Tuesday at Strawberry Faire

Tuesday November 5, 2013 (cont.)

Lizzie POV

"Well look who we have here." He replied with a smirk, walking over to the counter I was behind.
"Will I ever get the chance to see you in a good mood?"

"I swear I'm not always pissed off." I walked around from behind the counter, all four boys not so slyly checking me out.

"Wait a second, Mikey. This is the super fit girl you kept going on about?" The Asian-looking one interjected again.

"Calum, shut up." Mikey's cheeks started to grow red.

"Uh, Lizzie?" Nora asked from across the room, catching my attention. "Even though we're technically closed, we still need to take their orders."

"Oh! There's two of them!" Calum nudged the quiet, curly haired one.

"Mate, shut the fuck up and go get some yoghurt." He pushed Calum to the array of yoghurt flavors where Nora was standing.

Mikey walked over to me and stuck out his hand. I noticed that he had added a black stripe down the middle of his bleach blonde hair.

"We were never properly introduced so, hi! I'm Michael." I took his hand and shook it firmly.

"It's very nice to meet you Michael from Sydney...Australia." A smile spread across his face, remembering the first time we met and lighting up his bright green eyes. He pointed out the other boys to me one by one. I learned that the Asian-looking one was Calum (who turned out to be not Asian at all), Luke was the tall lanky one, and Ashton was the cute curly haired one. Eventually, the other boys had gotten their yoghurts and sat down at a large table in the middle of the store.

"Oh! This is my best friend and roommate, Eleanor." I spoke to Michael as Nora walked over to us, looking thoroughly annoyed at me.

"It's Nora. Nice to meet you." She took the hand he extended and gave me a glare.

"So! What are four Aussies doing in London?" I asked curiously, sitting down at the table they were at. My feet were killing me, and I didn't think I could stand for another second.

"We're in a band." Calum quickly responded with a cocky grin on his face.

"Nice! What kind of music do y'all play?" Nora questioned, sitting down next to me.

"Pop rock. Like Blink-182, Green Day, bands like that." Ashton answered.

"Hey, you have good taste in music!" I reached over and gave him a high five, earning a dimpled smile and adorable giggle.

"I like those bands, too." Michael interjected.

"Sweet!" I sat back down in my seat and gave him a high five too, noticing Nora smirking at me from the corner of my eye. "Are y'all any good?"

"Well, people seem to think so." Luke laughed, looking around at his friends. "We just finished up a tour with One Direction."

"No fucking way." I gaped at them.

"That's pretty much how we feel about it, too." Ashton chuckled. "They aren't really our taste in music, but when the biggest boy band in the world asks you tour with them, you say yes."

"So y'all just got back, or what?" Nora asked, looking at the clock on her phone. Obviously worried that we're going to get in trouble for not cleaning up yet.

"Yeah, we just got back from America about two weeks ago. We actually just announced our next big tour that starts in a little over 6 months." Ashton excitedly jabbered.

"Wait, so when we met, were you here for a break?" I asked Michael, confused.

"We were on the UK leg of the tour, right?" He questioned the entire group, and got a nod from Ashton. He seemed like he was the one that was most responsible when it came to things like this.

"Oh, ok. Makes sense. How long has it been since y'all have been home?" They had mostly finished their yoghurts and I took their bowls to throw away.

Luke spoke up, "About 3 months. Our mums miss us quite a bit." He laughed, sadly.

"Well shit, I just ruined the mood." I grumbled, trying to find a way to apologize.

"Um, we have radio stuff we have to do in the morning anyways. So we better go." Calum stood up, talking to the group.

"Right. It was very nice to meet y'all." I said to all the boys, and received the same comment in return as they walked out the door.

"Well, thanks for letting us come in so late." Michael said to me, hanging back from the rest of the boys. He hesitated for a second before continuing. "Um, here's my number if you ever want to like hang out or get lost or something, I don't know."

I took the napkin that he handed me with a number scratched onto it. "Sure, dude! I'll call you sometime when we don't have work and we can all hang out again!" His face fell for a second, before he reeled in whatever he was feeling. I found it odd that he looked almost disappointed for some reason.

