The Voice

“Your ears are so cool!” Kiley exclaimed as we pulled away from the airport.

Caleb ended up sitting beside Niall, and when we got Noah and Eleanor, I ended up in the middle whereas Zane, Madi, and Eleanor were in the back. Kiley was behind Niall, and Noah was behind Caleb.

Apparently, Kiley just now noticed.

“Well, someone’s changed over this past month,” Noah laughed as he reached over and awkwardly side hugged me. “It’s good to see you! All of you, really. I mean, of course, you’re all awesome people and all, I just—”

“We get it, Noah,” Eleanor laughed. “There are people you just get closer to than others.”

I smiled and nodded. Absentmindedly, I began playing with my braid. “Yeah. You could say that.”

“I think, personally, you’re just that much hotter,” he teased, knowing I would blush. Like he knew I would, I did, especially knowing he actually meant it, too.

Niall laughed from the front seat. “I hope everyone had a fun trip back home. I know I did.”

“What’d you do?” Kiley asked, merely trying to start a conversation. She was definitely different than before too, and I liked that.

“Well, besides when I worked on some new music with the guys, I mostly just chilled, did a couple of TwitCams, and did a show in Dublin,” he said, but we could tell he loved the last part, especially from the bright smile on his face.

Dublin . . . I actually missed it there, a lot. Dad and I hadn’t dared to go back—mostly just paranoia, really. Still, I wanted to see how it had changed, as well as Kenmare. Mostly, I just wanted to go to Ireland again, but we were too paranoid at the moment.

Niall noticed my dismal face and quickly changed the subject. “What about you guys?”

That instantly cheered me up because my month had been a good one, even considering I stirred up previously hidden memories.

“I got tattoos, dyed my hair blue, and made it glow,” I said, and I busted out laughing when everyone gawked at me. “Oh! Can’t forget the personality touch-up and the beginning of a wardrobe change.”

“You were fine before,” Noah protested, now frowning and temporarily over the shock of the glowing hair thing. “What’d you change?”

“Long story, but don’t you worry,” I said with a smile. “I’m still Everit.”

“I turned eighteen and got engaged,” Zane informed us, thankfully changing the subject away from my month. “We’re not making wedding plans anytime soon, though.”

“Congrats!” we all said close to the same time, and Zane just laughed and thanked us all.

Eleanor went next. “My month was rather boring. I did some shopping, went to school, and that was about it. Nothing really to talk about.”

“Same here,” Noah scoffed. “Well . . . I did go to a Three Days Grace concert, which was pretty dang epic.”

My eyes widened. “Noah, that’s way epic! Did you actually get to meet them?”

He nodded. “Briefly. They didn’t have much time, though, so I just got autographs.” He smirked. “I got one for you to, Ev. Don’t worry.”

I think it’s safe to say I began bouncing my seat like a child approaching Disney World. Right now, I was so happy that I didn’t even hear Madi or Caleb tell what they had done, but I don’t think it was important because Noah was laughing at me the entire time.

Niall and Kiley were too, though, so I must’ve had a funny reaction.

When we got to the restaurant, I was amazed to find that the roof had a few tables. The surprising part was that no one was up there, and it was such a beautiful day outside. There wasn’t too long until sunset, so I knew we had to hurry.

Oh . . . Niall made reservations. That’s why the roof tables were empty . . . because we got them all.

Madi and Eleanor were taking pictures while we waited on our food, and Caleb and Zane were both looking over the side at the people walking by. From here, you had a perfect view of the Hollywood sign, so those four were super happy to be here.

Niall, Kiley, Noah, and I were just sitting at the table enjoying the beautiful day, eagerly awaiting our food.

“Tomorrow morning, I expect you to get up bright and early and make us all breakfast,” Niall informed me with a smirk. Although he was kidding, I knew that would really make his day, so I decided that I was going to do that.

I smirked. “I don’t do the morning thing.”

“Me either, but I have to get up and go get Brinley,” he said, and he stuck his tongue out at me. “So, I nominate you to have to suffer with me.”

Kiley grimaced. “I forgot she was coming back.”

I sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. She’s really, really good.”

“The problem is, she thinks she’s better than she really is,” Kiley groaned. It surprised me how willing she was to talk about this in front of Niall, but I guess he was just an easy person to talk to for everyone, not just me. “All I ever hear is how there’s no way I’m gonna win, that she’s way better than I’ll ever be, and then there’s nastiness on the phone with her boyfriend, and—”

“Whoa, what?” I interrupted, eyes wide. “She has a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, hard to believe considering how she treats him,” she snorted. “But yes.”

Niall snorted. “Poor lad. From the way she talks about me, he certainly can’t expect it to last long.”

“It’s just one of those mess around relationships that will end when they find someone else,” Kiley said, and she shrugged. “You find out way more about her than you actually want to when you room with her.” She made a face of disgust. “Anyways, I’m just glad we don’t all have to room together anymore. I just have a feeling it’s not gonna be pretty when she comes in and tries to get the room I’m already in . . . .”

“Well, you were here first,” Niall shrugged. “If she starts something, tell her I said that since you were here first, you get first claim. Besides, it would be stupid for you to have to move all of your stuff out of that room and into the other, considering you unpacked.”

Something I hadn’t thought about occurred to me. “Niall . . . if she hurts my dog, do I have permission to beat her face in?”

He shrugged. “As long as I don’t see it and she doesn’t have any visible injuries, sure. But like I said, don’t tell me about it or let me see it.”

Kiley frowned. “If she lays a hand on that angel, I’ll beat her myself.”

Noah laughed at the pleased smile that I got after hearing Kiley say that. “So you actually brought him?”

That made me smile even brighter as I nodded. “I did. The poor thing hates traveling, though, so I had to put him to sleep for the plane ride. He’s still a little dreary from it, but he’s perking up.”

“Can’t wait to meet him,” Noah smiled back at me.

Luckily, our food arrived, but the problem was, it was getting really close to sunset. Niall noticed, too, and he began going around reminding everyone that we wanted to be back at the house by sunset. So, of course, Madi and Eleanor hurried. Zane did simply because he was asked to, but Caleb did for whatever reason . . . probably had something to do with the “romantic view” for him to try and weasel his way into a girl’s pants. Too bad for him, we were all above that.

He’d have to wait until tomorrow for that.

Everyone quickly got done eating, but I wasn’t so sure it would be enough. Niall realized the problem, and he didn’t hesitate to speed home. Thankfully, we didn’t get stopped, so we made it home just in time for the sunset.

Well . . . for the end of it.

Everyone except Niall and Noah rushed to their rooms because Noah was going to go ahead and get his stuff out. Madi was waiting until after sunset for that so that she and Eleanor could take all kinds of pictures.

Noah wasn’t really paying attention to me, though, because he was unloading. Being the gentleman he was, he unloaded all of Madi’s stuff for her and put it upstairs for her to get, since he didn’t know what room she was in.

Niall abruptly grabbed my hand the moment we were alone, and his eyes were wide. I knew why because that sickly sweet taste was already gathering nice and intensely in my mouth, so that meant my eyes were pretty much red now. Still, I tried to appear like nothing had changed when I turned back to him.

“Yes?”

“Your . . . eyes,” he managed to get out.

I swallowed visibly and nodded, grimacing at the way the venom burned my throat. “Yeah. That’s why I had to be back by sunset. I forgot my colored contacts.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “But . . . how were they green before?”

“They change at sunset,” I whispered, just in case anyone was close enough to hear. “I have to get some green colored contacts tomorrow. They won’t be the same ones that I have at home, but they’ll be close enough that no one should notice.”

“I can grab some on my way to get Brinley,” he offered.

My eyes widened a little, mostly because I didn’t understand. “You’re . . . so calm about this. My friend, Max, freaked out when he saw it, and then I told him the rest . . . .” My eyes widened even further. “That was . . . almost bad.”

“I’m not sure what’s going on, and I’m extremely curious, but there’s no reason to freak out,” he said, and his eyes moved to look behind me. I already heard it, though, so I knew that someone was coming down the stairs. “It’s gonna be sad sleeping by myself.”

