Just A Moment
Chapter Five
“I can’t find the remote!”
“Niall, did you eat all the pizza?”
“Uhh… Ah dom fink sho…”
“Harry! Just because you’re an invalid doesn’t mean you’re allowed to run around in the nude! Put on trousers or something, yeah?”
“Hannah, Liam’s bullying me!”
“I still can’t find the remote!”
“It’s probably stuck up your arse!”
“Louis, I swear…”
It was almost midnight and the boys had the energy of five children hopped up on Pop Rocks. Zayn was running around the small living room of the guest house, turning over ever inch of the room in search of the remote, Louis was scrounging around in the kitchen, & Harry & Liam were somewhere back near the bedrooms.
Niall somehow remained calm. We were stuffing our faces with pizza while watching some random game show. I was completely content, whereas the fact that we were apparently missing an exclusive showing of Paranormal Activity on MTV had sent Zayn into a tizzy.
“Ugh, we’re missing the good part!” he muttered under his breath, looking under the couch for the seventh time.
I rolled my eyes and elbowed Niall gently in the ribs, saying, “Just give it to him? Please?”
Niall shot me a wide-eyed glare before returning to his pizza; I knew he was silently hoping that Zayn hadn’t heard me.
Of course, he had.
“Really, man? Really?” Zayn straightened up and held out his hand in irritation.
“Aw, see what you did, Hannah? You got him mad at me!” Niall shook his head at me while holding the remote out to Zayn in defeat. The channel was quickly switched right after Zayn hit the lights.
“You ever seen this before?” he whispered as he sat down next to me.
“I actually saw the second one, but not the first,” I admitted.
“Ooo, then you’re in for a good show!” He smiled mischievously, getting comfortable.
“Hey, Niall, could you hand me that pillow?” I whispered tentatively as the paranormal started up on the big screen. I was always in when it came to a good horror, but I was also always the one who ended up rocking back and forth, yelling at the TV and gasping/screaming whenever something freaky happened.
“Aw, you’re not scared of a little scary film, now are you?” Zayn mock pushed me from my other side.
“You hush!” I pointed a finger at him. “You will thank me later!” I smiled wryly.
I was almost comfortable as the movie progressed when suddenly-
“HANNAH!” erupted Louis from the kitchen around the corner.
“And that’s my cue to go!” I hopped up quickly, once again forgetting my ribs, and cursed in pain again.
I just don’t learn.
“Hannah, are you okay?” Niall was at my side immediately.
“Yep! Be right back!” I waved him away and made my way to the kitchen. I had to stop being stupid…
“Yeah, Hannah, there is no food in here.” Louis shrugged in exasperation as I entered the room. I stared at him in disbelief. Every cabinet was open, exposing the multiple boxes of cereal, crackers, spaghetti, macaroni, cake mixes & cookies, as well as the cans of soup, jars of nuts, & bags of chips that the kitchen was stocked with. Plus the refrigerator that housed multiple fruit juices, cold cuts, and leftovers we put in there.
There was food.
I sighed, my shoulders sagging. “Louis, there is food. You may just not be tall enough to reach it.” I was so tired I didn’t even notice the amount of sass in that statement. I turned to go back in the living room, only to find Niall, Zayn & Liam in a massive pillow fight while Harry looked on - in only his boxers - from the doorway with a look of pure amusement on his face.
It was going to be a long night.
*******************************************************************
Finally, some peace and quiet… I thought.
I had made sure Harry had made it to bed safely, comfortably, and fully clothed. Louis was sharing a room with him and was also peacefully asleep. Liam had passed out on the gigantic armchair across the living room from the couch, while Niall had opted for the floor halfway through the movie.
Now it was just Zayn and I on the couch. Once everyone had begun passing out from exhaustion, I had quickly made my way back to my little spot on the couch. Zayn had calmed down a bit from the pillow fight and settled beside me. Before I knew it, his arm was around me, my head was on his chest, and I was totally relaxed.
It was pure bliss.
When the movie broke for another commercial, I heard him sigh and rub my arm lightly.
“You still up, Pidgeon?” he whispered.
“Yeah, can’t fall asleep with this movie on…” I smiled blearily.
