RILEY'S POV

I hurried down the street to my apartment, grocery bags in hand. And arms. And slung over my shoulder. Yeah, you could say I bought a lot of food, and a lot of people stared, and gave me strange looks as I hurried past. Not one of them offered to help.

I guess I should explain why I had so much food. My best friend Liam Payne was in town for a visit, and he was bringing his bandmates. They were all staying at my apartment for 3 days before continuing their tour. Them, and Paul. Oh, joy.

Not that I wasn't excited! I mean, come on! My best friend, since elementary school, was taking a break on his tour, to come visit me. Me! It's just that I'm not used to having six grown boys living with me. I was ready, though. I put away all breakables, and didn't spend too much time making the beds perfect.

My pocket vibrated twice, indicating that I had gotten a text. My hands, arms, and shoulders busy, I just had to suck it up and hope I remembered to check it once I got home. I saw the rooftops of the complex I lived in, and breathed a sigh of relief. Groceries are pretty heavy. I walked towards the gate, an almost took the back way when I saw a group of men, standing by it. I walked a little closer, cautious to the fact that they were all wearing hats an sunglasses, even though it was cloudy and beginning to drizzle.
When I was a few yards away, one of the men turned and shouted, "Girl! Liam! There's a girl!"

"Yes, Louis. That's a girl. And not just any girl. Riley! Riley Morgan!"

I gasped and murmured, "Liam!"

He ran over to me and grabbed me in a hug. Well, the best hug you can get when covered in groceries.

Liam grinned and took the bags from my hand. "Boys!" He shouted. "Come and help Riley!"

The boys walked over and introduced themselves to me, while taking bags of groceries.

The green eyed, curly haired one took the two bags from my right hand, and said, "My name's Harry."

A tan, caramel haired one took the two bags from my left hand, and laughed, grabbing a couple from my arm. "The name's Louis."

Then, the dark haired, dark eyed, dark-looking one walked over and took the ones left on my arm. "I'm Zayn." He didn't look like one who said much.

The last one, blond, with blue eyes, angelic face, took the bags from my shoulders, leaving me with none.

"I like you already!" He exclaimed.

"And why's that?" I questioned.

"Look at all of this food! I love food! Oh, I am Niall," he quickly said.

"Nice to meet you, Niall," I laughed.

Liam turned around and came to where I was walking. "Riley, why didn't you give me a call? We could have helped earlier; you wouldn't have had to walk all that way with all of these bags."

"My arms were kinda full, if you didn't notice. I couldn't reach my phone. Speaking of which, I just
remembered. I have a message." I pulled it out and looked at the screen.


To: Riley Morgan
From: Liam Payne

Message: At the gate...


I laughed and he glanced at the screen, laughing with me. I opened the door and let everyone inside. The boys set down all of the bags on my counter and table, and began to help me unload everything.

"Oh, you boys don't have to do that!" I started.

"Yes, we do," Harry replied. "Paul said so."

We all looked at Paul, who was distractedly and quite frantically tapping on his phone.

"Is everything alright?" I timidly asked.

"No. I'm sorry, Riley. The boys and I can't stay like we'd planned. Management wants them to do a charity concert tonight. We need to leave now."

"But, Paul! We haven't even been here 10 minutes!" Harry whined.

"I'm really sorry guys. Come on. Lets go. It was nice meeting you Riley."

"Paul. This is where I have to put my foot down. I'm going to stay here with Riley. We came all this way. We are staying." Liam said.

Paul looked at each of the boys, probably questioning their resolve, trying to see if they were serious. He sighed and tapped on his phone some more. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Management agrees to you not doing this last minute concert. I don't know why, but they do. I however, cannot stay. I have some family matters that need attending to. Good luck, Riley. Boys, behave yourselves."

And with that, he smiled, grabbed his bag, and ducked out the door.

THE NEXT DAY
LIAM'S POV

I woke up in a strange place. I looked around until I saw the other boys and realized we were at Riley's house. It was a very nice place.

She was very nice. And beautiful. I remember why I fell in love with her in the 9th grade. I know I'm falling in love with her now.

It's impossible not to. Her hair is so shiny, and her skin is perfect. Her eyes sparkle, and you can always tell what she's thinking. Like yesterday, when Paul wanted us to leave. Her eyes shone with sadness, until Paul said we could stay. Then they were bright with happiness.

She is kind and sweet, and everything she does just makes me want her more.

I got up and wandered around the house, trying to find Riley. I finally found her in her room. Well, actually her bathroom.

She was brushing her hair and dancing around the room singing along to her radio. I hadn't heard the song before, so I stayed to listen. It was the perfect song to describe her.

(Cute by Stephen Jerzak)

Your eyes are blue like the ocean,
And baby I'm lost out at sea.
Did the sun just come out or did you smile at me?
I've been trying to ask you but I can't seem to speak.
Was it love at first sight? 'cause I walked by last week.

I'm singing Fa la la la la...

Your lips look so lonely,
Would they like to meet mine?
You are the one that I've been hoping to find.
You're so sweet that you put Hershey's out of business.
Can I have a photograph to show my friends that
Angels truly exist?

I'm singing Fa la la la la...

You're as cute as a button
The things you do sure are something
Are you running out of breath
From running through my head, all night?

Is there something in your eye?
Oh wait, it's just a sparkle.
Can you get a little closer
And help me out a little bit?
Because I scraped my knee fallin' for you.
But baby a kiss will do.

I'm singing Fa la la la la la...

You're as cute as a button.
The things you do sure are something.
Are you running out of breath
From running through my head, all night?

