Chapter 6

Sorry this took a while to upload, I've been on vacation, summer time, ya know?

Sunday, 12:22 PM

My eyes flutter open to an increasingly bright room. Immediately I shut my eyes tightly, last night's alcohol groaning, my head thumping against the pillow beneath it. Naturally, my hand slides up to cup my forehead as feel the not-so-wonderful symptoms of a hangover. My mouth is dry; my legs sore as I heave myself out of bed. The mouth-watering aromas of bacon wafting up the stairs as I descend them. In the kitchen stands Liam before the stove, flipping separate pieces of bacon singing a soft tune to himself. Plaid pajamas hang from his hips; a fitted grey shirt hugs his abdomen. His hair is a ruffled mop upon his head, but it couldn't be any more perfect. I pull myself up to the bar with a stool, resting my head in my hands, eyes closed slightly.

Liam turns around, spatula in hand. "I don't think Miss Summerfield had fun last night," He says with a wink, then fills up a large glass of water and hands it to me. I take it gratefully, drinking half. Already, I feel significantly better, being replenished with water again.

"Thanks," I say, returning a smile that is hard to attempt in my condition.

"Hangovers suck from what I hear," Liam sympathizes, and then turns back to the pan. The bacon sizzles and spits from the stove, and inside the oven I can see a plate of fried eggs and toast being kept warm; my mouth waters.

A thought occurs to me. I hadn't seen Liam touch a single drop of alcohol all last night; I noticed he had settled for Pepsi, or even water. I had just never taken the liberty to ask until now. "How come you weren't drinking last night, Liam?"

His content facial expression turns into a soft smile from what I can see from the side. "Since I was a kid I've had kidney problems, and until recently, I thought that one of my kidneys was dead, but apparently it's not anymore. So I never drank alcohol, never even wanted too." He sets the bacon onto a plate with paper towel on it, "…and now that I can drink, I don't really feel the wanting too."

I nod with understanding. "I guess if you never have, it might be pointless to start." I observe. He sets a plate of the wonderful looking (and smelling) food in front of me and then stops to whip out his phone from his pocket. He quickly responds to a text message, as it seems then looks up to me. I start eating the food in front of me, gratefully.

"Harry just texted we wanting to go bowling then grab some dinner, are you up for it?"

When Harry's name rolls off his tongue, a memory explodes into my mind; kissing, bodies close together, the feel of his breath upon my neck, his muscular body pressing further into my own; if that was merely possible. But it seemed after that kiss; everything after that seemed a blur, mostly forgotten except for the ride home in which I occasionally woke up, and then soon drifted back into a drunken sleep.

"Addy?" Liam's eyes worried as he takes a step closer to me. "…are you okay?"

I mentally shake my head of the memory, I can feel my cheeks flushing a deep red. "No- er, I mean yeah, I'm fine. Sounds great!"

Liam's lips form into a crescent shape that sends shivers down my spine, his eyes slightly close more. "Brilliant, we can pick him up at 2."

I've finished my breakfast-or really, lunch and get up to put my dishes in the dishwasher.

"I'll go get ready, then."

I've had writers block for school assignments many times. But having a problem for picking out outfits, what was this, some kind of outfit planning block? I sift through my closet, searching for the best thing to wear for bowling. I finally settle on a pair of dark jeans and a loosely fitted black sweater that hangs over my shoulder. I smooth my brush over my slightly wavy hair after I've hoped out from the cold shower that has seemed to merely help the symptoms of my hangover. I then decide to keep my make-up natural looking, with brown eyeliner, light foundation, a few lingering sweeps of mascara and a rosy blush. Once I'm content with how I look when I find myself spacing out in the mirror, I realize that perhaps drinking the amount I did last night was not the best idea…

I grab my brown leather bag and head down stairs, meeting him to the base of the case. His smile is large, why is he so happy to see the after affects of alcohol on me? Is he mocking me because he steered clear of the stuff, and he feels perfectly fine?

"Feeling any better?" He asks softly, pulling a hoody over his body. He reaches for a set of keys hung neatly upon the wall amongst an array of others.

"Slightly," I respond heavily, "hopefully I will feel better once we start bowling, I'm going to whoop your ass." I put my jacket on.

Liam's head falls back with a chuckle, his eye's shining brightly. "My ass? I'd be worrying about yours! I'm wicked with a bowling ball, Addy!"

We both smile at each other, his warmth, bright vibes seem to seep into me and instantly make me into a better mood. His chocolate brown eyes still vibrantly sparkle, and I still don't know how I could have kissed Harry with the fire that I did. He opens his mouth to speak, but his mother's voice booms through the hallway, and our connection is immediately torn. Not that the relentless interruptions hadn't already gotten to me, but this time it seemed as if it really had been with purpose.

"Where are you two going?" She asks from the living room, the couch in which we had fallen asleep in each other's arms. My cheeks flush from the memories that took a soft spot to me.

"Bowling." Liam says quickly, take's my wrist in his hand and sweeps me out the door, which of course I follow without a second thought. The feel of his warm hands around my wrist, if only he had taken my hand.

