-Sarah-

I sat down in the kitchen, taking a sip of the mojito the girls and I had made earlier. Maria and Emily spent too much time getting ready, but I guess you could say I was used to it. I liked getting dressed up and stuff, don’t get me wrong, I just didn’t need as much time as those two. While I waited for the girls to get ready I started listening to the loud music coming from the living room that travelled into the kitchen. Suddenly I found myself starting to sing to the lyrics to ‘Rock Me’. Over the past few days the girls had sometimes put on One Direction-songs and pretended to be the guys while dancing and laughing hysterically. I’d joined in sometimes too, since I actually found some of the songs catchy - and obviously I did not want to miss out a single opportunity to mock the boys that we now had gotten to know. It was fun – in a nice way.

I tampered with the glass I was holding when I sang to Harry’s part:

Do you remember summer '09?
Wanna go back there every night

Just can't lie, was the best time of my life

Lying on the beach as the sun blew out

Playing this guitar by the fire too loud

Oh my, my, they could never shut us down

Nice voice – it’s a shame he’s not that nice in person. To be honest, I’ve gotten over his rudeness at the club when I met him and stuff, but he just seemed so… so much like bad news. He could put on this act to be all charming, funny and polite for all I cared. I know that in the end he would put himself first for his career and popularity. That’s why I’m so glad Emily is listening to me about staying the hell away from him, even though it’s just to mess about. He’s in the media constantly and I really didn’t want my friend to end up as one of Harry Styles’s many girlfriends. She deserved better than that.I took another sip from my glass and made my way to the living room when my favorite part of the song come next and sang out loud:

I used to think that I was better alone

Why did I ever wanna let you go?
Under the moonlight as we stared at the sea

The words you whispered I will always believe

I sat down on the couch and laughed as I heard the girls sing on top of their lungs from the bedroom. They were clearly having fun. Come to think of it, I’ve had so much fun these last two weeks in London. I’d met knew people, partied with my two best friends, done more shopping than I had ever done before in my entire life, I’d met Eleanor that I now felt like I had known forever and enjoyed the warm summery sun nearly every day. Everything was perfect! Maria had met Liam and clearly fallen for him… I suddenly felt a bit bad for her. Poor thing. She must have thought about what’s going to happen when it’s time for us to go home at the end of summer. Long distance relationships are difficult enough as they are – imagine having to add Liam’s fame and him having to travel around the world every year too. I hope they’ll last. She’s so happy with him. I have never seen her like this. Even the boys’ fans had started to like her, sending her supporting tweets and making this ridicules nickname for their relationship – ‘Liaria’ blending their names together. I guess we’d just have to wait and see what happens. That’s what love’s all about, isn’t it? The uncertainty and excitement of it? I don’t know. I don’t really know that much about that stuff. I was never one of those girls who had loads of boyfriends growing up. I liked to have fun, mess around and hang out with boys. I didn’t need all that commitment stuff, at least until I’m older.

I looked up from my drink and turned around as Maria appeared in the living room. “All done! What do you think? Is this too much white?” she said taking a twirl in the middle of the floor.

“No, you look hot” I told her giving her an approving smile.

It didn’t look like she was too sure herself. “You sure? It’s not too much? There will be pictures taken outside the club and I don’t want anyone to comment on my outfit…” She was right, the paparazzi would defiantly be there tonight, seeing as we were headed to Liam’s favorite club – Funky Buddha.

“Yes, Maria. You look stunning! Don’t worry about that,” I continued while getting up from my seat. I tried not to stumble over in my ridiculously high heels. I had decided to wear a simple pair of mini-shorts and a top. I had curled my hair too so that I looked all summery and all that. I was actually quite impressed of how I managed to curl it all by myself. My hair was getting really long.

Emily soon joined us, her heels clicking against the wooden floors. She was wearing a dress that looked like it came off the red carpet, but she'd toned the outfit down with straight hair and natural make-up. “Right! I’m done! Shall we?” she asked motioning for the door.

“Yeah, probably a good idea. Liam just texted me and asked where we were,” Maria said with a smile on her face. It wasn’t hard to tell that she was excited to go out with the boys again. After that awkward breakfast the day after Nick Grimshaw’s party, we hadn’t seen much of the boys since they had a lot of work to do. We’d spent our time in the sun relaxing instead. Of course Maria had been texting Liam quite a lot, but other than that it had just been us girls. Oh, and Eleanor of course.

Tonight however, Eleanor and Louis were back in Doncaster visiting Louis’ family and Zayn was off to watch Perry do a Little Mix concert in Germany. I remember Maria telling me that Niall had invited Ashton to join us for the night and was happy that I got to see him again. I had fun spending time with him, Niall and Louis at the other parties. So, I guess it was only going to be us six. Liam, Maria, Emily, Niall, Ashton and me. Oh, and Harry of course. Although I bet he would be off mingling with others at the club instead of sitting with us.

