Later that afternoon, while Zayn is taking a nap and the other boys in the back room playing video games, Louis whispers in your ear.

“I was thinking,” he says, “since you’re going to be staying with us for a while, you’re going to need some more clothes.  I can take you shopping if you want.”

“Oh, Louis, I’d love that, but … I can’t let you buy me a whole new wardrobe,” you say.

“Aw, come on.  I’ve got loads to spend,” he says, chuckling.

“But what about the others?” you ask.

“We’ll sneak out of here and come back before they even notice.  They’ll never know.”

“Well, okay,” you say, smiling.

“Okay, let’s go.” 

You walk down the sidewalk with Louis in his sunglasses so it would be harder for people to recognize him.  Soon Louis stops.

“Here it is,” he says.

“What?  This place is like … for celebrities!”

“I am a celebrity, aren’t I?” Louis chuckles. 

Inside, you gasp at the marble flooring, the chandeliers and the red velvet lining the walls.

“See anything you like?” Louis asks.

The next moment you’re running over to a section in the store filled with the best looking outfits you’ve ever seen.

“Ooh, I like that one!” Louis says, pointing at one you were looking at.  “That would look great on you!”

You continue to walk around the section with Louis wandering behind.  You decide to pick out only a few, so you don’t make Louis pay any more than he has to.  You find a really cute outfit and look at its price tag.  You’re expecting it to maybe be only about twenty dollars, but your jaw drops when you realize it’s way over a hundred dollars! 

“How about these?” Louis asks.

You turn around and examine the two outfits he’s holding up by their hangers. 

“I like them!” you say. 

You look at the price tags and they’re even more expensive than the one you were looking at.

“Okay, I’ll get these two, and then did you want that one?” he asks, pointing to the one he noticed you eyeing.

“Yes, but—Louis … these are way too expensive!  These will cost you almost two thousand dollars!”

“Ah, that’s not much.  Besides, I’m happy to do it for you!  Anything else you want?”

“No, this is enou…” your voice trails off when you see this gorgeous pair of shoes.

Louis notices you looking at them and grabs them. 

“Thanks Louis,” you say.

Unexpectedly, without any warning, Louis gives you a little kiss on the cheek.

“No problem,” he says, smiling.

You giggle to yourself as you follow him to the checkout counter.

Back at the bus, you and Louis enter quietly.  You both hope they didn’t notice you gone. 

“There you guys are!” Liam says.

Louis gives you an “oh no” look.

“Where have you been?” Harry asks with concern on his face.

“We didn’t know what happened to you!” Niall says.

“Yeah, where’d you guys disappear to?” Zayn adds.

“I took (Your Name) shopping,” Louis says.  “I figured she’d need some new clothes since she’ll be staying with us now.”

“You should have told us where you were going,” Liam says.

“Sorry,” Louis says, “you guys were so busy we figured we wouldn’t bother you.”

“Aw, it’s okay.” Niall says. 

“Yeah, just make sure you tell us next time,” Liam says.

“Yeah!” Harry says. 

You see Zayn roll his eyes. 

That night, when the other boys were in the bathroom, bedroom, and main room getting ready for bed.  You are already in the brand new pajamas Louis got you, and are just sitting in bed reading a book Harry is letting you borrow.  You hear Niall beginning to play his guitar in the back room.  You smile and decide to join him, setting down your book.  You carefully get out of the bunk, making sure not to make any noise or else the boys might wonder what you’re up to.  You push aside the curtain that separates the back room from the bedroom.  Niall immediately stops playing.

“Hi Niall,” you say.

“Hi,” he answers you.

You sit next to him on his left side and admire his guitar.

“That’s a nice guitar,” you say.  

“Thanks.  I bought it back in Ireland,” he says.

“Oh wow, why Ireland?” you ask.

“Well, I live there,” he explains.

“You’re Irish?” you ask, surprised.

“Yeah, can’t you tell by my accent?”

“Oh, I just thought you were British, like the rest of them,” you say.

“Yeah, that’s what most people think,” Niall says sadly.

There’s a slight awkward pause.

“Uh, Niall?”

“Yeah?”   

“Remember when you said you could teach me guitar?” you ask.

“Yeah!  Do you want me to teach you?”

“A little,” you say.

“Okay, so it’s actually not that hard once you get the hang of it,” he begins, scooting closer to you.  “First of all, there’s notes you need to know.”

Niall says the name of every note as he plays them.

“That’s the easy part, but then there’s chords,” he explains.

He goes through some of the most basic chords.

“Here, do you want to try?” he asks.

“Oh, are you sure it’s okay?  I’ve never touched a guitar in my life,” you warn him.

“I’m sure,” he says, carefully handing you the instrument.

You take it with care.  Niall shows you the correct way to hold it.  Then Niall reaches his arm around your back and grabs the guitar’s neck, sitting very close to you now.

“Try a C chord,” Niall suggests. 

He places your fingers on the right strings and shows you what strings to strum.  You let your fingers glide effortlessly across the strings, creating a sound really beautiful.  When Niall didn’t say anything, you look at him as if you did something wrong.

“That was … perfect …” Niall says.  “Good job.  Here, let me show you another…”

Suddenly your eyes meet, inches apart.  You stare into his bright blue eyes as he stares into yours.  You and Niall start leaning toward each other.  You both begin to close your eyes and…

“Whoa, hey guys!” Zayn says, abruptly coming in.

Niall jerks away from you and hops a few feet away.

“Hi Zayn,” you say, not knowing any better ideas to cover up the awkward situation, though Zayn looked as if he had no idea what almost happened. 

Then you realize you’re still holding Niall’s guitar.  You hand it back to him, and he takes it calmly without smiling as Zayn plops onto the couch between you.

“Anyone up for some video games before bed?” Zayn asks hopefully.

“Naw,” Niall yawns.  “I’m gonna go to bed.”

Niall gets up and takes his guitar to bed with him.

“Yeah…me too,” you fake a yawn.  “I’m getting tired.  Good night, Zayn.”

You get up and go into the bedroom, leaving Zayn staring after you.  As you get into bed you glance at Niall to see if he is looking at you, but frown when you see him lying down, facing the wall.  You heard Harry snoring softly, which was a good sign.  You pulled the blanket over you and closed your eyes.  All you can think about was what happened with Harry today.  You keep remembering his kind, desperate eyes, the look on his face when Liam punched him, right before he became unconscious, and his gaze on you when he woke up.