Drama
Chapter 7: Capture the Moment
Leila's P.O.V.
I wake up around 10:30 feeling fresh and relaxed. The sun is shining through my window, casting bright colors across my room. I lie in bed for awhile, thinking of what exactly to do today. Madison has classes this morning, so I won’t see her until later this afternoon. My intent is to watch movies all day, but that might get a little boring with no one here. So I decide to text Alexa to see if she can hang with me for a little bit. I get up and start the shower, grabbing a pair of clean, fuzzy blue pajama pants and a loose, purple sweater.
After my shower, I pad into the kitchen and make myself some coffee. Turning on the radio for some background music, I also make some blueberry pancakes, which turn out just right. My phone buzzes as soon as I sit down at the table to eat and it’s Alexa replying back to me.
I’m actually not doing anything today, did you have something planned?
I respond back to her saying:
I was thinking of a movie day, you in?
Setting down my phone, I dig into my breakfast. The song in the background changes to a slow ballad and I get up to change it. My phone goes off again, so as soon as I change the radio station, I grab my phone and open up the message.
Yeah, I’m in! What time should I be over and where do you exactly live?
My reply:
You can come whenever, I’ll be here. And I live on Cascade Avenue, Silversprings Apartments, 3rd floor #24B. Oh and if you wouldn’t mind, can you pick up a bag of chips? I’ve got some snacks here, but not much.
I begin eating again and I’m almost finished when Alexa texts me again.
I’ll probably be there around 2 and I’ll bring some chips. Thanks! See u soon :)
I text her back:
Yup, see u soon :)
I finish my breakfast and load the dishes in the dishwasher. I realize I have some laundry to do, so I quickly do that and clean up the apartment a little bit. Madison and I are really good about keeping the apartment clean, but sometimes it gets messy when we’re both busy and don’t have much time to clean it up. But usually it gets picked up in the next few days.
By the time I’m done cleaning up, it’s around 1:30, so I turn on the TV and wait for Alexa to arrive. She pulls up in her car around 1:50 and she has no problem finding my room. She knocks and I get up to answer the door.
“Hey, you found it!” I exclaim as I open the door.
“Yup, it’s not hard to find,” Alexa explains, entering in the apartment. I close the door and she takes off her shoes.
“You can set the chips on the counter. Thanks for bringing them, by the way,” I tell her.
“No problem! I needed to run to the store, anyways,” she informs me, setting her bag on the counter. “So, this is your apartment.”
“Yup, my apartment. My roommate had classes this morning, so she won’t be back for another hour or two.”
“This is cute, I like it,” Alexa compliments, looking around.
“Thanks,” I say, heading into the living room and sitting on the couch. Alexa comes over and joins me as I boot up Netflix.
“So what kind of movies are we watching?” Alexa asks me.
“I’m not sure, what are you in the mood for?” I question, flipping through the movies.
“Hm, how about some romance?” Alexa suggests, raising her eyebrows and nudging me on the word “romance.”
“Sure,” I agree, looking at her like she’s crazy.
“Oh, come on, I know you like him,” she starts.
“Like who?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the screen.
“His name starts with an M,” she says in a sing-song voice. I turn and look at her.
“Max?” I respond.
“Mmhmm,” Alexa voices.
“I do not like Max,” I firmly say. Honestly, he’s a great friend, but I don’t like him like that.
“I saw how you were looking at him the other day,” she points out.
“When?”
“When he showed us the secret entrance to get around those screaming girls,” Alexa explains.
“Ok, well if I was looking at him in some way, that didn’t mean anything because, and I repeat, I don’t like Max.”
“Well, I know you like someone, and since Max is out of the question…” Alexa claims.
Wait, do I like someone? She can tell that I like someone. How can she tell that I like someone when I don’t even know myself if I do? And the only problem is, who?
Suddenly, my phone goes off with a call from Niall. Why is Niall calling me? I quickly answer it and Alexa gives me a look.
“Hello?” I answer, getting up off of the couch and moving into my bedroom.
“Hey, Leila,” Niall responds.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Nothing, actually. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today because I’m bored and Max has family over,” he says.
“Alexa and I were just starting a movie party,” I begin.