Noah laughed. “I know, right? Those bunk beds were some of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever been on.”

My eyebrows rose as I began smiling up at Niall, who just grinned down at me. “Bunk beds?”

“It’s way cool,” Noah assured me.

Niall nodded and gestured for me to follow him. “I’ll show you. Noah, do you need any help?”

“Nah,” he shook his head. “I’ve almost got it all. Show her the cool bunk beds!”

Niall took my hand, which surprised me, but he made it look like he was just leading me to his room. Even though no one was watching, he made sure it looked like that just in case. Just like normal, he had my insides all kinds of messed up, and that electric current surging through my body was back, though it wasn’t as strong as when he kissed me.

By the time we got to his room, I wanted to kiss him so desperately. I wasn’t sure if he would allow that, though, so I just observed the room with a curious gaze. “Okay. This is definitely way cool.” I shivered as I said it, though, and began to laugh. “In more than one sense.”

And it was. The bunk beds were large ones attached to the green wood walls—two sets of beds. They were made of wood as well—not green—and they had different comforters on them. One had an Irish flag comforter, whereas the rest were just green. The room itself was just made of wood, like a log cabin, and there was a huge TV with all sorts of game systems. Along with that, he had a massive stereo and fireplace. Of course, there was a boy sized closet, one of the larger boy closets, and then the bathroom, which I didn’t go into, but this room had to be the coolest in the house.

I was surprised when Niall shut the door behind him, and suddenly, I could feel my heart racing against my rib cage, trying to burst its way out. “I-It’s, uh, quite . . . impressive.”

I could feel his breath on my neck as he stood behind me, so close that I could smell his aftershave. Personally, I think he was trying to mess me up inside because he just stood there for the longest time, and even though we both ate messy cheeseburgers—his had onions on it—his breath still smelled minty and fresh.

“I missed you, Evie,” he murmured, and I felt his hands start to rub down my arm in the most tender way. The intensity of this moment made me shiver in desire, especially as his lips pressed against my neck—only once. As he slowly rubbed down to my palms, he rubbed back up my arm and kissed my neck some more.

Even though I was really trying, I couldn’t find words to say, so I just let my eyes flutter shut as I took in every sensation of this moment. By taking away my vision, I added onto my other senses, and that only made it that much more incredible.

When he turned me around to face him, I was so horny that I honestly felt like I was about to piss all over myself, but more than the sexual aspect of this moment, it was the most incredible thing I had ever experienced. Still, he wasn’t finished with me, and his lips very tenderly met mine again. This time, he meant to do it. He thought about this and planned it out, meaning he wanted to kiss me.

He shares feelings! Holy—whoa.

I lost all thought process as he gently pressed me against the wall behind me, but somehow, I just knew the appropriate responses. My fingers slid up to knot in his hair, and he actually turned up the intensity when I did. When I say it was seriously hot in here, I mean it. It was hot, but as I stated earlier, he actually kept it really cold in here.

I felt his tongue slide across my bottom lip as his head tilted in a way that allowed me to get closer to him, considering I was a good bit shorter than him.

His tongue set off every alarm in my head, and my eyes shot wide open. When this happened, I slipped out from his arms and rushed over to the other side of the room faster than he could even process. For an even more surprising effect, I climbed up onto the wall and leaned into the corner. I was facing him, but I had my hands pressed against the wall to hold myself up.

His eyes were wide as he turned to look at me. “Uh . . . Evie?”

“I told you that I needed to talk to you,” I whispered. “Niall, I’m . . . I’m not a normal human being. I’m an ‘enhanced’ human, as they call me.”

“Who exactly is ‘they?’” he asked, eyebrows furrowed as the surprise disappeared from his face.

My eyes were wide, though, and I fell softly down to the ground, my head tilted slightly to the side. “The people who experimented on me when I was a baby and made me this way. A company called Prepot. How are you taking this so well?”

“I guessed vampire, so this is more pleasant than that,” he shrugged, and he actually smiled. “Well, that makes you different. So what?”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand, Niall. My dad broke me out when I was six. They killed my mum, took me, and kept me hidden until I was six. They did so many horrid things to me, some that I can’t even mention without screaming. The point is, they’re still looking for me.”

