Every part of me wondered if that was just an intense dream last night. I mean, think about it. I came in and crashed. Who’s to say the rest wasn’t just my imagination?

My body; that’s who. It was stiff and sore. Honestly, my bones felt like they had been unhinged, and every part of me felt like jelly. It made me wonder if this was what jellyfish actually felt like . . . .

Not to mention I woke up naked.

When I sat up to stretch out, an involuntary shiver ran through my body as a grunt of pain slipped between my teeth. Yes, I was sore, and stretching hurt. Maybe last night shouldn’t have happened . . . but I couldn’t find it inside of me to regret it.

Before getting up, I decided to lay around a bit, which meant I had to cover up my cold naked body. It felt weird to me, being under the covers naked, but it also gave me time to ponder.
What exactly made last night happen? I mean, it’s not like we kissed like we never had before, and all we did was make sure our future was definite. Then, when I bit him, things just got crazy.

I didn’t have time to think much because my door quickly opened to reveal none other than Niall himself. It surprised me, so much that I found myself clutching the covers close, but he didn’t let the door stay open long because he very quickly closed it and rushed over to climb on top of me. His lip was cut, but that was all it was—a small cut on his lip. No swollen lip, no purpling around it.

I was utterly surprised at the change of mood in him from last night, but he was kissing down my neck in a hungry way. As his teeth scraped against my skin, my fingers clenched around his shirt. I had no idea what to do other than cling to him, let my eyes flutter shut and imagine us getting carried away again.

“I need you to help bandage me up,” he murmured against my skin. “They saw it all this morning and thought I was attacked by a bear.”

My eyes were wide when I pulled him back so I could look at him, and he must’ve known my confusion and concern was coming. Without so much as a word, he pulled his shirt off to just show me.

“Uh . . . well, I guess it makes sense. My nails are like blades at night time. And the bite . . . .”

He sighed. “They asked me what happened.”

That surprised me, especially when the thought made him climb off of me and lean against the headboard beside me, his eyes on the door. There wasn’t a smile on his lips anymore, but he didn’t look upset or angry. Just a bit miffed.

“W-What’d you tell them?”

“I told them we just kissed pretty intensely,” he murmured, and his eyes moved back down to my naked body. “You should probably get dressed. I think they plan on coming up here after me now.”

I nodded and very quickly moved into the walk-in closet. I forgot, however, to get underwear, so I had to stick my head out of the closet and smile sheepishly at Niall. “Can you grab me some underwear? Bra, too.”

This surprised him, but it cheered him up. A devious smile pulled across his lips, and quite eagerly, he walked over to the dresser. Of course, he was very happy to get to go through my underwear drawer, but I think he had more fun picking something out and deciding what looked best.

It was faster for me to do it myself, so I grabbed some clothes while he took longer than necessary to decide. I walked back out of the closet and into the bathroom. This surprised him, and he popped his head in to look at me with raised eyebrows.

“Need to shower?”

“Don’t you?” I murmured, giving him a coy smile as I turned the hot water on. “I mean, that was pretty intense last night.”

“I showered earlier,” he said, eyes burning with desire while I got my shower ready.

I sighed casually and looked to him with a smile. “You’re something special. I’m completely insecure about myself, but I’m walking around here completely naked like it’s nothing.”

He grinned. “I really don’t mind . . . .”

“My point is,” I continued, and even though I tried to pretend he hadn’t complimented me, my cheeks were burning. “I can’t just do that. Honestly, it took me forever to be able to go into public in a bikini, which I still can’t do without shorts. This? I hate being naked and alone, yet I’m naked with someone like it’s nothing.”

To my surprise, he actually came in here with a pair of brown with bright blue lace boy shorts and a matching bra. When he did, he closed the bathroom door behind him and pulled me close to him, his eyes surprisingly locked in mine instead of roaming my naked body.

“Everything comes so easily with you,” he whispered, and his fingers softly grazed my cheeks.
“Not only are you the most beautiful girl I’ve ever come across, but you’re the sexiest as well. Last night, though it definitely shouldn’t have happened, was the best night of my life, and the memory of it will forever be burned into my mind. I was right to wait, Evie.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “To wait? But you didn’t.”

“Maybe I didn’t wait until we’re married, which, by the way, I request we do from now on, but I waited until I found the person I’m gonna marry,” he said with the brightest smile on his lips, those gorgeous cyan eyes shining. Very carefully, before he went on, he carefully took my face in his hands and kissed me in a gentle and loving way—nothing like last night. “And it’ll be fantastic. The reception will have the biggest food fight in all of history.”

“But, of course, we’ll eat the wonderful food first,” I laughed. “Now go, Niall. I need to shower, and you really shouldn’t be here.”

He nodded. “I know. No more secret visits in your room.”

I smiled sheepishly. “I’ll be down to yours as soon as I’m done showering.”

And somehow, despite the fact that he actually looked down at my naked body now, he managed to force himself to walk out of my door.

