Lightning in a Bottle

“So, back up a second. What happened?” I asked my brother as I switched my phone to my other ear. I was out in the backyard lying in our big hammock watching the neighborhood wake up. My lovely brother choosing today to forget the time difference and called me at 7 in the morning.

He huffed, “I said, Demi Lovato direct messaged me on Twitter! Pay attention Ayden, I’m freaking out here!”

I tried not to laugh out loud at his fangirl moment, “Well what she say?”

“Well I replied to one of her tweets, you know it was nothing like ‘haha.’ Then I get a notification that she’s following me now, and get a DM from her that says she remembers me and that we should get together when she gets back into LA.” He said that all in one breath. “Ayden!” he shrieked, “She wants to hang out when she’s in town!”

I bit my lip trying to not completely lose it, “Well what did you say back?”

“I said, ‘cool no problem.’ I’M AN IDIOT! I couldn’t have sounded more uninterested!”

This time I couldn’t help the little chuckle that fell through my lips, “I’m sure it got the point a cross. How long ago was this?”

“Five minutes. I called you as soon as I replied!” he sighed dramatically, “I’m 25, why am I freaking out like a teenage girl? She probably only said that to be nice anyway.”

“Because you like her, and you guys hit it off when we had dinner with her in New York, I’m sure she’s serious and wants to hang out.”

“Didn’t you hate her at one point?”

I shrugged, “I didn’t hate her. I was just… I don’t know, threatened I guess. But we’re passed that, we get on now. She’s fantastic. Do you want me to call her and-”

“No! I don’t need my little sister trying to play match ma… oh my god!”

“What?” There was a long silence. “Daniel? Hello…?”

“She… she sent me her number! She gave me her number and told me to text her!”

I snorted a laugh, “Well there you go. She was serious then.”

“Do I text her?”

“Well she told you too right? So why not?”

“I’m gonna be sick. Demi Lovato wants me to text her. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! You brought these unattainable people into my life!”

I sighed and rolled my eyes at his insanity, “Well I’m sorry. If you don’t want to text her you don’t have too.”

He scoffed, “You know I’m going to text her, I’m just freaking out right now. How is this real?”

“Well, you’re a fit eligible bachelor, you were bound to hit the jackpot eventually. Though, yeah, you do sound like a teenage girl right now.”

He took a deep breath, “Okay, I’m going to text her. But I’m not getting my hopes up, she probably won’t even reply.”

I rolled my eyes again, “Stop over thinking it. It’ll be fine. Worst case is you become friends with Demi, and get to meet one of her single friends.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” he let out a breath, “Is Cher Lloyd single you think?”

I huffed, “Goodbye Daniel!”

He laughed, “Later.”

After we hung up I leaned back and watched the sun rise higher into the horizon. I was still tired, but I knew I probably wouldn’t go back to sleep so I just decided to stay here.

I don’t know how long I was laying here before I heard the back door open and close. Niall appeared next to me, looking down at me with a squinty, sleeping expression. He was shirtless and his joggers he went to sleep in were riding low on his hips, “Why are you out here?”

I shrugged, “Daniel called, and I came out here so I wouldn’t wake you.”

He huffed a groan before climbing up into the hammock and lying on top of me, using my chest as a pillow. He forced my legs apart with his own as he got comfortable, “Bed sucks without you.”

His hands made their way around my waist as I giggled, “Well my bad.”

“Yeah ‘your bad.’ I hate not waking up next to you. Rude.” He mumbled all of this with a thick sleepy voice, his eyes shut tight facing away from the sun.

I rolled my eyes at his adorable little attitude and ran my fingers though his hair before I wrapped my own arms around him. When I did he moved up a bit and put his face in my neck. His breath causing chills to cover my skin. I love feeling his weight on me, it felt like home. It was home. “I guess Demi Lovato DMed Daniel her number.”

He hummed, “Yeah? Was he freaking out?”

I chuckled, “Oh yeah.”

“They’d be an interesting pair,” he mumbled. He pulled one of his arms out from under me and pushed it under the shirt on my side. He started rubbing little shapes into my skin which caused another round of chills up my body. He angled his face up and kissed my right under my jaw, “You should come back to bed.” His voice was still a little groggy but more awake now.

“I don’t think I can go back to sleep,” I sighed.

“Who said anything about sleep?” he asked as he rotated his hips a bit against mine so I could feel… how awake he was.

