Foreign Exchange
Discoveries
*Three weeks later*
Anjelica’s POV
I lazily leaned on the shopping cart and watched my sister nod her head the music that blasted through her headphones. She picked up some veggies and tossed them into the cart. I looked down at them and frowned. I picked up the bag of carrots and immaturely chucked them at my sisters back. I saw her back stiffen and I suppressed a laugh as she slowly turned around to glare at me.
“Why did you do that?” Nikki asked, pulling out one of her earphones and picking up the carrots from the ground.
“Carrots are gross” I shrugged, pushing the cart and passing her.
“No, they are tasty and good for your eyesight” Nikki said, catching up to me and tossing the carrots back into the cart. I scowled at the carrots and hissed. “Oh stop the face” my sister said, bumping my hip with hers.
“Don’t tell me what to do” I said, now smiling as my sister tried to come up with something witty to say.
“Oh whatever” she eventually said, throwing her hands up and walking over to the fruit section. She picked up a grape and grumpily popped it in her mouth.
“No eating the food in the store unless you buy it” I said, pushing the cart over to her.
“I’m testing them. You used to do it all the time” She reminded.
“Yeah, and I still do” I replied, grabbing a handful of grapes and shoving them in my mouth..
“‘Jelca!” My sister gasped.
“What? I’m just testing” I smirked through my mouthful of grapes.
“Oooo!! Security!” She yelled, causing a few people to look our way.
“Stop, you’re embarrassing” I mumbled, quickly pushing the cart along.
“I’m embarrassing? You’re the one who makes faces at people and talk about disturbing things really loud” she said, grabbing food she past and catching up with me. The whole time we shopped, my sister and I would make smart remarks and laugh at each other, but not in a mean way. As I bagged some of the food, I saw Nikki pull out money from her wallet and sigh.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when we walked out the automatic sliding doors.
“The money that mom gave us is starting to get low..” she said, nervously fiddling with the receipt. I frowned, but didn’t start worrying like my sister always did. She worries way to much for her age and carries a lot on her back.
“Don’t stress. Remember that we don’t have to pay the condo expenses because mom paid enough for us not to pay for a few more months. I’ll just get a job on the side” I said, offering to take off some stress off her shoulders and pitch in to help.
“No, I absolutely won’t let you” Nikki objected, stopping in the middle of the parking lot and giving me a stern look. “I will get a job, you have school to worry about” she said.
“You have school to kiddo” I pointed out.
“But mine isn’t as pressuring and hard as college” she countered and I couldn’t help but agree with her. College wasn’t easy and I was just barely passing my tests. I really had to pick up things before final grades. We started walking towards my car again, but Nikki still had a stern look on her face. I don’t like seeing her so serious, it’s not like her. I slowly pushed the cart along, disregarding the swerving of its wheels. She popped the trunk open and started unloading the heavy paper bags, not saying a word. I picked up one of the bags and noticed the bag of carrots on top. I smiled to myself and grabbed it, prepared to chuck it at her like I did earlier. But she turned around and caught me in the act. “Give it to me” she ordered, holding out her hand.
“Lighten up, Nick” I said, calling her by her other nickname. I usually don’t call her it because our friend Nick is always around and things would get mixed up.
“Only mom calls me that” she said, grabbing the carrots from me. That was another reason why I usually don’t call her Nick. My mom was the only one to call her that. “You know, moms birthday is coming up..” Nikki softly said, avoiding eye contact.
“Is that what this is about? You know what else is coming up? Thanksgiving!!” I said, trying to change the subject. She looked up at me as I started making chicken noises.
“You know, Thanksgiving is turkey, not chicken” she said, finally lightening up and cracking a smile.
“So? We don’t discriminate” I said, loading up the last of the bags. I tossed her my purse before returning the cart in the proper place. I sped-walked to the car and saw Nikki in the drivers seat. My eyes widened and I walked faster to the drivers side. “There’s no way in hell you are driving my car!” I yelled as she rolled down the window.
“It’s not like I don’t have my permit” she said, starting up the car.
“Nicole Carolina Frank you are not driving my car” I said and she squinted her eyes up at me, not liking how I called her by her full name. This little girl was even daring to think that she could drive my car, MY car. I reached for the door handle but she locked the door. I burned my eyes into her and she just made a face. “CARO-”
“Alright alright” she said, unlocking the door. I swung the door open and was about to pull her out, but she climbed over to the back seats.
“Yeah you better stay back there” I said, getting in the car and driving to our condo.
Nicole’s POV
“Aren’t you going to help?” I asked, struggling with the heavy paper bags in my arms.
“Nope, as punishment for trying to drive my car you have to carry in all the groceries” Anjelica gave me a cheesy smile and I grumbled. Even though she was being a butt face, she still was nice enough to make sure I didn’t fall in the parking lot. She walked in front of me as we walked up the stairs, glancing over her shoulder a few times. There were only about 15 steps up to our condo, so it didn’t take long to reach the top. Suddenly, Anjelica stopped walking and froze on the top step. I almost bumped into her, and to avoid bumping into her, I leaned back and stumbled backwards.
“‘Jelca!” I squeaked, and watched her turn around, horror washing over her face.
“Nikki!” she yelled and reached out towards me as I slipped. It was weird how I didn’t just flat out fall on the steps. I kind of just like flew backwards and everything was in slow motion. I clutched onto the paper bags, but never left my sisters frightened eyes.
“Catch her!!” I heard Niall yell, appearing at Anjelica’s side. I felt strong arms wrap around me, catching me from my fall. I could feel the person lean back, almost falling, but stood firm. I saw my sister and Niall relax and I looked up over my shoulder to see Harry looking down at me and Louis holding Harry.
“Are you alright?” He asked in a raspy voice, Louis steadying both Harry and I. My voice trapped behind my teeth as I felt his breath tickle my face, our noses touching, and all I managed was to nod. Our noses rubbed as I nodded and I regretted making that action. My cheeks burned and I turned around to see Niall rushing down almost more than half the steps to grab the heavy bags from me.
“Thanks..” I murmured, looking down. I wasn’t sure if I was thanking Niall or Harry or even Louis, but they all replied with a “no problem.”
“Can you walk?” Harry asked and I nodded once more, not turning around to look at him. I broke from his grasp and walked up the steps, Louis bragging about how he saved both our butts.
“What are you doing here anyways?” I asked Louis, closing the door after they walked in my place.
“Well...” Harry said and Louis smirked.
“I pulled a prank on Liam for daring me to flirt with Taylor for a week” Louis said. “And lets just say I made Harry help me with” he continued, nudging Harry.
“What did you do?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.
“Shaved I love Louis on his leg hair, both legs” Louis chuckled and I puzzled.
“How did he not feel that?” I asked.
“Sleeping pills..” Harry mumbled, looking down and smiling.
“YOU DRUGGED HIM?!” I shouted, shocked that they would do that.
“No, he said that he was tired so I told him to try some sleeping pills and he did. He was out like a light” Harry defended himself.
“And we fled so he wouldn’t rip our heads off” Louis nodded. I let out a short laugh and brushed past them to the kitchen. Niall and Anjelica were putting up the groceries and I was shocked. Anjelica never puts up the groceries.
“Niall, what did you do to get my sister to put up the groceries?” I smirked and Anjelica frowned at me.
“I offered to help..?” Niall innocently said. Anjelica giggled and I smiled at Niall. Those two I tell ya.
“Harry and Louis here pulled a prank on Liam” I said to Anjelica and she nodded in understanding to why Louis and Harry were there, but turned curiously over to Niall.
“So why are you here?” Anjelica asked and Niall blushed.
“Well, we dropped Zayn off at Nicks house because he wanted to hang out with him and I didn’t want to be left alone with liam” Niall explained and I could tell that he was partially lying. He wanted to see my sister, and I’m sure that Harry and Louis knew that too. I looked over at Louis and winked at him, Louis immediately getting what I meant. Liam and I were really close, but Louis and I were a close second. Harry looked at Louis and me, furrowing his eyebrows as to figure out what we were up to.
“So Nikki? Where is your underwear drawer?” He said, wandering out into the hallway.
“Louis!” I called, acting frustrated and ran after him, Harry slowly following behind. The plan was to get Niall and Anjelica ane, which was a success. I walked into my room and really saw Louis going through my drawers. I gasped and shrieked. “LOUIS!!” Louis turned around with a smirk and held up my Spongebob underwear.
“Spongebob? Really?” he said.
“Put those down!!!” I yelled and attacked him. He stretched his hand high just out of my reach and I jumped to try and reach them.
“Hey, I have to make our arguing sound believable” Louis shrugged and I glared at him.
Anjelica’s POV
Niall snickered at the sound of Nikki shrieking. I smiled, shaking my head and taking out food from another paper bag.
“So how are you?” Niall asked, surprising me. I blushed and felt myself shrinking back. I usually wasn’t this shy, but lately, I felt self conscious around Niall.
“I’m okay..” I replied to Nialls back. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you” Niall answered, turning around with a sweet smile. His smile assured me not to feel so insecure around him. I gave him a smile and reached down into the bag. My smile quickly faded as I pulled out an envelope with a card that read “Happy Birthday!”
“Nikki...” I growled and tossed the card on the marble counter.
“What was that?” Niall said, cocking his head to the side and walking closer to me.
“Nothing” I said, looking at the floor with growing frustration.
“Well, you don’t look like it’s just ‘nothing’” Niall said, taking another step closer to me. I turned around, stopping the death glare that was sure to burn him. “Hey, I don’t mean to pressure you.
You don’t have to tell me” He softly spoke, his Irish accent almost hard to understand.
“No” suddenly slipped from between my lips. A strange urge came over me and I wanted to tell him. I want to share things with Niall. I like him..yes, and if I want to get any closer to him, he should know. I don’t know where this all came from, but it did and I built up the rising confidence to face him. “I want to tell you” I said, looking straight into his ocean eyes. Niall simply nodded, as if to help me continue on with my words. “As you can see, my mother isn’t around” I said and Niall blurted out his thoughts.
“I’m sorry” he sympathetically patted my shoulder and I quickly cleared his assumptions.
“No, she’s not dead. She just left. She got a phone call 8 months ago and just left” I said, remembering that days events. I remember Nikki crying at my door with bundles of money and bags in her hand. Mom called and told me to take care of Nikki and take the money that she gave her. Nikki told me that mom got a phone call and just lost it; packed her bags, gave her bunches of money and dropped her off here.
“Just like that?” Niall asked and I nodded.
“Yep, hasn’t called or anything since. We’ve tried to contact her, but she doesn’t pick up or we can’t reach her. That card is for her. Her birthday is on Thanksgiving this year” I said, looking over at the card.