All I wanted was for him to come back and hop in the shower with me, let ourselves get carried away all over again.

Mmm.

---

It took about ten minutes to shower and get dressed. Since I was doing something involving curls with my hair for tonight, I just let it dry naturally as I quickly left my room dressed in some comfy black athletic shorts and a blue camisole. I wasn’t surprised to find people already up and acting on edge. Brinley, more than anyone, looked extra annoying today.

Besides the fact that she was wearing a sports bra and super short shorts . . . and she was sweaty and stinky, like she had just worked out or something.

She snorted when she saw me. “Do you care nothing about tonight? You look like utter crap, and you’re waking up at almost eleven.”

“I think the more sleep you get, the more relaxed you are,” Noah informed her, rolling his eyes. Then, he grinned at me. “You as sore as I am from all that walking?”

I shrugged a little, finding that I was, indeed, sore. Of course, I knew it wasn’t the reason, but I pretended I wasn’t sore at all. “Not really.”

Brinley rolled her eyes. “If you spent the entire day yesterday walking around LA, you’ve gotta be sore. No one can just not be sore.”

My eyebrows furrowed, but for some reason, I was just too darn happy to really care. Yeah, things got carried away, but last night was the best night of my life. I shared a special and intimate moment with Niall—the night we both lost our virginity.

That’s why I just laughed a little and gave her a small smile. “I like to walk, so I guess I’m used to it.”

She looked very confused, just like everyone else in the room. As a matter of fact, Zayn was in here as well, and his mouth fell open a little in surprise.

When I noticed everyone staring at me—everyone being Zayn, Noah, Brinley, Kiley, and Madi—my eyes widened a little. “What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

“You . . . were nice to me,” Brinley snorted. “Too weird. Don’t do it again.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not a complete and total bitch. I’m capable of being nice. And I don’t know. I just woke up this morning and kinda realized that I may go home tonight—”

“No, you will,” Brinley interrupted.

“But,” I carried on, as if she hadn’t said anything at all. “I can go home knowing I met amazing people along the way, I was lucky to even get this far.”

“The cameras aren’t rolling,” Brinley informed me, as if I didn’t know that. “You don’t have to spout that bullshit.”

Now, I frowned a little, but I was still too happy to be mad. “It’s the truth. I don’t care about cameras. I don’t make anything up for them. My life is my life, and I am a terrible liar.”

Noah laughed at me. “Oh yes you are.”

I stuck my tongue out at him before I turned and searched the refrigerator for a strawberry lemonade can. “Shh.”

I heard someone walking around the island in the middle, but they were someone already in the room. So, I assumed it was Brinley and stopped paying attention.

Until she, in a very annoying and flirty voice, said, “Zayn, did you know that Everit is in love with Niall? Pathetic, isn’t it?”

I slammed the refrigerator door shut and turned back to look at her, my eyes tight. “Really?”

And, of course, Niall was now in the room as well, though it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know. Even still, he had to act like it freaked him out or something, and Zayn had to act different, too.

Brinley looked innocently at me, eyes practically smirking. “Am I wrong?”

“I don’t know why you’re trying to make my great day so bad, but you can just suck my dick,” I said, giving her a pleasant smile as I said it.

She snorted. “You’re not a man, unless there’s something we should know.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “I’m not, but I’m sure if I was, you’d be trying to ride me, too.”

Her mouth fell open. “Um, excuse me? I don’t have sex with every guy I come across.”

“Just try,” I allowed. “Look, you brought this on yourself. Leave me out of things, and I won’t say anything to you. I’ve told you this. I will never say a single word to you if you just leave me alone. But you won’t, and I can’t figure out why.”

“You’re the only person here who doesn’t deserve to be here,” she said.

My mouth fell open a little in surprise while everyone, and I mean everyone, began talking back to her.

“Whatever!” Kiley exclaimed. “You hate her because she’s the only person here you know for a fact is capable of beating you!”

“She deserves this way more than you do!” Noah yelled at her.

Niall looked pissed. “Alright, I said none of this crap. Everyone here deserves to be here. That’s all there is to it. Brinley, just stop. Leave her alone, and stop attacking her. I know she says things to you, but you both need to just stop—you especially. You start it. She finishes it. I don’t wanna hear that ever again.”

“Who are you to say she does or doesn’t deserve this?” Zayn asked, and he sounded pretty damn angry, too. “Saying things like that shows that maybe you don’t. You don’t know her story. She’s worked her ass off to be here, just like you, so what makes you think you deserve this more?”

Madi was the most surprising of all. She actually got right in Brinley’s face to yell at her.

“I’ve had about enough of you!” she screamed. “Everit is the best person I have ever met! She will do anything for anyone, and that includes you. All the shit you’ve done to her, she would ignore and help you if you ever needed it! She puts everyone else first, and she cares so much about everyone that she made a pact with Ella. When Ella had to throw this competition, Everit promised to win for her, or do her best. When Everit gets a career, she’ll do whatever she can to help Ella. Someone she barely even knew!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?” Niall asked, but as he did, he carefully pulled Madi back away from Brinley. “What are you talking about?”

