Happily

"I can't wait to have clean clothes again." I sighed as I dumped my laundry bag into the waiting washer.

"You don't have any clean clothes?" Nikki asked raising an eyebrow at me from where she sat munching on a bag of Combos on the washer next to mine.

I sighed and dumped the soap into the machine before closing it,"Not since the next to last stop over in Europe. Thank god I decided to bring more than enough underwear through."

We were now a few months into tour and had moved onto the States. Since she had some time off Nikki had decided to join us for the first few shows which I was more than fine with. I loved my guys but I was missing having a girl to talk to on a regular basis. She would be with us from our first show in Chicago where we were now until our show in New York in about 2 weeks.

I was really excited about the fact that it was Halloween which meant that she was able to help Gabe, Carson, Hunter, Tyler and I with our Halloween costume. It was a big group costume and she was going to part of it. The best part was that Louis, Niall, Liam, Harry and Zayn were being kept totally and completely in the dark about the whole thing. We were all planning to go out on Halloween night and that was when we would reveal our costume.

"So what have you been wearing for the past week?" Nikki asked.

"The same pair of jeans and shirts I've been knicking from the Carson and Tyler." I replied.

Nikki frowned at me, "Knicking? My dear you have been out of the states for way too long."

I fished out a handful of quarters from the pocket of the sweats I'd borrowed from Nikki this morning. After putting the right amount I boosted myself up onto the washer and grabbed a handful of Combos from Nikki's bag.

The two of us sat there just talking about random stuff until we heard a ringing from the front door of the laundromat. Turning I saw a group of familiar faces walk in. Well underneath the glasses and beanies and snapbacks they were familiar.

"Good afternoon." Liam said as he, Louis and Harry walked to a series of washers across from Nikki and I's.

I quickly swallowed the mouthful of my stolen snack, "Hello. Oh! By the way this is my friend Nikki." I said pointing to her.

"Nice to finally meet you in person. I'm Harry." Harry said reaching out to shake her hand.

"I'm Liam and I'm sure you remember Louis." Liam smirked as he followed suit.

"Oh yeah." Nikki laughed.

"So what were you girls giggling about when we walked in?" Louis asked as he started his laundry.

"Not telling. Girl talk." I smirked.

"Aww c'mon...you know you want to tell us." Louis replied.

I shook my head, "Not happening."

"I know what they were talking about. They were talking about that costume they won't tell anyone about." Harry said leaning against his machine.

"Perhaps..." Nikki grinned.

"You know it's really not fair for you to keep things from your friends. It's not nice." Liam chided.

"Maybe we don't want to be nice." I smirked.

"Yes you say that but Hello Kitty says different." Louis grinned.

I felt my face heat up and I threw a Combo at him, "Hush!"

Nikki laughed and I shoved her. She was the only other person I had told about changing in front of Louis the night we'd gotten soaked in juice. After the show I had sworn Louis to secrecy about the whole thing which he had agreed to but sometimes he let little things slip just to piss me off.

Both Harry and Liam exchanged confused looks but ignored it.

"Well I will say you, the guys and Lou can keep a secret." Liam said.

Oh yeah did I mention that I had managed to rope Lou into helping us with our costumes? She was helping us get all the pieces together and would be doing all of our hair. Her remaining tight lipped was just something else that annoyed the boys about our whole little plot.

"I think you should just come out and tell us. We'll figure it out eventually." Harry said.

Louis nodded, "Perhaps we already have."

"Oh yeah. I'm sure you've figured it out. If you had you would be gloating about it like there is no tomorrow." I said rolling my eyes.

"She has a point." Liam nodded.

"Look why don't you just tell us? We can keep a secret. We won't tell anyone else that you told us. Not even Zayn and Niall." Harry said.

Nikki and I looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the guys.

"Not telling you." we replied in unison.

"You're both evil." Louis said.

I smiled, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Nikki and I finished up my laundry and hung around until the guys finished theirs. After that we caught a cab back to the hotel.

"So. That's Louis huh?" Nikki said as lay on my bed as I repacked my suitcase.

"Yep. That's him." I replied.

She nodded, "Yeah... I can see why you like him."

