Surprise Surprise Harry Styles was making a grand entrance on the dance floor and the women in the club seemed to be under some kind of spell. If it came right down to looks I knew why those women did it—Harry seemed to exude some sort of magic—he was like an aphrodisiac only ten times stronger than any pill or concoction known to mankind. Women fell under his charm like moths fell for those constantly-buzzing insect-killing machines. But even though I’m no Harry Styles, I’ve never had trouble getting women to like me. Harry might have his ways but I had mine. I’m still trying to figure out whether or not I want to be on the floor with them, when this girl walks in. Honestly speaking, she’s not even the prettiest girl around but for some reason I can’t stop looking at her. In fact, she’s not hot, in the sense of the word and she looks out of place in this club. I wonder who forced her here and about to go talk to her when a guy comes and stands right next to her and whispers something in her ear. He looks a bit drunk, which I suppose isn’t strange considering where we are, and it might just be me but he gives off a strange vibe. I can tell they haven’t been together long, which means she might actually be available. But she looks like the sort of girl who would be sincere to one guy and so I know I’m not about to get anywhere with her.
And then the guy leaves and I catch her shooting a glance at Harry. Harry sees her and waves. They both exchange smiles and I think Harry tries to convince her to dance but some other girl who has been vying for Harry’s attention wins at her game and Harry leaves the floor with her. Louis is dancing with Mia, the girl he’s currently dating; well at least it’s dating from his side. Mia happens to be a free spirit and doesn’t like the idea of being tied down to one person. Louis pretends like he’s fine with it but we all know that he’s nowhere near fine. We can tell because every time Mia goes out with someone else Louis stays high all night and disappears for days. The girl I had my eye on, is standing there, still waiting for her date, and she looks out of place—and for some reason, prettier than she looked before.
“Like what you see, Liam?”
Niall screams in my ear.
“Maybe,” I say. “But she has a boyfriend.”
“Her boyfriend’s a total douche,” Niall comments.
“How do you know?”
“Harry told me,” Niall replies.
“Harry?” I remember the exchange of waves and smiles. “They know each other?”
“Jamie,” Niall says.
“Pardon?”
“That’s her name,” Niall says. “Jamie something.”
“Is Harry—” I’m afraid to say the next words but Niall jumps to save me from having any more doubt and almost interrupts my question to respond.
“Harry barely knows her,” he says. “I mean, let’s face it. She isn’t even his type. She’s no Natalie or Cadence or Denise or even a Mikayla,” I don’t even remember the faces of the women Niall is talking about but I have vague recollections about their times with Harry and I know they all looked like underwear models. “So you’re free to make your move!”
“And why are you playing cupid?”
“Because,” Niall says. “Recently, I’ve been doing some reading and it’s got me thinking. Maybe there is something to this whole love business.”
I look at Niall in mock surprise. “Look at you,” I say. “Who would have thought Mister-Forever-Virgin would find something to value in the dark, empty streets of love.”
“They’re only dark and empty if you make them.”
I almost laugh out loud. “Niall,” I say. “What the hell has gotten into you?”
He just smiles.
But it’s one of those secretive smiles that he has been giving us for a while now and I just know he has something up his sleeve. The girl—Jamie—looks like she’s now officially stranded.
“You should go,” Niall says. “Before someone else finds her and makes a move.”
“What makes you think I’d be any better?”
“Because,” Niall says. “I know you. And you’re a lot of things but you’re not a douchebag.”
“Why are you acting like some kind of rent-a-cherub?”
“Look,” Niall says. “I know for a fact she’s a nice girl. And you’re a nice guy. Maybe you need to stop with all the one-night stands you’ve been having lately. We both know you’re not that guy, Liam.”
I hate when Niall is so spot on.
“I don’t even get why you’re doing it,” Niall continues. “Are you trying to compete with Harry? Is that it?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Niall,” I say. “Harry’s my best friend. You don’t compete with your best friend.”
“Then why have you been doing it?” Niall asks. “You’ve never been a fan of one-night stands before.”
“I don’t know,” I say.
“It’s because of her,” Niall says.
I don’t want to admit it and I certainly don’t want to discuss my ex which is what Niall seems to want.
“It’s not her,” I say, but even I know that it doesn’t make for a convincing argument.
“I know it is,” Niall says. “It’s like you’re trying to become someone else. Someone you’re not. Why?”
“I didn’t know you were majoring in psychology.”
“Will you just go say hi to her before her date steps in?”
“What if her date is some sort of nut,” I say. “I go over and say hello and he kicks my ass before I get a word in.”
“You saw the guy,” Niall says. “Did he look like some kind of secret agent type to you? There he is,” Niall points in the direction of the bar. “And he’s chatting up that hot girl. He’s probably going to ditch his actual date the way he’s touching the hot girl’s ass.”