“Is there any chance you guys could spend just a few hours with me? Please?” Niall begs through the phone.
“I’ll ask her, hold on,” I reply, exiting my bedroom and back out to the living room.
“Hey, is it okay if we go meet Niall and hang with him for a while? He’s bored and doesn’t know what else to do,” I explain to Alexa.
“Sure, I don’t mind,” she responds. I put the phone back to my ear to hear a crunching sound.
“Niall, whatcha doing over there?” I ask, giggling.
“I’m eating,” he replies, crunching away.
“Ok, well yeah, Alexa says she doesn’t mind if we meet up with you. What are we going to do, though?” I question.
“Do one of you have a car?” Niall asks.
“Yeah, Alexa does, why?”
“I was thinking of driving through the city, since you guys are still new. I don’t have a car because I can’t drive here, but I’d really like to drive instead of walk in case of paparazzi.”
“Ok, yeah I like that idea. Where should we meet?” I ask.
“How about at the Subway on 8th Street?”
“Sounds good! And I’m guessing right now?”
“I’m actually walking there right now, so yes,” Niall replies.
“Alright, just give us a few minutes and we’ll be there,” I tell him.
“Thank you!” he responds.
“Yup, bye, Niall,” I say.
“Bye, Leila,” Niall repeats, and ends the call. I take my phone away from my ear and close out of the call.
“Ok, Alexa, change of plans. Is it ok if we use your car to drive around the city? That’s what Niall wants to do,” I explain.
“Sure,” she replies, and turns off the TV for me.
We get ready to go and head out to Alexa’s car. 15 minutes later we find 8th Street and the Subway that lines it, but many paparazzi are already waiting there.
“Oh, shit,” I say, looking around.
“You don’t think he’s in there,” Alexa begins.
“I don’t know, park in that parking lot up there,” I instruct, pointing to an almost empty parking lot of the store next to Subway, away from the paparazzi and screaming fans.
We park, get out of the car, and look around, not wanting to approach Subway. Thankfully, my phone buzzes with a message from Niall:
Paps found me in Subway, I’m in an alley on 6th Street
I breathe a sigh of relief as I relay this information to Alexa. She nods and we walk casually away from the paparazzi. 6th Street isn’t too far from here, but the roads are too narrow so we have to leave Alexa’s car in the parking lot and stroll to 6th Street, 2 blocks away.
We reach 6th Street to find out it’s completely dead. There are many alleys along the street, so I decide to call out Niall’s name in each alley until something happens.
By the 3rd alley we come to, I actually see a black figure that looks like a person.
“Niall?” I call out. The figure moves, looking our way. It approaches us fast and we realize it is Niall.
“Ssshh! You don’t want the paps to find me here, either, do you?” he warns, clapping a hand over my mouth. He doesn’t release for a few seconds, listening to hear if paparazzi are coming. Finally, he takes his hand off from my mouth and I can breathe properly.
“Sorry,” I apologize.
“It’s ok,” he says. “So, where’s the car?”
“Oh, it’s still at Subway…” Alexa informs, her and I exchanging glances.
“Really,” Niall complains, looking at us.
“The streets are too narrow!” Alexa defends. She sighs before continuing, “Stay right here, I’ll go get it and pull up around the corner.”
She disappears out of the alley and down the street, back towards Subway, leaving me and Niall alone.
“So,” he begins.
“So,” I repeat.
“A movie party, huh?” Niall mentions.
“Yeah, we were literally just figuring out what movies to watch when you called,” I tell him.
“I interrupted your movie party?” he asks.
“Yes, you did,” I claim.
“I interrupted it?” he asks again, this time playfully.
“Yeah,” I repeat, smiling.
“Are you blaming me?” he questions, smiling.
“Maybe,” I say, standing my ground.
“Maybe?” he replies, stepping towards me. My feet are practically glued to the ground, unwilling to move.
“Yeah, maybe,” I repeat, putting my hands on my hips.
“Oooh, getting sassy now, are we?” Niall points out, holding open his arms.
“Maybe,” I say, a little less forceful than I wanted to.
“Are you backing out on me?”
“I don’t know. How far are you taking this?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.
