Catfish

The camera crew was gone and Nev and Max had left just hours before. It was just Penny and Liam now, and neither of them knew what to do.

Penelope was still holding up in her hotel room using the excuse that she needed to shower. Really, she needed time to think and sort out the mess of thoughts floating about in her head. The hot, steamy water of shower was the best thing to ease her mind, and since the hotel seemed to have an endless supply of it, she took much longer than what was normal.

When she finally got out, her thoughts still flooded but slightly less so, she had a text message from Liam waiting for her. In the time they had known one another, they had sent a countless number of text messages, but she was so nervous to read that one. What were they going to say to one another without Nev mediating their conversations?

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone, finding a simple “hey” text from Liam. She sent a quick one back, but instead of dropping her phone, she held tightly onto it, waiting for him to respond.

When he did, she thought her heart was going to thud out of her chest. All he did was ask if she had any plans that night, but she knew that meant that he’d be asking to see her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, because she absolutely did; she was just more nervous about seeing him again than she’d ever been for anything.

They had kissed. They had actually kissed. Once you kissed someone, you couldn’t go backwards. There was nowhere left to go but right into oncoming traffic and onto Feelings Lane. They’d have to speak about it sometime, and that was probably what made Penny the most afraid of all.

Liam’s very next text confirmed her suspicions when he asked her if she wanted to meet him for dinner. She hesitated for a moment, with her hands shaking, but there was never really any doubt in her mind that she’d be going. With another deep breath, she confirmed their dinner plans for just an hour later, and that was when her heart started its marathon.

She’d never been the type that was too concerned with her looks, because she had never had much reason to be. But, all of a sudden, she was going out to dinner with superstar Liam Payne and she knew she had to at least match his perfection, because being more perfect than him was next to impossible.

After Penny had settled on a pair of jeans, a scarf, and a simple shirt, Liam knocked on her door just as she was slipping on her boots. She opened the door with a smile – more out of nervousness than anything – and invited him in.

“Sorry it’s a mess,” she said, motioning to the clothes she had scattered on the floor.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Mine looks about the same.”

There was a short pause while Penny slipped on her other boot, and Liam helped her to her feet when she was finished.

“What are you in the mood for?” he asked, giving her his sweet Liam smile. She still couldn’t believe she was face-to-face with the person she’d fall for so long ago, and now that she was everything seemed so strange.

“Anything,” she replied as she slipped on her coat. He chuckled at her, helping her get it over her elbow, and she wondered if he was always so gentlemanly or if he was only doing it to impress her.

“Good. I know just the place.”

She smiled at that, and he guided her out the door and down the long hallway of the hotel. She could only imagine what fancy sort of restaurants that Liam went to.

When they stepped through the hotel doors, the chilly English air hit her skin, causing her cheeks to turn red. Liam looked over at her with a smile, his eyes looking her over. She wondered if he was going to try to hold her hand, but during their short walk across town he never did.

Their hands brushed together quite a few times, but neither one of them ever made the leap.

Penny still had no idea where they were headed, so she simply followed next to Liam, her mind in a flurry as they walked.

Making small talk with him wasn’t as hard as she thought it was going to be, but her nerves did it make it more difficult than holding a normal conversation. She tried to get rid of the thoughts buzzing in her head, but every time she did, it only made her focus on them more. Liam didn’t seem to notice, though, and he just kept smiling and laughing while they talked like old friends.

“We’re finally here,” Liam said, smiling as he pointed at a cart on the corner, and Penelope chuckled the second she laid her eyes on it. It was an old metal cart, covered by a striped umbrella, and vended by a man who looked a little too cold to be outside. He blew puffs of air onto his glove covered hands as he flipped over the hot dogs on his grill.

“This is it?” Penelope asked, looking at Liam with a smile on her face.

He nodded. “Did I make a bad choice?”

Penelope laughed, shaking her head. “It’s perfect.”

And it was, because it was just so real. It wasn’t some fancy restaurant where you needed to wear a tie. It wasn’t surrounded by paparazzi or other famous musicians. It was normal. It was average. It wasn’t special in anyway.

It reminded Penny that at the end of the day Liam was just like everybody else.