“The thing is, I don’t know what to do when Nikki turns 18 next year, ‘cause then I’m not her guardian and I don’t know how to get her adoption papers” I blurted out and covered my mouth in shock. Niall's eyes grew wide.
“She’s adopted?” he asked and I looked down. “But you guys look so much alike” he said and I nodded again.
“Mom always said that we were gods twins..” I said, forcing a quick laugh before continuing.
“The thing is..Nikki doesn’t even know..” I whispered, becoming fragile. “I don’t know what to do..” I confessed. Niall and I were already pretty close, but there was still a little space between us, and Niall broke it. Our chests now touched and his face was close to mine. He reached up and cupped my face, making me look in his eyes.
“Everythings gonna be alright..” Niall spoke with such a gentle voice, stroking my cheek with his thumb. He leaned in even closer, his nose nudging my light red cheeks, our lips just barely touching.
“Hey Niall, did you know that Nikki had Spongebob underwear?” Louis asked, walking in the kitchen. Both Niall and I froze, slowly turning our heads to look at Louis. “Woah, don’t mind me, do continue” Louis smirked and I rolled my eyes. Niall quickly pecked my cheeks before pulling away and clumsily knocking things over and putting groceries back up. I still stand frozen, looking dumbfoundedly at Louis.
“Thanks for announcing it to the world” a grouchy Nikki said, appearing next to Louis. Nikki looked at me, unable to move, unable to comprehend that Niall was about to kiss me.
“Oh gosh Louis what did I miss?” Nikki smiled, forgetting her frustration toward him and now begging for information.
“Nothing” Niall said, folding up the paper bags. I blinked a few times and forced myself to snap out of it. I stood up straighter and gave them all a smile. Harry appeared on the other side of Louis and raised an eyebrow.
“Yep” I agreed with Niall and looked over at him.. He smiled, almost forgetting Nikki, Louis and Harry there.
“I was just about to tell Anjelica about how all us boys met” he said and my smile grew, excited to know a little more about Niall.
*Meanwhile at Nicks house*
Nick’s POV
I munched on my miniature muffin, my legs curled up underneath me on the tan couch in my livingroom. I watched the tv, taking in everything about the show on the screen. Zayn said that back in England, the tv show Skins was popular and he liked a lot. I thought that maybe I should watch it, so then I could talk to him about something he likes. I don’t want to bore him.
I reached over to the small table next to me and grabbed the can full of soda, Zayns favorite soda. I found it interesting how he doesn’t drink tea.
Almost everyone in England drink tea. Here it’s coffee and there it’s tea. To be honest, I’m not much of a soda drinker, but I could grow used to it. I jumped when the doorbell rang, causing the soda to spill on me. I cursed under my breath and shushed my barking dogs, Pebbles and Bailey. Pebbles small paws patted my feet softly and the old little, black wiener dog looked up at me. “Pebbles, move please” I asked, barely lifting my foot off the ground to help him get the message. Pebbles scurried off to the door where Bailey still barked. The doorbell rang again, causing the dogs to go berserk. “Coming!” I yelled, not wanting the person to ring the doorbell again. I rushed to the door, my feet squishing in the carpeted areas and patting on the tile or wooden areas. I usually would have fixed myself quickly before answering the door, but right now I didn’t care. There was sticky soda on me, these dogs won’t stop barking and now I would have to rewind back to the parts I missed on skins. I pushed my dogs behind me so now that my legs we blocking their way. “What?” I rudely said, yanking the front door open. Zayn sheepishly stood at my doorstep, hands in his pockets. I blinked a few times, shocked that Zayn was here.
“Sorry..um..Hi?” Zayn said, nervously smiling.
“Hi..” I said, becoming breathless.
“I know I didn’t call, but may I come in?” He asked and I couldn’t deny those silky eyes. My dogs got around my barrier of legs and jumped up at Zayn.
“Bailey! Pebbles!” I said, reaching down to grab their collars. Baileys much larger breed from pebbles made it harder for me to hold. His floppy ears, white hair and ginger spots won Zayn over.
“Aw, it’s okay. Their cute” Zayn said, bending down to pet Bailey. Bailey instantly warmed up to Zayn and licked his palm. Zayn smiled genuinely now, his smile deserving the title of being cute rather than my dogs.
“Ah, come in” I said, moving aside to let Zayn in. Zayn straightened up and walked in with a “thank you.” I shuffled my dogs in closed the door. Zayns actually here, he’s here!! I did a little celebratory dance, excited that Zayn Malik wanted to hang out with me. But my celebratory dance stopped and would have to be used later because I realized that I still had sticky soda on me, Skins on tv and was drinking his favorite soda. I now realized how weird I might look, him knowing that I didn’t do these things. What if he thinks I’m a stalker?! Which I am not. I rushed to the living room and spotted Zayn looking at some pictures on the wall. Luckly, Skins was on commercial and I fumbled with the remote to change the channel.
“You’re wet..?” Zayn said, looking over at me and pointing to the soda spills on my sweats and sweater.
“Um..I spilt soda-I MEAN, milk-I MEAN, coffee-NO, I MEAN WATER!” I stumbled over my words and blushed down at my hands. Zayn chuckled.
“Well alright then” Zayn said and I couldn’t have felt so embarrassed in my life. Zayn glanced around and discovered the half empty soda can on the table next to the couch where I had been sitting at.
“Is that coke?” He asked and I scurried to stand in front of the can.
“Psshcoke?No!Wedon’thavethat.HeyIshouldgocleanupI’mgoingtocleanup’scuse me” I spoke fast and fled from the living room, hiding the coke from Zayns view. I split some soda on the tile floor and I frantically ordered the dogs to lick it clean, not knowing if soda would harm them or not. I sprinted up the stairs and busted through my bedroom. I placed the soda on one of my night stands and grabbed some random clothes laying around. I fled to the bathroom to wipe off the sticky soda and change in record time. I sprinted down the steps, almost falling a couple times, but making it back to the living room in one piece.
“That was fast” Zayn said, turning around, sensing my presence.
“Yep, well I’m just..fast” I awkwardly said, making a fool out of myself.
“So, what do you wanna do?” Zayn asked, shifting his weight back and forth on his legs. I couldn’t hold back the giggle that erupted from me.
“I should be the one asking you that. You’re my guest and all” I stated.
“Yeah, true” Zayn smiled. I looked at the clock hanging next to the pictures and read the time.
“Well, it’s only a little past noon, are you hungry?” I asked, not very full from just eating a tiny muffin.
“Um, yeah sure” Zayn replied and I beckoned him to follow me to the kitchen. I headed straight for the large pantry and opened it, revealing all my endless food to Zayn.
“Have anything you want” I said, turning around and smiling at Zayns shocked expression.
“You have a lot of food” he said, staring at the food.
“You do too!” I said, remembering their big pantry stocked up with food.
“Yeah, but that’s for 6 people, this is only for three” he said, jaw slightly dropped.
“Not true, I have a younger sister, two older sisters and a brother” I informed him and his jaw dropped even more. His expression was so cute I just wanted to take a picture so I could stare at it. Okay, that sounded a little creepy, but I would put it on my wall like a poster. Now see, that doesn’t sound too creepy.
“Where are they?” Zayn asked, snapping out of his shocked little faze of food and siblings.
“Maddison mostly stays with our grandmother since my parents are gone a lot and Maddison is too young to stay home by herself. My grandma babysits her while I go out, but most of the time my sister just wants to hang out there with her. My older brother is in the navy, one of my older sisters is a nanny in Germany and the other one is in San Diego attending college there” I explained, feeding him new things he didn’t know.
“Wow, but then it’s basically you and your parents eating here” Zayn said and I shrugged.
“I guess, but Nikki and Anjelica come over and eat so much food, and Maddison takes food with her to my grandma’s, I eat like Niall and when my siblings visit, you best know that they be eating” I said, that last part like a black southerner. Zayn rewarded me with his heavenly laugh and nodded.
“Well then, why are your parents always gone?” he asked, drawn to me by curiosity.
“My mother is a nurse and my father is a businessman” I said, turning back to the pantry to grab the box of cheeze nips.
“That’s cool, but don’t you get lonely?” Zayn asked and I pondered for a quick second. I thought nothing about everyone gone, to work or to school or wherever. I had Nikki and Anjelica to go too, and their mom, wherever she is.
“No” I truthfully answered and move past him to go to the fridge. I shivered as I felt the heat radiating off from him, and I thought that I saw him shiver too, but it must have been my imagination. I opened the fridge and pulled out a juice pouch for me and a coke for Zayn.
“I thought that you didn’t have coke?” Zayn asked, a bag of chips now held in his hand. My face flushed and my mind zoomed as I tried to think of something to come up with.
“Did I say that? I didn’t mean it. This is for when friends come over” I lied. I wasn’t proud that I lied to Zayn, but I was impressed that I came up with it.
“Oh, understandable” Zayn nodded and caught the soda I threw at him. He put the chips down as I stuck the straw in my juice pouch and nervously drank from it. Zayn was just so calm and hot while I was a jumpy mess. I watched Zayn open his can and gasped when the soda exploded into his face. We both stood there, me staring at Zayn and Zayn just standing there shocked. It must have fizzed up when I threw it at him.
“Zayn I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean for that to happen, I didn’t do it on purpose!” I said, fumbling to find a towel. Zayn chuckled and wiped his eyes.
“It’s no problem, I know that you didn’t mean to do it” he said. I took the soda from his sticky hands. Zayn’s hands clasped mine as he blindly tried to feel around. I gasped at the warm, tingling sensation, even though his hands were sticky. “Nick?” Zayn asked.
“I’m going to go get a wet towel for you” I said, slowly slipping my fingers from his. I rubbed my hands as I walked to the bathroom, trying to hold onto the tingling feeling I felt. His hands are large and smooth, almost like silk. His fingers were perfectly tanned like the rest of him. I held my hand up to my cheek and sighed, wanting Zayns hand to be the one touching my cheek. I dreamily grabbed a towel hanging of a rack in the bathroom and dreamily walked back to the kitchen where Zayn decided to just stay still with his eyes closed. I turned on the sink and let the water soak the towel. I squeezed the towel over the sink and walked over to Zayn. “Here” I said, gently taking his hand and placing the towel in it.
“Thanks” he said, lifting the towel up to his face. I stared as he wiped his face and neck clean. He opened his eyes I desperately wanted to get lost in and smiled. “All good?” He asked.
“G-good” I replied, marveling at the twinkle in his eyes. He smiled and passed me to further was his hands in the sink. I decided to distract myself by wiping off the soda can for Zayn. I handed him back his soda when he finished and he smiled. “Wanna watch tv?” I blurted out.
“Sure” he grabbed the chips. I grabbed my juice and cheeze nips and walked into the living room. Zayn and I sat on the same couch, statically close to each other. I picked up the remote and flipped through channels, hoping that something was on that Zayn would really enjoy. Soccer flashed on the screen and Zayn cheered.