The door closes with a quick slam, and I can't help but laugh softly to myself. Liam lets go of my wrist with hesitation. "What?" Liam asks with a cheeky laugh, stopping short beside his sliver car.

"You seem aggravated."

"And that's funny?" He throws back, but not in defense, but more with a soft playfulness that I can't strip from my mind.

"Well…just the way you disappeared from the house in conversation with your Mum just seemed odd." I say, hoping not to say anything that could be tender to him.

Liam heaves a sigh, and leans against the car. "She's just been a nuisance lately, she keeps interrupting things she really shouldn't."

"Like what?"

He flashes a smirk, and hops into the car. I take the passenger seat, waiting for his answer. He sits there, and then oddly glances at me with a raised brow. "What?"

"You never answered me, Payne." I say in a more serious tone, but my humor is still behind it.

Something flashes in his eyes, but only for a mere second, that after another second I give it another thought as to if I really saw it. He purses his lips, "Do you think they should make a Toy Story 4?" He manages to say with such a serious tone that I can't believe.

My jaw clenches, but I shake my head with a chuckle. "You are a piece of work, man."

Starting the car, he looks my way with bewilderment striking his eyes. "Man? If you want a piece of work, get to know Harry."

Did he know?

Why was I even worrying so bad even if he did know, sure, he was incredibly cute, the sweetest guy I've ever known… I don't even know him that well, yet I care so much about his opinion of me.

Once we've reached the bowling alley, and the only reason I could notice was the large luminescent neon-bowling pin behind the window. It seemed like a dive, really. But to me, this proved how the fame hadn't gotten to them and how they didn't demand a 5 star alley. My family back home wasn't rich, we weren't well off but we managed. This alley reminded me of what you might find in my hometown. We both leave the car, and walk together to the door. He holds it open with a sweet smile, a chivalrous act that I'm not used to. These damn British boys are starting to take their toll on me…

Harry's there, he has a lane set up for us, our names showing up in electric blue font.

LIAM

HAZ

ADDY

LOU

Lou? Louis? Since when was he showing up? Not that I minded. He was hilarious and brought the mood of the room to a new level.

"Louis? He was coming? Where is the brute?" Liam asks as he peels off his jacket.

"Oh, right. Yeah when I told him he got all pissy he wasn't going so he invited himself." Harry says casually, typing buttons into the small computer at our lane.

"That's fine," I say looking towards the both of them. "Louis will make it more fun, anyways!"

"Or rather get us in deep shit by doing something rash, which Harry always manages to get pulled into for some reason." Liam says with a quick laugh, his smile yet again exceeding just his lips.

"I don't get 'pulled in' I choose to join, you arse." Harry laughs, and then gets up to his feet. "Anyways, we have to get out shoes for bowling. Those ugly shoes Louis will forever complain about."

Once we've gotten our shoes, that's are when Louis finally showed up. His eyes fall to our retro bowling shoes; some have been colored in bright neon colors while just Liam's keep a subtle dark green. "If you think for one second that my feet are going to be wearing those hideous ogre shoes, you mates, are greatly mistaken." Louis tone is sassy, heated but holds humor behind it. His eyes are hard as he looks at our shoes, while his gray toms seem to sing a song of 'anything you can do I can do better'.

"Alright." Harry mutters. "But when you get confronted about your girly shoes, and not wearing the bowling shoes you owe me 50 bucks."

Louis jumps down into wooden lane, seemly out of place within this dingy place. Neon lights fly across the room, making his features seem even more prominent. He flashes a cheeky smile, and picks up a ball. "Deal, but If I win you owe me a hundred. I need me some new 'girly shoes'."

We all laugh, and begin to bowl one after another.

Half way through the game, I already have 60 points, while Liam is unfortunately trailing behind, Harry is just a few points behind Louis who is three behind me. He grumbles every time I achieve a strike, which in turn gives me more points to slide me further in front of him. He hated me winning over him, which I found humorous.

"Adeline, you do know that I will in turn beat your Canadian ass?" Louis sneers with a playful grin as I walk away from the strike that I had just displayed.

We all laugh, my laugh the loudest.

"Louis be nice to the Canadian, you don't need to be sad she didn't bring you any maple syrup." Liam grins, mostly towards me. I didn't know he was one to make jokes like that, but really, those were the best kind of jokes. It's not like I hadn't heard them before from my American cousins. So then, I could bug them about the body weight of their population. Haha...

"I prefer poutine, anyways." Louis throws back.

"To bad it's the best where it was originated!" I laugh, and suddenly my stomach growls at the thought.

"Blimey, is Addy hungry?" Harry asks me; his charming smile, and those lips forming into a crescent yet playful smile. "We should get some pizza, I hope at least its better then how they maintain the place here."

Liam nods, and pulls some cash from his pocket and hands it to Harry. "Go get some pizza, and get me a coke, Haz."

He nods, then looks to Louis. Louis shrugs, "Give me the usual."

The curly haired one looks to me, a soft look in his bright eyes. "Want to help me grab the pizza and soda, Add?"

