Status: Active =)
Don't Give up on Me
How Can I Love When I'm Afraid To Fall
I sat next to Niall in the limo as we drove to pick up the other girls. “So, what or who is this party for?”
“Who even knows anymore.” He shrugged. “But it should be fun!’ He winked at me and I blushed lightly. “It will be a little crazy when we enter, but it’ll be alright. Stick with us and we’ll keep you sheltered from any paparazzi that try to ambush you, okay?”
“Okay.” I replied as the limo came to a stop. Louis jumped excitedly in his seat as a beautiful brunette entered.
“Lou, chill.” Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend. The girl sped to Louis’s side, pressing herself tightly against him. He hummed softly into her hair as they embraced.
“I’ve missed you El.” He murmured. I looked away from the intimacy of the scene unfolding in that limo. I met eyes with Harry who winked at me and nodded to Niall. I rolled my eyes, folding my arms across my chest and sinking further into the seat.
“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you Lou.” The limo started up again and Eleanor glanced over at me.“Lou, who’s with us?” I overheard her whisper.
“El, this is Alexis. She’s the one the press is freaking out about.” Louis responded. I looked over, catching her inquisitive eyes with my apologetic ones. “And the other is Lily, she’s with Alexis.”
“It’s so nice to meet you!” She grinned at me, then looked over at Lily who smiled at her.
“Really?” I pressed myself slightly against Niall. He reached a hand out, gently resting it on my knee. His hand applied warm and gentle pressure and I glanced up to see him smiling at me.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” She replied.
“I just thought you’d be upset about the gossip or something.” I muttered, raising my eyes to meet hers. I'd fully expected a glare, but instead was met with a warm welcome.
“No, not at all.” She laughed lightly. “Dating a One Direction member comes with the insanity of the press. Lou and I are quite used to this. It’s nice to have another girl around. Perrie and I get a little overwhelmed with the guys sometimes.”
“I know the feeling.” I laughed loudly and shared a warm smile with her.
“I told you.” Louis sang out.
“Oh shut it.” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. Niall laughed loudly and flung his arm around my shoulder, removing its warmth from my knee. My body folded into his naturally and I breathed in his scent. My heart fluttered and my cheeks reddened as Harry made kissing faces at me. I shook my head, but kept my body against Niall’s, grateful for the comfort.
“Zayn.” I heard a girl’s voice. I looked up to see a blond wrap her arms around Zayn and bury her face in the crook of his neck. He smiled widely and embraced her tightly.
“I’m so happy you’re here my love.” They pulled apart and she settled into the limo next to Zayn.
“I’m sorry! You must think me terribly rude for not introducing myself. I’m Perrie.” She smiled at Lily and me.
“I’m Lily, this is Alexis.”
“You’re the one that the paparazzi are going crazy about, right?” I nodded bashfully, barely making eye contact. “It’s okay.” She chuckled. “You’ll have to get used to it if you’re friends with these lot.” I laughed, immediately put at ease.
The whole meeting strangers thing, that was Lily’s forte. I’d never been good around people I didn’t know. I’m not the most comfortable and I tend to shut down. Lily lives for these moments. I watched in amusement and she and the other girls gushed over their outfits. A smile worked its way onto my lips as I melted even more into Niall. His lips brushed lightly against my hair and his fingers trailed across the top of my hand. Harry’s eyes were glued to Lily as she flung her head back in laughter. I sighed to myself, knowing they were a lost cause. Louis’s gaze fixed on me, his eyebrows raised. I glared at him and shook my head faintly. He smiled at me before looking away and joining the conversation animatedly. I felt knots return to my stomach as I looked down, watching Niall’s fingers trace patterns on my skin.
“Are you okay?” Niall murmured, only paying attention to me.
“I’m just nervous.”
“Well you look incredible and you’re going to be alright with me. I promise you’ll be protected. Don’t listen to anything these people say. They yell nonsense to get a reaction from you so they can use it against you.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. I’m here for you darlin’.” I flinched as flashes began illuminating the darkness of the car. “Let’s do this. It’ll be fun!” He grinned wickedly at me and I shook my head, reaching up to my neck to gently touch the dog tags hanging there. I tugged my lip between my teeth anxiously. “Alexis.” He growled softly. I looked over at him and watched his eyes darken. He swallowed visibly, leaning closer to whisper in my ear. “You keep that up and I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.” My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. I let go of my lip quickly, pulling away from him. “Come on you.” He offered me his hand and led me to the door of the limo. He stepped out first and extended his hand. I grasped it and he helped me down from the car, pulling me close an guiding me through the chaos as we made our way into the party with the rest of our group.