---

Once we got into the black cab and drove towards Mayfair, we chatted amongst ourselves and sang to the music playing on the radio. We’d all had a couple of drinks before leaving the apartment. A must, if I may say so myself, if you had to spend the night in these heels.

We turned left at the main road by Green Park, and as we got closer to Funky Buddha, I could feel Maria tense beside me. “C’mon! Put on that smile of yours! This is going to be fun,” I said trying to cheer her up. Obviously I wasn’t referring to the swarm of paparazzi as fun, but I think she understood what I meant.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go girls! They’re all waiting inside,” Maria said putting on a fake smile just before the taxi stopped outside the main entrance. I paid the taxi driver while the other two stepped out of the cab, me not far behind. The camera flashes were intense along with all the old men shouting in our direction.

“Maria, over here!”

“Girls! Do a pose!”

“How is it dating Liam Payne?”

“Have you broken up?”

“Are you and Liam living together?”

“Where’s Liam?!”

“Maria, who did you bring?!”

We quickly made our way through the crowd and stepped inside the club. Thankfully the doorman was kind enough to let us through without having to stand in the queue. “Well, that was intense,” I said jokingly. The two other girls laughed without making any other comments before we headed down the stairs into to the club. There was no need to stow away any jackets with this summery weather outside, so we went straight to the bar. After I had ordered us three drinks and flirted with the hot bartender, we followed Maria who told us she knew were the others sat.

“They’re here! The real movie stars,” Niall screamed in deep American accent over the loud music. All of the boys laughed as if it was some kind of an internal joke.

“Hiii,” Maria said giving one happy Liam a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry were late, again…” she said apologetically before taking a seat on his lap. Emily and I sat down at the end of the booth next to Ashton and Niall.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re here now! Can I get you anything?” Liam said looking at all of us.

“Oh, no thanks. Sarah made a friend behind the bar so we’ve got that covered,” Emily said bumping my shoulder. I felt my cheeks turn red and was glad I put so much make-up on.

“What? You flirted with a bartender?” Niall said now only to me, not looking as happy as he did a few moments ago.

Before I could answer, Ashton got to my rescue. “What’s wrong with that, bro?” He gave me a smile before placing a hand on Niall’s shoulder. “You know, not everyone is as lucky as the guys in One Direction, Niall. Some actually have to work in a bar to pay for their bills. It’s only nice to repay them by flirting with them now and then,” Ashton said before everyone started to laugh.

Well, everyone apart from Niall. “I know. That’s not what I meant. Never mind,” Niall said before taking a large sip from the beer he had in front of him.

“Alright then!” I said breaking the awkward silence. “So where’s Mr. Styles?”

“He’s over there somewhere catching up with some people,” Liam said pointing towards the big crowd of people, only to prove my earlier thoughts. I guess I was right.

---

Two hours later we’d each had a few rounds of drinks and beers in our systems. We were laughing, singing to the songs we knew and chatting amongst ourselves. I had even managed to get Emily to the dance floor at one point and I was having so much fun. We all were. Maria had left her seat at Liam’s knee in order to talk to the rest of us, but still kept her hand in his under the table. Niall had impressed us all with his skills at accents, and Emily and I had even tried to teach him some Norwegian. Harry had joined us at some point, taking a seat next to Liam and Maria, clearly having fun too. He'd had as much to drink as the rest of us, which I have to say was starting to become a lot.

A little while later though, Niall had clearly passed his own drinking-limit. He had his hands around Ashton and I, singing to Miley Cyrus, looking rather pleased by himself. Liam and Maria, who now sat by themselves after Harry had wondered off again, were flirting and kissing. Emily joined in on our singing once a while, whenever she wasn’t too occupied on her phone. Who texted at a club anyway?

“Emily! Please, put that away. We’re at a club and you’re supposed to be having fun!” I said not sure if I said it properly.

“I am having fun! Sorry, I just have to reply to this one,” she said not taking her eyes of the screen. I could see her smiling from the corner on my eye.

“Who are you texting anyway?”

“No one,” she said, now putting her phone away in her bag and gave me a smile. I decided to let it go.

“Yes! One!” Niall said loudly joining in on our conversation for everyone to hear. “One Direction!” It didn’t take long before every cracked up at his lame attempt of a joke, Niall being the one who found it the most amusing.

“Okay, maybe it’s time for you to get some air,” Liam said standing up from his seat.

“You’re leaving me?” Maria said pulling him back.

“No, of course not. Come with me? I might need some help with that anyway,” Liam continued while pointing his finger at Niall amused.