Add. I know; a girl shouldn't be taking that so seriously. But why am I feeling this way? It's not the same feeling with Liam, there's more of not-so-subtle fire that I feel with Harry, but with Liam... it's totally different. The way he looks at me is different, the warm feeling that wasn't fire yet an ecstatic feeling. "Sure." I smile.

We leave Liam and Louis and find our way to the restaurant near the door of the building. We order a large pepperoni pizza, Liam's coke, Louis orange soda, Harry's root beer and my sprite we wait at the bar for it to be ready, the approximate time was 10 minutes. Harry turns too me with this cheeky smile that makes me wonder what was up. His dimples form into the sides of his crescent lips, that winning smile any girl would swoon for.

"So, Adeline," His tone is cheeky, breath taking even. "does Liam know?"

I know exactly what he was talking about. The kiss, that breath taking, heated kiss that I wasn't sure if I regretted or liked. I stop myself, because if he sees me flushing yet again for the second time today, he might know how I felt about that kiss. So I play it dumb, kind of. How could I approach this?

"What does Liam know?" I furrow my eyebrows, pretending I had no idea what he was drowning on about.

Harry's eyes have a sudden irritation. "You mean, you don't remember what happened at the party?"

I honestly to feel bad, I've always hated lying; but this was for the better. I mean, what would happen if I said yes? He'd throw his irresistible charm on me, and let me tell you I wouldn't be able to resist. I need to get my priorities straight.

"Don't play games with me, Addy," Harry winks, his arm rests on the bar, closing in towards her. "even I didn't have to much alcohol to forget. See, I'm good with this kind of stuff, and I think you are too."

My jaw gapes open, I'm about to say something- but he interjects.

"-admit it, Adeline. You're attracted to me."

NIALL 12:00PM the hotel room.

Zayn's pale face watches me as he tries to explain that he doesn't need me to take him here, but he looks literally like shit. And that's a real low for Zayn. This morning he was projectile vomiting; I never realized a hangover could get that bad. Everyone had left the hotel room, which left me in his care. I hadn't even begun to call room service when I heard him wailing. Only a few times had I ever really took care of someone, and it always had been my Mum back in Mullingar when she had the flu. I had been 9 at the time and thought it was the best thing that had happened, because I got to make her soup; though I always did end up eating half of it before I gave it to her. But this, this fragile state my mate was in, I couldn't even bear to see it. His body was cupped over the loo, hands holding both sides. His eyes held pain; they almost seemed to sag. I crouch down next to the fellow, the vile smell of vomit seeping into my nose. I force back a gag, and rub his back.

"Niall, what's wrong with me, I've never had a hangover this bad before. I literally feel like shit." Zayn mutters under his breath, his head down.

"Well…" I begin, searching for the right words. "How much did you have to drink at the party last night?"

He doesn't look up at me; I think the shame wasn't allowing him. "More than usual…"

I've never seen anyone with alcohol poisoning but I've heard of it. And It's not good. "Man, we have to get you to the hospital."

This time he looks at me, his eyes for the first time holding fear. "No…no… If this leaks out into the press, I can't… I can't even."

I draw in a short breath, then release. "Do It for Ange, she'd want you too. Now c'mon, get off your butt."

Zayn emits such a look, that I'm afraid he'd try to nock my lights out, because even in this condition I'm sure he still could. I help him up, and quickly, yet carefully aid him to a taxi.

12:30

Traffic was an absolute ruckus, and Zayn sitting beside me with dark sunglasses in attempt to hide the paleness from his face, how lifeless he seemed, was pretty upsetting. I was never good with ill people. Once we reach the hospital I'm glad there isn't any paps to capture this moment. Because for one, Zayn would go ballistic. He stays quiet and I'm glad.

The hospital's smell is overwhelmed with a sick, damp musky smell that I just can't seem to shake off. I don't know how people can possibly work here; I'd rip my hair out. Zayn is immediately assessed, then after that taken to the ICU. It seems they've already pin pointed his sickness, and I was right- alcohol poisoning. The nurses hook him up to all the machines that I honestly don't know are, but I just sit on the chair across from his bed, and observe his facial expressions. They way his eyes squeeze slightly shut when the nurse slips the IV into his forearm. My stomach queues, having not eaten and the amount I normally eat; I have to leave the room. I head straight for the café, which in my luck is just a few hallways away.

It seems they've got quite a thing going on here, because I'm impressed my the menu. I just can't decide though, so I stick with the classic chicken strips & fries. I may feel like a kid, but it quenches the cravings.

I sit by myself and dig in; but that's when I saw her.

Her dark hair done up neatly in a bun at the back of her head, the smooth curve of her lip; the arch of her brow, her beautiful clear iridescent skin. Her eye catches me, and she's laughing softly to herself. I stop; only t realizes I've dropped my chicken, smearing sauce all over my face. I can just feel my cheeks turning color; my stomach flips.

Great Niall, you just made a fool out of yourself. I'm such an arse.

She then gives another smile. Only she could make scrubs look so good.

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