My eyes meet Sophie's from across the restaurant. She scoots out of the booth and runs toward Niall and me. "Talia! It's been forever since I've last seen you!" I flinch as she reaches to give me a hug. "So.. Who's your friend here?" she asks as she closes in on Niall. "Niall, this is Sophie. Sophie, Niall." I say softly. "I'm her boyfriend," Niall says, grinning as he holds my hand. I assume it's just a cover since we aren't actually dating, so I play along. "Oh." Sophie says coldly. I can hear the hate in her voice. My eyes stay glued to the ground. "Well, Niall, you could do better. Talia is just ...different." Niall's grip tightens on my hand. He smiles at Sophie and says, "I really don't think I could do better. Talia is too amazing to be average. That's why she's different." Sophie stands there speechless for a moment, then glances at me before she walks quickly out of the restaurant. Niall leads me to a booth and we have a seat. He orders almost the entire menu! How is he still SO fit?? I get two waffles and strawberries and end up eating my plate clean. Man, I didn't realize how hungry I was.. Niall is going to drive us back to Georgia to meet up with Bailey, Amy, and the boys. Once in the car, Niall asks, "Talia? Who was that girl in the restaurant?" I squirm in my seat. "Sophie Lillian. I went to middle school with her." He nods."What did she do to you?" "Nothing..It's not really important.." "Yes it is. I know she did something. I saw how you flinched when she got close to you.. Please, tell me?" I turn toward him and slowly spill the story of the bullying, Sophie, and middle school. I don't tell him about my eating problem, though. That'd be too much, so I end talking about Jamie's death. By then, I'm in tears. Niall sits there for a second, a vacant look in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" "I didn't want to annoy you." "Talia. You couldn't annoy me even if you tried," Niall says as he pulls me into a hug. We take the long trip back to Georgia. When we arrive at the lake where we're swimming at, I see something very strange. Liam is sitting on the ground next to the boat house, hugging his knees. As our car pulls up, Liam lifts his head. His big brown eyes are red and swollen from crying. I quickly look at Niall, waiting for an answer, but he looks just as worried as I am.

As I slowly get out of the car and make my way toward Liam, he stands up. Bailey is walking from her mom's car to him. She opens her arms for a hug, and he accepts them. What on earth happened? Niall and I keep to ourselves while Bailey sits and listens to Liam. The first thing I do when I walk up to Bailey is tackle her into a hug. I haven't seen her since the wreck, and I was still worried. Amy drives up in her red convertible and we flag her down. Amy's older sister, Kaylie, is in the car also. She's 17, and Amy is 16. Oh, well. The more the merrier, right? Both girls have brown hair and green eyes. Tall and naturally tan, they could pass for models.. Amy, Kaylie, and Bailey have on adorable swimsuits, but I stay content in wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt over mine. All four of us sit on the edge of the dock , our feet dangling above the water. "What's wrong with Liam? Is he alright?" I ask. Bailey gives her head a little shake. "Not really. Danielle broke up with him two days ago." My jaw drops. "How on earth could she leave Liam?!" "And he's such a sweetheart," Amy adds in. Bailey shrugs. "Apparently, Danielle found someone 'better'." Kaylie shakes her head. I hear a noise behind us. As we turn around, we barely have time to scream before Louis and Harry throw us into the lake. Once I surface, I scream,"You are SO dead!" Then, I have an idea.. I yell,"OH MY GOSH. Harry!! Amy can't swim!!" "What the heck were you thinking?!" Kaylie screeches. Amy pretends to sink uncontrollably while Harry's eyes grow wide. He strips his shirt off and jumps in to save her. While Amy attacks Harry, Bailey, Kaylie, and I swim to the dock and yank Louis into the water with us. "It's freezing you guys!!" Louis yells in his extreme homo voice. Everyone laughs. Eventually, we all swim back to the dock. Soon we see Liam and Niall. Zayn and some blonde-haired girl are hand-in-hand behind them, coming to join us. Wait a second. I know her.

Notes

Hey guys! Just an FYI, One: I wrote this in 2011 Two: I ship Zerrie! Perrie seems super sweet and I think they're adorable together, I just needed a story line (: thanks you guys <3