I suddenly feel more confident. I can do this. “You’re right,” I say. “I’ll go and say hi. I will keep it simple. Introduce myself. See where it goes. If she seems like she’s interested, I’ll make another move. Otherwise, we’re going back to our room and watching every single sequel of Die Hard ever released.”
“I’ll be right here,” Niall says and pats me on the back.
I head in the direction of the girl, while still keeping an eye out for her date. But that guy looks like he’s hitting it off with the hot girl who is dressed in a very short skirt and the guy himself isn’t even that great of a catch. If he has some secret moves I’m not aware of, then sure, but on the outside, he’s just a regular guy. He’s not bad looking I suppose, just pretty average. Perhaps he’s a sweet-talker, knows his way around a woman’s head or her heart. Maybe somehow he knows the art, something I would know nothing about. Because that’s a talent that I can only wish I had. Part of the reason why I’ve resorted to having one-night stands is because I can never tell what’s going on inside a girl’s head. I’m truly bad at all that so I think I make it a point not to get deeply involved. That way, my pathetic relationship skills wouldn’t be known to everyone.
So I wouldn’t fail before I even started.
Somehow, I’ve reached her and when I say hi she turns to me.
When she does, I think everything in the room just stops for a moment. When the world goes back to moving, she’s still there but I’m not sure where I am.
“Did you want to say something?” she asks.
There’s innocence in her voice, a chaste purity that’s almost angelic and touches me in a strange way. I have barely known her a few moments but I’ve already started falling for her. “I…uh…I’m Liam,” I say, and wonder why I’m stuttering. I never stutter! Not in front of women at least! “Liam Payne.”
She smiles. “Hi, Liam.”
“I noticed your date seems,” I didn’t have the right words to curse him the way he actually deserved, “busy.”
She looks embarrassed but tries to cover for him. “He has a lot of friends,” she says, and then turns to me. “You know me?”
“No,” I say. “It’s the first time I’m seeing you but you know my friend.”
“What friend would that be?”
“Harry? Harry Styles?”
“Oh,” she says. “Right. Are you two close?”
“Well,” I say. “We’ve known each other since we were kids.”
She smiles. “Your friend is…interesting.”
I check for any signs that she might be more into Harry than she’s letting on but once again, I’m clueless. Besides, it was obvious from their exchange earlier, that they were simply acquaintances. Not to forget, Harry actually has someone—and I hate to admit that it’s Natalie but Harry is so smitten he won’t listen to reason. Louis and Niall stopped trying a long time ago, and I’m starting to think they were right. Harry and Natalie have been going out for a year now, and their relationship has changed Harry, even though he doesn’t like to admit it. And though he goes out with the occasional hot chick, simply to prove that he’s still the womanizer he always was, we all know that’s not true. I’d claim that I don’t know what it is about Natalie that he can’t resist but I have a vague idea. She’s gorgeous and with that body, of course Harry thinks he’s in love.
“Liam?” Her voice pulls me away from my thoughts. “Were you saying something?”
“Uh…no…I was just…wondering if I can buy you a drink. I mean, that is if your date won’t mind.”
She sounds a little dejected. “I don’t think he will.”
She covers up that sadness well.
“Well then,” I say, excited.
It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve been excited about a girl in that way. We head over to the bar and she buys one of those blue girlie drinks with barely any alcohol and I get myself a glass of Wild Turkey. There is so much noise in the bar, I know we’re never going to be able to hear each other, so I take her hand and lead her through the crowd towards the stairs. From there we head to the second floor of the building and I lead her to the open terrace that I have visited often. She seems surprised a place like that even exists in the club building, but she’s having fun now at least and doesn’t look so hung up on that guy like she did a while back. She sips her drink slow and twirls the cute straw the entire time. She’s probably nervous. Everything she does, every gesture of her hand, the way her eyes timidly look around and stop at me in between—it’s like being hit with a full size Mack Truck but being blinded first by its harsh headlights so you can’t do a thing about what is about to happen.
The same way, I can’t do much but wait for the collision.
“Well,” Jamie says, barely looking at me. “This place is amazing.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I come here sometimes, when I want to be alone.”
“Alone?” she eyes me skeptically. “That means I’m the first person you brought here?”
I hadn’t even thought of it that way. In fact, I hadn’t been thinking at all, I’d simply brought her up here without thinking much. But now that she mentions it, it’s all I can think about—subconsciously, I must have felt like she was the only person I could let in.
“I guess.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asks. “I could always leave.”
I look at her; her beautiful face looks prettier in the moonlight and I have this strange urge to kiss her. “No,” I say quickly, trying to focus my attention towards anything but her face but the more I try the more her eyes keep me paralyzed and unable to do anything. “Not at all.”
“Okay,” she smiles. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Well,” she says, looking up at the stars. “For letting me in I guess.”
Suddenly, I don’t feel so clueless.
Suddenly, I feel like the collision course that I’ve been on ever since I saw her, might have just become my destiny.
Suddenly, I’m not afraid to crash.

Notes