“Football!” He yelled.
“Soccer!” I awkwardly cheered, looking down and opening the box.
“I never understood why Americans call it soccer” Zayn said, popping the bag of chips open with ease.
“I don’t know. Football makes perfect sense because you use your foot and it’s a ball. Here, in football you mostly throw it and it’s not even a ball” I shrugged and shoved food in my mouth.
“Exactly!” he said, looking at me. “You Americans are quite interesting.”
“Actually, it’s the other way around. You British people are quite interesting” I said, smiling at him.
“Nah, you guys have cute accents” Zayn said and I blushed.
“No! You guys have cute accents! I mean you say mum instead of mom, that’s just adorable!” I protested, then blushed more at what I said.
“I guess, but in my opinion, Americans are cuter” Zayn slightly blushed and turned his attention to the tv screen. My face was probably a fire hydrant now, flattered by Zayn liking us Americans. I sipped my juice and tried to focus on the game between England and Brazil, but of course I got distracted by Zayn. Zayn got lost in the game and didn’t notice me staring at him. He had a little stubble, which made him look even sexier than he already was. His eyelashes seemed even longer than they were yesterday, and he looked so natural and comfortable. I snapped my head away when Zayn looked down at me. “Do you like football- I mean soccer?” Zayn asked, trying to start up a conversation.
“Yeah” I said, not looking at him. I actually have only played soccer in school at P.E., I’ve never played it for fun.
“Do you play it?” Zayn asked and I wasn’t sure if I should lie or not. I don’t really even know much about soccer so if I said that I do then he’ll talk about it with me, but if I say that I don’t then we won’t have anything to talk about and be able to share his interest. My dogs saved the day by scratching on the door leading to the backyard.
“Sorry, they probably have to go to the bathroom” I gave Zayn an apologetic smile.
“It’s alright, can I come with you?” He said.
“You can, but there’s nothing interesting about dogs going to the bathroom” I laughed a little and walked over to open the door for the dogs. They ran through the door and Bailey started running in fast circles around my pool.
“What do you feed your dogs?” Zayn joked, watching Bailey.
“Super food, I dunno. Bailey always does this before he goes to the bathroom” I said, stepping outside with Zayn.
“You have a nice backyard” Zayn complemented.
“Thank you” I said. Zayn walked around, looking at the chairs and statues. Zayn disappeared around the corner and yelled.
“YOU HAVE A TRAMPOLINE!?” he yelled and I giggled.
“Yeah” I yelled back and headed back to where Zayn was and saw him childishly scampering onto the big trampoline. I giggled when he bounced around in circles, making funny noises and faces.
“Come on Nick!” He called to me. I smiled and climbed onto the trampoline with Zayn. He pulled me up to my feet and I bounced around with him. “I’ve always wanted a trampoline!” Zayn yelled and bounced higher.
“You can come over more, you know to jump on my trampoline” I said, happy with the fact that this could get Zayn to come over more.
“Really? Next time I should bring the boys” Zayn said.
“Speaking of the boys, were are they?” I asked, now curious as to why Zayn came to my place alone. Zayn bounced to close to me as I said that and I ended up losing my balance. I bumped into him, causing him to squeal like a girl and we ended falling down onto the trampoline in laughing fits. “You just..you just..” I struggled to say between my laughs.
“Squealed like a girl” zayn finished for me with a chuckle and then squealed again. I laughed even more and rolled around with Zayn on the trampoline. Once we calmed down, I looked over at Zayn who was smiling at me. “Liams at home and Louis, Niall and Harry are at Nikki’s” Zayn said and I puzzled.
“What?” I asked, giving him a confused smile.
“You asked where the boys where” Zayn said.
“Ohh! But, why?” I asked.
“Well, Louis and Harry pulled a prank on Liam while he was sleeping so they wanted to leave before he wakes up to kill them. Niall wanted to go with Harry and Louis to hang out with Nikki and Anjelica” Zayn said. “And I wanted to come hang out with you because I remember you told me yesterday that you had nothing to do.”
“That’s nice of you, and what did Louis do?” I asked, thinking of all the possible things Louis could do.
“Shaved ‘I love Louis’ in his Liams leg hair. BOTH legs” zayn chuckled and I felt bad for Liam, but I also couldn’t help but laugh.
“Poor Liam” I laughed and Zayn nodded.
“Yeah, but he’ll get over it. Liam’s super sweet and could never stay mad at anyone” Zayn said and I agreed. After a few minutes of laying there in silence, glancing at each other at times and smiling nervously when our eyes locked, I spoke up.
“So Zayn, we may be good friends, but I don’t even know how all of you boys met and became friends” I said, letting my minds wonders spill out.
“It’s interesting because we all live in different parts of England, and Niall didn’t even live in England until he moved from Ireland about 5 years ago” Zayn started and I nodded. “Harry and Louis went to the same high school and me, Liam and Niall went to the same high school, different from Louis and Harry’s” Zayn looked over at me full on and I felt a little clammy. “In England, around the age of 16 and 17, you’re already out of college and getting ready to go to a uni, ” Zayn informed me and I nodded. I heard about Uni’s and the school system in England. It’s much more different than ours here. “We were already out of high school and deciding on a Uni when Niall told us that he wa thinking about going to school in America. I thought that it was cool, so did Liam and we wanted to go to America to know what it was like to do school here. So we signed up to be foreign exchange students” Zayn said.
“So that’s how you met Louis and Harry?” I asked and Zayn gave me a so so expression.
“To be a foreign exchange student, someone has to offer to let you live with them. Louis’ uncle was on the list and the people in charge of this foreign exchange thing called him and asked if he would take us in. Turns out that Harry and Louis were going to visit Simon for a little while. They heard about the foreign exchange thing and decided that they wanted to join us” he said, his eyes somewhat distant as if he was reliving the moment. I thought it over and it made perfect sense.
“You all get along so well” I smiled. “Like you guys are brothers.”
“We are practically brothers. I’m so glad that I got to meet them” Zayn smiled wide and his eyes didn’t appear distant anymore.
“I’m glad too. I’m glad that I met all of you” I smiled and Zayn nodded.
“You’re one of my really good friends now, same with Nikki and Anjelica” Zayn said and I couldn’t be happier. “Speaking of Anjelica and Nikki, I don’t mean to be rude or nosy, but, where is there mom?” Zayn suddenly asked and I froze. Zayn noticed and frowned. “It’s not my business..”
“No, you should know, it’s just that it’s not my place to tell” I said, sitting up and sighing. Zayn sat up next to me and slung his arm over my shoulders.
“Hey man, it’s alright. Please, don’t be down” he said, pulling me into a warm side hug. I closed my eyes and smiled, breathing in his scent.
“I’m not, as long as one of my best friends is here” I said, referring to Zayn. I felt Zayn take in a sharp breath, and I looked up at his conflicting expression. Now it was my turn to tell him not to be down. I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer to me. “Don’t be down” I said, not sure why he looked so torn.
“I’m not, as long as my partner in crime is here” Zayn said, masking his expression with a dazzling smile. I didn’t realise what was happening until Zayns face was leaning in closer to mine. I stopped breathing and flushed. Zayn reached up and brushed my cheek with his thumb. I was about to close my eyes and lean into him, but he pulled back and held his thumb up to my face. “You had an eyelash on your cheek” he smiled. “Make a wish.” he encouraged. I closed my eyes and wished for the one thing that won’t be possible. Have Zayn want me. I blew out air, opening my eyes and watching the eyelash disappear from his thumb. “What did you wish for?” he asked, peering into my eyes from under his thick eyelashes.
“Can’t tell you or it won’t come true” I said, climbing off the trampoline and walking back into my house.
“Then when it comes true, you have to tell me” Zayn said, trailing behind me. I held back my sigh that was sure to escape through my lips.
“Okay” I said, turning around to face Zayn who was closing the door behind him.
“Promise?” he asked, walking up to me and holding up his pinky. I looked down at it. Nothing is going to happen and he most likely would forget anyways.
“Promise” I said, linking my pinky with his. Zayn gave my pinky a tight squeeze, causing my heart to beat a little faster.
*Back at Anjelica and Nicoles*
Nicole’s POV
Niall, Harry and Louis concluded their story on how they met. “That’s so cool!” I cooed. Harry chuckled and Louis gave me a puzzled expression.
“How is that cool?” Louis asked and I shrugged.
“I just think it’s cool how you all lived in different places, but all in the same country and came together in such a unique way” I said, still marveled by the story.
“Yeah, I guess” Niall smiled.
“So, how did you two meet?” Louis joked, asking me and Anjelica. I giggled and shook my head.
“We’re sisters, silly!” I said and saw Anjelica stiffen. I looked at her and she flashed me a fake smile. I blew it off and turned my attention back to the boys. “So um, what do you guys wanna do?” I asked, trying not to sound awkward.
“Eat” Niall said and we all laughed.
“Yeah, I could use some food. You guys can help yourselves to anything” my sister kindly offered, standing up and walking toward the kitchen. Niall followed quickly behind her and I smirked.
“They so need to get together” I said and Louis laughed.
“It would be nice” Harry commented, looking at me as if he was referring to something else.
“Yeah..” I nodded and headed to the kitchen. Niall had already dug into a bag of chips and Anjelica was munching on an apple. I walked over to the fridge and pulled it open, looking at the food inside. “You guys want sandwiches?” I offered to make some and they all happily agreed. I quickly scrapped up several sandwiches and handed them out to everyone, Niall receiving most of them.
“Did you poison this?” Louis asked, suspiciously biting into the sandwich. Before I could reply, Louis had something to say again. “Oh never mind, this tastes way too good to be poisoned” he complimented and I lightly blushed.
“Thanks” I said and bit into my own sandwich. After we ate, Louis rummaged through our many boxes of games.
“How about Scrabble?” Louis asked, holding up the board game.
“Harry cheats at that game” Niall whined and Harry looked shocked.
“I do not! How can you even cheat at that game?” Harry asked and Anjelica chimed in.
“You can, Nikki cheats at that game all the time” she said, siding with Niall.
“I do not!” I said, shocked. “Harry’s right, how do you even cheat at that game?” I said, siding with Harry. Harry and I were sitting next to each other, looking over at Niall and Anjelica sitting together. Anjelica and Niall were smiling and Harry and I were glaring.
“No Scrabble then..” Louis said, tossing it aside.
“How ‘bout we play something like Monopoly?” Niall suggested and Harry was quick to reply.
“No, we can’t because Niall cheats at that game” Harry said and Niall looked surprised.
“Yeah, so does Anjelica” I said and she gave me the evil eye.
“I soooo don’t!” Anjelica said and I stifled my laugh.
