The next morning, you’re the first one awake.  Or so you think.  You get out of bed and walk out into the main room.  You stretch and yawn.  Glancing at the couch, you jump when you see Zayn staring at you, smiling.  You give him a slight smile but then look at the ground right away before going to sit at the table.

Suddenly Harry and Louis walk out of the bedroom, already dressed.  They must have been in the back room so I didn’t see them, you think to yourself.

“You guys ready to go?” Zayn asks them, standing up.

“Yeah!” Louis says, grabbing his coat.

“Where are you guys going?” you ask them.

“Out for a while,” Harry says, smiling at you.

“Take care of Niall, okay?” Louis says with a smirk.

“Yeah, but I bet Liam could handle that,” Harry says, chuckling.

“Aw, it’s like (Your Name) and Liam are married, and Niall is their child!” Zayn says, glancing at you irritably, but trying to laugh.

The other two boys didn’t find that quite so funny.  The three boys walk to the door.  As Harry walks by, he gives you a wink.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” Louis whispers to you behind Harry.

You smile at him, wondering what he could have in store for you.  As soon as the door closes, Liam comes out, yawning loudly.  He looks at you, but doesn’t say anything.  He sits at the table across from you, avoiding your apologetic gaze.  You sigh and walk over to the counter where you open a cabinet and find some bread.  You take it out and put a slice into the nearby toaster.  You stand there for a few minutes, staring at it.  All of a sudden you can’t take it anymore so you turn around to confront Liam, but realize he’s standing right behind you.

“I’m sorry,” he says.  “I’m sorry I lashed out at you.  I know I shouldn’t have.  I just hate to see you with someone else other than me…I felt like Zayn was this terrible person at the time, but now I realize I was the real terrible one.”

“It’s okay,” you say.  “I shouldn’t have kissed him.  But…Liam?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think we should do anything else…at least for right now.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Liam lies. “I just…don’t want to see you with anyone else…”

“Hey (Your Name)!  How’s it going?” Niall asks, suddenly popping up between you.

You glance at Liam and can tell there’s frustration in his eyes.

“So…I needed to tell you something…” Niall whispers in your ear. 

You flinch when you hear Liam explode.  

“Get away from her!” he shouts, spinning Niall around. “Just get away!”

Suddenly Liam punches Niall, sending him flying onto the couch.  Liam gasps.

“Niall…I’m sorry, I…” he stammers.

Niall puts a hand to his face.  He slowly stands up, using the couch for support.  He walks slowly toward Liam, his hand over his eye.  Niall makes a fist and swings it across Liam’s face.  Liam stumbles backward a few feet, running into the counter.  Niall looks over him angrily.  Liam grabs Niall’s shoulders and easily pushes him backward, back onto the couch.  Liam holds him down and raises his hand.  You leap at Liam’s hand, trying to catch it before it fell, but he has already smacked him—hard.

“No!” you scream. “Stop it!” 

You grab Liam and pull him off of Niall, who is lying on the couch, dazed.

“Don’t hurt him!” you scream in Liam’s face, tears coming to your eyes.

You rush over to Niall.

“Niall!” you yell.  “Are you okay?”

Niall opens his eyes and painfully gazes onto your face.  

“Niall…” you say, placing your hand on his cheek.

Niall smiles weakly and puts his hand on yours.

Liam groans, runs out the door, and slams it behind him.  Niall slowly sits up.

“Are you okay?” you ask again.

“Yeah…I’m fine,” he says.

“I can’t believe I went on a date with that jerk!” you suddenly blurt out.

“What?” Niall asks.

“Nothing!” you say, regretting what you said.

“Oh, okay,” Niall says.  “Now…before Liam comes back…I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” you ask.

“I like you.  I like you a lot.  I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Your eyes grow wide.

“Niall…” you say.

Niall slowly leans over and kisses you lightly on the cheek.

“But I understand if you can’t right now,” he whispers.

You smile and hug him tight.

“I wish I could, Niall.  But right now, things are starting to get really confusing.”

“I understand,” Niall says, just like he said he would.

“Thanks, Niall.” 

Later that afternoon, when Louis comes back, he hastily runs to you.

“I’ve gotta show you something!” he says.

He takes your hand and brings you down the road a little way, then suddenly merges onto a narrow dirt path into some sparse trees.  You walk for a few minutes until you come to a hill.

“Okay, close your eyes,” Louis says.

You giggle and close them.  Louis steps behind you, places his hands on your shoulders, and begins leading you up the hill.

“We’re almost there…” he says.  “Almost there and…open your eyes!”

You open them and lay your eyes on the most beautiful sight in the world.  You’re standing on top of the steep hill overlooking a vast meadow as far as you can see, speckled with wildflower patches.  On the hill to your right, lies a small pond with cattails and water lilies.  You stand there, taking it all in.

