollow. That’s because he’s on this side.” I pushed his hand around my abdomen.

“Here, Niall give me your hand.” I took his hand, placing it on my stomach. It was immediately greeted with a large kick.

“Oh.” I gasped. He never kicked that hard. Niall was smiling wide, moving his hand around and being greeted with tiny kicks and punches. I yawned, collapsing down into the pillows.

“Night.” I murmured, closing my eyes. I sat like this for about ten minutes, the boy’s hands still roaming around on my abdomen.

“Are you excited mate?” I heard Louis whisper.

“Yeah, I’m just so nervous. What is I'm not a good dad?”

“You will be. Trust me, it’ll come naturally. You and Liv have the four of us to help out whenever.”