Lost in London

"I think you should go," Liam said to Reilly as they were walking back to her apartment after lunch. At some point they had managed to get on the topic of the invitation to Ireland that Niall had extended to her. "From what I've observed, you and Niall have been tip toe-ing around each other since we got back, and it would be good for you two to get past whatever it is that's making you do that."

She looked up at him, confusion blanketing her face. "And you think the best way for us to do that is to go to another country, just the two of us?" she asked. His logic was lost on her.

"I think if you go, there's no way you can avoid each other," he told her.

"But I'm not avoiding him," she argued, tossing her hands up. Liam flinched just in time to avoid being hit in the face. "I spent most of yesterday with him. He was acting a little weird on the way to dinner, but he was fine during dinner and after dinner. Why are all of you so worried about mine and Niall's friendship?" she inquired. She was starting to feel like she was being constantly badgered about something that wasn't even an issue.

"Because you fancy him," Liam stated bluntly. Her eyes shot up to his, and he grinned at her. "Don't try to tell me you don't."

Reilly squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She wanted to scream, but she took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly instead. "You know what," she said, opening her eyes, "I'm not having this conversation with you right now," she told Liam.

He laughed and ruffled her hair, like and older brother would do to his sister. "That's fine. You can have it with Niall," he said, nodding his head in the direction they were headed.

Confused, she looked ahead and saw Niall standing outside her apartment. Her heart jumped and Liam grinned at her like he knew. She clenched her jaw and gave her friend a hard shove. He stumbled, but didn't fall as she picked up her pace to get away from him.

"Didn't expect to see you today," she said to Niall when she reached him. She unlocked the door and he walked in after her. Liam followed moments later.

"But you're glad I'm here?" he teased. She wanted to roll her eyes but she stopped herself. His comment about how often she'd been doing it still echoed in her head.

Liam let out a soft chuckle. "Actually, Niall, she is," he said.

Reilly shot a warning look at him. "Didn't you say you have somewhere you need to be this afternoon?" she asked.

"I've got awhile still," he said, leaning against the wall.

It took everything in her to not throw something at his face. She knew he was just trying to see if he could get a rise out of her, and it annoyed her. Part of her had always been glad she didn't have an older brother because it meant she never had to put up with things like this.

"What can I do for you, Niall?" she asked.

He rocked on his heels, almost nervously. "Well, actually." He looked at her, then glanced over at Liam, and back to her again. "Was wonderin' what you're doing later?" he asked.

She shrugged and opened her computer that was sitting on the table. "I have a Skype date with Lexie in a couple minutes, but other than that, nothing," she told him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," he shot a nervous look at Liam before turning his attention back to Reilly. Not that it really mattered because her back was to him. "I have these," he said, reaching into his back pocket. "Thought maybe you want to go with me?" Even being distracted by opening up Skype, she noticed that he seemed uncharacteristically nervous.

She turned to look at him. "What's that?" she asked, and he held a pair of tickets out to her. She took them from him and looked at them. Her eyes widened. "Chelsea and Liverpool? Are you serious?" she asked excitedly. Niall grinned at her.

"Oh, isn't this just adorable?" Liam chimed in.

Reilly shot him a glare. "Knock it off," she said, her excitement quickly dissipating.

Niall looked back and forth between them a few times, and was just about to ask what they were talking about when Liam piped up again. "What a nice little date you two are going to have," he said.

"Liam," she said warningly.

"Watch out for her, Niall," he said with a grin. "She fa-" he continued, but Reilly cut him off before he could finish.

"Bye, Liam," she said abruptly and pushed him toward the door, leaving Niall standing alone, utterly confused about what was going on.

Once they were at the door, Liam turned around and wrapped Reilly in a bear hug. She tried to push him off, but he was that much bigger and stronger than her that her efforts were useless. He held onto her until she finally hugged him back, and only then did he let her go and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Have a good time, Love," he said on his way out the door. She made a gesture at his back and he turned around just in time to catch the tail end of it. With a laugh and a final wave, he was gone.