Niall stuck by my side during the party, even helping me order the right drinks. After an hour I was barely tipsy, but enough to make me giddy. I pulled Niall onto the dance floor with me. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.” He mused, shouting over the music. “You can dance circles around me!”
“I know. It’s okay though.” I grinned at him, stumbling slightly. “I’m not dancing so well right now.”
“Of course you’re not.” He shook his head at me. “And you’ve barely had anything to drink.” I giggled as my feet got caught together and I almost fell. He grabbed me, pulling me into his side. “We’re going to sit.” He called to Louis, motioning to me.
“We’ll join you!” He yelled back, pulling the rest of the group with him. Each of the girls was already tipsy, but the guys clearly handled their liquor better.
“Guys I’m fine!” I yelled, as I reached for the water Niall handed me. I hit it out of his hand and it sprayed the guy who was walking past our table. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” I stood up from my chair and walked over to the guy. “I didn’t mean-” I cut off as I met his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Lexy?”
“Oh my gosh.” Lily exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re in London!” She leapt up and threw her arms around him.
“Me? What are you two doing here? Are you even old enough?” He held Lily at arm’s length before looking over to me.
“We’re at college.” I replied, analyzing his face.“You?”
“I got a job out here. I can’t really go into details though.” He responded, making a face. “Are you doing okay?” My smile dropped and I looked away. “Come on, we should talk.” He offered me a hand and I turned to look at Lily.
“I’m coming too.” She replied.
“Wait for me.” Harry stood up, moving to walk with us.
“No Harry, you all should really stay here. We’ll catch up with you later on, okay? Lex needs some time with Ben. They have a lot they need to talk about.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Niall lightly grabbed my wrist.
“I’ll be alright.” I replied quietly, hugging him.“Thanks Niall. I’ll call you when we’re done, if you give me your number.” I grinned impishly at him as I backed away.
“I don’t know.” He smirked at me. “Are you trustworthy enough to have my number?”
“No.” I winked at him
“Good.” He reached down, pulling me close. “Cause I already put it in your phone.” He leaned down toward me but I glanced away. “I won’t give up you know.”
“I know.” I searched his eyes. “Thank you for being patient.” He let go. “I’ll see you later guys!” I smiled at each of them before Lily and I left with Ben. We left the building and were promptly surrounded by cameras.
“You there! You came with Niall! Are you cheating on him?” I ducked my head and grabbed Ben’s arm, yanking him along with me. I pushed through the cameras with Lily following in my wake. My eyes narrowed as I stormed down the street and around the corner.
“Lexy, are you okay?” Ben pulled his arm from my grip and hesitantly placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I will be. I just don’t like that they want to know about me.” I scowled as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Oh come on.” He laughed and slung an arm across my shoulders. “Let’s just go catch up, okay?”
“Perfect!” Lily batted her eyes at him and I groaned, shoving her out of the way. “We’ll go to our flat.”
“So,” Ben started as we closed the door to our flat behind us. “Lexy, how have you been since-”
“Don’t.” I sank onto the couch, pulling my knees to my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Lex, hun, you have to. You’ve held everything in for almost a year now. You have to talk about this.” Lily sat next to me as Ben settled on the other side.
“Lexy, I know it’s hard. Every day I wake up and wonder why I’m alive today and not James.” My body stiffened and I angrily brushed away a tear that threatened to fall. His voice cracked as he continued. “I owe everything to him. He died saving me and I still have nightmares about it. Lexy, I wish he would have kept going and not come back for me.”
“Ben,” my voice was soft and delicate. “I’d expect nothing else from him.” I held the dog tags tightly. “That’s just who James was. He protected the people he loved.” Tears trailed down my cheeks and Lily pulled me into a hug. “He was the only thing I had left. Benny, I couldn’t stay there. I had to get out. As soon as I got accepted to King’s I moved to London. David has no more influence in my life and I couldn’t be happier about that. But losing James has been really hard. I don’t want to talk about it right now. Thank you for trying to help, and Lily I appreciate your help but I’m not ready. Excuse me.” I stood up and went to my room, heaving sobs behind the closed door.
