Love in Music

1 Month Later

“This place is amazing.” I sighed and fell down onto the cream leather couch, the view of the ocean directly in front of the large floor to ceiling windows in front of me. The water was a calm low tide with the morning sun slowly rising above it. It looked like a dream that I was going to wake up from at any moment.

Frankie flopped down on my legs with a groan and threw her head back, her eyes closed from the spectacular view. “I am so exhausted. My body might need to sleep the whole week just so it can start feeling like it natural self again.”

“I never thought I would say this, but I think I could be happy with never ever singing again. Ever.” Kate commented, falling onto the ground to stare out the window on her belly.

“Lies.” Gracie hissed, dropping her bag down near my head and leaning on the armrest. I blinked slowly at the calm around us as we all stayed still and silent for the first time in a long time.

“Are you guys seriously not checking out the rest of this cabin?” Came Lucinda’s shrill voice, breaking us all out of our minds and glancing at each other cautiously. Then we were all sharp limbs, loud laughs and excited yells, running through the cabin that Simon and Jen had rented for us as a getaway before we started travelling, spreading the word. The next year had been planned out for us to a ‘T’ and I didn’t want anything to do with it for the whole week we were here.

The cabin only had four bedrooms and we played rounds of scissors paper rock to figure out who would share. Frankie and I lost spectacularly so we got the largest room with two twin beds. There was an even better view of the ocean from here and the smell of sand, beach and fresh air seemed to be built into the structure of the walls and embedded in the stitching of the mattress. I could hide here for the rest of my life and be happy.

Frankie fell face first down on one bed while I grabbed my bikinis, I needed to feel the sand beneath my toes again, the beat of the sun on my once tanned skin. The water would be cold but I would warm to it in time.

“I’ll be with you soon.” Lucinda called out as I ran past her and Kate in the kitchen. I grinned over my shoulder and pushed open the large French doors onto the back deck. Running down the stairs I instantly landed on the cold sand; the little grains squishing beneath my toes and worming themselves into the gaps like they were enveloping me, welcoming me. I headed down towards the water and searched the surrounding beach. No one was out, the closest cabin couldn’t even be seen from where we were. We were as secluded as Simon could buy and I wanted to shower him in a million praises for it.

It had been a stressful month with our popularity increasing drastically; it had become harder to go on any social network without hate and love blaring in our faces. We all tried our hardest to focus on the best but the hurtful and harsh comments slowly weighed down your shoulder.

Breathing easier out here, I raised my shoulder and my arms above my head and stretched, spreading my fingers wide while my body raised onto the tops of my toes all the weight and worry being lifted and carried off into the wind.

I moved closer to the water, the shore lapping against the tips of my toes, it was cold but not enough to discourage me from walking until it passed my ankles. The water moving slowly up the beach then back down pass my legs, hypnotizing my senses and slowly pulling me further in while I was unaware. I smiled down at the water and let it. Letting it guide me further in until the cold water was up to mid-calf.

We had been appearing on radio and TV shows throughout the month, our second song released and climbing the charts as fast as our first. Everyone wants to speak to us, America, Australia and Spain wanted the share in our fame. We each had ties to places other than Britain and were looking forward to heading home and touring our homelands.

I could hear the glass doors open again from back at the house but I moved further in, the water lapping at my hips now. My fingers were skimming the small waves in the water, blending in with the fluid of the ocean.

Paparazzi had been everywhere we turned lately and it was almost impossible to shop through the streets without being bombarded by fans or cameras. My hand had cramped from the amount of signatures I had finally perfected. We were being sucked into the celebrity world headfirst and slowly I could feel my lungs being squished by the demands of society.

Taking a deep breath, I toed the slight drop in the sand before closing my eyes, plugging my nose with my thumb and forefinger and taking that slight leap so the water would engulf me whole. My head breached the cold water and for a few dizzying seconds my thoughts ceased. It was cold and demanding as the water pushed against my eyelids, caressed my ears and recruiting my hair to be a fluid follower.