“Oh,” I giggled.

“I’d say, let’s just break in this hammock but who knows where there are cameras.” His hand reached up and turned my face down to his so he could brush my lips with a kiss, “Please? I’ll please you first.”

I could feel his smile against my lips as he subtly rotated his hips again. The friction felt amazingly frustrating. I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss. His tongue sweeping against mine for a short moment, “Come on then. If you want to go back to bed, you’re gonna have to let me up then.”

“Wait, just let me kiss you for a few minutes first. Make out like teenagers in college!”

Didn’t have to ask me twice.

*****

Harry had his tattoo gun out again. Niall and I had come over for dinner and drinks, but as always, Harry busted out his machine. Right now he was busy tattooing a little dove on Dakota’s ankle. “You know, you’re getting really good at this H,” Niall said as his took a gulp of his beer.

Harry smiled up at him fleetingly before turning back to the task at hand. “I am. When are you going to get one Niall? You’re still the only one in the band with no ink.”

“Only one in the group without one aside from Perrie,” I added.

He sneered at me before he shrugged, “I’ve been thinking about it.”

“That’s what you always say,” Kota sang. He flipped her off.

“Aw,” I cooed. “It’s okay babe, you don’t have to have any tattoos. I like you the way you are.” Harry snorted at my words, “Shut up Harry.”

“All I’m saying,” he said as his tongue stuck out between his lips for a moment as his finished the outline on Kota, “If you let Niall tattoo you, his name, of all things! It’s only fair that you get to tattoo him.”

“Don’t pressure him,” I defended.

“No, Harry’s right. I did tattoo that awful crooked Irish flag on you.

“And scribbled your name over it,” Harry sassed.

“Oi!” I shot, “Shut up. I love that tattoo!” I did. It was probably my favorite, it meant so much to me.

Niall reached over and laced his fingers through mine, “You can tattoo me.”

“What?” we all said in shock at the same time.

Niall scoffed, “Don’t sound so surprised, or I’ll change my mind.”

“What do you want?” Kota asked.

He shrugged, “Dunno. What do you want to put on me?” He asked me.

“Oh no,” I held my hands up, “Don’t ask me that. I can’t choose for you!”

“If I remember correctly, you let me tattoo you without even telling you what I was going to put on you.”

I shrugged, “Yeah, but that’s because I’m open to anything.”

“Saaaame,” Harry sang.

Kota barked a laugh, “Yeah, we know babe.”

He sent her a playful glare, “Don’t tease the guy with the tattoo gun yeah?”

Niall turned his attention back to me, “Why don’t you tattoo on me what I did on you? Do the flag of Italy with your name across it?”

“Yeah Ayden! Brand your man!” Kota laughed. Harry was finishing up her tattoo, whipping it down and cleaning it off.

I bit my lip, “Are you sure about this Niall? I don’t want you to feel like we’re pressuring you to do this.”

“Yes I’m sure,” he scoffed. “I’ve been thinking about it since I did yours,” he lay his hand real low on my hip, right where the tattoo was under my jeans, “and every time I see it,” he winked.

“Can you not fondle our best friend right in front of us Niall?” Harry sassed.

Niall rolled his eyes, “Whatever, let’s do this.”

Harry beamed, “Where are you getting it?”

He shrugged, “I was thinking on the underside of my upper arm.”

“Ah,” Harry mused, “The best place to get your first tattoo.” He turned to me, “You gonna free hand this or do you want to stencil it?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to make a stencil. I’m shit at straight lines.”

“So is Niall,” Kota snorted.

“Shut up, I love my crooked flag, thank you very much!”

Harry finished bandaging up Kota’s ankle before he shot up, “Come on, I got the stencil and transfer paper in the office.”

I nodded and kissed Niall on the lips before I got up to follow Harry, “Make sure my boy is ready for this, yeah?” I told Kota as I followed Harry down the hall.

I followed Harry over to the desk in his office and sat down in the rolly chair like a child, “You got a ruler?” I asked as I pushed the stencil paper he handed over in front of me.

He sifted through some stuff on the desk before he found one, “Yeah, here. What’s the flag of Italy look like again?”

I scoffed, “Well someone should have paid more attention in school. It’s just a flag with red, white and green sections. Real simple.” I took the ruler and made a rectangle then divided it into 3 sections, “Boom, done!”

