Something Fishy

I watched Liam as he stood outside the car, pacing back and forth in front of the hood. His phone was pressed against his ear, and he bit his lip as he listened intently to whatever the other person was saying. His sundae sat abandoned in the cup holder, melting slowly but surely. My window was rolled down a sliver, but I managed to hear snippets from his end of the conversation.

“Had no place else to go…. bloody perv…. cmon, you know wouldn’t… no I won’t… Listen Louis, what If it was Lottie…” By this point, his ice cream was quickly resembling a white puddle with hot fudge, and I leaned over to steal a bite. All the sudden, the door to the driver’s seat opened, and Liam slid in. He shot me a look as he said,

“Don’t even think about it.” I slid away from the sundae, and went back to licking my ice cream cone. Loki whined to Liam, wanting his share.

“Sorry buddy, same applies to you.” We pulled out of the parking lot of the Queen of Dairy (though her kingdom looks nothing like mine) and onto the open road. As Liam started to speak, I fed Loki pieces of my cone.

“Look, I’m just going to warn you, I just got off the phone with the boys. Niall and Harry seem cool with you coming over but Louis… he has his doubts.” I looked over at him, trying to convey what I felt.

Please, please don’t say you’re leaving me someplace else. You have no idea how much I need you right now. I have no place else to go, and if I go back to the ocean I can’t eat ice cream. I love ice cream! You can't just separate us like that!

Liam seemed to get some of the look, though probably not the ice cream part, because he said, “Relax. I’m not going to throw you out into the streets. We’re just going to have to prove to Liam that you’re not just looking for fame…” He stopped, seeing my confused expression, and he sighed. “That’s right. You can’t remember who I am. It just feels so nice being able to talk to someone without them wanting something from me.”

Not even going to take offense for that whole talking thing.

“Oh, and as far as the whole not being able to talk thing, the doctors said that happens with shock and trauma sometimes, but you should get your voice back eventually.”

What is this boy, physic?

“Till then, We’ll come up with something. I’m just not sure what yet.” He stopped talking and bit his lip instead. We drove in the silence the rest of the way, both of us lost in our own worlds.


*********************************************** later***********************************************


We pulled into the driveway of Liam’s house. Correction: mansion. It. was. huge. I’m fairly sure the garage we parked in could house a family of whales with no problem.

Of course, First it would have to be underwater. And all the whales I know are pretty picky.

Liam opened the door to his house and indicated for me to go in first, but I shook my head. I wasn’t scared, I was terrified. Liam walked in, with me and Loki at his heels. I kicked off the mens sandals I’d been wearing and looked around. To think I thought his garage was fancy. Liam called my name from the next room over, and I walked over. On the way I caught my reflection and laughed. Or at least, my mouth opened and my face moved.

Of course no sound comes out, you idiot. No voice, remember?

In the mirror, a red headed blob faced me. My bright red hair fell down my back, and the oversized sweatshirt covered any curves I had. The basketball shorts looked were longer than most dresses. Altogether, I looked like an eskimo.

Oh well, not like you can do anything about it.

I walked into the living room, only to have five pairs of eyes land on me. well, six if you count Loki. Not knowing what to do, I waved awkwardly. Several things happened at once.

The blonde boy literally threw himself at me, hugging me way tighter than I thought was possible. The dark haired boy with stubble on his cheeks picked up his sketchbook and rapidly started drawing. A boy with spiky hair said, “Wait, there’s a person in there?”. Liam slapped the boy on the arm, before saying “Niall let go of her. Her face is turning blue”.

Niall did let go. Literally. I stumbled back and tripped over someone, who let out an indignant “oww”. I landed on top of a curly haired boy, and he let out a laugh before saying, “Well usually I’m on top, but I’m always open to new things.” I scrambled off of him, and took the hand the blonde boy gave me. I took it, and he mumbled an apology for dropping me.

Liam looked over at the two of us, before saying, “Niall, why don’t you show her where she can shower. And find her some clothes.” Niall nodded and gave a mock salute, before leading me up the stairs, still holding my hand. As we left, I heard the curly boy’s low voice say, “I could have helped her shower”. We were out of range before I could hear what Liam said.

Niall led me to a fancy bathroom, complete with marble counters and gold knobs. Niall showed me how to turn the water on and off, before mumbling something about finding clothes. Once all the oversized clothes were off, I stepped into the shower. It was nothing like my ocean home, yet just being in water made me think of home and all the people I missed.

Sure, you met Liam, and he’s nice, but what about how the other boys acted. Even if you got a boy to say he loved you, would either of you ever be happy? Would you even fit in?

I pushed those thoughts out of my head before shutting off the water. I wrapped myself in a towel, and marveled at just how soft they were. I’d always wondered what the towels I saw on the beach felt like; now I knew.

Funny, how humans are surrounded by all these amazing things, but they don’t even realize it.

I heard the sound of a guitar being strummed and the low murmur or someone singing, but trying to do it quietly. I slipped from the bathroom to the connecting bedroom, determined to find out who could play and sing this well. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw the form of the blonde one sitting on the bed, facing the window. As I watched, He strummed his guitar and sang

You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you
And you'll never treat yourself right, darling, but I want you to.
I closed my eyes hoping that maybe, just hearing the words “I love you” would count. I opened them and saw that the only thing that had changed was the fact that the boy had stopped playing. He turned around, and I was met with sparkling blue eyes. There wasn’t much light, but I cpould see the smile light up his face when he saw me, and a blush creep across his face when he saw that all I had was a towel.

“Oh, I got ‘ya some clothes. hope you don’t mind jerseys.” I smiled at him as I took the clothes he gave me, trying to say thanks.

I’ve got twenty full days, maybe this living with the boys thing will work out.

Notes

More of the boys & background coming soon, just having a busy weekend.

Till then, First thoughts of the boys? Any that you Ship with Mal? Will she ever be able to talk to them? Will she get more ice cream?

(You really don't have to anwser all of these.)