“Oh, we can turn it off, if you want!” he said kindly.
“No, it’s fine. I want to see the end of it now.”
“Yeah, it’s a good one… if it weren’t for these damned commercials…”
There was a short silence, and I couldn’t help noticing that he hadn’t stopped gently running his finger up and down my arm.
He suddenly interrupted the silence by saying, “So you want to tell me what’s up with you and Niall over there?”
My stomach dropped out again.
“What? Me and Niall? No, there’s nothing…” I tried to dismiss the statement, but was stopped by the knowing look in his eyes when I met them. “How did you know?” I relented.
“Well, first of all, I saw that lovely little moment you had back under the stage today. Kind of hard to miss!” He smiled wryly. “Then I may or may not have heard a certain conversation that you had with Louis earlier on tonight…”
I knew exactly which conversation he was talking about.
I smacked his chest lightly. “You were eavesdropping!”
“I wouldn’t call it eavesdropping! I would say it was more of a coincidental overhearing of a conversation that was probably not meant for me to hear!” He smiled cheekily.
I chuckled and thought back to that conversation I had had with Louis…
“So you and Niall, huh?” He leans against the counter, looking me in the eye searchingly.
I roll my eyes. “Please, Louis, I’ve only known the boy for 24 hours, if that!” I used the excuse Liam had come up with earlier.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t give me that! I saw the way you two were eyeing each other under the stage. It was like you were practically snogging each other with your eyes… Weird stuff right there…” Louis wrinkles his nose up in mock disgust.
“It was nothing like that! It was just… one of those moments, I guess…” I trail off.
“So there is something then?” Louis props his chin up on his hands and smiles cheekily.
“Don’t go spreading anything around please?” I plead with him, knowing that he’s caught me.
“I knew it!” He points at me triumphantly. “Hannah has a crush on the Nialler!”
“Louis, please! Keep it down!” I hiss, glancing around us to see if anyone is around. We had just gotten into the guest house and the boys were around claiming rooms and such. Louis had already set up his stuff in the same room as Harry.
“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist! I won’t tell a soul!” He makes a motion as if he was zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. I can’t help but laugh at his silliness, but still have that lingering, frightened feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get whenever I feel vulnerable.
He “unzips” his lips and leans back towards me with a more serious demeanor and says, “In all seriousness, though, do you really ‘like like’ Niall? Because that look that you two shared back there looked like you two more than ‘just liked’ each other.”
I take a deep breath. “Well, I don’t really know. Whenever he looks at me, I get crazy butterflies not only in my stomach, but everywhere. And I practically melt every time he says my name… and when I put my hand on his face? It was just…” I trail off, unsure of how to say it without sounding silly.
“…like your hand was on fire? Like you two, in that moment, were the only people in the entire world?” Louis finishes my exact thought.
I gape at him. “How…?”
“I’m not a stranger to the feeling, love.” He nods, an affectionate smile taking over his features. I assume he’s talking about his girlfriend, Eleanor, and the way she had looked at him when she said his name. Was that really the way Niall and I had looked at each other?
“It’s just wordless, really…” he continues, “…and I see that with you and Niall.”
“Really?” I say shyly, unbelieving that this is really happening.
“Really.” He nods and begins to go back to his room. “And don’t worry. My lips are sealed!”
“Yeah… so you really already know everything then…” I snapped myself out of my flashback.
“I guess I do…” he nodded slowly.
“So…” I trailed off awkwardly, my eyes drawing back to the screen. “Do you approve, then?”
“Do I approve? Well, what kind of question is that!” He chuckled softly, turning me gently so he could look into my eyes.
“I don’t know…” I shrug. “It just seemed like you and I had… I don’t know, something, I guess…” I could feel my cheeks turning into those damned fire trucks again.
He smiled wryly. “I know what you mean, love. And you have my total approval.” He winked at me and pulled me back into his chest. “As long as you’re safe, happy and loved, I approve.” He mumbled into my hair, emphasizing his statement by planting a light kiss on the top of my head.
And at that moment, with his arms wrapped around me and my head resting against his chest, I forgot that he was famous, that he was my celebrity crush, and I realized that the real Zayn Malik was becoming my best friend.