All of a sudden, paparazzi show up and sprint down the alley, causing us to look at them, then at each other, and then running the opposite way out of the alley. Niall takes a sharp turn to the left and I don’t even realize it until he pulls on my arm when I pass and drags me to the side. With his hand still on my arm, he looks around me to check how far the paparazzi are behind us and slides his hand down to mine. But this is no romantic gesture, as he quickly turns around and runs, pulling me with him. A door to a store opens up a few feet in front of us and Niall heads inside, me following after him. We enter the store just in time to see the paparazzi race out of the alley and into the street, the few in front stopping in their tracks as they swerve every which way to find us. In the end, they give up and head back through the alley to wherever they came from.
“Phew, that was close,” I start, panting a little bit.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Niall responds, readjusting his sweatshirt and his sunglasses over his face.
My phone buzzes again with a message from Alexa:
Where are you guys!? I told you to stay there!
I reply back to her:
Sorry, paps found us. We’re in a hat store on Calumet Drive
I send the message and slip my phone back in my pocket.
“What now?” Niall asks.
“Alexa’s coming, she didn’t see the mob,” I inform.
“Good, hopefully she doesn’t have to drive through it,” Niall utters. He sits down in the chairs by the front of the store to catch his breath. I follow him and sit in the chair next to him. We sit in silence for a few moments when I see Alexa pull up in front of the store.
I stand up and Niall does the same, realizing she’s here, too. We exit the store and pile in Alexa’s car, me in the front and Niall in the back.
“You scared the crap out of me when I couldn’t find you guys!” Alexa exclaims as she pulls into the street.
“Sorry, as I said, paps found us,” I explain.
“Yeah, I saw them walk out of the alley,” Alexa adds. She turns into another busy street heading into town. “So where are we going?”
“Um, keep going on this road for a while,” Niall directs. Alexa obeys and I turn up the radio. We start singing along to one of the popular hits when Niall swears.
“FUCK!” he yells.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning down the volume and facing the back. He’s looking out the back window and I see it, too.
“Alexa, drive, fast!” I shout.
“I can’t, it’s too busy up ahead!” she says. “What’s happening!?”
“The paps are following us, they know I’m in your car, Alexa!” Niall screams.
“You serious?!” Alexa shrieks.
“I’m sorry!” I apologize.
“Turn on Redwood Boulevard ahead!” Niall instructs. Alexa swerves and turns into the road, speeding up. We’re halfway down the street when a black van turns into the road, too. Yup, they’re definitely following us.
“Take a right on Songbird Avenue,” Niall says, his voice calming a little bit. Alexa takes a sharp turn to the right on Songbird Avenue.
“Now, a quick left on Maple Drive!” Niall directs. Alexa obeys and she keeps driving on all of these different roads to try and lose the paparazzi. Finally, after 20 minutes, we succeed, and Alexa makes it back to Highway 32, the highway to get back to my apartment.
“Sorry for ruining our drive through the city,” Niall quietly apologizes.
“It’s not your fault,” I say.
“So where are we going now?” Niall asks.
“Back to Leila’s apartment, I don’t want to be driving through the city when I know paps are around,” Alexa tells us.
“Alexa, are you mad?” I question her.
“No, I’m not mad. I’m just tired from trying to outrun paps. Who knew losing the paparazzi was such a workout?” she rhetorically asks.
“Me,” Niall quietly says. “Sorry I didn’t warn you.”
“Stop apologizing, Niall! You sound pathetic,” I remark. He snorts from behind me.
“I’m the one who sounds pathetic when she blames me for ruining her movie party,” Niall speaks. I open my mouth to say something, but I don’t know what to say back, so I quickly shut it again.
We drive in silence on the ride back to my apartment and I’m thankful when we reach it with no paparazzi or anything. Alexa parks and we carefully get out, making sure there are no hidden paps around. We quickly head inside and up to my apartment, keeping Niall in disguise as we pass through the lobby and down the hallway. We reach my door and I unlock it, opening it for us to clamber inside. Alexa and I instantly head for the couch while Niall takes off his sunglasses and his hood, looking around at my apartment. I’m exhausted and I close my eyes for just a few minutes…
I wake up around 10:30 feeling fresh and relaxed. The sun is shining through my window, casting bright colors across my room. I lie in bed for awhile, thinking of what exactly to do today. Madison has classes this morning, so I won’t see her until later this afternoon. My intent is to watch movies all day, but that might get a little boring with no one here. So I decide to text Alexa to see if she can hang with me for a little bit. I get up and start the shower, grabbing a pair of clean, fuzzy blue pajama pants and a loose, purple sweater.