"W-What are you talking about?!" I spluttered.

"You heard me." she said.

"I don't like him! You yourself even told me that I was over thinking things." I said.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean that you don't have a crush on the guy. I mean it was kinda obvious. At least to me. Besides he likes you too." Nikki replied.

I froze and turned my eyes to her, "What?"

"He likes you too. C'mon you can't tell me you didn't see that look he gave you when he dropped that little hint about your Hello Kitty underwear. He was imagining you in said underwear as you sat there."
She said matter of factly.

I shook my head, "He has a girlfriend Nikki."

"So? Do you think that guys still don't look at other girls while they're dating one? I mean you can't stand there and tell me you haven't looked at a guy before and appreciated the fact he was good looking despite being attached to Alex. Besides it wouldn't be weird for you to crush on someone else.

I mean you haven't seen Alex in how long? You see Louis every day." Nikki replied.

I sighed, "Nikki I..."

"Don't deny it. I can see you getting ready to Rylie." Nikki said.

I tucked the last of my clean clothes into my suitcase and sat down on the bed beside her.

"So lets say I did like him? I can't act on it." I replied.

Nikki shrugged, "Who says you have to? Just enjoy hanging out with him. Simple as that."

I nodded, "You're right. Besides I'll see Alex soon. He's going to join us in Virginia and then I can concentrate on him."

"Exactly. But anyhow I need to go and get a shower before we head out. When are we supposed to start getting ready?" she asked.

I had asked for Nikki to have her own room on the band's floor since she didn't like sharing a bed with me under the pretense that I kicked in my sleep. She wasn't wrong. I apparently turned into a ninja in my sleep. I sometimes wondered how Alex managed to share a bed with me.

"Lou is going meet us in here at 7. We're leaving at 8." I replied.

"Gotcha. See you in a bit." she said and left.

I lay back on my bed and sighed inwardly. I didn't know that laundry followed by self revelations could be so tiring. Before I knew it I was asleep.

I woke awhile later to someone knocking at my door. Sitting up I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced at the clock on the beside table. It was nearly 7 which meant it was probably Lou. Sure enough she stood on the other side of the door smiling at me, Nikki and the guys right behind her.

"Sorry I fell asleep." I yawned as I stood aside to let her in

"It's alright. I came early anyhow just in case. I've got jet lag too." she said as she walked in.

The guys carried in everything she would need to get us ready and sat it down where she told them to. Once it was all in place she sat me down in a chair in the bathroom and got started.
Since Nikki and I had the most hair she did ours first before starting on the guys. Only after everyones hair was done did we change. By the time we were done it was time to head down to the lobby.

"Ready?" Gabe grinned as the doors slid open.

"Oh yeah." Carson nodded.

"Who wants to bet they won't know who we are?" Hunter grinned.

"Oh god that would be perfect." Nikki laughed.

The six of us walked out of the elevator and headed for the lobby. When we got there we found the guys milling about the nearly deserted space wearing superhero shirts complete with capes. Since there weren't many other people there they all looked up when we appeared. A moment later they burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Carson asked looking around.

"That's your top secret costume? You're us?" Niall asked.

I looked at the others and frowned, "Are we supposed to be One Direction? I thought we were The Wanted."

"You lied to us!" Nikki gasped in fake shock.

"Hey! That's not funny!" Louis said pointing at me and I laughed.

"You know it is. Don't lie."

"Okay so lets see..." Harry said and began pointing to each of us.

He first pointed to Carson who wore khaki pants and a tight red polo shirt, "You're Niall."

Carson nodded and Harry moved on, turning to Gabe.

"Liam?" he asked.

"Right." Gabe replied tugging at the hem of the red and blue plaid shirt he wore over khaki pants and red sneakers.

"Okay then that means Hunter you're Louis?" Harry asked looking at Hunter who wore a striped t-shirt and red pants.

"Of course." he grinned.

Harry nodded and looked at Nikki and I, "And Zayn and I are girls..."

"At least for tonight." I nodded leaning on Nikki's shoulder.