"Yeah, cool." He nodded before walking out, the other boys way ahead of him.

"Man am I glad today is over with!" I laughed, locking the door behind them. When I didn't hear a response from Nora, I turned around to find her not facing me. "You ok?" I asked, concerned.

"Peachy, Liz." She shortly replied.

"Ok then." I said under my breath, thoroughly confused. Right now, the least of my worries was her sour attitude and more of getting back to my bed.

Tuesday November 5, 2013

Michael POV

Liz locked the door behind me and I still couldn't believe what all had happened in the last hour and a half. The mystery girl that I had spent the past three months dreaming over just crashed back into my life, just like before.

"Mate, was that crazy or what?" Calum said, turning around to look at me. "You gave her your number right? Cause if you didn't you're fucking crazy. I will so swoop in and grab that if you aren't interested."

"Hey! Don't talk about her like that! She's not one of your fucking play toys." I rushed up to where he was, shoving him lightly.

"Someone's a little touchy." Calum snickered, walking ahead of us again.

"You're such a prick, Cal." Luke added.

"Whatever." Calum replied, pulling out his phone, probably texting another one of his hookups.

"So that was her, huh?" Luke questioned, keeping his voice down.

"That's Mystery Girl. I told you she was real." I chuckled, making it a point that everyone heard me.

"Mate, she's hot." Ashton innocently agreed. His tone held something behind it that I couldn't pick out; I didn't look anything into it. "Lukey, did I see your eyes wandering towards a certain brunette? One who's name is Nora, by chance?" He poked at Luke, whose cheeks went scarlet.

"Can you blame me? She's gorgeous." He shyly whispered, crossing his arms, a nervous gesture that I picked up on easily.

"Awwww! Luke has a crush!" Calum yelled from the front of us.

"You guys are acting like 15 year olds. So I think she’s super fit. Drop it." Luke rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Wait, but aren't you 15?" Ashton asked him, making all of us burst out in laughter.

"Fuck you guys. I hate all of you." Luke grumbled, joining Calum at the front.

"I was just kidding! Lukey, baby, I love you!" Ashton giggled, running up to Luke.

Jokes aside, I really was happy we ran into Liz tonight. It all just seemed a little too good to be true, if I’m being honest. I knew I couldn’t pass up a chance to try and get to know her better, especially since we would be in the city for a while. Maybe we could eventually double date with Luke and Nora.

We finally flagged down a cab and went back to our house we lived at here in London. It wasn’t a huge house, but just big enough for four teenage boys to make a mess of. I absolutely loved living with these guys. They had become like brothers to me, even Luke. Surprisingly enough, we used to hate each other. Now I can’t imagine my life without his friendship, or Cal and Ashton’s either.

We each headed up to our separate rooms once we arrived. When I got in my room I checked my phone, just in case Liz had decided to call me. Of course there was nothing. I was too amped up to try and sleep, so I got out my guitar and starting playing around with some chords. Liz had me feeling very inspired. I just couldn’t get this beautiful girl out of my head.

Eventually, after messing around on the guitar for a bit, I had a pretty good melody going. I got out my leather bound notebook that I kept in my bedside drawer and wrote the chords down so I wouldn’t forget them in the morning. After that, I put the guitar and the notebook up and decided I should try and get some sleep.

After 45 minutes of lying in bed with my eyes closed, sleep still evaded me. This always happened to me, too. The nights I was able to get plenty of sleep I never could, which pissed me off to no end because sleep is my one constant joy in life. Well besides music. I tried to clear my head again, but this time lyrics popped in my head that wouldn’t leave, no matter how hard I tried.

“When I close my eyes and try to sleep,
I fall apart, I find it hard to breathe.
You’re the reason, the only reason.”

I shot straight out bed, grabbing the pen and notebook yet again. I wrote those lyrics down, then quickly thought of more.

“Even though my dizzy head is numb,
I swear my heart is never giving up.
You’re the reason, the only reason.”

Perfect. Just like Liz, the amazing creature who makes me dizzy and evade sleep. I closed the leather bound book right as Ashton came crashing into my room.