“You steal money from the bank!” I said, smiling.
“So..” Anjelica mumbled.
“How about charades?” Louis asked. We all looked over at him, sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by board games and holding up a small box.
“That sounds fun” Niall said and we all nodded in agreement.
“Charades it is! You two lovebirds are a team” Louis said, pushing Anjelica and Niall close together. “And you two lovebirds are a team” Louis said, pushing me and Harry together. I blushed deep red and looked up at Harry.
“We aren’t in love. We don’t even like each other like that” Harry mumbled under his breath and I was hurt. My thoughts started getting confused again, thoughts about me thinking that he liked me then hated me. I quickly pushed them back into my mind and stowed them away in my thought chambers.
“Louis, who’s going to be your partner?” Niall asked and Louis made a loud, fake laugh.
“Niall, my dear boy, I am here to make sure that no one cheats” Louis said.
“Oh, okay” Niall simply replied.
“Alright, Nikki, you start” Louis replied. I stood up, and Louis waved cards in my face.
“Pick a card, any card. But choose wisely my friend” Louis said and I just snatched a card from him. I looked down at it and groaned. It had ‘stripper’ neatly printed on it. Louis looked at it and burst out laughing. “what kind of charades makes you act like that?!” Louis giggled.
“Shut up” I mumbled, Anjelica, Niall and Harry curiously looking at us. I swiftly moved the other board games out of the way and handed the card to Louis to hold onto. Niall and Anjelica weren’t supposed to guess, but I didn’t want them knowing what I had to act as.
“Harry, this is a noun. And to make things harder, you have 2 minutes, time starts now” Louis said and I would glare at him for such a short amount of time, but let it quickly go and held up one finger to Harry.
“1 word?” he asked and I nodded. I then held up 8 fingers. “8 letters?” he asked and I nodded again. I stood there for a good 30 seconds, trying to decide what I should do. I finally stiffly and awkwardly danced close to Harry. Harry blushed and Niall snickered. I scowled at Niall before slowly and even more awkwardly peeling off my sweater.
“Dancer?” Harry gulped and I sadly shook my head. I nervously straddled Harry’s lap and I heard Louis whistle. I slowly danced, blushing mad and embarrassed. I made my hands to Harry’s luscious curls and rubbed his scalp. I saw Harry struggle to keep himself together and I was starting to confuse my thoughts again when I saw how many feelings he was feeling. I began to feel tingly and hot all over, exposed under Harrys stare.
“Less than 50 seconds” Louis warned and I looked at Harry slightly panicked, not wanting to lose to Niall and Anjelica. Harry looked into my eyes, a small smirk playing on his lips.
“Stripper” he said and I gratefully jumped off him.
“Correct” Louis announced.
“WHAT?!” Niall and Anjelica asked in shock, then burst out laughing.
“Oh stop” I said, trying not to blush anymore. I slipped on my sweater and sat on the couch next to Harry. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sit so close to him after what just happened, but we were a team after all.
“Alright this is a noun” Niall said, handing it to Louis who announced that the time was starting. Niall held up 1 finger and Anjelica correctly asked if it was one word. Niall then held up 6 fingers and Anjelica correctly asked if it had 6 letters. Niall then went on doing silly things like pointing to his hand and flailing pens and papers around. We giggled at his actions and Harry whispered in my ear.
“Good acting by the way” he said, his breath turning my ears red. I slightly turned my head to the side and glanced at him from the corner of my eye. There he goes AGAIN, turning on and off with me.
“I don’t know who enjoyed it more, me or you” I surprisingly said. Harry was taken back at what I said and I turned to look back at Niall. I smiled to myself, glad that I wasn’t going to let his strange liking me then not liking me emotions play with me.
*Back at Nick’s house*
Nick’s POV
“Ed sheeran?! No way! I love him!” Zayn exclaimed, sitting straight up on my bed. I smiled and nodded.
“Yep, it was the best concert ever. Sadly, my shoes got muddy, and they were white, but it was worth it” I said.
“Man, I love concerts. You get to dance around and sing. It’s almost like a club, but you don’t really sing and drinks are involved” Zayn said.
“I’ve never been to one” I answered. Clubs seemed really fun, it’s just that the only one I would be able to go with would be with Nikki or Anjelica.
“Never been to a club!? Man, have you been missing out! They have so many clubs in England” Zayn said.
“Nikki doesn’t go to them because of the alcohol and Anjelica is busy with college” I explained.
“Dude! You don’t have to drink there, and it’s only one night! It’s so much fun, feeling the adrenalin in you” Zayn said, smiling to himself.
“You should take me sometime” slipped out of my mouth and my eyes slightly widened.
“Absolutely!” Zayn excitedly nodded his head, but soon stopped and put his hand on his head. “Ow, maybe I shouldn’t shake my head so hard” he said and I giggled.
“You think?” was all I could manage to say.
“Nick?” Zayn said once I stopped giggling.
“Yes?” I asked, looking in his eyes.
“Have you ever had alcohol before?” he curiously asked and I nodded.
“Yep, my mom should really lock the liquor cabinet” I said and Zayn chuckled.
“So you know what the feeling is like?” Zayn asked and I nodded again. “What about Nikki?”
“Nikki? The saint? Yeah, like that would ever happen” I said and Zayn chuckled once more. “She told me that when she was 5, she accidentally drank her dads beer. She thought that it was apple juice. She gulped a bunch down before realizing that it wasn’t apple juice and getting sick all over” I laughed and Zayn joined in.
“Sounds like she didn't like it too much” Zayn said.
“She was 5 afterall” I pointed out.
“Hey, some 5 year olds can get pretty crazy” Zayn joked and I giggled. I loved the feeling of laughing with Zayn. It made me happy and natural. Zayn’s phone rang and he pulled out his phone from his pocket, answering it without looking at the ID. “Hello?” he answered and I could hear yelling on the other side. Zayn moved the phone away from his ear with a wince. I gave him a questioning look and he turned his phone on speaker.
“‘I LOVE LOUIS’!?!? REALLY?!” Liam yelled through the phone and Zayn and I stifle our laughter. “On my leg, MY LEG!” Liam yelled.
“Calm down Liam, your leg hair will grow and you can just make Louis do another humiliating dare” Zayn chuckled and the line was quiet.
“What should I dare him to do? It has to be super embarrassing and crazy. I’m saving my last one” Liam said a bit calmer.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I’m gonna have to get back to you on that” Zayn said, looking over at me.
“Okay, well, where are you and that little dick?” Liam asked and I giggled openly.
“I’m at Nick’s and Niall, Harry, and the little dick are at Nikki’s” Zayn answered.
“Coward, runs to Nikki in his time of..scaredness. Okay that made no sense but oh well. Anyways, now that I am a bit calmed down, you guys should get home. Simon apparently didn’t know that you guys left and wants you guys to come home” Liam said and I pouted, not wanting Zayn to leave. Zayn sighed and looked at the phone.
“Okay, I’ll call the guys to pick me up” Zayn said and hung up. Zayn looked at me and gave me a sad smile. “I had a really good time, and I don’t want to leave” he softly told me. I felt my head feel light and my insides flutter at his words.
“Me too..” I said, just as soft as he did. Zayn suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, but I didn’t mind. I hugged him back, closing my eyes.
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” He asked, not losing his tight hold.
“No” I said and we pulled away.
“Wanna hang out tomorrow? Me and the boys?” he asked and I smiled.
“Yeah, you guys can come over here and jump all you want on my trampoline” I said and Zayn smiled cheesy.
“Yay!” he said and grabbed his phone, dialing one of the boys numbers.
*Back at Anjelica and Nicoles*
Anjelica’s POV
“Left leg green” Niall smiled at me and I lifted my left leg over Louis to place it on the green. Harry, Nikki, Louis and I were all tangled up in a game of twister. Louis wanted to play this time and Niall offered to sit out.
“Harry, your hair is tickling me” Louis complained and Harry chuckled. Both my legs were over Louis chest and my arms were under Nikki’s stomach. Nikki was positioned like a downward facing dog yoga pose, struggling to stay up. Harry had some limbs stretched about and his head hovered over Louis’, his curls tickling his face.
“Sorry” he replied and Louis blew air at Harry’s hair.
“Okay Nikki, right hand blue” he said and Nikki groaned. She tried to reach over past us, but failed and flopped to the ground.
“Nikki’s out!!!” Louis shouted.
“Yep, that just leaves Harry, Louis and Anjelica” Niall said and Nikki crawled off to Niall. Niall gave me a wink before helping Nikki up off the ground. I blushed and shifted a little. Niall spun and called out to Harry.
“Harry, Right leg yellow” he said and Harry stretched his right leg out in ease. Darn long limbs, I never really had them. My arms were long, but not long enough. Same with my legs. Louis phone ringing almost made us all topple over, but we held on strong. Nikki crouched down and slipped her hand in Louis back pocket.
“Hey hey, watch the buns” Louis said and Nikki rolled her eyes. She answered his phone and her face lit up.
“Hey Zayn, Nick” She said and she put them on speaker.
“Hey!” the both said, then started laughing.
“Hey!” we all replied back.
“What’s up?” Louis asked.
“Liam woke up and said that Simon wants us home. Can you come pick me up?” Zayn asked. Louis, Niall and Harry let out a disapproving groan and Nikki giggled. “Yeah, I know I feel the same way” Zayn said.
“We’ll be there in a little bit” Louis replied and told Nikki to hang up. Nikki hung up and slipped it back into Louis back pocket. I was about to move when Louis’ voice stopped me.
“Wait, lets finish first” Louis said and I agreed, wanting to prove to Louis just how flexible I am. Niall spun again and was about to instruct Louis, when the phone started ringing again.
“I swear if that’s-” Harry started to say, but Nikki cut him off.
“No, that's ‘Jelca’s phone” Nikki said, and I could feel the slight vibration in my back pocket. Without warning, Louis reached into my back pocket with quick ease and answered.
“HELLOO!!!” he shouted into my phone. “WE’RE PLAYING TWISTER!!” Louis yelled.
“Louis!” I squealed and reached over to grab it from him. His face went blank and he looked over at Nikki.
“It’s for you” Louis said and handed the phone to a surprised Nikki. Everyone seemed to get suprised today.
“Hello?” She spoke into the phone and she went pale. Her eyes widened and she just froze.
“Nikki?” I asked, afraid of who it was. My phone slipped from her fingers and she just stared straight ahead. “Nikki?!” I said, frightened now.
“Mom...” Nikki said, barely audible and I froze. I looked up at Niall who was looking at me concerned.
“Mom..” I whispered.
Anjelica’s POV
I lazily leaned on the shopping cart and watched my sister nod her head the music that blasted through her headphones. She picked up some veggies and tossed them into the cart. I looked down at them and frowned. I picked up the bag of carrots and immaturely chucked them at my sisters back. I saw her back stiffen and I suppressed a laugh as she slowly turned around to glare at me.
