Chapter 4 ~ Liam

Ugh, I knew it. I knew I wasn’t ready for this. I just made a fool of myself; I shouldn’t have been so bold at asking her like that, it’s obvious she doesn’t have the same interest. I’m just an idiot. I should’ve kept my mouth shut instead of embarrassing myself like I did in that phone call.

I groan like when Harry hits me in the balls, even though no one has inflicted physical pain on me. I just can’t believe I did that. Yet she was very nice about it. She could have laughed at me, or just plain reject me after I told her what I really meant, but she didn’t. And after all, I’m going to see her anyways.

Darcy.

That name suits her perfectly. I just can’t picture her with any other name now.

But I have a problem to fix, and for that I need to talk to the lads. Zayn is probably going to be happy for me, and Louis is going to make fun of me for being rejected like that. It’s the first time I ask a girl out, and it just so happens that I end up involving all my friends in this, plus her little sister. Not as I planned.

Oh, I will never hear the end of this.

With my phone still in my hand I text Zayn to let him know she has called me, and that no one else has my number. That was what worried him. Soon enough, he’s calling me.

“How did it go, bro? I thought she wasn’t gonna call,” is the first thing he says.

“Not as I expected,” I reply, taking a seat on my sofa. Brit is sleeping there and when I sit, she wakes up and looks for me to pet her immediately. I swear, she’s like a cat sometimes, always looking for pettings. Her tail starts to whip as I stroke her behind the ears. “I asked her out,” I blurt out and I hear Zayn gasp.

“Well done, mate! It was about time for you to ask someone out. When are you going out?” He asks and I shut my eyes, embarrassment making a mess of me.

“That’s the thing. She didn’t get it at the beginning, she thought I meant her and her sister,” I tell him pressing the bridge of my nose.

“Ouch, I’m sorry, mate. What did you do about it?”

“See, that’s why I need you all. I told her we’d love to hang out with them. I told her you all were excited to see Lizzie again,” I confess and Zayn remains in silence for a couple of seconds.

“Who’s Lizzie?” He finally asks and I roll my eyes.

“Lizzie is the little girl who was with Darcy that day, her little sister. And now I have to call her, telling her when we all have time to hang out with them,” I explain and sigh deeply. Why am I doing all this?

Brit feels my discomfort and she rises up to lick my face, her tail waving frantically and her worried eyes on me. She’s so clever. I pat her head to tell her that everything is fine, but she whines and I know she can feel I’m worked up.

“You really fancy her, don’t you? That you’re going to do all this says a lot already,” he points out and I sigh again. Brit is licking my face and demanding for more attention.

“I guess. I’m still not sure why I’m doing this. I never understood why I gave her my number to start with. It was probably all a mistake. What am I doing, Zayn?” I ask, because I start to get really confused. I don’t know what pushed me to write down my number that day, nor to ask her out the first time we talked on the phone.

“I think you’re trying, it’s time to finally move on, and if this doesn’t work, you tried,” he tells me, and I sigh. “It’s good to feel like a normal guy again.”

He’s right about that. I feel like a normal guy again, packed with insecurities and confused about it. Since I broke up with Danielle and we started our separate lives again, I’ve gone out with some girls. Nothing serious, girls I meet in parties, but it’s never more than that. Having fun for one night. I never called them again nor  did I promise them so. Therefore, I never felt insecure in those situations, but with Darcy it feels different already.

“You think the lads will want to help me out here?” I inquire, and wait ‘till Zayn has an answer.

“I’m sure Harry will love to, and he’ll help you to get Louis in your side. Niall won’t be a problem,” he says and I nod though he can’t see me. Brit is on my lap, still demanding my attention.

“Thanks, Zayn. I’ll talk to Harry.”

“Good luck, mate. See ya soon.” We hang up and I focus on Brit, who is practically smiling because she knows she has all my attention now. I smile back and pat her on the top of her head and she gets all excited. I see she wants to play now. I guess I can call Harry later.

* * *

I’m really nervous as I listen the tone that signs I’m calling her. What if she doesn’t want to see us or she decides it is not good for Lizzie. What if I make a fool of myself again? I can’t stop, I walk from one side to another in my living room and Brit follows me, clearly confused because I can’t sit and calm down.

Zayn was right, Harry agreed immediately and Louis also was thrilled with the idea of seeing Lizzie again. Niall agreed, too, when I asked him. Now I just have to talk to Darcy to tell her when we can all meet her and her little sister. In my mind I’ve made up oh-so-many different scenarios, and in all of them she rejects me, this time without even caring about it. Some part of me tells me she would never do that, but then my mind reminds me that I don’t know her, she can be anything.