"And here we have Michael Clifford in his natural habitat. Whatcha doin, Mikey?" He asked, pointing the phone camera at me.

"Hello keek! I'm just playing some stuff because I can't sleep!" I smiled at the phone and waved.
"Well you have fun with that! Bye Michael! Luke goddammit come here! Keek wants to talk to you!" He ran away yelling. There goes my chance of getting to sleep anytime soon.

Tuesday November 5, 2013

Nora POV

I was right when I said that this night would be interesting. As it turns out, Liz met one of the boys, Michael, on the day of her job interview. I knew Liz was “friendly,” so it didn’t shock me that she chatted him up so quickly. Me and the other three boys felt a bit out of the loop until Calum made a comment letting everyone know Michael and Liz had met previously.

I may be quiet sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t notice things. After Calum said that, he looked back at the other two boys, Luke and Ashton, and I saw they were all trying to hide smiles and gave each other naughty glances. I was definitely suspicious, but said nothing. I took everybody’s orders after reminding Liz we actually had jobs to do.

We all sat at a table and talked for quite some time. Of course, Liz took up a lot of the conversation. Not that I had much to say. I was still watching everyone, trying to figure out why they all were acting so weird. Calum seemed to only be interested in talking about the band; other than that his eyes were glued to his phone, which was kind of rude. Ashton laughed at just about everything that was said, which in turn made everyone else laugh. He had the silliest laugh I think I had ever heard, so even though I was tired and not in the best mood, he still made me smile. Luke stayed quiet as well, but was a very active listener, which I found attractive. I constantly caught myself staring as he tugged on his lip ring with his teeth or twiddled his thumbs. Sometimes he would look over at me and catch me in the act, to which I would quickly look down at my hands. I hope I didn’t blush much, but he caught me staring at least twice. Michael’s cheeks stayed pink throughout the entire conversation. It was obvious he was crushing big time on Liz. I figured she had to notice, but I don’t know about her sometimes.

We talked for a bit about the band and touring. I asked a couple questions, just because I didn’t want to seem rude, but we really did need to start cleaning if we wanted to get back to the apartment at a decent hour. Finally, the boys said they needed to get going, and I watched them walk out of the shop with relief, but not before Michael gave Liz his number. I was officially convinced he liked her, which was fine and all, but I don’t think she liked him back. She was chatty with him, but then again she was chatty with all the boys. I kind of felt bad for Michael. Liz just doesn’t know the effect she has on people sometimes and she was very oblivious to how Michael looked at her.

Liz was in such a good mood while we were closing down, a complete 180 to how she was an hour ago. I on the other hand was in a horrible mood. Whatever Liz said to me, I answered back shortly, not quite ready to engage her in conversation. I was still annoyed from covering her ass earlier at work, for keeping us here late because of a stupid group of boys, and then for being so clueless about what she’s doing to Michael. Sometimes I wish she would stop being so reckless with her words and actions. I knew I was going to need to tell her about how I felt, but I figured it was best to
wait until I had time to cool off.
&&

We didn’t say anything the whole ride back to the apartment. I think Liz could tell I wasn’t in the best mood and knew it was best to just leave me alone. We rode the elevator to our floor in silence. I quickly got out the keys to the apartment, so I could just walk in and head straight to my room. I knew Liz probably wasn’t happy with how I was acting right now, but I wasn’t happy with the way she acted all day long.

I changed into comfier clothes, threw my hair into a messy bun, and took all my makeup off. I took one long look in the mirror before deciding it’s time to get this over with. I absolutely hate confrontation, but this time it was necessary. Liz and I had never really been in a “fight” about anything before and I wasn’t sure how this was going to go down.

When I walked out to the living room, she was already there, sitting on the couch, watching a horrid British sitcom on the BBC. I found the remote, picked it up, and pressed the Mute button. Liz acted like she was about to say something, but by the serious look on my face, she decided against it.

“I think you know I’m not the happiest with you right now.” I said, crossing my arms defensively, still holding on to the remote so Liz couldn’t drown me out with the television.

“Yeah, I think I’ve noticed that. What the hell is up Nora?” Liz replied, chuckling. That definitely did not help matters.