I started gnawing on my lower lip and turned to head upstairs. Quite frankly, I didn’t like all this “awesome Everit” talk, and I had no idea how Niall might react to the truth behind Ella’s terrible performance.

“Stop, Everit,” Niall commanded in a tone that surprised me . . . and seriously turned me on.

I turned back to face him with my lips quirked to the side. “What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me when you showed up late to practice?” he asked with wide eyes, and I could tell this genuinely upset him to hear. “What happened?”

“Her parents never wanted her to get on the show,” I admitted. “They let her audition in hopes she wouldn’t make it. When she did, they made her throw the competition. I couldn’t tell you because even if she made it to the next round, she would’ve forfeit. They were moving away, and she had to go with them. This way they made her destroy any hope of having a career.”

Niall’s mouth was wide. “Why would they do that?”

“They hate any kind of acting or musical career because it’s destroyed so many people,” I shrugged. “So I did the only thing I knew to do. I wanted to tell you, but it wouldn’t have changed the outcome in the long run.”

And he knew I was right.

---

After things settled down from that, people started being all crazy and frantic. Eleanor brought down at least seven different outfits for people to choose from, and Caleb actually threw up.
Brinley kept herself locked up in her room after earlier, and even Kiley was getting jittery. The only thing that calmed her down was when Max showed up and brought Harley.

Noah and Madi stayed relatively calm, all things considered. I didn’t really care how it went, either way. I mean, I’m not gonna lie and say I wanted to go home, but if I didn’t get into the next round, I would still have all of these amazing people one day. Much farther in the future than I would’ve liked, but I would have them.


Not like I had Niall, though.

Speaking of Niall . . . .

I was trying to figure out what to make everyone for lunch when he very quietly snuck in there and started pulling me into his room. It wasn’t surprising to find everyone in there, but I was surprised when he immediately took off his shirt.

Harry rolled his eyes. “I’m telling you, Niall. If you want any hope of being able to judge this right, you’ve gotta stop this.” He looked to me. “You too.”

I scrunched my nose at him. “Trust me, I know.”

Niall smiled sheepishly as he turned to face me. “Come on, Harry. Look at that face. Could you resist it?”

“No,” Harry snorted. “Which is one of the many reasons I’m glad I’m not you. You have to.”

I nodded. “And stop convincing me to bite you. That looks nasty. Definitely should’ve cleaned this earlier . . . .”

“We tried,” Louis admitted, and he made a face. “What’s all that black stuff?”

“The venom I have in my mouth at nights that makes him temporarily lose some senses,” I sighed while Niall stuck his tongue out at me. “He, for some reason, likes me biting him and then straddling him.”

Zayn let out a chuckle under his breath. “Oh, if it’s the right senses, I can imagine why.”

Niall grinned over at him. “It’s the senses you’re thinking, and it’s amazing. Quite addictive.”

“That’s kinda the problem,” I reminded him. “We need to stay away from each other, Niall. The more we’re together, the harder it gets.”

Something very devious flashed across his eyes, and I don’t think he even noticed the sexy grin that spread across his lips that made me quite wet and ready to jump his bones. While Harry noticed, Louis laughed from behind him and said, “Apparently quite literally.”

I smiled sheepishly. “Yeah . . . you could say that . . . .”

Harry snorted. “Ev, just gonna be honest, I got hard when I saw you in a bikini.”

“Can’t forget the sexy bending she did to get out from being smushed between Noah and Jesse,” Liam added. “I think the three of us were all hard.”

Zayn snorted. “Not just the three of you. Noah and Jesse, too.”

I made a face while Niall chuckled under his breath. “I don’t why you would. Now, stop distracting me and let me bandage Niall up.”

“Oh!” Louis exclaimed out of what seemed like nowhere to me, but I didn’t question it and instead waited for him to explain. “Before I forget, Ev, Eleanor asked me to do something. She’s been watching the show for Niall, and since your audition, she’s been a huge fan. She asked me to get your autograph. Would you mind?”

Niall laughed so hard when I gaped at Louis a little, unsure of what to say. He held out a notebook and pen for me, so with shaky hands, I took it from him, trying to ignore the way Niall was laughing at me.

It was hard to do, but I not only wrote her a note but also signed in the best cursive I had.

Dear Eleanor,
Louis told me you’re a fan, and honestly, I nearly passed out. You’re gorgeous, and I think you’re probably one of the strongest people I know. How else could you put up with that one? (; Thank you for your support! I hope to meet you some day. (:
-Everit Eberly

My first autograph . . . to Eleanor Calder.

Notes

The lyrics are from Marry Me by Jason Derülo. :) I love that song so much.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. :D I love having all five members of One Direction in the story. :) It's a lot of fun.

Let me know what you think. :)