“Nah, man! I’m fine,” Niall said placing his hand on my thigh. He was clearly waisted.

“Go on, Niall. I think you need some air,” I said trying to help Liam.

“Will you still be here when I get back?” he asked me, looking me dead serious in the eyes.

“Yes, of course I will! Now, run along after daddy direction.” I was happy to see that my attempt to cheer him up helped and moved away for Niall to get out of the booth.

“Daddy!” Niall screamed before hugging onto Liam’s neck.

“Yeah, yeah. Now, lets get you outside.” Liam replied rolling his eyes while holding on to Maria’s hand.

Once we sat down again with Ashton, Emily was back on her phone laughing to herself. Before I could begin to question her, she spoke up over the music. “Guys, I’m gonna run to the ladies room.”

“Okay… Do you need me to come with you?” I said as she got up from her seat.

“No, no! I’m alright! You two enjoy yourselves.” She walked away laughing at her remark before I could protest. I guess she would be okay going by herself. This place wasn’t too big. I turned around to face Ashton who took another sip of his beer.

“I guess that means it’s just you and I,” he said cheerfully in his Australian accent. What is it with these guys and accents?

“’Yoou aaand I,” I began to sing waving my hands back and forth. Obviously, I had listened to too much One Direction songs lately. Ashton however, started laughing and moved closer so we could hear each other better.

“You having fun?”

“Yeah, I am. So much fun!” I said, smiling up at him while shifting in my seat. “You?”

“Yeah! I love going out with these boys. They always know how to party,” he replied while scratching his chin.

“Do you get to go out with them a lot, or?” I said keeping up the conversation.

“Yeah, well... Not really. I spend a lot of time with the other boys from 5SOS, and Niall of course. He’s always around,” he said smiling and shaking his head. “But I’ve spent a lot of time with them over the past years.”

“Oh, really? That’s nice,” I said not really knowing what else to say.

“Yeah! We toured with them the last two years, so we hung out quite a lot on the road.”

“Must be hard being on tour, away from family and friends…” I said sincerely. I had heard the boys mentioned that quite a lot. Ashton raised his eyebrows to confirm my statement while giving me a little smile.

I reached over for my glass when I didn’t know what else to say, and was grateful that he decided to speak up. “I guess it’s harder for those who have girlfriends and stuff though.”

“Do you have one?” I said before thinking. “A girlfriend, I mean…” I smiled up at him embarrassed that I was this drunk.

“No, I don’t,” he said almost sad while looking into my eyes. “How about you? Do you have one?” He laughed at himself before continuing, “a boyfriend, I mean…”

Once I understood why he laughed I joined in while shaking my head. “Nope.” I felt my head get dizzy from all the shaking and rested my head on his shoulder. That was okay, wasn’t it? I felt a bit uneasy and turned my head to look up at him. It wasn’t like I was hitting on him or anything. I had just had way too much to drink.

Ashton smiled down at me and before I knew it I had moved closer to him and we kissed. It all went so fast. In a matter of seconds it was over and we just looked at each other in shock. What the hell just happened? I thought to myself. Why did I do that? Of course, I already knew he was a good kisser from playing truth or dare at Niall’s place, but this was something else. No one dared us to do this and we were by our selves.

Ashton looked confused as he moved his hand over his jaw. “I cant…”

“What? No, of course. I’m sorry. That was my fault,” I said embarrassed. I looked down and started fidgeting with my fingers.

“Sarah, I takes two to kiss,” Ashton smiled reassuringly. “I just meant that I can’t because I have feelings for someone else.”

“Oh…” Well that made me feel a lot better. Thank God! I didn’t like Ashton that way. We were friends and I liked things just as they were. Although, that made me curious. “Who?” I said before thinking, yet again. Another proof that I had consumed way too much alcohol this evening.

“Uhm… I haven’t really told anyone. Well, I have told my band mates, but that’s different.” He looked away smiling to himself, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking of her.

“C’mon! Dude, I know it’s a bit weird seeing as we just… well, yeah. I though we were friends?” I smiled making a pouting face. “It’s not like I’m going to run away telling everyone.”

Ashton laughed before looking down at his hands. “Okay, but don’t tell any of the guys or your friends. It’s important that they don’t know.”

“Okaay…”

“No, really. The guys can’t know, especially Harry!” Okay, I had no idea where he was going with this. Why was it so important that Harry didn’t know?

“Well you don’t have to worry about me telling Harry. We don’t really speak. And I promise I won’t tell the others too,” I said waiting for him to spill.

“Fine…It’s Gemma.”

Okay? He said that like I was supposed to know who that was.

“Gemma Styles? As in, Harry’s sister?”

“WHAT?! You’re seeing Harry’s sister?” Oh, this had drama written all over it I’m sure! Wait. Does that mean that he just cheated?

