Scarlett's POV:

I was glad I was sharing a room with Skylar. It meant I wouldn’t be alone, plus with her being the baby of the group I wanted to have someone there to watch over her. She’d never had a serious boyfriend, and I worried about her constantly. I didn’t know Niall well, and I didn’t trust him after what happened to Piper. You never know with guys.
We were unpacking, placing our clothes on our respected beds – two twin beds with white down comforters on them – and tucking away things like underwear and socks into one of the two dressers. Skylar had wanted the bed by the window, and I had let her have it. I preferred not to be woken up by beaming rays every morning.
Skylar looked up excited after she finished putting away her stuff. She was fast at unpacking – though she was quite messy – but I was organized and neat. I liked putting things in their respected place. I was organized like that.
“Aren’t you excited to be here with the guys?” Skylar asked, sitting down on her bed in a quick little hop.
I shrugged.
“I think things are pretty chilly between us all right now,” I said diplomatically. Skylar can be dense sometimes when it came to these situations.
Skylar cocked her head.
“Why would you say that?” she asked quizzically.
I sighed and stopped what I was doing.
“Skylar, as much as I’d like to tell you that things are fine because your life is going alright, the rest of us are in crisis mode right now. We can’t get carried away with our emotions. We have to focus on the task at hand. We’re here to get to know the guys and know how to play the game right. After that, we have to maneuver our way through the tour and make sure we don’t screw up.
“What I’m trying to say is that don’t get distracted by Niall. I don’t trust him after what happened with Louis and Piper. I don’t want to see you get hurt too.”
Skylar huffed. I figured she was going to have that kind of reaction. She was a little immature when it came to these things.
“Louis’ a troublemaker,” she said angrily. “Niall isn’t like him at all.”
“You barely know him,” I pointed out. “You’ve only known him for three days. You can’t judge a person’s character in just three days.”
Skylar shrugged, annoyed by my warning.
“Whatever,” she said with a little bit of sass. “I’m going to go to the beach.”
She grabbed her flip-flops and walked out the door, slamming it a bit louder than necessary. I winced when it closed. She really was mad.
A second later, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in!” I said cheerfully, hoping it was Skylar.
The door opened, and Zayn walked in.
“Hey, what happened?” he asked, walking in and standing over me. I could smell his cologne, a rich, warm scent that was pleasing and attractive. I liked it.
“Um…nothing,” I said, shrugging. “Nothing’s going on.”
Zayn raised an eyebrow and sat down on Skylar’s bed. He cocked his head at me.
“You and Skylar were arguing. And I overheard what you were talking about,” he stated.
I felt the blood rush away from my face. I had forgotten Niall and Zayn had the bedroom next door. They must have overheard everything I had said.
Seeing my worried face, Zayn smiled.
“Don’t worry, Niall wasn’t in the room. He was downstairs, looking at the refrigerator. He likes food,” he said, comforting my fears. “What I want to know is, what is this plan you two have come up with? Or, as you phrased it, ‘the task at hand’?”
He raised his eyebrow again and smirked. He was waiting for me to reply.
“Um…” I said, not sure how to explain the plan without offending him. If I told him the entire plan, he’d tell the other guys and we’d be sunk. But if I left out parts of it, he’d suspect something.
When I didn’t immediately reply, Zayn said, “I promise I won’t tell anyone what you tell me. Not the other girls – though I assume they are in on this plan – or the guys. That’s a promise.”
I stared at him for a second. His brown eyes were so openly honest and truthful that I had to just be open with him.
“Well…”I began. “You know how we have to act a certain way for this reality TV show?” I said.
Zayn nodded.
“To a degree, yes,” he replied.
“Well…we – the girls and I – didn’t exactly like the plan,” I said slowly.
Zayn nodded for me to continue.
“So…so we came up with a plan to sabotage it. Do the exact opposite of what we’re supposed to.”
Zayn processed this for a moment.
“So,” he said. “What exactly is the plan?”
I was hoping he wouldn’t ask that question. I searched my mind for a suitable answer.
“Um…well…Lucy is supposed to go after Harry, and Reagan is supposed to be with Liam – oh, she likes him by the way – and Skylar with Niall and Piper with Louis…I guess.”
“What about you?” asked Zayn, his eyes shining. He knew the answer – I could tell – but he wanted to hear it from my lips.
“Um…you. I guess. But I respect that you have a girlfriend and all,” I stated.
Zayn leaned back and thought for a moment.
“This plan,” he said after a moment, “is genius. It’s much better than the original idea that your manager had. Liam is smitten with Reagan. He’s head over heels for her. I’m glad to hear that she likes him back.”
“What about Niall?” I asked worriedly. “What does he think of Skylar?”
Zayn looked confused.
“He hasn’t really talked about her to me,” he replied. “Usually when he likes a girl, she’s all he ever talks about.”
I felt my heart sink. That wasn’t a good sign.
“You and me though? I can pretend to like you. Don’t worry, I’ll fill Perrie in. And I do like you, as a friend,” added Zayn.
I felt a little bittersweet about what he said. I couldn’t quite place it why I felt this way.
I needed to know one more thing.
“And Louis? What about him?” I asked, anxious to hear the answer.
Zayn sighed and looked out the window. I could see Skylar below, sitting on the dock, looking out over the water.
“I’m not sure,” he replied after some time. “He definitely likes her. But at the same time, I’m not sure. He’s been arguing with Eleanor recently, and I’m not sure if he likes her because she reminds him of Eleanor in some way – they’re totally different people – or if he really likes her for who she is.
“The thing is…after…after what happened, Eleanor and him made up. So now I think he feels guilty and won’t associate with her anymore…I don’t know the details, and I’m not positive on what Louis thinks, but that’s what I’m guessing.”
Zayn looked at me sadly and shrugged.
I shrugged back. There was nothing more to say.