“Why did you do that?” Nikki asked, pulling out one of her earphones and picking up the carrots from the ground.
“Carrots are gross” I shrugged, pushing the cart and passing her.
“No, they are tasty and good for your eyesight” Nikki said, catching up to me and tossing the carrots back into the cart. I scowled at the carrots and hissed. “Oh stop the face” my sister said, bumping my hip with hers.
“Don’t tell me what to do” I said, now smiling as my sister tried to come up with something witty to say.
“Oh whatever” she eventually said, throwing her hands up and walking over to the fruit section. She picked up a grape and grumpily popped it in her mouth.
“No eating the food in the store unless you buy it” I said, pushing the cart over to her.
“I’m testing them. You used to do it all the time” She reminded.
“Yeah, and I still do” I replied, grabbing a handful of grapes and shoving them in my mouth..
“‘Jelca!” My sister gasped.
“What? I’m just testing” I smirked through my mouthful of grapes.
“Oooo!! Security!” She yelled, causing a few people to look our way.
“Stop, you’re embarrassing” I mumbled, quickly pushing the cart along.
“I’m embarrassing? You’re the one who makes faces at people and talk about disturbing things really loud” she said, grabbing food she past and catching up with me. The whole time we shopped, my sister and I would make smart remarks and laugh at each other, but not in a mean way. As I bagged some of the food, I saw Nikki pull out money from her wallet and sigh.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when we walked out the automatic sliding doors.
“The money that mom gave us is starting to get low..” she said, nervously fiddling with the receipt. I frowned, but didn’t start worrying like my sister always did. She worries way to much for her age and carries a lot on her back.
“Don’t stress. Remember that we don’t have to pay the condo expenses because mom paid enough for us not to pay for a few more months. I’ll just get a job on the side” I said, offering to take off some stress off her shoulders and pitch in to help.
“No, I absolutely won’t let you” Nikki objected, stopping in the middle of the parking lot and giving me a stern look. “I will get a job, you have school to worry about” she said.
“You have school to kiddo” I pointed out.
“But mine isn’t as pressuring and hard as college” she countered and I couldn’t help but agree with her. College wasn’t easy and I was just barely passing my tests. I really had to pick up things before final grades. We started walking towards my car again, but Nikki still had a stern look on her face. I don’t like seeing her so serious, it’s not like her. I slowly pushed the cart along, disregarding the swerving of its wheels. She popped the trunk open and started unloading the heavy paper bags, not saying a word. I picked up one of the bags and noticed the bag of carrots on top. I smiled to myself and grabbed it, prepared to chuck it at her like I did earlier. But she turned around and caught me in the act. “Give it to me” she ordered, holding out her hand.
“Lighten up, Nick” I said, calling her by her other nickname. I usually don’t call her it because our friend Nick is always around and things would get mixed up.
“Only mom calls me that” she said, grabbing the carrots from me. That was another reason why I usually don’t call her Nick. My mom was the only one to call her that. “You know, moms birthday is coming up..” Nikki softly said, avoiding eye contact.
“Is that what this is about? You know what else is coming up? Thanksgiving!!” I said, trying to change the subject. She looked up at me as I started making chicken noises.
“You know, Thanksgiving is turkey, not chicken” she said, finally lightening up and cracking a smile.
“So? We don’t discriminate” I said, loading up the last of the bags. I tossed her my purse before returning the cart in the proper place. I sped-walked to the car and saw Nikki in the drivers seat. My eyes widened and I walked faster to the drivers side. “There’s no way in hell you are driving my car!” I yelled as she rolled down the window.
“It’s not like I don’t have my permit” she said, starting up the car.
“Nicole Carolina Frank you are not driving my car” I said and she squinted her eyes up at me, not liking how I called her by her full name. This little girl was even daring to think that she could drive my car, MY car. I reached for the door handle but she locked the door. I burned my eyes into her and she just made a face. “CARO-”
“Alright alright” she said, unlocking the door. I swung the door open and was about to pull her out, but she climbed over to the back seats.
“Yeah you better stay back there” I said, getting in the car and driving to our condo.
Nicole’s POV
“Aren’t you going to help?” I asked, struggling with the heavy paper bags in my arms.
“Nope, as punishment for trying to drive my car you have to carry in all the groceries” Anjelica gave me a cheesy smile and I grumbled. Even though she was being a butt face, she still was nice enough to make sure I didn’t fall in the parking lot. She walked in front of me as we walked up the stairs, glancing over her shoulder a few times. There were only about 15 steps up to our condo, so it didn’t take long to reach the top. Suddenly, Anjelica stopped walking and froze on the top step. I almost bumped into her, and to avoid bumping into her, I leaned back and stumbled backwards.
“‘Jelca!” I squeaked, and watched her turn around, horror washing over her face.
“Nikki!” she yelled and reached out towards me as I slipped. It was weird how I didn’t just flat out fall on the steps. I kind of just like flew backwards and everything was in slow motion. I clutched onto the paper bags, but never left my sisters frightened eyes.
“Catch her!!” I heard Niall yell, appearing at Anjelica’s side. I felt strong arms wrap around me, catching me from my fall. I could feel the person lean back, almost falling, but stood firm. I saw my sister and Niall relax and I looked up over my shoulder to see Harry looking down at me and Louis holding Harry.
“Are you alright?” He asked in a raspy voice, Louis steadying both Harry and I. My voice trapped behind my teeth as I felt his breath tickle my face, our noses touching, and all I managed was to nod. Our noses rubbed as I nodded and I regretted making that action. My cheeks burned and I turned around to see Niall rushing down almost more than half the steps to grab the heavy bags from me.
“Thanks..” I murmured, looking down. I wasn’t sure if I was thanking Niall or Harry or even Louis, but they all replied with a “no problem.”
“Can you walk?” Harry asked and I nodded once more, not turning around to look at him. I broke from his grasp and walked up the steps, Louis bragging about how he saved both our butts.
“What are you doing here anyways?” I asked Louis, closing the door after they walked in my place.
“Well...” Harry said and Louis smirked.
“I pulled a prank on Liam for daring me to flirt with Taylor for a week” Louis said. “And lets just say I made Harry help me with” he continued, nudging Harry.
“What did you do?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.
“Shaved I love Louis on his leg hair, both legs” Louis chuckled and I puzzled.
“How did he not feel that?” I asked.
“Sleeping pills..” Harry mumbled, looking down and smiling.
“YOU DRUGGED HIM?!” I shouted, shocked that they would do that.
“No, he said that he was tired so I told him to try some sleeping pills and he did. He was out like a light” Harry defended himself.
“And we fled so he wouldn’t rip our heads off” Louis nodded. I let out a short laugh and brushed past them to the kitchen. Niall and Anjelica were putting up the groceries and I was shocked. Anjelica never puts up the groceries.
“Niall, what did you do to get my sister to put up the groceries?” I smirked and Anjelica frowned at me.
“I offered to help..?” Niall innocently said. Anjelica giggled and I smiled at Niall. Those two I tell ya.
“Harry and Louis here pulled a prank on Liam” I said to Anjelica and she nodded in understanding to why Louis and Harry were there, but turned curiously over to Niall.
“So why are you here?” Anjelica asked and Niall blushed.
“Well, we dropped Zayn off at Nicks house because he wanted to hang out with him and I didn’t want to be left alone with liam” Niall explained and I could tell that he was partially lying. He wanted to see my sister, and I’m sure that Harry and Louis knew that too. I looked over at Louis and winked at him, Louis immediately getting what I meant. Liam and I were really close, but Louis and I were a close second. Harry looked at Louis and me, furrowing his eyebrows as to figure out what we were up to.
“So Nikki? Where is your underwear drawer?” He said, wandering out into the hallway.
“Louis!” I called, acting frustrated and ran after him, Harry slowly following behind. The plan was to get Niall and Anjelica ane, which was a success. I walked into my room and really saw Louis going through my drawers. I gasped and shrieked. “LOUIS!!” Louis turned around with a smirk and held up my Spongebob underwear.
“Spongebob? Really?” he said.
“Put those down!!!” I yelled and attacked him. He stretched his hand high just out of my reach and I jumped to try and reach them.
“Hey, I have to make our arguing sound believable” Louis shrugged and I glared at him.
Anjelica’s POV
Niall snickered at the sound of Nikki shrieking. I smiled, shaking my head and taking out food from another paper bag.
“So how are you?” Niall asked, surprising me. I blushed and felt myself shrinking back. I usually wasn’t this shy, but lately, I felt self conscious around Niall.
“I’m okay..” I replied to Nialls back. “How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you” Niall answered, turning around with a sweet smile. His smile assured me not to feel so insecure around him. I gave him a smile and reached down into the bag. My smile quickly faded as I pulled out an envelope with a card that read “Happy Birthday!”
“Nikki...” I growled and tossed the card on the marble counter.
“What was that?” Niall said, cocking his head to the side and walking closer to me.
“Nothing” I said, looking at the floor with growing frustration.
“Well, you don’t look like it’s just ‘nothing’” Niall said, taking another step closer to me. I turned around, stopping the death glare that was sure to burn him. “Hey, I don’t mean to pressure you.
You don’t have to tell me” He softly spoke, his Irish accent almost hard to understand.
“No” suddenly slipped from between my lips. A strange urge came over me and I wanted to tell him. I want to share things with Niall. I like him..yes, and if I want to get any closer to him, he should know. I don’t know where this all came from, but it did and I built up the rising confidence to face him. “I want to tell you” I said, looking straight into his ocean eyes. Niall simply nodded, as if to help me continue on with my words. “As you can see, my mother isn’t around” I said and Niall blurted out his thoughts.
“I’m sorry” he sympathetically patted my shoulder and I quickly cleared his assumptions.
“No, she’s not dead. She just left. She got a phone call 8 months ago and just left” I said, remembering that days events. I remember Nikki crying at my door with bundles of money and bags in her hand. Mom called and told me to take care of Nikki and take the money that she gave her. Nikki told me that mom got a phone call and just lost it; packed her bags, gave her bunches of money and dropped her off here.
“Just like that?” Niall asked and I nodded.
“Yep, hasn’t called or anything since. We’ve tried to contact her, but she doesn’t pick up or we can’t reach her. That card is for her. Her birthday is on Thanksgiving this year” I said, looking over at the card.
“The thing is, I don’t know what to do when Nikki turns 18 next year, ‘cause then I’m not her guardian and I don’t know how to get her adoption papers” I blurted out and covered my mouth in shock. Niall's eyes grew wide.
“She’s adopted?” he asked and I looked down. “But you guys look so much alike” he said and I nodded again.