NIALL'S POV
“Okay, who was that dude?” Liam looked over at me.
“I don’t know! Why are you looking at me? She doesn’t talk about her past. All I know is she looked very upset as she was leaving and didn’t seem excited to see him.” I replied.
“Lily sure looked happy.” Harry grumbled.
“You like her, don’t you?” Perrie glanced at him as he flushed. The table burst into laughter as Harry tried valiantly to cover the red creeping into his cheeks.
“Shut up guys.”
“I think it’s sweet.” Eleanor added. “She’d be good for you. That girl is a whirlwind and would constantly throw you off and make you work for her. She’s also a ton of fun.”
“I can’t say the same for Alexis though.” Perrie broke in thoughtfully. “She’s very guarded and not very social.”
“There’s something buried in her past.” Liam objected. “You can’t blame her for her behavior. She protects herself because nobody else protects her. At least not until we came along.”
“I’m not saying I don’t like her, I’m just saying she’s not the most outgoing. It’s hard to see Lily being best friends with somebody like her.” Perrie defended.
“We’ll hang out with them more tonight, after they talk with that guy.” Zayn put in. “Perrie, you’ll get to see her a little more and you’ll realize why we all push to be in her life.”
“There’s something that was very broken in her and it has yet to be fixed. She won’t face it and she runs away. We push and prod her to open up, little by little, and she’ll get better. She told us when we first met that behind her walls she’s a lot of fun. I intend to help take her walls down.” Louis pulled Eleanor closer to him.
“Anything we can do to help?” Perrie looked at me bashfully.
“Just be there for her if she does want to talk. She likes me and she knows it.” I mused. “She’s just afraid of her feelings. There’s a reason why, and I’m going to find out. In the meantime, I just want to make sure she’s okay. I’ll stop by their flat and I’ll text you if they want to hang out with us.” I pushed my chair away from the table and left the group to find Alexis.
LILY’S POV
“Ben.” I started as soon as Alexis left the room. “Lex is struggling. She won’t let anybody in; she won’t let herself be vulnerable. All she does is homework and study. Beyond that she has no friends, no life. The guys you saw us with today are the first ones she’s been around since James died. And she’s only known them for a day. She may act tough but she’s hurting.”
“How can I help?” He asked quietly.
“I’m not sure if you really can. I want you to be able to, but I don’t think she’s willing to let people in.” We heard a knock at the door and I walked over, peeking out. Niall stood there, alone. I let him in and led him to the couch.
“Is she okay?” He looked at me for the answer.
“No.” I replied, leaning into Ben. He gently wrapped an arm around me.
“I’m sorry, you are?” Ben interrupted.
“He’s Niall.” I replied before Niall could. “He’s the one who she’s opening up to the most.”
“It’s good to meet you then.” Ben replied. “Anybody who can get Lexy to open up in these days is my hero.”
“Lily, what’s going on?” Niall demanded.
“I can’t be the one to tell you, nor can Ben. When she’s ready to tell you then she will.”
“It has to do with those dog tags she wears.”
“How do you know that?” Ben asked.
“She always grasps them when she’s upset or reminded of why she’s here.” He replied softly.
“You notice that?” I asked him in awe.
“I notice everything about her.” He murmured.
“Niall?” Alexis padded softly to his side.
“I had to see if you were okay.” His Irish lilt must have comforted her, for her lips were touched with a small smile as she perched on the couch next to him. His hand reached over to hers and he grazed his fingers lightly against the back of her hand. She looked up at him, a blush tinting her cheeks. Ben nudged me and I grinned at him, nodding.
“I’ll be okay.” She replied, lacing her fingers with his.“Thanks Niall.”
“Always darlin’. Always.” He looked at me and I nodded at him. “Do you all want to come and see the guys tonight?”
“I’d like that.” Alexis replied. “Will you come too Ben?”
“Of course. I have to make sure the guys who have thrust themselves into your life are good for you to be around.” He chuckled standing up and pulling me up with him.
“So how do you know each other?” Niall asked, glancing between Alexis and Ben. I shook my head vehemently as Alexis turned to look at Niall.
“It’s a long story.” The pain in her voice struck my heart. “I’ll tell you another time. All you need to know is Benny is like an older brother to me.”
“Okay little one. Whenever you’re ready.” He offered her his arm and she accepted with a grateful smile.
“Come on Ben! Let’s go have fun with the guys.” I grinned wickedly at him and we followed the pair out into the night.