She took a moment to breathe before going back over to Niall. The confusion that had blanketed his face only moments before had disappeared, and was replaced by the tiniest smirk. Before he could say anything, a Skype call popped up on Reilly's computer.

"Do you mind?" she asked, but didn't bother waiting for a response as she hit the button to answer and her friend appeared on her screen. "Hey Lex," she said.

"Hey," she said, not looking at the screen. Her eyes widened when she finally looked up and caught a glimpse of the blond boy standing behind her friend.. "Is that...?" she mouthed at Reilly, who nodded. "Hi Niall," she said, giving a little wave.

Confusion clouded Niall's face as he looked at the computer screen. "Hello, girl I've never seen before," he said.

Lexie giggled. "Oh, come on. I would think an international pop star such as yourself would be used to random girls knowing his name," she said.

A laugh that came from deep down in his stomach escaped him. The laugh that Reilly couldn't remember hearing since the day they met, when she'd been far too hungover to appreciate it for what it was. "Fair play!" he exclaimed. Reilly took a moment and introduced the two. "Ah, Lexie," he said when he'd finally gathered himself. "I've heard a bit about you. You don't look quite like I imagined, though."

Without even intending to, Lexie turned on the charm. "Oh, yeah? And how exactly did you imagine me?" she asked.

Reilly's stomach plummeted at her friend's words and tone, and she knew she had to put an end to it before Niall got sucked in. "As a shrew, probably," she said with a laugh. "I never say nice things, obviously," she finished, earning laughs all around. The three chatted for a few minutes before Niall wandered over to the sofa and turned the TV on.

"He's cute. You should go for him," Lexie said quietly once he was out of view.

Reilly just shook her head at her friend. "I don't have time," she said. "Oh, but he brought over tickets to a game later."

Lexie's eyebrows raised. "Ooh that sounds like a date. And not a cheap one," she said.

"It's not a date," Reilly argued.

The girls talked for awhile. The whole time Reilly kept sneaking glances at Niall, which Lexie finally called her out on. But she denied it, claiming she was watching whatever it was it was he had on the TV.

It didn't matter how much she denied it, though. She knew what she was doing. She liked the way he hadn't done his hair that day and it flopped messily across his forehead. She liked that he had been nervous about asking if she wanted to go to the game with him. And she liked that he was sitting on her couch watching her TV.

She liked that he wanted to spend time with her. But still, she continued to tell herself that it didn't mean anything. They were just friends. As they had both said, it was all they wanted.

After about a half hour, Lexie's expression changed, as if a light bulb had turned on over her head. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I almost forgot. I need your help with something," she said. Reilly nodded for her to continue. "I have this assignment for my ASL class. I have to sign a song. And I'm unsure about some of it," she said.

She went on to tell her friend what song she was doing, and what she needed help with. Reilly asked her some necessary questions, and then went through the song with her. Out of the corner of his eye, Niall saw her hand motions and became distracted by them.

He had been watching her for a few moments before he finally spoke. "What're ya doin' there?" he questioned.

Reilly finished what she showing Lexie before turning to the blond boy. "Sign Language," she said.

His expression clouded. "You didn't tell me you knew Sign Language when I asked what languages you speak?" he said, but it came out as a question more than anything else.

She shrugged. "It's American Sign Language. Lot of good it's going to do me in England," she said, turning back to her friend.

Niall stayed quiet and watched her show her friend a few more signs. "That's really cool. You should teach me," he said.

Reilly didn't even turn to look at him. "Yeah, okay. Because I have all the time in the world to teach you a new language," she said. "And besides, if I teach you, I can't talk to Lexie about you when you're just a few feet away," she teased.

Lexie raised her eyebrows at her friend's subtle flirting, but Niall took it all in stride. "How about an exchange?" he asked. He remembered Reilly saying she wanted to learn to play an instrument. "You teach me Sign Language, and I'll give you guitar lessons," he proposed.