I'm falling in love,
And wouldn't I like to think so.
And every night I look at the stars out my window.
And I hope I can see the one that we saw together.
It was just you and me and honestly,
I'll look for that star forever.
I'm falling in love,
And wouldn't I like to think so.
And every night I look at the stars out my window.
And I hope I can see the one that we saw together.
It was just you and me and honestly,
I'll look for that star forever.

You're as cute as a button.
The things you do sure are something.
Are you running out of breath
From running through my head, all night?

You're as cute as a button.
The things you do sure are something.
Are you running out of breath
From running through my head, all night?


She turned around when she was done and gasped when she saw me.

RILEY'S POV

What was he doing in my room? Did he see me goofing off in the bathroom? Why is he walking towards me? What did he just say? Why am I still asking myself questions?

I quickly shook myself and "awoke" just as he said, "You are a wonderful singer. You should consider a career in music."

"Not to be rude, Liam, but what are you doing in my bedroom? The last time you were in my bedroom didn't go well."

I watched him as he cringed and revisited that day in 9th grade.

FLASHBACK IN RILEY'S POV

I loved Liam Payne.

I loved everything about him. I had a massive crush on him. I loved his smile, his awkwardness, the gleam he got in his eyes when he was talking about something really interesting. I loved that he was my neighbor, and had been for the past 10 years.

The only thing I didn't love was that he didn't love me. I never realized how wrong I was.

It all started when he came over to help me with homework. We were in my room, mainly because my mom trusted me, and I wasn't an idiot. I didn't expect anything to happen. He was sitting on the ground next to my chair. The one I was sitting in by the desk. I was working on a mental math problem. I was terrible at mental math.

I thought I had found the answer to the problem. "It's 94!" I exclaimed.

"Nope," he grinned.

I slumped into my chair. I felt tears in my eyes. "Liam, I need to pass this test. I can't fail math."

He stopped smiling and stood up with a weird expression on his face. "I'll help you. Don't worry, Riley. I'll always be there for you." I was thinking he was talking about math tutoring. He wasn't, by the way.

I looked at the ground, a bit shy all of a sudden.

I felt a hand on my face. On my chin, lifting it up. Liam's face was really close. Then he moved in. And I blacked out.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT IN LIAM'S POV

Was my kissing really that bad?

I looked at Riley, to see her looking at the ground, thinking back on that day.

It was really embarrassing. I had been hoping on sweeping her off her feet. Instead I ended up making her black out.

After that, she avoided me as much as she could, even though I lived right next to her. It was painful, being able to see, but not talk to, touch, even help. I managed to help her from a distance. I pointed my math friends to her, and she passed. But barely.

I know I could have helped her ace math, if she hadn't blocked me out.

I had to say something. "Why did you avoid me after that?"

"I was... Scared. And embarrassed. And a little... A-a little..."

"A little what? How about this. No more secrets."

"You first."

RILEY'S POV

"Okay..." Liam looked at his hands. "I've loved you, ever since the 9th grade, when I kissed you. Was my kiss really that terrible?"

"No, it was wonderful. I was a little overwhelmed with too many emotions, and I started to panic. You know how my panic attacks are. And I-I loved you too. A lot. Oh, and the answer is 120."

He smiled softly. "I knew you could figure it out. Even though I couldn't help you from up close, I did from a distance."

I gasped. "You sent Clarence to help me with my math!"

He sheepishly looked at the ground. "Yeah, that was me."

"Well, thanks to you two, I passed math."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it. "It's your turn to say a secret." He muttered.

"I always hoped you would come back. Help me, and stuff. I wanted my friend back, I needed to talk to someone. I made so many bad decisions, but every time you came close, I pushed you away. I didn't want to go through the embarrassment of passing out again. I almost walked over to your house so many times, I lost count. But my pride always got the best of me."

Liam looked into me, his timeless eyes full of emotion. "Didn't you hear me before I kissed you? ' I'll help you. Don't worry, Riley. I'll always be there for you. ' I meant it."

I looked up to see him close once more. I swallowed thickly. "Liam..." I warned gently.

"Riley, I need to. I can't become distant again. Leaving for the X Factor was my way of dealing with the embarrassment of having someone black out from kissing me. I thought it was a bad thing, so I never told anyone. I need you."

He came in, and the edges of my vision started getting dark, just like in 9th grade. I pushed it away, determined to stay conscious. His lips moved warm and firm on mine, his arms gathering me in. I had no choice but to kiss him back. So I did.

A couple minutes later, we broke apart, panting from the effort of restraint. He sat down on my chair, and beckoned me over. I hesitated, and then took a step. Then I promptly tripped, and fell. Time slowed down.

My head was aimed right for the wooden edge of my bed.

Then he caught me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

He pulled me close and sang in my ear.


I've tried playing it cool
But when I'm looking at you
I can’t ever be brave
'Cause you make my heart race

Shot me out of the sky
You're my kryptonite
You keep making me weak
Yeah, frozen and can't breathe

Something’s gotta give now
'Cause I’m dying just to make you see
That I need you here with me now
'Cause you've got that one thing

So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing
And you've got that one thing

Now I'm climbing the walls
But you don't notice at all
That I'm going out of my mind
All day and all night

Something’s gotta give now
'Cause I'm dying just to know your name
And I need you here with me now
'Cause you've got that one thing

So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing

So get out, get out, get out of my mind
And come on, come into my life
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing
And you've got that one thing

Woah-oh-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh-oh
You've got that one thing

Get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead

So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing

So get out, get out, get out of my mind
And come on, come into my life
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing
Yeah, you've got that one thing


I smiled and looked at him. He was gazing straight into my eyes, looking right into my heart.

"I love you."

Notes

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