“Who even knows anymore.” He shrugged. “But it should be fun!’ He winked at me and I blushed lightly. “It will be a little crazy when we enter, but it’ll be alright. Stick with us and we’ll keep you sheltered from any paparazzi that try to ambush you, okay?”
“Okay.” I replied as the limo came to a stop. Louis jumped excitedly in his seat as a beautiful brunette entered.
“Lou, chill.” Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend. The girl sped to Louis’s side, pressing herself tightly against him. He hummed softly into her hair as they embraced.
“I’ve missed you El.” He murmured. I looked away from the intimacy of the scene unfolding in that limo. I met eyes with Harry who winked at me and nodded to Niall. I rolled my eyes, folding my arms across my chest and sinking further into the seat.
“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you Lou.” The limo started up again and Eleanor glanced over at me.“Lou, who’s with us?” I overheard her whisper.
“El, this is Alexis. She’s the one the press is freaking out about.” Louis responded. I looked over, catching her inquisitive eyes with my apologetic ones. “And the other is Lily, she’s with Alexis.”
“It’s so nice to meet you!” She grinned at me, then looked over at Lily who smiled at her.
“Really?” I pressed myself slightly against Niall. He reached a hand out, gently resting it on my knee. His hand applied warm and gentle pressure and I glanced up to see him smiling at me.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” She replied.
“I just thought you’d be upset about the gossip or something.” I muttered, raising my eyes to meet hers. I'd fully expected a glare, but instead was met with a warm welcome.
“No, not at all.” She laughed lightly. “Dating a One Direction member comes with the insanity of the press. Lou and I are quite used to this. It’s nice to have another girl around. Perrie and I get a little overwhelmed with the guys sometimes.”
“I know the feeling.” I laughed loudly and shared a warm smile with her.
“I told you.” Louis sang out.
“Oh shut it.” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. Niall laughed loudly and flung his arm around my shoulder, removing its warmth from my knee. My body folded into his naturally and I breathed in his scent. My heart fluttered and my cheeks reddened as Harry made kissing faces at me. I shook my head, but kept my body against Niall’s, grateful for the comfort.
“Zayn.” I heard a girl’s voice. I looked up to see a blond wrap her arms around Zayn and bury her face in the crook of his neck. He smiled widely and embraced her tightly.
“I’m so happy you’re here my love.” They pulled apart and she settled into the limo next to Zayn.
“I’m sorry! You must think me terribly rude for not introducing myself. I’m Perrie.” She smiled at Lily and me.
“I’m Lily, this is Alexis.”
“You’re the one that the paparazzi are going crazy about, right?” I nodded bashfully, barely making eye contact. “It’s okay.” She chuckled. “You’ll have to get used to it if you’re friends with these lot.” I laughed, immediately put at ease.
The whole meeting strangers thing, that was Lily’s forte. I’d never been good around people I didn’t know. I’m not the most comfortable and I tend to shut down. Lily lives for these moments. I watched in amusement and she and the other girls gushed over their outfits. A smile worked its way onto my lips as I melted even more into Niall. His lips brushed lightly against my hair and his fingers trailed across the top of my hand. Harry’s eyes were glued to Lily as she flung her head back in laughter. I sighed to myself, knowing they were a lost cause. Louis’s gaze fixed on me, his eyebrows raised. I glared at him and shook my head faintly. He smiled at me before looking away and joining the conversation animatedly. I felt knots return to my stomach as I looked down, watching Niall’s fingers trace patterns on my skin.
“Are you okay?” Niall murmured, only paying attention to me.
“I’m just nervous.”
“Well you look incredible and you’re going to be alright with me. I promise you’ll be protected. Don’t listen to anything these people say. They yell nonsense to get a reaction from you so they can use it against you.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. I’m here for you darlin’.” I flinched as flashes began illuminating the darkness of the car. “Let’s do this. It’ll be fun!” He grinned wickedly at me and I shook my head, reaching up to my neck to gently touch the dog tags hanging there. I tugged my lip between my teeth anxiously. “Alexis.” He growled softly. I looked over at him and watched his eyes darken. He swallowed visibly, leaning closer to whisper in my ear. “You keep that up and I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.” My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. I let go of my lip quickly, pulling away from him. “Come on you.” He offered me his hand and led me to the door of the limo. He stepped out first and extended his hand. I grasped it and he helped me down from the car, pulling me close an guiding me through the chaos as we made our way into the party with the rest of our group.
