We sat in the booth of I-Hop. The boys seemed to be immersed in a full on conversation about football, one of the many things I didn’t care about. On one side of the booth, there was Zayn, me and Liam. Harry, Niall and Louis faced us. I felt Zayn elbow me from the left, making me look at him, while the other boys continued to talk.

“You alright? You seem quiet.” Zayn said, turning his attention away from the boys and to me.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I smiled. Lying and fake smiling were two things I was supposedly good at.

“No you’re not.” Zayn scoffed. Oh, never mind.

I sighed, running my fingers through my bangs to push them up letting out a large sigh. “I just don’t feel like talking.” Zayn gave me this weird look but quickly smiled, then went back to the guy’s conversation. Then came the blonde bimbo waitress to save the day. She balanced six different plates of her two arms, setting down each plate.

“Enjoy your food.” She smiled, glancing at me with the nastiest look I’d ever received. She quickly flashed the boys a brilliant pearly white smile and then turned away. Niall seemed to notice the waitress’s actions because he kicked me from under the table. I looked up at him. He gave me a thumbs up and a cute smile to make me feel better. I smiled back and nodded.

Harry and Liam were mumbling something, too soft for me to hear clearly. Liam shot each of the boys a knowing look before clearing is throat.

“Aria, we have something to tell you.” Liam started, his voice nervous.

“What is it?” I asked anxiously. Liam looked at Harry and Louis.

“We aren’t just any normal group of friends, Aria.” Louis said. I wasn’t getting the point.

“Then what are you?”

“We’re a band. You know, One Direction?” Harry finished slowly, as if he wasn’t sure if I would pass out of slap him. I just blinked.

“Really now…”

“Yup.” Zayn piped up, smiling down at his plate. All the boys looked clearly shy and uncertain, probably wondering whether I would fan girl any second. Um, no.

“Oh, that’s cool. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I asked, not really trying, but naturally playing it cool. Liam looked at Louis, who looked and Niall, who looked at Harry to looked at Zayn. Zayn slowly looked up at me, shrugging with an innocent smirk.

“Well the morning we met is pretty soon, don’t you think?” he asked cleverly. I laughed.

“True that.”

---

We spent the rest of the day at the hotel, watching movies and eating junk food. Liam seemed to constantly be texting someone while Zayn had fallen asleep. Louis and Harry were playing catfight in the corner. Niall was snacking on chips. I was the awkward turtle squished onto the sofa by five attractive guys.

How wonderful.

So instead, I started to space out, worried about going back home to get my things. What my father had done to me had scared me. I had nightmares of him every night, and in everyone dream, he’d either beat me or rape me. I was also mad. Furious in fact. It made sense actually. After my sister had died in a car crash, my mother left about a month after. Then it was just my dad and I. Every night, he’d come home drunk, shouting to the walls and punching them.

I’d never thought about me being the one he punched.

After the first night he’d beat me, I had skipped school and he’d shouted at me, telling me I was worthless and a disgrace. My father hadn’t beat me very often, only once a week. At least wasn’t every day. I got my first boyfriend, Jayson, in 9th grade. He broke up with me almost as soon as he met my father.

Oh, school. That was one thing I never loved. I was always that weird smart girl who sat in the corner of the lab room, taking notes without saying a word. Teachers themselves picked on me for being so quiet. No one ever truly loved me. Maybe my mother, but no one else. I had no idea what it felt like to be loved. Let alone be in love.

What would happen if my father was home when I went to get my things? Would he try to apologize? Would he beat me again?

I found myself breathing at an unsteady pace, burning a hole into the floor. I literally had day mares about these things. A warm hand touched my shoulder, making me jump.

“You alright?” Niall whispered, his blue eyes staring into mine. I nodded, breathing slowly. Niall smiled and threw his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

“You’ll be safe with us, I promise.” Niall whispered, turning back to the movie with a smile.

I somehow, I got the feeling he wasn’t lying.