“Niall, did you eat all the pizza?”
“Uhh… Ah dom fink sho…”
“Harry! Just because you’re an invalid doesn’t mean you’re allowed to run around in the nude! Put on trousers or something, yeah?”
“Hannah, Liam’s bullying me!”
“I still can’t find the remote!”
“It’s probably stuck up your arse!”
“Louis, I swear…”
It was almost midnight and the boys had the energy of five children hopped up on Pop Rocks. Zayn was running around the small living room of the guest house, turning over ever inch of the room in search of the remote, Louis was scrounging around in the kitchen, & Harry & Liam were somewhere back near the bedrooms.
Niall somehow remained calm. We were stuffing our faces with pizza while watching some random game show. I was completely content, whereas the fact that we were apparently missing an exclusive showing of Paranormal Activity on MTV had sent Zayn into a tizzy.
“Ugh, we’re missing the good part!” he muttered under his breath, looking under the couch for the seventh time.
I rolled my eyes and elbowed Niall gently in the ribs, saying, “Just give it to him? Please?”
Niall shot me a wide-eyed glare before returning to his pizza; I knew he was silently hoping that Zayn hadn’t heard me.
Of course, he had.
“Really, man? Really?” Zayn straightened up and held out his hand in irritation.
“Aw, see what you did, Hannah? You got him mad at me!” Niall shook his head at me while holding the remote out to Zayn in defeat. The channel was quickly switched right after Zayn hit the lights.
“You ever seen this before?” he whispered as he sat down next to me.
“I actually saw the second one, but not the first,” I admitted.
“Ooo, then you’re in for a good show!” He smiled mischievously, getting comfortable.
“Hey, Niall, could you hand me that pillow?” I whispered tentatively as the paranormal started up on the big screen. I was always in when it came to a good horror, but I was also always the one who ended up rocking back and forth, yelling at the TV and gasping/screaming whenever something freaky happened.
“Aw, you’re not scared of a little scary film, now are you?” Zayn mock pushed me from my other side.
“You hush!” I pointed a finger at him. “You will thank me later!” I smiled wryly.
I was almost comfortable as the movie progressed when suddenly-
“HANNAH!” erupted Louis from the kitchen around the corner.
“And that’s my cue to go!” I hopped up quickly, once again forgetting my ribs, and cursed in pain again.
I just don’t learn.
“Hannah, are you okay?” Niall was at my side immediately.
“Yep! Be right back!” I waved him away and made my way to the kitchen. I had to stop being stupid…
“Yeah, Hannah, there is no food in here.” Louis shrugged in exasperation as I entered the room. I stared at him in disbelief. Every cabinet was open, exposing the multiple boxes of cereal, crackers, spaghetti, macaroni, cake mixes & cookies, as well as the cans of soup, jars of nuts, & bags of chips that the kitchen was stocked with. Plus the refrigerator that housed multiple fruit juices, cold cuts, and leftovers we put in there.
There was food.
I sighed, my shoulders sagging. “Louis, there is food. You may just not be tall enough to reach it.” I was so tired I didn’t even notice the amount of sass in that statement. I turned to go back in the living room, only to find Niall, Zayn & Liam in a massive pillow fight while Harry looked on - in only his boxers - from the doorway with a look of pure amusement on his face.
It was going to be a long night.
*******************************************************************
Finally, some peace and quiet… I thought.
I had made sure Harry had made it to bed safely, comfortably, and fully clothed. Louis was sharing a room with him and was also peacefully asleep. Liam had passed out on the gigantic armchair across the living room from the couch, while Niall had opted for the floor halfway through the movie.
Now it was just Zayn and I on the couch. Once everyone had begun passing out from exhaustion, I had quickly made my way back to my little spot on the couch. Zayn had calmed down a bit from the pillow fight and settled beside me. Before I knew it, his arm was around me, my head was on his chest, and I was totally relaxed.
It was pure bliss.
When the movie broke for another commercial, I heard him sigh and rub my arm lightly.
“You still up, Pidgeon?” he whispered.
“Yeah, can’t fall asleep with this movie on…” I smiled blearily.
“Oh, we can turn it off, if you want!” he said kindly.