Niall stuck by my side during the party, even helping me order the right drinks. After an hour I was barely tipsy, but enough to make me giddy. I pulled Niall onto the dance floor with me. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.” He mused, shouting over the music. “You can dance circles around me!”
“I know. It’s okay though.” I grinned at him, stumbling slightly. “I’m not dancing so well right now.”
“Of course you’re not.” He shook his head at me. “And you’ve barely had anything to drink.” I giggled as my feet got caught together and I almost fell. He grabbed me, pulling me into his side. “We’re going to sit.” He called to Louis, motioning to me.
“We’ll join you!” He yelled back, pulling the rest of the group with him. Each of the girls was already tipsy, but the guys clearly handled their liquor better.
“Guys I’m fine!” I yelled, as I reached for the water Niall handed me. I hit it out of his hand and it sprayed the guy who was walking past our table. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” I stood up from my chair and walked over to the guy. “I didn’t mean-” I cut off as I met his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Lexy?”
“Oh my gosh.” Lily exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re in London!” She leapt up and threw her arms around him.
“Me? What are you two doing here? Are you even old enough?” He held Lily at arm’s length before looking over to me.
“We’re at college.” I replied, analyzing his face.“You?”
“I got a job out here. I can’t really go into details though.” He responded, making a face. “Are you doing okay?” My smile dropped and I looked away. “Come on, we should talk.” He offered me a hand and I turned to look at Lily.
“I’m coming too.” She replied.
“Wait for me.” Harry stood up, moving to walk with us.
“No Harry, you all should really stay here. We’ll catch up with you later on, okay? Lex needs some time with Ben. They have a lot they need to talk about.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Niall lightly grabbed my wrist.
“I’ll be alright.” I replied quietly, hugging him.“Thanks Niall. I’ll call you when we’re done, if you give me your number.” I grinned impishly at him as I backed away.
“I don’t know.” He smirked at me. “Are you trustworthy enough to have my number?”
“No.” I winked at him
“Good.” He reached down, pulling me close. “Cause I already put it in your phone.” He leaned down toward me but I glanced away. “I won’t give up you know.”
“I know.” I searched his eyes. “Thank you for being patient.” He let go. “I’ll see you later guys!” I smiled at each of them before Lily and I left with Ben. We left the building and were promptly surrounded by cameras.
“You there! You came with Niall! Are you cheating on him?” I ducked my head and grabbed Ben’s arm, yanking him along with me. I pushed through the cameras with Lily following in my wake. My eyes narrowed as I stormed down the street and around the corner.
“Lexy, are you okay?” Ben pulled his arm from my grip and hesitantly placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I will be. I just don’t like that they want to know about me.” I scowled as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Oh come on.” He laughed and slung an arm across my shoulders. “Let’s just go catch up, okay?”
“Perfect!” Lily batted her eyes at him and I groaned, shoving her out of the way. “We’ll go to our flat.”
“So,” Ben started as we closed the door to our flat behind us. “Lexy, how have you been since-”
“Don’t.” I sank onto the couch, pulling my knees to my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Lex, hun, you have to. You’ve held everything in for almost a year now. You have to talk about this.” Lily sat next to me as Ben settled on the other side.
“Lexy, I know it’s hard. Every day I wake up and wonder why I’m alive today and not James.” My body stiffened and I angrily brushed away a tear that threatened to fall. His voice cracked as he continued. “I owe everything to him. He died saving me and I still have nightmares about it. Lexy, I wish he would have kept going and not come back for me.”
“Ben,” my voice was soft and delicate. “I’d expect nothing else from him.” I held the dog tags tightly. “That’s just who James was. He protected the people he loved.” Tears trailed down my cheeks and Lily pulled me into a hug. “He was the only thing I had left. Benny, I couldn’t stay there. I had to get out. As soon as I got accepted to King’s I moved to London. David has no more influence in my life and I couldn’t be happier about that. But losing James has been really hard. I don’t want to talk about it right now. Thank you for trying to help, and Lily I appreciate your help but I’m not ready. Excuse me.” I stood up and went to my room, heaving sobs behind the closed door.
NIALL'S POV
“Okay, who was that dude?” Liam looked over at me.
“I don’t know! Why are you looking at me? She doesn’t talk about her past. All I know is she looked very upset as she was leaving and didn’t seem excited to see him.” I replied.