I wore a blue blazer over a white tank top, a beige skirt and red low rise Converse. Lou had to do very little with my hair, just tousling it a bit so it fell down my back in messy waves. Next to me Nikki wore a white button down under a blue and white Varsity jacket and beige shorts with red sneaker wedges. Her hair was teased in the front to create a bump in the front and the rest was gathered in a messy bun in the back.

"We considered dressing as you as guys." Nikki supplied.

"Yeah but one not even I could fit in pants that tight Styles." I said.

"And wigs are a pain in the ass." Nikki added.

"Indeed." I nodded.

"I've got to get a picture of this. Everyone get together." Liam said as he pulled his phone from his back pocket.

We all grouped together with our counterparts as Liam got someone from the hotel staff to take the photo.

"Wait...where's Tyler?" Niall asked.

Suddenly there was a shriek and a moment later Tyler came sprinting into the lobby. He wore a One Direction t-shirt and had covered himself in temporary tattoos depicting the guys' faces. I doubled over laughing as he ran straight at Carson and threw his arms around him.

"OH MY GOD! I'M SUCH A BIG FAN!!! CAN I PLEASE HAVE AN AUTOGRAPH?!?!" he cried.

"We even come with our own fan." Gabe grinned as the guys laughed.

Once everyone had composed themselves the photo was taken and we headed out. We were headed out the back to avoid the cameras and mob of people before making our way to the club we had planned to go to.

"So...whose idea was all of this?" Louis asked me as we walked down the street.

"Gabe came up with it, told me and the two of us kinda ran with it." I said.

"Well I have to say I'm very impressed." he said.

I smiled, "I'm glad. So you guys decided on Superheros?"

"Yeah we didn't expect yours to be so elaborate." he grinned as he glanced down at his Superman t-shirt.

"I think you guys look awesome anyhow." I said.

"Why thank you Ms. Styles." he laughed.

I laughed and shook my head.

We got into the club without much problem and made our way towards a table. A few minutes later Zayn came back with a tray full of shots.

"Here you go." he said handing me a shot glass.

I shook my head, "No thanks."

"C'mon Ry just one night!" Nikki said holding her own shot.

"What's going on?" Louis asked looking at Nikki and I.

"I'm trying to get her to let loose for one night." Nikki replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Letting loose and getting drunk are two different things."

"How would you know? You've never been drunk." Gabe yelled from across the table.

"You've never been drunk?" Harry asked looking at me surprised.

"Why do people look at me like that? No I've never been drunk." I replied.

"She has a thing about someone one taking care of her." Nikki said.

"What do you mean?" Louis asked.

"I just don't want to force someone to take care of me because I decided to get drunk and can't do it myself." I said.

"You're too responsible for you own good sometimes." Nikki sighed.

"Well I think it's time we took care of that. We managed to corrupt Liam which was quite the task. I'm sure we can work our magic on Rylie. Starting with the shot. Zayn give it here!" Louis said and took the shot from Zayn and sat it down in front of me.

"Be a good girl Rylie and take your shot." Louis said.

"Guys..." I said looking at them then back at the shot.

"Look I can't drink. At least not legally. If I'm not going to drink then as my counterpart you have to. It's the rules." Harry said looking at me.

"And I promise that no matter what happens if you end up needing to be taken care of I will handle it and take all responsibility." Louis said.

I sighed and thought it over for a moment. When I had started tour I was excited for all the new experiences I would have. Who said this wasn't one of them?

Taking a deep breath I reached out and grabbed the shot, "Here goes nothing."

I quickly brought the shot glass up to my lips and with a flick of my wrist knocked it back, the alcohol burning my throat as I did so.

"How was your first shot?" Nikki asked.

"Not as bad as I thought." I replied.

"See? That wasn't so hard. C'mon lets go get you something to drink." she said and grabbed my hand pulling me to the bar.

A few drinks later found me and Nikki both on the dance floor. It had started as just the two of us with Niall and Harry but soon most of the other guys had appeared. I was having a blast and honestly I felt pretty good. However soon someone looked at the time and realized that it was late and we had to get going.