“No, it’s fine. I want to see the end of it now.”
“Yeah, it’s a good one… if it weren’t for these damned commercials…”
There was a short silence, and I couldn’t help noticing that he hadn’t stopped gently running his finger up and down my arm.
He suddenly interrupted the silence by saying, “So you want to tell me what’s up with you and Niall over there?”
My stomach dropped out again.
“What? Me and Niall? No, there’s nothing…” I tried to dismiss the statement, but was stopped by the knowing look in his eyes when I met them. “How did you know?” I relented.
“Well, first of all, I saw that lovely little moment you had back under the stage today. Kind of hard to miss!” He smiled wryly. “Then I may or may not have heard a certain conversation that you had with Louis earlier on tonight…”
I knew exactly which conversation he was talking about.
I smacked his chest lightly. “You were eavesdropping!”
“I wouldn’t call it eavesdropping! I would say it was more of a coincidental overhearing of a conversation that was probably not meant for me to hear!” He smiled cheekily.
I chuckled and thought back to that conversation I had had with Louis…
“So you and Niall, huh?” He leans against the counter, looking me in the eye searchingly.
I roll my eyes. “Please, Louis, I’ve only known the boy for 24 hours, if that!” I used the excuse Liam had come up with earlier.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t give me that! I saw the way you two were eyeing each other under the stage. It was like you were practically snogging each other with your eyes… Weird stuff right there…” Louis wrinkles his nose up in mock disgust.
“It was nothing like that! It was just… one of those moments, I guess…” I trail off.
“So there is something then?” Louis props his chin up on his hands and smiles cheekily.
“Don’t go spreading anything around please?” I plead with him, knowing that he’s caught me.
“I knew it!” He points at me triumphantly. “Hannah has a crush on the Nialler!”
“Louis, please! Keep it down!” I hiss, glancing around us to see if anyone is around. We had just gotten into the guest house and the boys were around claiming rooms and such. Louis had already set up his stuff in the same room as Harry.
“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist! I won’t tell a soul!” He makes a motion as if he was zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. I can’t help but laugh at his silliness, but still have that lingering, frightened feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get whenever I feel vulnerable.
He “unzips” his lips and leans back towards me with a more serious demeanor and says, “In all seriousness, though, do you really ‘like like’ Niall? Because that look that you two shared back there looked like you two more than ‘just liked’ each other.”
I take a deep breath. “Well, I don’t really know. Whenever he looks at me, I get crazy butterflies not only in my stomach, but everywhere. And I practically melt every time he says my name… and when I put my hand on his face? It was just…” I trail off, unsure of how to say it without sounding silly.
“…like your hand was on fire? Like you two, in that moment, were the only people in the entire world?” Louis finishes my exact thought.
I gape at him. “How…?”
“I’m not a stranger to the feeling, love.” He nods, an affectionate smile taking over his features. I assume he’s talking about his girlfriend, Eleanor, and the way she had looked at him when she said his name. Was that really the way Niall and I had looked at each other?
“It’s just wordless, really…” he continues, “…and I see that with you and Niall.”
“Really?” I say shyly, unbelieving that this is really happening.
“Really.” He nods and begins to go back to his room. “And don’t worry. My lips are sealed!”
“Yeah… so you really already know everything then…” I snapped myself out of my flashback.
“I guess I do…” he nodded slowly.
“So…” I trailed off awkwardly, my eyes drawing back to the screen. “Do you approve, then?”
“Do I approve? Well, what kind of question is that!” He chuckled softly, turning me gently so he could look into my eyes.
“I don’t know…” I shrug. “It just seemed like you and I had… I don’t know, something, I guess…” I could feel my cheeks turning into those damned fire trucks again.
He smiled wryly. “I know what you mean, love. And you have my total approval.” He winked at me and pulled me back into his chest. “As long as you’re safe, happy and loved, I approve.” He mumbled into my hair, emphasizing his statement by planting a light kiss on the top of my head.
And at that moment, with his arms wrapped around me and my head resting against his chest, I forgot that he was famous, that he was my celebrity crush, and I realized that the real Zayn Malik was becoming my best friend.
7/25/13