“Lily sure looked happy.” Harry grumbled.
“You like her, don’t you?” Perrie glanced at him as he flushed. The table burst into laughter as Harry tried valiantly to cover the red creeping into his cheeks.
“Shut up guys.”
“I think it’s sweet.” Eleanor added. “She’d be good for you. That girl is a whirlwind and would constantly throw you off and make you work for her. She’s also a ton of fun.”
“I can’t say the same for Alexis though.” Perrie broke in thoughtfully. “She’s very guarded and not very social.”
“There’s something buried in her past.” Liam objected. “You can’t blame her for her behavior. She protects herself because nobody else protects her. At least not until we came along.”
“I’m not saying I don’t like her, I’m just saying she’s not the most outgoing. It’s hard to see Lily being best friends with somebody like her.” Perrie defended.
“We’ll hang out with them more tonight, after they talk with that guy.” Zayn put in. “Perrie, you’ll get to see her a little more and you’ll realize why we all push to be in her life.”
“There’s something that was very broken in her and it has yet to be fixed. She won’t face it and she runs away. We push and prod her to open up, little by little, and she’ll get better. She told us when we first met that behind her walls she’s a lot of fun. I intend to help take her walls down.” Louis pulled Eleanor closer to him.
“Anything we can do to help?” Perrie looked at me bashfully.
“Just be there for her if she does want to talk. She likes me and she knows it.” I mused. “She’s just afraid of her feelings. There’s a reason why, and I’m going to find out. In the meantime, I just want to make sure she’s okay. I’ll stop by their flat and I’ll text you if they want to hang out with us.” I pushed my chair away from the table and left the group to find Alexis.
LILY’S POV
“Ben.” I started as soon as Alexis left the room. “Lex is struggling. She won’t let anybody in; she won’t let herself be vulnerable. All she does is homework and study. Beyond that she has no friends, no life. The guys you saw us with today are the first ones she’s been around since James died. And she’s only known them for a day. She may act tough but she’s hurting.”
“How can I help?” He asked quietly.
“I’m not sure if you really can. I want you to be able to, but I don’t think she’s willing to let people in.” We heard a knock at the door and I walked over, peeking out. Niall stood there, alone. I let him in and led him to the couch.
“Is she okay?” He looked at me for the answer.
“No.” I replied, leaning into Ben. He gently wrapped an arm around me.
“I’m sorry, you are?” Ben interrupted.
“He’s Niall.” I replied before Niall could. “He’s the one who she’s opening up to the most.”
“It’s good to meet you then.” Ben replied. “Anybody who can get Lexy to open up in these days is my hero.”
“Lily, what’s going on?” Niall demanded.
“I can’t be the one to tell you, nor can Ben. When she’s ready to tell you then she will.”
“It has to do with those dog tags she wears.”
“How do you know that?” Ben asked.
“She always grasps them when she’s upset or reminded of why she’s here.” He replied softly.
“You notice that?” I asked him in awe.
“I notice everything about her.” He murmured.
“Niall?” Alexis padded softly to his side.
“I had to see if you were okay.” His Irish lilt must have comforted her, for her lips were touched with a small smile as she perched on the couch next to him. His hand reached over to hers and he grazed his fingers lightly against the back of her hand. She looked up at him, a blush tinting her cheeks. Ben nudged me and I grinned at him, nodding.
“I’ll be okay.” She replied, lacing her fingers with his.“Thanks Niall.”
“Always darlin’. Always.” He looked at me and I nodded at him. “Do you all want to come and see the guys tonight?”
“I’d like that.” Alexis replied. “Will you come too Ben?”
“Of course. I have to make sure the guys who have thrust themselves into your life are good for you to be around.” He chuckled standing up and pulling me up with him.
“So how do you know each other?” Niall asked, glancing between Alexis and Ben. I shook my head vehemently as Alexis turned to look at Niall.
“It’s a long story.” The pain in her voice struck my heart. “I’ll tell you another time. All you need to know is Benny is like an older brother to me.”
“Okay little one. Whenever you’re ready.” He offered her his arm and she accepted with a grateful smile.
“Come on Ben! Let’s go have fun with the guys.” I grinned wickedly at him and we followed the pair out into the night.
♠ ♠ ♠
Well my lovelies...I'm out of town for the next week but I'll update as soon as I get home! xoxo