“What do you think?” Louis says suddenly.

“Oh Louis, it’s…beautiful…” you say.

Louis smiles, walks to the pond and sits near it, facing the meadow. 

“Come sit,” he suggests.

You smile and sit down very close to him, hoping he won’t mind.  You’re assured when he actually scoots closer to you, putting his arm around you.

“I wanted to show you this place since I found it a few days ago,” he explains. 

You giggle.  “Why did you wait so long to show me?”

“Well…I wasn’t sure if…you’d like me—I mean it!  The meadow!  I didn’t know if you’d like the meadow!”

“Oh, I see…” you say, trying not to laugh.

“So…” Louis says, scooting even closer.  “How do you feel about…me?”

You look at him, surprised at his bravery.

“You’re wonderful, Louis,” you say, looking into his eyes.

“Ahh…” Louis sighs, closing his eyes and facing the sky.

Then suddenly he gives you a quick peck on the cheek.

You shriek with delight.

“Louis, stop it!” you giggle.

“Never!” he chuckles, giving you another.

You quickly stand up and run away a few yards before looking behind you to realize Louis had already gotten up and started chasing you.  You gasp and begin running down the hill with Louis close behind.  As soon as you’re down the hill, you begin running in fast little zigzags, attempting to make Louis trip, but to no prevail.  You hear his footsteps getting closer and closer, wondering what he’ll do once he catches you.  You let out a little yelp when you feel Louis grab your right arm.  You try to pull free, but this just causes you to trip, pulling him down with you.  You both roll over in the grass, finally coming to a stop, lying side-by-side.  Both out of breath, you smile at the sky, and then at Louis, who was already looking at you.  You gaze into each other’s eyes for a while.  Then Louis slowly starts to get closer, not taking his gaze off you.  He comes over you, holding himself up with his arms positioned at either side of your head.  Still out of breath, he lowers himself onto you, stopping right before your lips meet.  Then, very carefully, he lets the tips of his lips just barely rub yours, raises his head to look at you, then starts to tease you by continuing to let only the tips of his lips touch.  You try to lift your head to make his lips to ram into yours, but he pulls away just in time.  Not being able to take it anymore, you grab the back of his head and pull it down, going into a more passionate kiss that you all of a sudden so desperately wanted.  Louis seems to like the idea as he kisses you deeply.  He suddenly rolls over, pulling you on top of him, not allowing your lips to part with his.  You continue to kiss, only now Louis puts little pauses in there where he glances at you before carrying on.  After several minutes, Louis finally pushes you away, smiling.

“I think I love you,” he says.

Your eyes widen. 

“Oh Louis…” you say, trying to go in for another kiss.

“Ah ah ah,” Louis says, shaking a finger at you.  “Save it,” he winks.

You giggle and get up.  Louis gets up too, and, taking you hand, walks back up the hill with you.

Back at the bus, Louis goes inside to hang with the other boys.  You stay behind because you think you saw Liam sitting on the back of it.  You slowly walk toward him.

“Liam…?” you say.

Liam looks at you.

“Yes?” he asks, not seeming mad at all.

“Are…are you okay?”

“The real question is…is Niall okay?” Liam asks.

You look at him with wide eyes, realizing he was sitting out here since the incident, and the whole time you were with Louis.

“Niall’s fine,” you say.

“You sure?” Liam asks.  “He could be seriously injured…what if something’s broken?  What if he’s just sitting in there in pain because he doesn’t want us to go through the trouble of taking him to a hospital?”

“Liam, relax.  I made sure he was okay, don’t worry.  Besides, I don’t think Niall would be able to hide his pain that easily.”

Liam sighs.

“I’ve never hurt Niall before.  He’s just been a little child to me and I could just never hurt him.  I bet you hate me now, don’t you?” he says, staring at the ground.

You smile and kiss him lightly on the cheek.  He looks at you in bewilderment.

“I don’t hate you, Liam,” you tell him.

“Does this mean…you…like me?”

“Yes, I like you, Liam.”

Liam lets out a sigh of relief and hugs you.

“I’m so glad,” he says, hugging you tighter.  

You hug him back, but only then realize what you’ve done.  Of course you like him, but…Liam thinks you like him that way.  The truth is, you don’t want to be with anyone right now.  All you want is to enjoy the rest of the trip with the boys until you cannot travel with them anymore.  Liam stops hugging you and looks into your eyes.

“I’m going to apologize to Niall,” he declares, standing up and then heading toward the door.

You smile at him as he leaves, but as soon as he’s out of sight you cover your face with your hands, not knowing what you will do now.