After my shower, I pad into the kitchen and make myself some coffee. Turning on the radio for some background music, I also make some blueberry pancakes, which turn out just right. My phone buzzes as soon as I sit down at the table to eat and it’s Alexa replying back to me.
I’m actually not doing anything today, did you have something planned?
I respond back to her saying:
I was thinking of a movie day, you in?
Setting down my phone, I dig into my breakfast. The song in the background changes to a slow ballad and I get up to change it. My phone goes off again, so as soon as I change the radio station, I grab my phone and open up the message.
Yeah, I’m in! What time should I be over and where do you exactly live?
My reply:
You can come whenever, I’ll be here. And I live on Cascade Avenue, Silversprings Apartments, 3rd floor #24B. Oh and if you wouldn’t mind, can you pick up a bag of chips? I’ve got some snacks here, but not much.
I begin eating again and I’m almost finished when Alexa texts me again.
I’ll probably be there around 2 and I’ll bring some chips. Thanks! See u soon :)
I text her back:
Yup, see u soon :)
I finish my breakfast and load the dishes in the dishwasher. I realize I have some laundry to do, so I quickly do that and clean up the apartment a little bit. Madison and I are really good about keeping the apartment clean, but sometimes it gets messy when we’re both busy and don’t have much time to clean it up. But usually it gets picked up in the next few days.
By the time I’m done cleaning up, it’s around 1:30, so I turn on the TV and wait for Alexa to arrive. She pulls up in her car around 1:50 and she has no problem finding my room. She knocks and I get up to answer the door.
“Hey, you found it!” I exclaim as I open the door.
“Yup, it’s not hard to find,” Alexa explains, entering in the apartment. I close the door and she takes off her shoes.
“You can set the chips on the counter. Thanks for bringing them, by the way,” I tell her.
“No problem! I needed to run to the store, anyways,” she informs me, setting her bag on the counter. “So, this is your apartment.”
“Yup, my apartment. My roommate had classes this morning, so she won’t be back for another hour or two.”
“This is cute, I like it,” Alexa compliments, looking around.
“Thanks,” I say, heading into the living room and sitting on the couch. Alexa comes over and joins me as I boot up Netflix.
“So what kind of movies are we watching?” Alexa asks me.
“I’m not sure, what are you in the mood for?” I question, flipping through the movies.
“Hm, how about some romance?” Alexa suggests, raising her eyebrows and nudging me on the word “romance.”
“Sure,” I agree, looking at her like she’s crazy.
“Oh, come on, I know you like him,” she starts.
“Like who?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the screen.
“His name starts with an M,” she says in a sing-song voice. I turn and look at her.
“Max?” I respond.
“Mmhmm,” Alexa voices.
“I do not like Max,” I firmly say. Honestly, he’s a great friend, but I don’t like him like that.
“I saw how you were looking at him the other day,” she points out.
“When?”
“When he showed us the secret entrance to get around those screaming girls,” Alexa explains.
“Ok, well if I was looking at him in some way, that didn’t mean anything because, and I repeat, I don’t like Max.”
“Well, I know you like someone, and since Max is out of the question…” Alexa claims.
Wait, do I like someone? She can tell that I like someone. How can she tell that I like someone when I don’t even know myself if I do? And the only problem is, who?
Suddenly, my phone goes off with a call from Niall. Why is Niall calling me? I quickly answer it and Alexa gives me a look.
“Hello?” I answer, getting up off of the couch and moving into my bedroom.
“Hey, Leila,” Niall responds.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Nothing, actually. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today because I’m bored and Max has family over,” he says.
“Alexa and I were just starting a movie party,” I begin.
“Is there any chance you guys could spend just a few hours with me? Please?” Niall begs through the phone.
