“JADE! JADE! GET UP!” I groaned and tried to swat away the person yelling in my face. “GET UP OR YOUR BOYFRIEND IS GOING TO DIE!”

I sat up the moment my sister screamed about someone dying. I glanced around confused as my pounding headache appeared. I had a hangover.

“Jared has Liam against the wall!” Lilly screamed in my face. Confused I scrambled out of bed and ran into the living room. Lilly wasn’t being overdramatic like I thought. Jared did have Liam against the wall while Tyler sat on the couch flipping through my TV channels.

“What the fuck is going on?!” I yelled. All eyes turned to me instantly.

“Jade don’t swear in front of Lilly.” Tyler scolded.

“Shut up. Jared let Liam go. NOW!” I yelled so loudly that it made my head pound and everyone in the room to wince.

Jared hesitated for a moment before stepping back. Liam gasped in some air and eyed them all strangely.

“We found this douche walking around your flat when we walked in. Why is he here? He didn’t sleep did he?” Jared asked narrowing his eyes at me. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before glancing at Liam. He shook his head instantly. I shook mine too, following Liam’s lead.

“She was drunk last night when I brought her home. So I thought I would come over this morning and see if you were okay.” Liam said gruffly, his eyes not meeting mine.

“Why were you in the kitchen then?” Tyler asked.

“I was making her breakfast.” Liam blushed darkly. My eyes wandered towards the kitchen to in fact see eggs and bacon cooking. I blushed as dark as Liam at the sweet notion.

“Finished interrogating him now, or would you like to take him to the police station?” I glared at Jared.

“It’s not like he’s a stranger to it.” Jared responded icily. Liam looked down ashamed and I couldn’t help the sympathy that washed through my body.

“Stop it.” I hissed at Jared, sending him a firm glare. The door opened pulling all of our attention towards it. Sarah and Aria froze in the doorway and glanced around at us all awkwardly.

“You know what, we don’t actually want to see you today.” Aria said taking a step back with Sarah.

“Girls!” I whined out. They both sighed and stepped forward again shutting the door behind them. There was an awkward silence that settled around the room.

“Could I maybe get a picture later?” Lilly’s soft voice sounded throughout the room. I glanced over surprised, I hadn’t even noticed her walk across the room to Liam. Biting my lip I wondered how Liam was going to handle this. His eyes searched hers for a moment and when the silence almost became too long, I opened my mouth to say something but Liam beat me to it.

“I would love to.” He said softly, shooting his award winning fake smiles. Lilly smiled back happily.

“Oh yum. You’re making breakfast?” Aria asked happily.

“Well actually Liam was before he was attacked by my brother.” I growled at Jared.

“I could make everyone breakfast if they want.” Liam offered quietly. Raising a hand to rub the back of his neck as everyone turned to look at him.

“Sounds great!” Aria responded immediately before joining Tyler on the couch. Liam looked at Jared, who shrugged, before heading into the kitchen, I followed.

“You don’t have to...” I began before Liam cut me off.

“I want to.” He said quickly with a biting tone. I sighed defeated and helped him cook.

“I’m sorry about my brothers.” I said to Liam honestly as he flipped pancakes.

“It’s fine. I would probably flip if I saw a strange guy walking around my sister’s flat.” I smiled at him softly.

“You have sisters?” I asked him.

“Two. They’re both older.” He responded before beginning to place the pancakes on a large plate. I just nodded at him.

“Thank you for coming to check on me this morning. I hope I wasn’t too drunk last night...” I trailed off biting my lip. He just shrugged at me.

“You were fine.” He mumbled turning to grab another plate. A sigh left my lips in annoyance from his hostility. I walked over to take some tablets for my headache.

“If you don’t want to be here, just go.” I hissed at him. He turned to me surprised as I glared back but kept my voice low. “You’re barely talking, no one is making you stay so just go.”

I watched as he glanced away and down at the ground for a moment, not meeting my eyes. Rolling my own, I began to walk past him.

“I want to be here.” His voice said suddenly. I turned to him surprised. He bit his lip but kept his eyes in line with mine.

“Why?” I asked perplexed.

“Because you don’t treat me like I’m a celebrity. Your brothers don’t treat me like I’m a celebrity. I’m pretty sure your friends hate me. The only person that has treated me like a celebrity is your younger sister. Despite the fact that we may not agree on everything you and we may not get along that well. You are the only person in my life right now that doesn’t treat me like I’m famous, like something they have to hide or use. I like being around you because of that.” Liam’s eyes stayed connected with mine as he told me honestly. I stared at him in awe at his honesty. He shifted on the spot obviously waiting for an answer.

“The boys will want syrup for the pancakes.” I told him before walking past to grab it from the cupboard. Liam shot me a small smile before grabbing a few plates of food and placing it down on the table. I called everyone over.

“I’m Tyler by the way.” Tyler introduced himself, holding out his hand with a small smile at Liam. Liam shook it firmly back. Jared eyed Liam wearily before pushing his own hand out and introducing himself.

“Sorry about before.” Jared added although he didn’t seem like he meant it. He looked towards Sarah for approval who smiled softly at him. I looked at her questioningly.

“It’s fine. I would have done the same if it was my sisters.” Liam said softly. Jared glanced at him surprised before nodding and taking a seat. For now that was the best reaction Liam would get from Jared. Not that he would ever need his approval anyway. Liam and I weren’t a real thing. He wouldn’t be staying forever.

I glanced towards Liam and watched as he chatted to Lilly softly and placed food on her plate. Knowing that Liam wouldn’t be in my life forever made me even more curious to know what was wrong with him. It made me want to fix him before we parted ways.

I glanced towards Aria as her leg nudged mine, her eyes narrowed in at me. I looked at her confused. Her eyes danced from Liam to me.

“Don’t fall for him.” She whispered into my ear. I glanced at her shocked. I had never even thought of that absurd idea. I shook my head at her as she shrugged. I wasn’t falling for Liam. I couldn’t.

I looked at Liam to see his eyes were already on me. He smiled softly at me. It was the same smile I thought I had imagined last night when he had brought me home. That smile, just for a moment, seemed real. A smile that looked genuine. It transformed his face to something even more handsome.

Shaking my head, I quickly shovelled food into my mouth. I wasn’t falling for Liam Payne. This was a deal, a contract. Nothing more.