“Mom always said that we were gods twins..” I said, forcing a quick laugh before continuing.
“The thing is..Nikki doesn’t even know..” I whispered, becoming fragile. “I don’t know what to do..” I confessed. Niall and I were already pretty close, but there was still a little space between us, and Niall broke it. Our chests now touched and his face was close to mine. He reached up and cupped my face, making me look in his eyes.
“Everythings gonna be alright..” Niall spoke with such a gentle voice, stroking my cheek with his thumb. He leaned in even closer, his nose nudging my light red cheeks, our lips just barely touching.
“Hey Niall, did you know that Nikki had Spongebob underwear?” Louis asked, walking in the kitchen. Both Niall and I froze, slowly turning our heads to look at Louis. “Woah, don’t mind me, do continue” Louis smirked and I rolled my eyes. Niall quickly pecked my cheeks before pulling away and clumsily knocking things over and putting groceries back up. I still stand frozen, looking dumbfoundedly at Louis.
“Thanks for announcing it to the world” a grouchy Nikki said, appearing next to Louis. Nikki looked at me, unable to move, unable to comprehend that Niall was about to kiss me.
“Oh gosh Louis what did I miss?” Nikki smiled, forgetting her frustration toward him and now begging for information.
“Nothing” Niall said, folding up the paper bags. I blinked a few times and forced myself to snap out of it. I stood up straighter and gave them all a smile. Harry appeared on the other side of Louis and raised an eyebrow.
“Yep” I agreed with Niall and looked over at him.. He smiled, almost forgetting Nikki, Louis and Harry there.
“I was just about to tell Anjelica about how all us boys met” he said and my smile grew, excited to know a little more about Niall.
*Meanwhile at Nicks house*
Nick’s POV
I munched on my miniature muffin, my legs curled up underneath me on the tan couch in my livingroom. I watched the tv, taking in everything about the show on the screen. Zayn said that back in England, the tv show Skins was popular and he liked a lot. I thought that maybe I should watch it, so then I could talk to him about something he likes. I don’t want to bore him.
I reached over to the small table next to me and grabbed the can full of soda, Zayns favorite soda. I found it interesting how he doesn’t drink tea.
Almost everyone in England drink tea. Here it’s coffee and there it’s tea. To be honest, I’m not much of a soda drinker, but I could grow used to it. I jumped when the doorbell rang, causing the soda to spill on me. I cursed under my breath and shushed my barking dogs, Pebbles and Bailey. Pebbles small paws patted my feet softly and the old little, black wiener dog looked up at me. “Pebbles, move please” I asked, barely lifting my foot off the ground to help him get the message. Pebbles scurried off to the door where Bailey still barked. The doorbell rang again, causing the dogs to go berserk. “Coming!” I yelled, not wanting the person to ring the doorbell again. I rushed to the door, my feet squishing in the carpeted areas and patting on the tile or wooden areas. I usually would have fixed myself quickly before answering the door, but right now I didn’t care. There was sticky soda on me, these dogs won’t stop barking and now I would have to rewind back to the parts I missed on skins. I pushed my dogs behind me so now that my legs we blocking their way. “What?” I rudely said, yanking the front door open. Zayn sheepishly stood at my doorstep, hands in his pockets. I blinked a few times, shocked that Zayn was here.
“Sorry..um..Hi?” Zayn said, nervously smiling.
“Hi..” I said, becoming breathless.
“I know I didn’t call, but may I come in?” He asked and I couldn’t deny those silky eyes. My dogs got around my barrier of legs and jumped up at Zayn.
“Bailey! Pebbles!” I said, reaching down to grab their collars. Baileys much larger breed from pebbles made it harder for me to hold. His floppy ears, white hair and ginger spots won Zayn over.
“Aw, it’s okay. Their cute” Zayn said, bending down to pet Bailey. Bailey instantly warmed up to Zayn and licked his palm. Zayn smiled genuinely now, his smile deserving the title of being cute rather than my dogs.
“Ah, come in” I said, moving aside to let Zayn in. Zayn straightened up and walked in with a “thank you.” I shuffled my dogs in closed the door. Zayns actually here, he’s here!! I did a little celebratory dance, excited that Zayn Malik wanted to hang out with me. But my celebratory dance stopped and would have to be used later because I realized that I still had sticky soda on me, Skins on tv and was drinking his favorite soda. I now realized how weird I might look, him knowing that I didn’t do these things. What if he thinks I’m a stalker?! Which I am not. I rushed to the living room and spotted Zayn looking at some pictures on the wall. Luckly, Skins was on commercial and I fumbled with the remote to change the channel.
“You’re wet..?” Zayn said, looking over at me and pointing to the soda spills on my sweats and sweater.
“Um..I spilt soda-I MEAN, milk-I MEAN, coffee-NO, I MEAN WATER!” I stumbled over my words and blushed down at my hands. Zayn chuckled.
“Well alright then” Zayn said and I couldn’t have felt so embarrassed in my life. Zayn glanced around and discovered the half empty soda can on the table next to the couch where I had been sitting at.
“Is that coke?” He asked and I scurried to stand in front of the can.
“Psshcoke?No!Wedon’thavethat.HeyIshouldgocleanupI’mgoingtocleanup’scuse me” I spoke fast and fled from the living room, hiding the coke from Zayns view. I split some soda on the tile floor and I frantically ordered the dogs to lick it clean, not knowing if soda would harm them or not. I sprinted up the stairs and busted through my bedroom. I placed the soda on one of my night stands and grabbed some random clothes laying around. I fled to the bathroom to wipe off the sticky soda and change in record time. I sprinted down the steps, almost falling a couple times, but making it back to the living room in one piece.
“That was fast” Zayn said, turning around, sensing my presence.
“Yep, well I’m just..fast” I awkwardly said, making a fool out of myself.
“So, what do you wanna do?” Zayn asked, shifting his weight back and forth on his legs. I couldn’t hold back the giggle that erupted from me.
“I should be the one asking you that. You’re my guest and all” I stated.
“Yeah, true” Zayn smiled. I looked at the clock hanging next to the pictures and read the time.
“Well, it’s only a little past noon, are you hungry?” I asked, not very full from just eating a tiny muffin.
“Um, yeah sure” Zayn replied and I beckoned him to follow me to the kitchen. I headed straight for the large pantry and opened it, revealing all my endless food to Zayn.
“Have anything you want” I said, turning around and smiling at Zayns shocked expression.
“You have a lot of food” he said, staring at the food.
“You do too!” I said, remembering their big pantry stocked up with food.
“Yeah, but that’s for 6 people, this is only for three” he said, jaw slightly dropped.
“Not true, I have a younger sister, two older sisters and a brother” I informed him and his jaw dropped even more. His expression was so cute I just wanted to take a picture so I could stare at it. Okay, that sounded a little creepy, but I would put it on my wall like a poster. Now see, that doesn’t sound too creepy.
“Where are they?” Zayn asked, snapping out of his shocked little faze of food and siblings.
“Maddison mostly stays with our grandmother since my parents are gone a lot and Maddison is too young to stay home by herself. My grandma babysits her while I go out, but most of the time my sister just wants to hang out there with her. My older brother is in the navy, one of my older sisters is a nanny in Germany and the other one is in San Diego attending college there” I explained, feeding him new things he didn’t know.
“Wow, but then it’s basically you and your parents eating here” Zayn said and I shrugged.
“I guess, but Nikki and Anjelica come over and eat so much food, and Maddison takes food with her to my grandma’s, I eat like Niall and when my siblings visit, you best know that they be eating” I said, that last part like a black southerner. Zayn rewarded me with his heavenly laugh and nodded.
“Well then, why are your parents always gone?” he asked, drawn to me by curiosity.
“My mother is a nurse and my father is a businessman” I said, turning back to the pantry to grab the box of cheeze nips.
“That’s cool, but don’t you get lonely?” Zayn asked and I pondered for a quick second. I thought nothing about everyone gone, to work or to school or wherever. I had Nikki and Anjelica to go too, and their mom, wherever she is.
“No” I truthfully answered and move past him to go to the fridge. I shivered as I felt the heat radiating off from him, and I thought that I saw him shiver too, but it must have been my imagination. I opened the fridge and pulled out a juice pouch for me and a coke for Zayn.
“I thought that you didn’t have coke?” Zayn asked, a bag of chips now held in his hand. My face flushed and my mind zoomed as I tried to think of something to come up with.
“Did I say that? I didn’t mean it. This is for when friends come over” I lied. I wasn’t proud that I lied to Zayn, but I was impressed that I came up with it.
“Oh, understandable” Zayn nodded and caught the soda I threw at him. He put the chips down as I stuck the straw in my juice pouch and nervously drank from it. Zayn was just so calm and hot while I was a jumpy mess. I watched Zayn open his can and gasped when the soda exploded into his face. We both stood there, me staring at Zayn and Zayn just standing there shocked. It must have fizzed up when I threw it at him.
“Zayn I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean for that to happen, I didn’t do it on purpose!” I said, fumbling to find a towel. Zayn chuckled and wiped his eyes.
“It’s no problem, I know that you didn’t mean to do it” he said. I took the soda from his sticky hands. Zayn’s hands clasped mine as he blindly tried to feel around. I gasped at the warm, tingling sensation, even though his hands were sticky. “Nick?” Zayn asked.
“I’m going to go get a wet towel for you” I said, slowly slipping my fingers from his. I rubbed my hands as I walked to the bathroom, trying to hold onto the tingling feeling I felt. His hands are large and smooth, almost like silk. His fingers were perfectly tanned like the rest of him. I held my hand up to my cheek and sighed, wanting Zayns hand to be the one touching my cheek. I dreamily grabbed a towel hanging of a rack in the bathroom and dreamily walked back to the kitchen where Zayn decided to just stay still with his eyes closed. I turned on the sink and let the water soak the towel. I squeezed the towel over the sink and walked over to Zayn. “Here” I said, gently taking his hand and placing the towel in it.
“Thanks” he said, lifting the towel up to his face. I stared as he wiped his face and neck clean. He opened his eyes I desperately wanted to get lost in and smiled. “All good?” He asked.
“G-good” I replied, marveling at the twinkle in his eyes. He smiled and passed me to further was his hands in the sink. I decided to distract myself by wiping off the soda can for Zayn. I handed him back his soda when he finished and he smiled. “Wanna watch tv?” I blurted out.
“Sure” he grabbed the chips. I grabbed my juice and cheeze nips and walked into the living room. Zayn and I sat on the same couch, statically close to each other. I picked up the remote and flipped through channels, hoping that something was on that Zayn would really enjoy. Soccer flashed on the screen and Zayn cheered.
“Football!” He yelled.
“Soccer!” I awkwardly cheered, looking down and opening the box.