“Liam?” She answers, and her sweet voice makes me smile. “Hi, how are you?” Darcy asks sweetly. A girl who speaks like that would never be cruel, right?

“I’m good. And you?” I ask, finally taking a seat with a silly smile on my face. For some reason, talking to her puts me in a good mood and I can totally see her smile as we talk. Caring and kind, like that day in the music shop

“Great. Helping Lizzie with her homework, though now she is looking at me instead of working. Lizzie, go back to math, now,” she scolds softly, and my smile grows wider because I can picture that scene perfectly. “So, how’s it going? Everything okay?” She asks and I can feel her honesty, like she really cares about the answer I might give her.

Is it weird that I feel like she really cares about us as normal guys, although I don’t really know her?

“Yes, everything is going great. A lot of work, but it’s what I love to do, you know?” I say, still smiling. Brit is on my lap now, demanding attention again. I swear, she has this cat complex or maybe is Harry that has got her used to get pets all the time and jumping on people’s laps.

“That’s brilliant. But don’t push you beyond your own limits, okay? Your fans sure don’t want you to pass out in the middle of the stage.” And again, she sounds so sincere and almost like she has been with us all this time, taking care of us.

“Will do. Well, I was calling for a different purpose,” I change the topic and wait a few seconds before carrying on. “I talked to the guys and they are really eager to see Lizzie again. We can meet you all this Saturday and in order to avoid any incident with fans, you and Lizzie can come to my place.”

“Sounds great,” she says and I smile, proud of myself. It’s not the big deal but she agreed immediately and I feel I did well. Taking her and Lizzie somewhere else would be too soon and we’re just meeting her. It wouldn’t be fair to expose her to the fans and media yet when maybe she won’t want to see us, or see me again.

Maybe later I can take her somewhere else, if she accepts to go out only with me. And if we have to go with Lizzie again, which wouldn’t be a major problem, we can go somewhere else, like an amusement park or an aquarium. The possibilities are many.

“I’ll need your address so I can drive there. Lizzie is really excited. She asked me all the time if you had called back,” Darcy confesses and I chuckle softly. I’ve forgotten about Brit and she notices that because she whines and barks to have my attention back. “Is that a dog?” She asks, and I sigh.

“Yes, I have a dog. Her name is Brit,” I reply, and I heard someone squealing in the background. I’m sure it wasn’t Darcy.

“Lizzie loves you even more now. She is crazy about dogs,” she says giggling.

“I’m sure Brit will love all the attention. Anyways, I’ll send you the address by text. See you on Saturday?”

“I’ll see you there. And Liam?” she says, more seriously this time.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. I really appreciate what you’re doing for my sister. It means the world to her and to me as well,” she tells me and a part of me gets disappointed. I’m not sure what I was expecting, though.

I want to tell her that I’m doing this for her, because I want to know her better, but instead I keep that for myself and say; “No problem. And tell Lizzie that Brit is dying to meet her, but bear this in mind, she’s an endless source of energy. There’s no way you can’t stop her once you start playing.”

Darcy laughs and I can’t help myself from finding that really cute. “That’s brilliant. It will help to get Lizzie tired and she’ll fall asleep faster at night. See you soon, Liam.”

“See you soon, Darcy,” I reply, liking the way her name sounds in my lips.

We hang up and when I put my phone back in my pocket, I still have a smile on my face, but I start getting nervous. It’s Thursday, which means I’ll see her in two days and I realise I haven’t felt this nervous in a long time.

It’s not even a date, I remind myself, but that doesn’t help to calm my nerves down. I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to have some time alone with her. Maybe I should talk to Harry so he can keep Lizzie entertained and I can talk to Darcy

By when Saturday comes, I’m a total mess. It’s pitiful, Louis is right about that, but I can’t help it, and I literally jump when I hear the bell ringing. They are here.

Darcy is here.

-:-:-:-

I know many of you don't understand Darcy, but you must know this: She doesn't really know Liam, he can't be first than Lizzie in her life. She needs to know him better first, she doesn't make exceptions because he's Liam Payne. Plus, the confict of this story is how slefless Darcy is, how she always puts everyone else first. She has to lear to think of herself for a chage and worry not, Liam will teach her that.

Dedication goes to @gabyhdez1d because I loved her bilingual comment.

Bel, xx