Samantha's POV:

When I was at the boys' flat, I just went in the guest room. Miranda was there, a grave expression on her face.

"Um...Samantha?" she asked hesistantly, nervously shifting around.

"Yeah?" I replied absentmindedly, just thinking about what had just happened. Will Niall hats me? And the creeping dread crawled in me as I asked myself this question: will Louis hate me? Because, to be honest, I didn't want Louis to hate me. I don't know why, but I just did. But I thought I liked Niall more... my feelings are so mixed up that I can't think straight!

"Samantha? Samantha!" Miranda waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped out of my dazed expression looked at my best friend blankly. She sighed, exasperated. "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Sorry, no, I didn't," I mumbled guiltily, blushing hard.

"Um... well, remember when we were little we thought of our dream jobs?" she asked, not looking in my eyes.

"Yeah, I wanted to be an author and you wanted to be an actress," I recalled, sitting back on my hands, "but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, um... how do I say it?" She gathered the bravery for whatever she was going to say to me. "I got the actressing job in this movie," she said all in a rush.

"That's amazing!" I exclaimed, hugging her, celebrating with her.

"But you don't understand!" she said, frustrated, grabbing me on the shoulders, shaking me slightly. "I have to go to California."

Suddenly, everything didn't seem so great anymore. I just sat there, dumbfounded, confused. "D-does that mean I'll be alone? Can't I come with you?" My selfish part of me wanted Miranda to stay, so I wouldn't be alone. But this was Miranda's dream. I shouldn't hold her back.

"Y-you can't!" she anxiously said, like she was hiding something from me.

I raised my eyebrow. "Why not?"

"You just can't, alright? Just trust me on this." She seemed so desperate for me to stay, so I just nodded. Her behavior was so strange, like she wanted me to do something... But I'll just leave it at that.

"When are you leaving?" I asked. She glanced at the clock and saw the sad expression on her face. "Now?" I whispered. She nodded. How could I be alone? I had no one, nothing. But I just had to stand up for myself. "Here, I'll go with you to the airport," I offered, and she nodded again. I sighed. The bigger question was: how could I maintain five boys?

* skip drive *

"Goodbye, Miranda!" I called, waving at her. She turned back to me, tears running down her cheeks, and she smiled, "Till next time!" And as she turned away, I started crying because I didn't know when the next time was.

* skip drive *

Dinner held an awkward silence. We just ate, and the occasional joke just faded away into the air. I think everything was awkward because of me. Probably. Without Miranda, there seemed like an empty space that needed filling. And only Miranda could fill that space.

But the worst thing about dinner was that Louis and Niall just kept staring at me, and it was horrible. I felt claustrophobic, and the tension in the air was getting too thick...

I put my plate in the dishwasher and I waved halfheartedly to the boys. "Night," I said, and went into my bedroom. I collapsed on the bed and sighed. Today was a long day, and I was finally getting my rest.

Notes

I hope you like this chapter!
-JJ