Eventually the water became numb, or perhaps my body was the one that had become immune to the vast coldness that surrounded me. My lungs burned and pulsed; slowly warning me that fresh air would be a good idea within the next ten seconds. We had been consumed by life as a celebrity in the modern media world and it had taken over our lives completely.

Pushing my feet against the sand beneath my feet my body slowly lifted up until my nose breached the surface of the water and eventually the rest of me followed, my mouth opening so my lungs could breathe in that fresh bit of air they continuously demanded like a strong addiction.

Brushing my long wet hair back from eyes I turned towards the shore where the cabin sat further back and Lucinda was slowly making her way towards me. I grinned and swam closer to her. We had been absorbed in the lives of the rich and famous and perfectly happy about it.

-

A warm hard body landed on top of mine, I shifted in my sheets but refused to move out of the cocoon I had wrapped myself in. I was too comfortable and the sunlight wasn’t around to bother me yet.

The slight stubble that scratched against my ear when the body on top of me moved was, however, enough to bother me awake. Flickering my eyelids I slowly and grumpily willed them open to figure out who exactly decided to use my bed smelling distinctly of a man’s cologne.

Louis’ feather hair was invading my vision when I turned my head just slightly. His arms tightened around the bundle of blankets, only just squeezing my hips through the ridiculous amount of layers I was buried under. I tried to grunt out a greeting but my mouth barely opened and I didn’t care enough to try to repeat. Instead I turned under his heavy body and tried to maneuver the blankets up to circle him.

After a few nudges he seemed to understand what I was doing and moved around, helping me to put the blankets out so he could crawl under with his surprisingly warm body, everything except his freezing toes that I quickly pulled away from. I let Louis wrap the blanket back up around us, blocking out the cold from destroying my contentment and I settled down on him, curled together tightly, drifting back off into a doze.

-

Blinking awake dazedly I noticed that I was alone in my bed. Frowning, I sat up and glanced around thinking for a moment that I had dreamed Louis joining me in bed this morning, except my eyes snagged onto a hoodie strewn across an armchair in the corner that was most definitely Louis’. Smiling I grabbed the throw rug from the top of the bed and wrapped it around my body to keep me warm with the added help of my thin pajamas. My feet slid into deliciously soft slippers and I slowly made my way out of the room and down the hallway to where people could be heard quietly talking.

I stepped into the open area and glanced around, noticing that all of the One Direction boys must have come on our last day and that also it was pouring down rain outside. I sighed at the loss of swimming in the water for our last day. Instead I eyed the spot between both Louis and Harry on the couch and made my way over. Clambering over Harry’s legs, that were resting on the coffee table, and falling into the seat, legs and arms wrapping around Louis like tentacles. I ignored his amused expression and sighed blissfully at his body warmth.

“And good morning Bella.” I could hear Harry say snidely from behind me, I lifted one hand to briefly flap around behind me until I could pat his curls condescendingly. I only managed to find his nose, which I gave a short quick tap to.

“Had a good week?” Louis murmured into my ear his warm breath sending shivers through my body. Wrapping myself tighter against him, I nodded before burying my head, cold nose and all, into his warm, tanned neck. I could feel him move uncomfortably underneath me when my cold nose made contact but I held on tightly until he sighed and let me rest.

Everyone continued talking around me as I slowly woke up with more awareness. The smell of toast and eggs filled my nose and my stomach grumbled gently letting me know that it wasn’t averse to the idea of food. I shifted and pulled my legs from Louis’ lap but still kept my upper body around him.

His hand dipped underneath the blanket and pajama top to run warm, gentle circles into the bottom of my back, around the dimples situated above my shorts.

I moved my head from Louis neck and blinked around the room at everyone sprawled out in various positions across the couch and floor, everyone touching in some way and no one making too much of an effort to keep the conversation going. It was more relaxing chatter as someone mentioned whatever came to their head and eventually another person would reply. We weren’t in a rush to do anything and the hard falling rain outside was rhythmic and calming against the windows.