“Shh!” Ashton said placing a finger on my lips, making me shut up. “You can’t tell anyone! You promised! And no, where not seeing each other. We’re just friends. But I like her.” Aww, his face was so cute when he talked about her.

“Does she know, though? That you like her?”

“No. I haven’t told her anything, but I think she’s starting to get the picture and seeing as she hasn’t tried to stop it I take it as a good sign. I don’t want to screw this up.”

“Yeah, I get that. Probably not such a great idea for anyone to know about our little kiss then either,” I said snickering.

“You’re probably right,” he said joining in. I that guess our friendship was back on track.

After Ashton had talked about Gemma for another fifteen minutes, I realized that Emily was still missing. “Sorry, but wait. Where’s Emily?”

“And Liam and Niall?” Ashton added suddenly just as confused as I was.

“And Maria?”

They wouldn’t leave me like this, would they? I mean, they told us they would be back. I grabbed my phone from my purse and read the notifications.

2 new messages. 1 missed call.

“Shit, I forgot to check my phone,” I said unlocking it and opening up the messages. The first one was from Maria.

Hi S! Niall is too waisted to head back inside, so we’re going to get him home safe. Is that alright with you? Xx

I opened up the second text and saw that this was also from Maria.

I tried calling you, but you’re not answering… We’re staying at Liam’s place for the night. My battery is almost dead, so I’ll just see you in the morning. Xx

“What did it say? Do you know where they are?” Ashton said worried.

“Yeah, Maria said Niall was too waisted to come back in, so they decided to get him home.”

“Okay, what about Emily?” he went on. She couldn’t have been to the ladies room all this time. Maybe she went out to get some air and found Maria.

“I guess she left with them…” That made sense, didn’t it?

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But how are you getting home then?” I looked up at him as I realized that he was right. ‘How was I getting home?’ I was too drunk to remember any address, not that it would matter. I had no key!

“I have no idea…” I simply said.

“Well, you should come with me then. You can’t be alone here at night.”

“Okay, thanks.” I smiled. To be honest, I was a bit hurt to be left alone without them trying to find me, but that thought soon passed as Ashton tickled my side.

“C’mon, lets go home!” he laughed at my squeal.

“Hey! Watch it!” I said jokingly pointing my finger at him while getting up from the seat.

“Maybe we should let Harry know that we’ve all left…” Ashton went on peering through the crowd of people.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to find him… Besides, like I said, I don’t really speak to Harry. I’m sure he’s already home with some chick anyway.”

Ashton just simply chuckled. “Alright, let’s go then.”

---

-Maria-

“I feel so bad for just leaving them there. Do you think they’ll see my messages?” I said to Liam as we finally got to his apartment after dropping of Niall back at his place. “Non of them are picking up their phones…”

“I’m sure they’re alright. Besides, Ashton and Harry are there too. They won’t let Emily and Sarah walk around drunk by themselves,” Liam said while unlocking the door. I guess he’s right. It’s not like Emily don’t know her way home either. She lives here now. I forget that sometimes.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said smiling up at him as he closed the door.

“Of course I’m right. I’m always right,” he said before leaning down and kissing me on the lips.

“Not always…” I said sadly, thinking of Sarah. “You told Niall you were sure Sarah had a thing for him too. I know that’s not right.” Poor Niall. He’d been refusing to leave Funky Buddha because of Sarah. He kept on talking about her all the way home to his place. ‘She’s so fit, man. I really like her… I don’t want her to be there alone. I don't want her to be with Ashton. Can we go back, please? Did you see how tanned Sarah has gotten? Maria, has Sarah been talking about me? She doesn’t like me… Why doesn’t Sarah like me?’ That’s when Liam had cut in and taken him out of his misery. Poor thing! He had even said her name out loud when he fell asleep in the taxi.

“I know, but the poor guy was devastated. I had to tell him something to make him shut up. He won’t remember it in the morning anyway.” He pressed his lips back to mine again while his hands traveled up my back, pushing me closer to him. Once he moved to my neck leaving a trail of kisses behind, all my worries had vanished. All I could think about now was how I wanted Liam. In bed. With out his fancy clothes on. Naked. Just Liam and I. “Let’s get go bed,” Liam said breaking the kiss and looking me in the eyes. I guess I wasn’t the only one thinking dirty thoughts.

Notes

Hii, guys! First of all, I am really really sorry for taking so long time to update. Like I said in my last chapter, I have been occupied with my exams... :( Now that I'm done, I thought it was time to celebrate with a new chapter!! From now on I'll be better. I have already started on the next one, so stay with me! :)

What did you think of this one though? Poor Niall, right? And whatever happened to Emily?? :o Any thoughts?

Read the next one to find out, and please leave a comment ;) xx