“I never understood why Americans call it soccer” Zayn said, popping the bag of chips open with ease.
“I don’t know. Football makes perfect sense because you use your foot and it’s a ball. Here, in football you mostly throw it and it’s not even a ball” I shrugged and shoved food in my mouth.
“Exactly!” he said, looking at me. “You Americans are quite interesting.”
“Actually, it’s the other way around. You British people are quite interesting” I said, smiling at him.
“Nah, you guys have cute accents” Zayn said and I blushed.
“No! You guys have cute accents! I mean you say mum instead of mom, that’s just adorable!” I protested, then blushed more at what I said.
“I guess, but in my opinion, Americans are cuter” Zayn slightly blushed and turned his attention to the tv screen. My face was probably a fire hydrant now, flattered by Zayn liking us Americans. I sipped my juice and tried to focus on the game between England and Brazil, but of course I got distracted by Zayn. Zayn got lost in the game and didn’t notice me staring at him. He had a little stubble, which made him look even sexier than he already was. His eyelashes seemed even longer than they were yesterday, and he looked so natural and comfortable. I snapped my head away when Zayn looked down at me. “Do you like football- I mean soccer?” Zayn asked, trying to start up a conversation.
“Yeah” I said, not looking at him. I actually have only played soccer in school at P.E., I’ve never played it for fun.
“Do you play it?” Zayn asked and I wasn’t sure if I should lie or not. I don’t really even know much about soccer so if I said that I do then he’ll talk about it with me, but if I say that I don’t then we won’t have anything to talk about and be able to share his interest. My dogs saved the day by scratching on the door leading to the backyard.
“Sorry, they probably have to go to the bathroom” I gave Zayn an apologetic smile.
“It’s alright, can I come with you?” He said.
“You can, but there’s nothing interesting about dogs going to the bathroom” I laughed a little and walked over to open the door for the dogs. They ran through the door and Bailey started running in fast circles around my pool.
“What do you feed your dogs?” Zayn joked, watching Bailey.
“Super food, I dunno. Bailey always does this before he goes to the bathroom” I said, stepping outside with Zayn.
“You have a nice backyard” Zayn complemented.
“Thank you” I said. Zayn walked around, looking at the chairs and statues. Zayn disappeared around the corner and yelled.
“YOU HAVE A TRAMPOLINE!?” he yelled and I giggled.
“Yeah” I yelled back and headed back to where Zayn was and saw him childishly scampering onto the big trampoline. I giggled when he bounced around in circles, making funny noises and faces.
“Come on Nick!” He called to me. I smiled and climbed onto the trampoline with Zayn. He pulled me up to my feet and I bounced around with him. “I’ve always wanted a trampoline!” Zayn yelled and bounced higher.
“You can come over more, you know to jump on my trampoline” I said, happy with the fact that this could get Zayn to come over more.
“Really? Next time I should bring the boys” Zayn said.
“Speaking of the boys, were are they?” I asked, now curious as to why Zayn came to my place alone. Zayn bounced to close to me as I said that and I ended up losing my balance. I bumped into him, causing him to squeal like a girl and we ended falling down onto the trampoline in laughing fits. “You just..you just..” I struggled to say between my laughs.
“Squealed like a girl” zayn finished for me with a chuckle and then squealed again. I laughed even more and rolled around with Zayn on the trampoline. Once we calmed down, I looked over at Zayn who was smiling at me. “Liams at home and Louis, Niall and Harry are at Nikki’s” Zayn said and I puzzled.
“What?” I asked, giving him a confused smile.
“You asked where the boys where” Zayn said.
“Ohh! But, why?” I asked.
“Well, Louis and Harry pulled a prank on Liam while he was sleeping so they wanted to leave before he wakes up to kill them. Niall wanted to go with Harry and Louis to hang out with Nikki and Anjelica” Zayn said. “And I wanted to come hang out with you because I remember you told me yesterday that you had nothing to do.”
“That’s nice of you, and what did Louis do?” I asked, thinking of all the possible things Louis could do.
“Shaved ‘I love Louis’ in his Liams leg hair. BOTH legs” zayn chuckled and I felt bad for Liam, but I also couldn’t help but laugh.
“Poor Liam” I laughed and Zayn nodded.
“Yeah, but he’ll get over it. Liam’s super sweet and could never stay mad at anyone” Zayn said and I agreed. After a few minutes of laying there in silence, glancing at each other at times and smiling nervously when our eyes locked, I spoke up.
“So Zayn, we may be good friends, but I don’t even know how all of you boys met and became friends” I said, letting my minds wonders spill out.
“It’s interesting because we all live in different parts of England, and Niall didn’t even live in England until he moved from Ireland about 5 years ago” Zayn started and I nodded. “Harry and Louis went to the same high school and me, Liam and Niall went to the same high school, different from Louis and Harry’s” Zayn looked over at me full on and I felt a little clammy. “In England, around the age of 16 and 17, you’re already out of college and getting ready to go to a uni, ” Zayn informed me and I nodded. I heard about Uni’s and the school system in England. It’s much more different than ours here. “We were already out of high school and deciding on a Uni when Niall told us that he wa thinking about going to school in America. I thought that it was cool, so did Liam and we wanted to go to America to know what it was like to do school here. So we signed up to be foreign exchange students” Zayn said.
“So that’s how you met Louis and Harry?” I asked and Zayn gave me a so so expression.
“To be a foreign exchange student, someone has to offer to let you live with them. Louis’ uncle was on the list and the people in charge of this foreign exchange thing called him and asked if he would take us in. Turns out that Harry and Louis were going to visit Simon for a little while. They heard about the foreign exchange thing and decided that they wanted to join us” he said, his eyes somewhat distant as if he was reliving the moment. I thought it over and it made perfect sense.
“You all get along so well” I smiled. “Like you guys are brothers.”
“We are practically brothers. I’m so glad that I got to meet them” Zayn smiled wide and his eyes didn’t appear distant anymore.
“I’m glad too. I’m glad that I met all of you” I smiled and Zayn nodded.
“You’re one of my really good friends now, same with Nikki and Anjelica” Zayn said and I couldn’t be happier. “Speaking of Anjelica and Nikki, I don’t mean to be rude or nosy, but, where is there mom?” Zayn suddenly asked and I froze. Zayn noticed and frowned. “It’s not my business..”
“No, you should know, it’s just that it’s not my place to tell” I said, sitting up and sighing. Zayn sat up next to me and slung his arm over my shoulders.
“Hey man, it’s alright. Please, don’t be down” he said, pulling me into a warm side hug. I closed my eyes and smiled, breathing in his scent.
“I’m not, as long as one of my best friends is here” I said, referring to Zayn. I felt Zayn take in a sharp breath, and I looked up at his conflicting expression. Now it was my turn to tell him not to be down. I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer to me. “Don’t be down” I said, not sure why he looked so torn.
“I’m not, as long as my partner in crime is here” Zayn said, masking his expression with a dazzling smile. I didn’t realise what was happening until Zayns face was leaning in closer to mine. I stopped breathing and flushed. Zayn reached up and brushed my cheek with his thumb. I was about to close my eyes and lean into him, but he pulled back and held his thumb up to my face. “You had an eyelash on your cheek” he smiled. “Make a wish.” he encouraged. I closed my eyes and wished for the one thing that won’t be possible. Have Zayn want me. I blew out air, opening my eyes and watching the eyelash disappear from his thumb. “What did you wish for?” he asked, peering into my eyes from under his thick eyelashes.
“Can’t tell you or it won’t come true” I said, climbing off the trampoline and walking back into my house.
“Then when it comes true, you have to tell me” Zayn said, trailing behind me. I held back my sigh that was sure to escape through my lips.
“Okay” I said, turning around to face Zayn who was closing the door behind him.
“Promise?” he asked, walking up to me and holding up his pinky. I looked down at it. Nothing is going to happen and he most likely would forget anyways.
“Promise” I said, linking my pinky with his. Zayn gave my pinky a tight squeeze, causing my heart to beat a little faster.
*Back at Anjelica and Nicoles*
Nicole’s POV
Niall, Harry and Louis concluded their story on how they met. “That’s so cool!” I cooed. Harry chuckled and Louis gave me a puzzled expression.
“How is that cool?” Louis asked and I shrugged.
“I just think it’s cool how you all lived in different places, but all in the same country and came together in such a unique way” I said, still marveled by the story.
“Yeah, I guess” Niall smiled.
“So, how did you two meet?” Louis joked, asking me and Anjelica. I giggled and shook my head.
“We’re sisters, silly!” I said and saw Anjelica stiffen. I looked at her and she flashed me a fake smile. I blew it off and turned my attention back to the boys. “So um, what do you guys wanna do?” I asked, trying not to sound awkward.
“Eat” Niall said and we all laughed.
“Yeah, I could use some food. You guys can help yourselves to anything” my sister kindly offered, standing up and walking toward the kitchen. Niall followed quickly behind her and I smirked.
“They so need to get together” I said and Louis laughed.
“It would be nice” Harry commented, looking at me as if he was referring to something else.
“Yeah..” I nodded and headed to the kitchen. Niall had already dug into a bag of chips and Anjelica was munching on an apple. I walked over to the fridge and pulled it open, looking at the food inside. “You guys want sandwiches?” I offered to make some and they all happily agreed. I quickly scrapped up several sandwiches and handed them out to everyone, Niall receiving most of them.
“Did you poison this?” Louis asked, suspiciously biting into the sandwich. Before I could reply, Louis had something to say again. “Oh never mind, this tastes way too good to be poisoned” he complimented and I lightly blushed.
“Thanks” I said and bit into my own sandwich. After we ate, Louis rummaged through our many boxes of games.
“How about Scrabble?” Louis asked, holding up the board game.
“Harry cheats at that game” Niall whined and Harry looked shocked.
“I do not! How can you even cheat at that game?” Harry asked and Anjelica chimed in.
“You can, Nikki cheats at that game all the time” she said, siding with Niall.
“I do not!” I said, shocked. “Harry’s right, how do you even cheat at that game?” I said, siding with Harry. Harry and I were sitting next to each other, looking over at Niall and Anjelica sitting together. Anjelica and Niall were smiling and Harry and I were glaring.
“No Scrabble then..” Louis said, tossing it aside.
“How ‘bout we play something like Monopoly?” Niall suggested and Harry was quick to reply.
“No, we can’t because Niall cheats at that game” Harry said and Niall looked surprised.
“Yeah, so does Anjelica” I said and she gave me the evil eye.
“I soooo don’t!” Anjelica said and I stifled my laugh.
“You steal money from the bank!” I said, smiling.
“So..” Anjelica mumbled.
“How about charades?” Louis asked. We all looked over at him, sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by board games and holding up a small box.
“That sounds fun” Niall said and we all nodded in agreement.