“I’ll ask her, hold on,” I reply, exiting my bedroom and back out to the living room.
“Hey, is it okay if we go meet Niall and hang with him for a while? He’s bored and doesn’t know what else to do,” I explain to Alexa.
“Sure, I don’t mind,” she responds. I put the phone back to my ear to hear a crunching sound.
“Niall, whatcha doing over there?” I ask, giggling.
“I’m eating,” he replies, crunching away.
“Ok, well yeah, Alexa says she doesn’t mind if we meet up with you. What are we going to do, though?” I question.
“Do one of you have a car?” Niall asks.
“Yeah, Alexa does, why?”
“I was thinking of driving through the city, since you guys are still new. I don’t have a car because I can’t drive here, but I’d really like to drive instead of walk in case of paparazzi.”
“Ok, yeah I like that idea. Where should we meet?” I ask.
“How about at the Subway on 8th Street?”
“Sounds good! And I’m guessing right now?”
“I’m actually walking there right now, so yes,” Niall replies.
“Alright, just give us a few minutes and we’ll be there,” I tell him.
“Thank you!” he responds.
“Yup, bye, Niall,” I say.
“Bye, Leila,” Niall repeats, and ends the call. I take my phone away from my ear and close out of the call.
“Ok, Alexa, change of plans. Is it ok if we use your car to drive around the city? That’s what Niall wants to do,” I explain.
“Sure,” she replies, and turns off the TV for me.
We get ready to go and head out to Alexa’s car. 15 minutes later we find 8th Street and the Subway that lines it, but many paparazzi are already waiting there.
“Oh, shit,” I say, looking around.
“You don’t think he’s in there,” Alexa begins.
“I don’t know, park in that parking lot up there,” I instruct, pointing to an almost empty parking lot of the store next to Subway, away from the paparazzi and screaming fans.
We park, get out of the car, and look around, not wanting to approach Subway. Thankfully, my phone buzzes with a message from Niall:
Paps found me in Subway, I’m in an alley on 6th Street
I breathe a sigh of relief as I relay this information to Alexa. She nods and we walk casually away from the paparazzi. 6th Street isn’t too far from here, but the roads are too narrow so we have to leave Alexa’s car in the parking lot and stroll to 6th Street, 2 blocks away.
We reach 6th Street to find out it’s completely dead. There are many alleys along the street, so I decide to call out Niall’s name in each alley until something happens.
By the 3rd alley we come to, I actually see a black figure that looks like a person.
“Niall?” I call out. The figure moves, looking our way. It approaches us fast and we realize it is Niall.
“Ssshh! You don’t want the paps to find me here, either, do you?” he warns, clapping a hand over my mouth. He doesn’t release for a few seconds, listening to hear if paparazzi are coming. Finally, he takes his hand off from my mouth and I can breathe properly.
“Sorry,” I apologize.
“It’s ok,” he says. “So, where’s the car?”
“Oh, it’s still at Subway…” Alexa informs, her and I exchanging glances.
“Really,” Niall complains, looking at us.
“The streets are too narrow!” Alexa defends. She sighs before continuing, “Stay right here, I’ll go get it and pull up around the corner.”
She disappears out of the alley and down the street, back towards Subway, leaving me and Niall alone.
“So,” he begins.
“So,” I repeat.
“A movie party, huh?” Niall mentions.
“Yeah, we were literally just figuring out what movies to watch when you called,” I tell him.
“I interrupted your movie party?” he asks.
“Yes, you did,” I claim.
“I interrupted it?” he asks again, this time playfully.
“Yeah,” I repeat, smiling.
“Are you blaming me?” he questions, smiling.
“Maybe,” I say, standing my ground.
“Maybe?” he replies, stepping towards me. My feet are practically glued to the ground, unwilling to move.
“Yeah, maybe,” I repeat, putting my hands on my hips.
“Oooh, getting sassy now, are we?” Niall points out, holding open his arms.
“Maybe,” I say, a little less forceful than I wanted to.
“Are you backing out on me?”
“I don’t know. How far are you taking this?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.