“Liz, I’m serious. I know you weren’t happy at work today, I get that. But it’s WORK. We need to be professional and POLITE, even when we don’t feel like it. Your bad mood put me in a bad mood, but I was able to put on a face while we still had customers. It would be nice if you could do the same. I’m not going to report you but I guarantee you if James or Henry had been there, your ass would be fired right now. Do you understand that?” I tried my best to stay calm while telling her all of this, but with how fired up I was about finally venting what I had kept inside all day, it was hard not to start yelling at her.

“Yeah, I understand. Nora, you know me, I usually am not like that at work. I don’t know what it was but I just could not shake being pissy. I fucked up. I know.” She looked at me with sincerity as she continued, “I really am sorry. Please forgive me? It won’t happen again.”

I looked down at her, with a soft smile forming at my lips. I hated this about her, but you could not stay mad at the girl for long. Her apology was definitely sincere, so I had to forgive her.

“Of course, I forgive you Liz. But this shit never happens again.” I answered with a laugh. Liz reached up to take the remote back from me, before I yanked it out of her grasp. I looked her in the eyes, seriously, and said chuckling, “Oh no, we aren’t finished yet.”

“Damn, really Nora? What else could I have possibly done today? Shit.” Liz giggled back.

I sat down beside her on the couch, facing towards her. She turned towards me also, and sat criss-cross applesauce, surprisingly attentive given the fact that she knew I had more to say.

“So, what’s up with you and Michael?” I asked her expectantly.

She looked awfully confused, laughing it off with, “What? Nothing is going on with me and Michael! I barely know the guy. I mean, he’s nice and his hair is pretty damn cool, but like, no nothing is going on!”

I looked at her like I don’t believe her. It’s not that I thought she was lying; she was just honestly so oblivious I couldn’t even believe.

“Are you serious? Okay, so you may not like him. But isn’t it obvious he likes you? I think it was obvious to everyone in the shop BUT you!” I said laughing, but also hoping she gets that I’m trying to be serious. “Liz…he gave you his phone number!”

“To see if we all wanted to hang out!”

“Honey, I don’t think he wanted to include any of us. But you shot that down real quick.” I chuckled.

“Oh…shit. Nora, was I a complete bitch back there?” She asked worriedly.

“Almost, but not completely. Lizzie, all I want to say is be careful with him. He has it bad, girl.” I replied.

“Well I don’t think he’s the only one who’s got it bad,” Liz said, eyeing me up and down with a sly grin on her face.

I was so taken aback I stumbled getting the words out. “Wh-what? A-are you talking about me?”

“I KNEW IT!” She shouted at me, throwing her head back in laughter.

I grabbed her shoulders to bring her face to face with me. “Liz. Knew what? What are you talking about?”

“You totally have the hots for Luke. I could see your panties getting wetter from across the table.” She said mischievously.

My jaw dropped at her response and I couldn’t help but laugh at how rude it was. “Liz, oh my God! No! That did not happen! That’s so gross!” We giggled together, but not before I realized that she was right. Not about the wet panties, but that I found Luke to be attractive. I do think Luke is really, really attractive. This can’t be good, I thought to myself.

“Nora! Snap out of it! Tell me I’m right!” She said as she snapped her fingers in my face.

“I didn’t realize this until you said it, but yeah…Luke is cute! He didn’t make my panties wet though. You’re so nasty Liz.” I said, hitting her on the arm with a throw pillow.

“I knew it. I caught you two staring at each other…Maybe he thinks you’re hot too, you sexy bitch!” She excitedly exclaimed, hitting me with the pillow on the side of my ass.

I laughed uncontrollably, grabbing the pillow out of her hand so she couldn’t smack me with it again.
“I mean…I did get caught staring at him a couple times. I couldn’t help it Liz! He wouldn’t quit playing with his lip ring; it was so cute and distracting!”

“I bet he thinks you want to play with his lip ring now!” Liz teased, winking at me, trying to grab the pillow again before I threw it into the kitchen.