“Charades it is! You two lovebirds are a team” Louis said, pushing Anjelica and Niall close together. “And you two lovebirds are a team” Louis said, pushing me and Harry together. I blushed deep red and looked up at Harry.
“We aren’t in love. We don’t even like each other like that” Harry mumbled under his breath and I was hurt. My thoughts started getting confused again, thoughts about me thinking that he liked me then hated me. I quickly pushed them back into my mind and stowed them away in my thought chambers.
“Louis, who’s going to be your partner?” Niall asked and Louis made a loud, fake laugh.
“Niall, my dear boy, I am here to make sure that no one cheats” Louis said.
“Oh, okay” Niall simply replied.
“Alright, Nikki, you start” Louis replied. I stood up, and Louis waved cards in my face.
“Pick a card, any card. But choose wisely my friend” Louis said and I just snatched a card from him. I looked down at it and groaned. It had ‘stripper’ neatly printed on it. Louis looked at it and burst out laughing. “what kind of charades makes you act like that?!” Louis giggled.
“Shut up” I mumbled, Anjelica, Niall and Harry curiously looking at us. I swiftly moved the other board games out of the way and handed the card to Louis to hold onto. Niall and Anjelica weren’t supposed to guess, but I didn’t want them knowing what I had to act as.
“Harry, this is a noun. And to make things harder, you have 2 minutes, time starts now” Louis said and I would glare at him for such a short amount of time, but let it quickly go and held up one finger to Harry.
“1 word?” he asked and I nodded. I then held up 8 fingers. “8 letters?” he asked and I nodded again. I stood there for a good 30 seconds, trying to decide what I should do. I finally stiffly and awkwardly danced close to Harry. Harry blushed and Niall snickered. I scowled at Niall before slowly and even more awkwardly peeling off my sweater.
“Dancer?” Harry gulped and I sadly shook my head. I nervously straddled Harry’s lap and I heard Louis whistle. I slowly danced, blushing mad and embarrassed. I made my hands to Harry’s luscious curls and rubbed his scalp. I saw Harry struggle to keep himself together and I was starting to confuse my thoughts again when I saw how many feelings he was feeling. I began to feel tingly and hot all over, exposed under Harrys stare.
“Less than 50 seconds” Louis warned and I looked at Harry slightly panicked, not wanting to lose to Niall and Anjelica. Harry looked into my eyes, a small smirk playing on his lips.
“Stripper” he said and I gratefully jumped off him.
“Correct” Louis announced.
“WHAT?!” Niall and Anjelica asked in shock, then burst out laughing.
“Oh stop” I said, trying not to blush anymore. I slipped on my sweater and sat on the couch next to Harry. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sit so close to him after what just happened, but we were a team after all.
“Alright this is a noun” Niall said, handing it to Louis who announced that the time was starting. Niall held up 1 finger and Anjelica correctly asked if it was one word. Niall then held up 6 fingers and Anjelica correctly asked if it had 6 letters. Niall then went on doing silly things like pointing to his hand and flailing pens and papers around. We giggled at his actions and Harry whispered in my ear.
“Good acting by the way” he said, his breath turning my ears red. I slightly turned my head to the side and glanced at him from the corner of my eye. There he goes AGAIN, turning on and off with me.
“I don’t know who enjoyed it more, me or you” I surprisingly said. Harry was taken back at what I said and I turned to look back at Niall. I smiled to myself, glad that I wasn’t going to let his strange liking me then not liking me emotions play with me.
*Back at Nick’s house*
Nick’s POV
“Ed sheeran?! No way! I love him!” Zayn exclaimed, sitting straight up on my bed. I smiled and nodded.
“Yep, it was the best concert ever. Sadly, my shoes got muddy, and they were white, but it was worth it” I said.
“Man, I love concerts. You get to dance around and sing. It’s almost like a club, but you don’t really sing and drinks are involved” Zayn said.
“I’ve never been to one” I answered. Clubs seemed really fun, it’s just that the only one I would be able to go with would be with Nikki or Anjelica.
“Never been to a club!? Man, have you been missing out! They have so many clubs in England” Zayn said.
“Nikki doesn’t go to them because of the alcohol and Anjelica is busy with college” I explained.
“Dude! You don’t have to drink there, and it’s only one night! It’s so much fun, feeling the adrenalin in you” Zayn said, smiling to himself.
“You should take me sometime” slipped out of my mouth and my eyes slightly widened.
“Absolutely!” Zayn excitedly nodded his head, but soon stopped and put his hand on his head. “Ow, maybe I shouldn’t shake my head so hard” he said and I giggled.
“You think?” was all I could manage to say.
“Nick?” Zayn said once I stopped giggling.
“Yes?” I asked, looking in his eyes.
“Have you ever had alcohol before?” he curiously asked and I nodded.
“Yep, my mom should really lock the liquor cabinet” I said and Zayn chuckled.
“So you know what the feeling is like?” Zayn asked and I nodded again. “What about Nikki?”
“Nikki? The saint? Yeah, like that would ever happen” I said and Zayn chuckled once more. “She told me that when she was 5, she accidentally drank her dads beer. She thought that it was apple juice. She gulped a bunch down before realizing that it wasn’t apple juice and getting sick all over” I laughed and Zayn joined in.
“Sounds like she didn't like it too much” Zayn said.
“She was 5 afterall” I pointed out.
“Hey, some 5 year olds can get pretty crazy” Zayn joked and I giggled. I loved the feeling of laughing with Zayn. It made me happy and natural. Zayn’s phone rang and he pulled out his phone from his pocket, answering it without looking at the ID. “Hello?” he answered and I could hear yelling on the other side. Zayn moved the phone away from his ear with a wince. I gave him a questioning look and he turned his phone on speaker.
“‘I LOVE LOUIS’!?!? REALLY?!” Liam yelled through the phone and Zayn and I stifle our laughter. “On my leg, MY LEG!” Liam yelled.
“Calm down Liam, your leg hair will grow and you can just make Louis do another humiliating dare” Zayn chuckled and the line was quiet.
“What should I dare him to do? It has to be super embarrassing and crazy. I’m saving my last one” Liam said a bit calmer.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I’m gonna have to get back to you on that” Zayn said, looking over at me.
“Okay, well, where are you and that little dick?” Liam asked and I giggled openly.
“I’m at Nick’s and Niall, Harry, and the little dick are at Nikki’s” Zayn answered.
“Coward, runs to Nikki in his time of..scaredness. Okay that made no sense but oh well. Anyways, now that I am a bit calmed down, you guys should get home. Simon apparently didn’t know that you guys left and wants you guys to come home” Liam said and I pouted, not wanting Zayn to leave. Zayn sighed and looked at the phone.
“Okay, I’ll call the guys to pick me up” Zayn said and hung up. Zayn looked at me and gave me a sad smile. “I had a really good time, and I don’t want to leave” he softly told me. I felt my head feel light and my insides flutter at his words.
“Me too..” I said, just as soft as he did. Zayn suddenly pulled me into a tight hug, but I didn’t mind. I hugged him back, closing my eyes.
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” He asked, not losing his tight hold.
“No” I said and we pulled away.
“Wanna hang out tomorrow? Me and the boys?” he asked and I smiled.
“Yeah, you guys can come over here and jump all you want on my trampoline” I said and Zayn smiled cheesy.
“Yay!” he said and grabbed his phone, dialing one of the boys numbers.
*Back at Anjelica and Nicoles*
Anjelica’s POV
“Left leg green” Niall smiled at me and I lifted my left leg over Louis to place it on the green. Harry, Nikki, Louis and I were all tangled up in a game of twister. Louis wanted to play this time and Niall offered to sit out.
“Harry, your hair is tickling me” Louis complained and Harry chuckled. Both my legs were over Louis chest and my arms were under Nikki’s stomach. Nikki was positioned like a downward facing dog yoga pose, struggling to stay up. Harry had some limbs stretched about and his head hovered over Louis’, his curls tickling his face.
“Sorry” he replied and Louis blew air at Harry’s hair.
“Okay Nikki, right hand blue” he said and Nikki groaned. She tried to reach over past us, but failed and flopped to the ground.
“Nikki’s out!!!” Louis shouted.
“Yep, that just leaves Harry, Louis and Anjelica” Niall said and Nikki crawled off to Niall. Niall gave me a wink before helping Nikki up off the ground. I blushed and shifted a little. Niall spun and called out to Harry.
“Harry, Right leg yellow” he said and Harry stretched his right leg out in ease. Darn long limbs, I never really had them. My arms were long, but not long enough. Same with my legs. Louis phone ringing almost made us all topple over, but we held on strong. Nikki crouched down and slipped her hand in Louis back pocket.
“Hey hey, watch the buns” Louis said and Nikki rolled her eyes. She answered his phone and her face lit up.
“Hey Zayn, Nick” She said and she put them on speaker.
“Hey!” the both said, then started laughing.
“Hey!” we all replied back.
“What’s up?” Louis asked.
“Liam woke up and said that Simon wants us home. Can you come pick me up?” Zayn asked. Louis, Niall and Harry let out a disapproving groan and Nikki giggled. “Yeah, I know I feel the same way” Zayn said.
“We’ll be there in a little bit” Louis replied and told Nikki to hang up. Nikki hung up and slipped it back into Louis back pocket. I was about to move when Louis’ voice stopped me.
“Wait, lets finish first” Louis said and I agreed, wanting to prove to Louis just how flexible I am. Niall spun again and was about to instruct Louis, when the phone started ringing again.
“I swear if that’s-” Harry started to say, but Nikki cut him off.
“No, that's ‘Jelca’s phone” Nikki said, and I could feel the slight vibration in my back pocket. Without warning, Louis reached into my back pocket with quick ease and answered.
“HELLOO!!!” he shouted into my phone. “WE’RE PLAYING TWISTER!!” Louis yelled.
“Louis!” I squealed and reached over to grab it from him. His face went blank and he looked over at Nikki.
“It’s for you” Louis said and handed the phone to a surprised Nikki. Everyone seemed to get suprised today.
“Hello?” She spoke into the phone and she went pale. Her eyes widened and she just froze.
“Nikki?” I asked, afraid of who it was. My phone slipped from her fingers and she just stared straight ahead. “Nikki?!” I said, frightened now.
“Mom...” Nikki said, barely audible and I froze. I looked up at Niall who was looking at me concerned.
“Mom..” I whispered.
Notes
First of all, it's okay if you hate me for not updating. I've been just so busy. My grandma is coming to visit, or well, she is here visiting for a month and I have to take care of her and all this stuff. That and I've just been hanging out with friends and have had some major writers block :/ Sorry if this chapter is like a filler and not exactly as intertaining or interesting. Thanks for reading and I will update ASAP
They aren't very good at twister xD
LOVE!!!
5/23/14