“Are you hungry?” Louis whispered into my ear and I nodded, smiling at the small brush of his lips across my lobe. Louis made a move to get up but I pushed him back down, pulling the blanket tighter around myself and getting up. He didn’t need to go out of his way when I could grab it.

There was coffee that was still thankfully hot and I gladly poured some into a mug watching everyone on the chairs while my toast cooked.

I couldn’t help but feel like this was the calm before the storm, that the rain currently pelting down only surrounded us, kept everything unworthy at bay until we finally stepped out and left the safety. When the rain stopped, everything would come crashing back full force.

The week here had been great and relaxing but we were essentially hiding from the world and soon enough we would need to head back and embrace everything that had been given to us in these last few months. It was daunting but also thrilling.

The rest of our morning we spent in the same way, lounging around and chatting with the boys, they filled us on any gossip we had missed in the last week and we filled them in on everything we had been doing. Swimming, eating, sleeping, reading, Grace had even got us all trying yoga one morning, Frankie ended banging into the coffee table so violently that we all vetoed yoga for the rest of the week incase she killed herself next time.

“We leave for tour the day before you all go to America.” Niall mentioned his head pillowed in Grace’s lap while she ran her fingers through his browning locks absentmindedly. I stiffened in Louis’ arms and glanced at him in the corner of my eye. That left five days for Louis and I to talk about what we were going to do for the next year while we both toured, separately and mostly on opposite sides of the world.

Eventually the peacefulness had to break and the cars Simon sent for us had arrived. We scrounged around the cabin making sure everything had been packed in our bags that were lined up near the door. Frankie and mine’s room had been cleared out with the messy sheets the only clue that someone had been living here for the last week. I almost didn’t want to leave but it would also be good to get back, to work and head towards something that all of us had been dreaming about for a long time.

We were going to go to America first, get out names out. Opening concerts for Olly Murs along the way as well as multiple radio shows lined up and numerous TV appearances already in the works. After America we were going to head to Australia and I was beyond excited for that. I missed home and I knew by then that I would probably have a bad case of homesick.

“Bella.” Frankie’s voice called my name and I headed down the hallway, grabbing my bag at the door and staring up at the rain suspiciously, it was still pouring down and I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or annoyed. I shut the front door of the cabin behind me, and made my way towards the end of the covered area. Louis was standing there waiting, his face thoughtful. He reached out take my bag, a small smile playing there.

I let him and watched curiously as he dropped it on the ground and grabbed my hand gently, tugging me out into the rain. I screwed my face together in confusion as we stopped right in the middle between the front cabin door and the car. Everyone was inside both cars waiting and here Louis was insisting that we both become soaking wet. The rain was cold and my hair was already stuck to my skin.

“What are you doing Lou?” I tried to tug out of his grip but he grabbed my other hand and held tighter. He had a wild smile on his face when he stepped closer.

“I’m being romantic.” He grinned, all teeth and pushed his face closer to mine. I was confused for a moment before I registered that he was trying to kiss me, in the rain, like a cheap romantic comedy.

Laughing loudly, I pushed forward and met him halfway, happy to live out his silly romantic notion. The kiss was awful; all teeth and smiles as we both laughed into each other’s mouth trying to turn the kiss into something that actually made the definition. Shaking my head, I pulled back from Louis and smiled fondly at his rain dark hair flattened to his head. The rain almost felt lighter and I glanced upwards, noticing the sun had began peering out from behind the clouds.

I looked back at Louis hoping that we could head into the bus, now that he was done, when the expression on his face made me freeze. His eyes were staring intensely into mine and a small, hopeful and vulnerable smile played on his lips. My heartbeat sped up and the panic that swept through me was almost immediate. Louis was looking at me like no one else ever had before. He was looking at me like I was ‘it’ and when he opened his mouth and the rain stopped, I could feel the walls suddenly come crashing down on me.

“I love you.”