We walked into his flat holding hands and the boys were on the couch playing some sort of game.
"Hey look who's back!" Louis said.
Zayn groaned, "I told you to warn us before you bring her home."
"Oh, Zayn, give him a break. How was the date, guys?" Liam asked.
"It was perfect. Thank you, guys." I smiled shyly while tucking my hair behind my ear. "What are you playing?"
"Dare Direction. We read it in one of those fan fictions and decided to try it out. Wanna join us?" Liam responded.
"How do you play?" asked Niall.
"We put all these dares in a cup and when it's your turn, you pick out of it. And you do whatever's on the slip." Louis told us. There's someone missing... Oh yeah. Where's Harry?
"Yeah sure, sounds like fun. You want to, Niall?"
"Yeah. I'm up for a game or two." We both sat down next to each other. It was Liam's turn.
He looked at the slip and frowned, "Kiss the person next to you? Who put this in there?" Louis looked a bit guilty.
"Sorry, mate. But you have to do whatever's on that slip." He gave a mischievous smile.
"I'm sorry, Zayn..." Liam apologized and planted a quick one right on his mouth.
"Ugh, dude! You got spit in my mouth!" I burst out laughing. These guys... You never know what's going to come out of their mouths.
"Okay, my turn!" Louis excitedly put his hand in the cup and pulled a slip. "Pretend that an object in the room is a girl and hit on it." He looked at the lamp on the table, "Oh, lamp. You're gorgeous tonight. You're practically shining," he placed a hand on his forehead dramatically, "No, lamp. We mustn't. What if Eleanor finds out? What would I tell her? Well, if you insist." He put his arm around the table lamp as we all were rolling on the floor.
Zayn was laughing the hardest, "Okay, dude. I better stop you before anything crazy happens. Lani, you want to go next?"
I nodded, "Sure, why not?" I took the cup and carefully chose a slip. I unfolded it, and there it read: Attempt to play the guitar and sing one of your songs blindfolded. I repeated what it said out loud.
"If you want another dare to do I'll-"
"No, I'll do it," I smiled. I looked over at Niall's guitar. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all. Go right ahead."
I took his guitar and handed it to him. I then took my maroon scarf and wrapped it around my head, over my eyes.
"Can you see me?" Louis asked.
"Louis, I'm blinded." I responded.
They all sang in unison, "Cause you are everything I see."
I laughed, Probably one of their songs. "I can't see, I swear." Niall (I think) handed me the guitar and I sloppily put the capo on the first fret. "Now before I start... Don't make fun of me, okay?"
"We may joke around, Lani, but we would never do that to you." It was Lou and I could hear the smile in his voice.
Here goes nothing. I began to sing a song I wrote called "Empty Promises".

Underneath all the city lights
Through all the whispered words
I’m not sure what was right
With all the secrets that you told
Was I the first?
Or is this game getting old
Pre:
Through all the lies and the games
My heart will never be the same
Through all the secrets, what was true?
Through all the stories, was that you?
Chorus:
Because of you
I don’t know who to trust
Because of you
This heart is covered in rust
Because of all the empty promises
Leading up to full regrets
Love is just old news
Because of you
End
She must be naïve
She was in the rabbit hole
Who knew that girl was me
She didn’t even think
One glance and she was sold
And she left with heart break
Pre:
Through all the lies and games
I should be the one to blame
Through all the stories, what was true?
Were you just a fairytale too?
Chorus:
Because of you
I don’t know who to trust
Because of you
This heart is covered in dust
Because of all the empty promises
Leading up to full regrets
Love is just old news
Because of you
End
Love full of simple guesses
Turned out to be full of messes
It’s never simple or true
Wishing that I had the answers
Asking for full disasters
What else do I have to lose?
Chorus:
Because of you
I don’t know who to trust
Because of you
This heart is covered in rust
Because of all the empty promises
Leading up to full regrets
Love is just old news
Because of you
End

(P.S. All these songs are copyrighted.)

I slowly slid down my blindfold and saw jaws dropped to the floor.
"Was it that bad?" I asked.
"Bad? Did that blindfold cover your ears too?" Zayn replied.
Niall was the next to speak, "Wow. You're full of surprises aren't you?"
"One more! One more!" Louis chanted.
"She's great." Harry commented. When did you get there?
"Hey, Harry! Hey Paige!" Greeting them was Liam, "Why don't you come and join us? Paige... Is she his girlfriend? I looked over at Paige, who was eyeing me. I quickly turned back around and pretended like I was examining the guitar. She then gave Harry a "We better not" look.
He looked over at her and hesitated, "Uh, we'll have to pass. Paige was just going to spend the night and she's tired so-"
Louis wasn't buying it, "Oh come on, just one round?" he begged.
He finally gave in, "Okay. I don't see why not." Harry waited for Paige to sit down first before he did. And she sat the furthest away from me.

Niall POV:

Wow. I mean, I know she mentioned being a singer-songwriter... But like that? Unbelievable.
Harry and Paige sat down and it was my turn next.
"Oh, can we just hear Lani, again?"
"Oh, God, please no." I heard Paige mumble. What? Lani heard it, obviously by the way that she put her head down. It hurt to see her that way.
"You know what? We'll just go hang out in my room. You guys keep playing." I took Lani by the hand and led her to my room. Ignoring whatever Zayn's comments were.
Lani just sat on the bed and stared at her hands.
"Hey," I tilted her chin so her eyes would meet mine, "You have an amazing voice. And that's coming from someone who knows music." I put my arms around her and just held her there. "I know you heard her. And I'm sorry. She doesn't usually act that way." I saw a tear roll down her cheek and I wiped it away with my thumb. "Don't cry. Please don't cry." I cooed, "Why are you crying, huh?"
Her eyes were pink from tearing up, "I knew I shouldn't have done it."
"Done what? Sang? But, Lani, your voice is great."
"That doesn't matter. It's the fact that I opened up my heart with that song... It's everything to me. It is me. And to have someone bash it that easily..."
"Look at me," I looked her straight in her brown eyes, "That's what happens when you are great. Most people love you, some people hate you... And some don't even know your name. And you need to stop focusing on the 1 that doesn't enjoy your music... And focus on the ones that do. Us 5 all agreed that you were amazing. So why does that one bother you so much?"
"Because she doesn't know me."
"Exactly. She doesn't. She doesn't know how beautiful you are. Inside and out. How funny you are and different. She doesn't know about who you are. Where you live. What you listen to. What your family is like. She doesn't know anything about you. But do you know who knows most of that?" I paused, "Me. And this guy, right here who knows you, is telling you that your voice is so good, that it probably would have beat mine in the X-factor. Your song-writing is phenomenal and I can't wait to hear more. And your guitar playing is anything but beginner level. You sell yourself short, sometimes. You are a fantastic person and you're goofy and make me laugh. And that's what I can't get enough of. You." Her eyes just kept staring straight into mine. God, I need her. We both leaned in and kissed each other. Nothing too passionate and nothing too soft. Just her lips and mine; needing each other's.

Notes

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