“Oh God, I hope not! I barely know him!” I said, as she went up to get the pillow from the kitchen. I won’t deny the fact that he is super attractive and seemed to be a good guy from the conversation we all had earlier. But the thought of being anything other than friends scared the absolute hell out of me. Everything that happened back home came rushing into my head and I could feel my heart rate go up as I thought about it. I struggled to push those thoughts away. As far as I could tell, Luke didn’t have feelings for me in any way, shape, or form. Hopefully, that’s the way things will stay.

Liz snapped me out of my thoughts once again by unmuting the television. At this point, it was so late that there wasn’t anything on but infomercials. We decided to call it a night and go to bed. I flopped myself down on my back, turning myself over onto my stomach, my face planted in the middle of my pillows. Conflicted about my feelings for Luke, I laid like that for a couple minutes before turning onto my side. As I got underneath my comforter, I sighed, hoping that a good night’s sleep would bring my mind peace and clarity.

CALUM POV

Tuesday November 5, 2013

“Mate was that crazy or what? You gave her your number right? Cause if you didn’t, you’re fucking crazy. I will so swoop in and grab that if you aren’t interested.” I took my phone out of my back pocket and started looking through the list of girls I could call for the night. All of a sudden, I felt Michael shove me a little to the side, saying something about how that blonde girl wasn’t one of my play toys. I couldn’t be bothered, so I replied “Someone’s a little touchy.” Luke said something to me; I wasn’t really paying attention so I replied with a simple “Whatever.”

I laughed and started walking a few paces ahead of the rest of the boys. They were all gushing over…wait, what was her name? Lisa? Whatever her name was, I didn’t want to hear about it. Relationships are so overrated. I guess you could say my motto is “Fuck them and forget them until you want to fuck them again.” And the cycle continues.

I texted Kiana, a fit bird I met at the club a couple weekends ago, seeing if she was up for a quickie in a little bit. Even though Chelsea had been texting me for the past couple of hours, I just wasn’t in the mood for what she offered. Girls are like flavors or cravings. If they don’t have the taste you want or can satisfy your desire, why “eat” it?

Just before I checked Kiana’s reply, I heard Ash tease Luke about the other girl. I think he said her name was Nora; at least I’ll be right about one girl’s name. I looked down at my phone after I saw it had lit up, but not before teasing Luke about thinking Nora was fit.

C: what are you up to in a bit. wanna come over.

K: I haven’t gotten anything going on. Miss me Cal? xx

C: see you in 30 minutes.

I put my phone in my back pocket, not caring about her reply. Even if my response was lacking for what she expected, I couldn’t care. I knew she would show up. They always do. Most of them thought that if they fucked me enough, they could “fix me” and I would become a perfect boyfriend to meet their every need and please them night and day.

Luke interrupted my thought process by walking beside me. I let him know that a girl would be coming over to the house for a bit and he just rolled his eyes. The boys had to have been used to it by now. They never told me to stop bringing girls over, so I took that as an invitation to have as many different girls over as I wanted. It’s not like the girls were anything special to the boys; they never got the chance to know them. I had them in and out of the house quick, not even letting them stay for breakfast. Some girls didn’t even get to stay the night. Like I said, most of the time I just can’t be bothered with it all.

When we got into the cab, I checked my phone. Kiana had texted me back.

K: I will baby xx See you soon.

I rolled my eyes and put down my phone. Her personality was quite shit, but she sure did know how to please a man in bed. She offered just what I was in the mood for, so I would just have to deal with her clingy attitude.

When we got to the house, I saw her getting out of a cab across the street. I waited for her just inside the door, after the other boys had gone up to bed. I led her to my room, not even acknowledging her presence. When I closed the door to my bedroom, I immediately started taking my clothes off. She tried to make small talk with me, but I ignored her, helping her take her bra and underwear off. She kept talking but I told her to shut up or she would leave. For the next 30 minutes, I heard nothing but her gasping for air and whispering my name.

Once we were done, I told Kiana she knew her way out. By the way I treated her and the look on her face, I don’t know if she would ever want to come back. I didn’t care. All that matters is that I got what I wanted. Now I could get a good night’s sleep, but not before thinking about what girl I wanted next in my bed.