“You’re such a twat.” He rolled his eyes at me before kissing my hair affectionately. He draped himself over my shoulder from behind to look at my, very simple, drawing. Ever the affectionate lad, the kid was hard not to love. My relationship with Harry runs deep, like I can’t explain it. It may not have had as much history as my friendship with Blue did, but it was just as strong I think. We just clicked in a way I never thought we would. Part of me feels like, if we were in an ultimate universe, and we hadn’t of fallen in love with other people, I could have easily fallen in love with him. But we were in this world, where Niall was all I saw, and Kota was all he saw. He was more like my brother and I wouldn’t change it for anything. “Are you gonna stencil your name too or just free hand that?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Do you think I should stencil it?”

He hummed in thought, “Probably best to stencil it just in case. How comfortable are you with the tattoo gun?”

“I’m only used it once, on you remember?”

He growled, “Oh yeah, that. ” About a year ago, when he was drunk, he told me I could tattoo him. Anything I wanted. So of course, being the bitch that I am, I tattooed ‘The World Won’t Listen’ on his ribs. He woke up the next day pissed off because, as was our ongoing argument, ‘Stairways, Here We Come’ was the best Smiths album, not ‘The World Won’t Listen’. He was so wrong it hurt me. “Did you freehand mine? I don’t remember.”

I shook my head, “No, Tom outlined it for me.”

“Then I’d stencil your name too, just to be safe.”

I nodded and traced my name in pretty, well somewhat pretty, cursive across the flag outline. “Looks nice.”

“Here,” he stood up and grabbed the transfer paper. I took it from him and carefully made a stencil out of my drawing. “Looks good. Make a tattoo artist out of you yet.”

“What up, fall back profession!” I joked as we walked back out to the living room where Niall and Kota were laughing about something. “You ready babe?”

Niall took a deep breath, “Yeah, I think so.”

*****

“Me mom’s gonna kill me,” Niall said admiring his tattoo again for probably the hundredth time. We just got back from Harry and Dakota’s and he was standing in the bathroom, in nothing but his briefs holding his arm out.

I walked in behind him, wrapping my arms around his middle as I looked over his shoulder. I really, really liked all the gym time he was getting with his knee rehab. His body was toned and dear god did I love it. “You look hot with ink babe,” I smirked.

He rolled his eyes at me, “Don’t get too excited, I’m not going to become the rest of me band and cover myself.”

I shrugged, “Just through I’d give you the compliment.” I eyed my handy work again. The flag was about as small as mine was, and my name came out well, I was proud of myself for how great it came out. I knew as soon as the public saw it though, there’d be mixed feelings. “Your fans are gonna rip me a new one when they see you have my name on you forever.”

He scoffed, “Zayn has a full Perrie tattoo.”

“Yeah, and if you recall there was an insane uproar.”

He rolled his eyes before turning around in my grasp and wrapped his arms around me, “I don’t care what anyone thinks. I love it, that’s all that matters.” He pressed his lips to mine chastely before smiling down at me.

“You’re right. But your mom really is gonna hate it.”

He groaned, “I know. I just won’t tell her, let her find out herself. I didn’t think of how visible the placement was until now. No one but me see’s yours.”

“Might want to wear a long sleeve when she comes over then.”

His brow scrunched in confusion, “She’s coming over?”

I gave a frustrated sigh and sagged in his arms, “Yes. I told you yesterday that she was coming to dinner in a few days.”

“No you didn’t! When did you tell me that?”

“You were watching football and shooed me away when I told you,” I rolled my eyes.

He gave me an apologetic smile before he hid his face in my neck, “You know I completely one out when I’m watching footie. I’m sorry love.”

I shrugged, nuzzling into him, “It’s fine. I’ll just learn to leave you notes around during games so you’ll see it eventually. Or text you.”

He laughed as he stood back up to his full height. “We should go to the bathroom,” he said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Really popstar? We had sex this morning?”

“So,” he scoffed, “What are we 90? We can’t have sex more than once a day?”

“That sarcasm. Really turnin’ me on there Irish.”

“Says the sassiest woman I’ve ever met.”

He reached down and threw me over his shoulder causing me to squeal, “Niall! Put me down! You’re gonna hurt your knees!”

“I am not, I can handle your weight like it’s nothing! Now let’s go rehab my knees in the sheets.”

“What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?” I laughed as he walked up down the hall.