All of a sudden, paparazzi show up and sprint down the alley, causing us to look at them, then at each other, and then running the opposite way out of the alley. Niall takes a sharp turn to the left and I don’t even realize it until he pulls on my arm when I pass and drags me to the side. With his hand still on my arm, he looks around me to check how far the paparazzi are behind us and slides his hand down to mine. But this is no romantic gesture, as he quickly turns around and runs, pulling me with him. A door to a store opens up a few feet in front of us and Niall heads inside, me following after him. We enter the store just in time to see the paparazzi race out of the alley and into the street, the few in front stopping in their tracks as they swerve every which way to find us. In the end, they give up and head back through the alley to wherever they came from.
“Phew, that was close,” I start, panting a little bit.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Niall responds, readjusting his sweatshirt and his sunglasses over his face.
My phone buzzes again with a message from Alexa:
Where are you guys!? I told you to stay there!
I reply back to her:
Sorry, paps found us. We’re in a hat store on Calumet Drive
I send the message and slip my phone back in my pocket.
“What now?” Niall asks.
“Alexa’s coming, she didn’t see the mob,” I inform.
“Good, hopefully she doesn’t have to drive through it,” Niall utters. He sits down in the chairs by the front of the store to catch his breath. I follow him and sit in the chair next to him. We sit in silence for a few moments when I see Alexa pull up in front of the store.
I stand up and Niall does the same, realizing she’s here, too. We exit the store and pile in Alexa’s car, me in the front and Niall in the back.
“You scared the crap out of me when I couldn’t find you guys!” Alexa exclaims as she pulls into the street.
“Sorry, as I said, paps found us,” I explain.
“Yeah, I saw them walk out of the alley,” Alexa adds. She turns into another busy street heading into town. “So where are we going?”
“Um, keep going on this road for a while,” Niall directs. Alexa obeys and I turn up the radio. We start singing along to one of the popular hits when Niall swears.
“FUCK!” he yells.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, turning down the volume and facing the back. He’s looking out the back window and I see it, too.
“Alexa, drive, fast!” I shout.
“I can’t, it’s too busy up ahead!” she says. “What’s happening!?”
“The paps are following us, they know I’m in your car, Alexa!” Niall screams.
“You serious?!” Alexa shrieks.
“I’m sorry!” I apologize.
“Turn on Redwood Boulevard ahead!” Niall instructs. Alexa swerves and turns into the road, speeding up. We’re halfway down the street when a black van turns into the road, too. Yup, they’re definitely following us.
“Take a right on Songbird Avenue,” Niall says, his voice calming a little bit. Alexa takes a sharp turn to the right on Songbird Avenue.
“Now, a quick left on Maple Drive!” Niall directs. Alexa obeys and she keeps driving on all of these different roads to try and lose the paparazzi. Finally, after 20 minutes, we succeed, and Alexa makes it back to Highway 32, the highway to get back to my apartment.
“Sorry for ruining our drive through the city,” Niall quietly apologizes.
“It’s not your fault,” I say.
“So where are we going now?” Niall asks.
“Back to Leila’s apartment, I don’t want to be driving through the city when I know paps are around,” Alexa tells us.
“Alexa, are you mad?” I question her.
“No, I’m not mad. I’m just tired from trying to outrun paps. Who knew losing the paparazzi was such a workout?” she rhetorically asks.
“Me,” Niall quietly says. “Sorry I didn’t warn you.”
“Stop apologizing, Niall! You sound pathetic,” I remark. He snorts from behind me.
“I’m the one who sounds pathetic when she blames me for ruining her movie party,” Niall speaks. I open my mouth to say something, but I don’t know what to say back, so I quickly shut it again.
We drive in silence on the ride back to my apartment and I’m thankful when we reach it with no paparazzi or anything. Alexa parks and we carefully get out, making sure there are no hidden paps around. We quickly head inside and up to my apartment, keeping Niall in disguise as we pass through the lobby and down the hallway. We reach my door and I unlock it, opening it for us to clamber inside. Alexa and I instantly head for the couch while Niall takes off his sunglasses and his hood, looking around at my apartment. I’m exhausted and I close my eyes for just a few minutes…
Notes
Keep sharing and voting! Thank you! :DRachel :)
Make a Sequel please.
9/13/14