“Okay, now, if there are sick people looking for you, why on earth did you audition for this show?!” he insisted, suddenly worried as he crossed the room to put his hands on my shoulders. “Evie, you need to get out of here!”

I sighed as my eyes fell towards the ground. “They don’t recognize me. And . . . my birth name isn’t Everit. It’s Audry McMevin. I was born in Dublin, but when my dad broke me out, we were constantly on the run. The last place they ever found us and almost got me was Mullingar, actually. But after that, Dad and I . . . we got our faces changed. We got new identities with backstories, ancestors, and legal documents to prove we really existed. My dad created all of that just to get me away. So, we moved to Kenmare when I was nearly seven. That’s where I grew up as a normal girl. They didn’t find us, but Dad didn’t want to take any chances, so he began applying for joint Irish and U.S. citizenship. Since Mullingar, we haven’t seen them. I know they’re still looking, but they’ll never find me. The reason I’m so different from when you first met me is because I was trying to hold onto Audry. She looked just like her mum, and she acted so much like her as well. But Audry died the day Everit Eberly was born. All memories and evidence of our past lives were destroyed, including my parents’ wedding pictures, their parents’ wedding pictures, etc. The only thing left is this.” I took off my locket and handed it to him. He immediately opened it to look at the picture inside. “Maybe it’s dangerous, but I can’t lose everything. And about joining the show . . . Audry McMevin woulda never done anything like this, not to mention a girl in hiding wouldn’t be stupid enough to do this. Audry McMevin was shyer than I am. She was insecure about everything, scared of everything. She had good reason to be, but . . . part of being able to let everything go and clear my head was also letting Audry go and realizing that Everit was here now.”

“No person should have to let go of themselves and take on a completely different person,” Niall said, and when I looked back up at him, I found tears in his eyes. “She’s beautiful, Evie.”

“I looked just like her,” I informed him, and I couldn’t help but smile a little. “I was only a wee girl when they took me, so I really didn’t know her. I just know what she meant to my dad, and he doesn’t trust or love easily.”

Niall leaned down and softly kissed me. “Evie, listen to me. They took you from your family and did horrible things to you. I don’t care about any of the ‘enhancements’ they gave you, not in the sense that I’m going anywhere. The thing I wanted to talk to you about was this.” He kissed me again for emphasis and smiled when my eyes lit up. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this—okay, I know we shouldn’t. But tonight is the last night this will even be possible because after tomorrow begins, everything between us has to go away . . . or just into hiding, that is. Really, I will still continue to feel deeply for you, and I’ll still wanna kiss you every time I see you, but my point is, we’ve gotta leave it all backstage, in a sense—me more than you.”

“Have fun with that,” I smirked, and to mix things up a bit, I stood up on my tiptoes and tenderly pressed my lips against his. “So . . . what you’re saying is . . . is that after tonight, we have to pretend there’s nothing here?”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

“But there is something?” I confirmed, but as I said it, a smile brighter than I ever remember smiling came across my lips. “It’s not just me?”

He surprised me when suddenly, all the desire he held back earlier came flooding into his eyes, and with a grin, he wrapped his arms around me and pressed me against the wall again. “Definitely not just you, but unfortunately, we’ll have to continue this once everyone is asleep. Noah will probably be looking for us now, so let’s get out of here.”

My eyes narrowed playfully as he turned and ran across the room to open the door, and when he did with that smug little smirk meant to drive me over the edge, I smirked right back at him.

“Two can play that game, you know.”

Notes

The lyrics in the description are from Until You're Over Me by Maroon 5. :)

You guys make me smile. :)

So, since you're so awesome, I decided to post another chapter today. I wasn't sure if I was gonna get to, but here it is. :)

Comments are nice. Subscriptions are nice. Ratings are nice. Views are nice. Thank you. :) I really hope you still enjoy this story as well. It's a bit different, but, well, I'd rather be different than exactly the same. :)

Enjoy, awesome readers. :)