---

The next day, I woke up in the same comfortable bed I’d woken up the day before. I smiled to myself, thinking of the successful mission Liam and I had conquered the day before. After watching movies, we’d gone to my dad’s house and got my things. He hadn’t been there, probably at work or in a bar getting drunk, but either way, he wasn’t there. That was good news for us. Now, I saw two or three suitcases lying on the floor of my hotel room with my stuff in it.
I got out of bed, reaching for the doorknob to go say good morning to the boys, when I noticed a hot pink piece of paper attached to the door.

Dear Aria,

We’ve been asked to go to sound check at the last minute so we will be out for the day, maybe until about 2pm. Please feel free to go into our hotel rooms and hang there. We’ve attached a keycard for our room. See you later!!

Love,

Hazza, Liam, Zayn, Lou and Nialler


I detached the taped card from the piece of paper and opened my room door, stepping into the empty hallway. I went to room 204 and slip in the keycard, which unlocked with a small sound. I entered the guys’ room. It was even messier than yesterday. The white blankets that we had used for movie day were still spread out on the floor. Soda cans were lied out on the wooden table. I decided to clean up for them, knowing I had nothing better to do. There was no way I was leaving the hotel, because my father could be out there looking for me, waiting to bring home his little punching bag.

I started by folding up the blankets and placing them neatly on the sofa. I laughed when I saw a ball of socks in the corner, but I decided to not make contact with those, leaving them there. I noticed an a CD cover lying on the table, closed. There was a picture of the five boys, in front of a beach scene. I took the album into my hands and opened it, taking out the CD called, “Up All Night.” This must be their album. I went over to the CD player that was set by the TV and inserted their album, waiting for it the run. The music began blasting, a catchy tune filling the room.

“You’re insecure, don’t know what for.

You turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or.

Don’t need make up, to cover up.

Being the way that you are is enou-uh-ugh.”


Okay, I had to admit this song was catchy. I found myself seated on the couch, bobbing my head up and down to the music.

“Baby you light up my world like nobody else! The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed! The way you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell. You don’t know-oh-oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful!”

So there I was, sitting on the couch for at least five hours, replaying the whole album about 4 times. Their songs were addicting. Amazing. Halfway through the second round of the album, I got up and finished tidying up the boys room, the music keeping me company. It was long before I heard the door unlocking from a card being slipped in and the boys walked in. The loud music blasted into the hallway. All five boys had smirks plastered on their flawless faces.

“I see you’ve found our #1 album.” Liam grinned, folding his arms across his chest. In one arm he held a Starbucks bag.

“No need to brag by saying it’s the number one album.” Niall winked, holding up a finger to indicate “number one”.

I laughed nervously turning down the volume. “S-so… how w-was sound check?” I stammered, playing with my fingers.

Instead on answering my question Zayn scratched his chin. “Something looks different about the room.”

I rolled my eyes. “Is that so, Zayn?” Harry added, also scratching his chin.

“Oh! I know!” Louis put a finger up. “Aria cleaned it up!”

“She did?” Niall, Harry and Zayn asked in unison. My mouth gaped open, when I came in contact with their stupidity. I had just spent three hours cleaning their mess of a room and they didn’t even notice.

“Aria, we’re just kidding.” Harry laughed, walking towards me. He crushed me in an enormous hug, all the boys crowding around me and hugging me too. They certainly had a liking of hugs.

“Guys..yar…sqi..uh…nm…meee…..ow..ouchh…”

They sprung off me, cracking up like awkward hyenas. Liam recovered from their fit of laughed first, taking my hand and pulling me over to the Starbucks bag.

“I got you a frappe.” Liam said taking a caramel mocha frappe from the bag. My mouth watered at the sight of it.

“Thanks Liam.” I said, kissing his cheek and taking the frappe. Even though I seemed calm on the outside, I wasn’t on the inside. How did he know that I bought frappe’s every single day before school?

He was physic, I swear.