We headed back to the table and quickly downed the rest of our drinks before emerging from the club. Apparently it hadn't gotten out we were here because the only people outside were a few who were standing around, waiting for cabs or smoking. As we started down the street we were all laughing and joking. Suddenly though the last drink I'd had hit me and my knees became wobbly underneath me.

"Whoa!" I cried as I hit the pavement.

Louis walked over and grabbed my hands, pulling me up. However my legs were still unsteady around me and I felt like my head was spinning.

"Looks like you had a little too much to drink there huh?" Louis laughed as I wrapped my arms around his neck to support myself.

"Maybe." I giggled

"C'mon up you go." he said and bent down and pulled me onto his back.

"Thank you." I smiled at him as he started walking.

"You're welcome." he laughed and continued down the street.

When we reached the hotel the lot of us crowded into the elevator and made our way up to the floor that had been reserved for the band. It slowly moved up and soon the doors slid open and we all stumbled out.

Louis lowered me to the ground but the moment my feet touched the floor I felt my body begin to sway. Reaching out I grasped onto his arm to steady myself.

"Yeah you're not going to make it all the way to your room. C'mon up you go again." Louis said and put me on his back once again.

"You got here Louis?" Nikki asked looking at us.

Louis nodded, "No problem."

Nikki nodded before making her way slightly unsteadily to her room.

"You're comfy." I said resting my head on his shoulder.

"Thanks I guess. I don't get that compliment much." he laughed.

"Well you should." I replied burying my face deeper in his neck.

We we got to my room somehow Louis managed to get my key out of the pocket of my blazer without putting me down. Opening the door he walked in and carried me to the bed, sitting down so I could slide off his back. Once I was laying on the bed he pulled my sneakers off and helped me out of my blazer.

"Alright your shoes are over by the door and-" but I interrupted him, tugging on his hand.

"Lay with me for a moment?" I asked.

"Rylie I-" he said but I cut him off again.

"Please?" I asked giving him my best puppy dog face.

A voice in the back of my mind told me that this wasn't the best idea but I ignored it. I just wanted someone to lay with for a little bit.

He sighed, "Fine but only for a moment. Got it?"

"Yes sir Mr. Sass Master Of Doncaster!" I said with a salute and a giggle.

"Where did you get that from? I thought you told me before you weren't a fan." he laughed as he laid down beside me.

"I did do my research thank you very much." I said turning over so I was on my stomach, my head resting on his outstretched arm.

"Really now?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yes and my sister helped. She's a big fan."

"So what did you think?" he asked.

"I thought Liam was cuter than you." I replied.

He laughed, "Liam? Really? Cuter than me?"

"Yes." I replied and scooted closer.

"And why was he cuter than me?" he asked.

"So what's with you getting clingy? Homesick?" he asked.

"A bit." I said.

"Same here." he sighed.

"How do you get over it?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Sometimes there isn't any getting over it. Being around the other lads helps though. We're kinda like family."

I nodded, "I know what you mean. Having you guys around is nice. You especially."

"Me? Why me?" he smirked.

I felt my face heat up as Nikki and I's conversation drifted back into my mind and shrugged, "Just because."

"Well it's especially nice having you around too." he said.

"You mean that?" I asked.

He nodded and reached up to push a strand of hair out of my face, "Yeah I do. You're pretty awesome."

I smiled, "You're pretty awesome too."

I don't know how what happened next transpired but before I knew what had happened his lips were pressed to mine. Every nerve in my body felt alive and I felt dizzy and I was certain that it wasn't because of the alcohol currently circulating in my blood. It was wonderful.

Then just as sudden as it had happened it was over, leaving Louis and I looking back at each other. We were both breathless and flushed. Suddenly Louis sat up.

"I-I should leave." he said quickly standing up.

I nodded sitting up, my head suddenly clear, "Yeah I think you should."

"Right. Right. Goodnight." he said.

"Yeah. Night and thanks." I replied.

And with the click of the door he was gone leaving me alone. My heart was pounding in my chest and my hands were shaking.

What had I just done?

Had I really just kissed Louis?

Why had I done that?

"Idiot!" I growled to myself and flopped back against the pillows, tears streaming down my cheeks as I began to cry myself to sleep.