The Misfits

"How's New York Miss world traveler?" Maeve voice rang through the phone.

I tried to answer, but ended up letting out a half sob in response.

"Thumper? What's happened? Are you okay?"

"My dad," I managed. "He just screamed at m-me in the l-lobby because Harry and I were t-ten minutes late. I don't know why he's b-being like this."

"Oh babe."

I had made it back to my room and immediately called Maeve before falling onto the bed and curling into a ball. The lack of sleep, jet leg and excitement had finally gotten to me and my dad’s lecture had been the breaking point. "I didn't mean to. We were on the subway and it was late and-"

"Hey whoa. Thalia, that's not your fault."

"Harry’s interview isn't even for another two hours but he was yelling at me like he had missed a Grammy."

"He probably just feels like since you're his daughter he has to show his coworkers he has you under control and that he's a good parent after all."

"No because only Max knows outside of the band, El and Soph. No one else knows," I sniffed. "If he didn't want me here then why did he go through all the trouble of flying me out?"

"I don't know hun. Have you told him about you and Harry yet?"

"No, I was going to tell him today but if he's just going to yell at me again..."

"Oh cheer up babe. If your dad wants to be an angry old fuck than there's nothing you can do, just don't let him get to you."

"I'll try." I promised. We sat in silence for a moment before Maeve spoke.

"I have some news for you, although I'm not sure you want to hear it."

"What?" I frowned.

"Someone broke into the flat."

"What!" I asked, sitting bolt upright. "What do you mean? How?"

"As far as we can tell only a few things were taken. They straight up broke down the door. Like what the fuck?"

My mind immediately flashed to Calhan. He’s the only person who would have motive to hurt us – well besides Maeve's ex, but he was in prison so it couldn’t have been him. But now that I thought of it, all of us had ghosts from our pasts. But that was the past. Calhan was the only one who had recently threatened us.

“I know what you’re thinking Thal," Maeve said in response to my silence. "Calhan would never do that.”

“Who else then?”

“Maybe a stranger? I don’t know. But he…he wouldn’t.”

“What was taken?” I asked, hoping that would give us a clue as to who was behind it.

“Some of our art, money, and jewelry but that’s about it," replied Maeve. I sighed. That wasn't wasn't helpful.

“Have you told Kenzie?” I asked, knowing this news will affect her the most. The last thing she needs is another reason to feel vulnerable.

“No. Elaine told me you should because I’ll come off as too insensitive.”

I let out a laugh and promised I would tell Mackenzie for her. We continued to talk for another half hour about what has happened in our lives the past few days and I ended the call feeling a thousand times better. It's strange how friends have the power to make everything okay again.

I realized I should probably stop sulking and head back downstairs. After wiping my eyes and applying some make up to get rid of the puffiness I made my way down. After wandering through the maze of hallways I was able to find the makeshift green room.

"Oh look who it is Luxy!" Cried Lou when I entered the room. The adorable little 3-year old jumped up from her place of the floor and ran over to me. "Luxy do you remember who that is?

"We met at the soccer game!" I said, kneeling down so that I was at her level. She was Lou the hairstylist's daughter and she was the cutest child on the planet. I had the pleasure of meeting them at the charity game last summer and I had fallen in love with her. "What are you up to today?"

"Coloring!"

"Coloring! Can I come color with you?" I asked. She nodded and pulled me over to where Mackenzie, Sophia, and Eleanor already sat.

"Oh good, the artist's here!" Mackenzie said, "maybe you can impress her Thal, she didn't really like my version of a lion."

Mackenzie held up a drawing of a stick figured cat with orange and yellow lines shooting out from its face. I let out a laugh and picked up a piece of paper.

"What should I draw?" I asked Lux, shooting Mackenzie a wink. Eleanor was halfway done coloring Sleeping Beauty, while Sophia was doodling different patterns on a sheet.

"Umm, I dunno," Lux said, shrugging her little shoulders.

"Oh, I got it." I set to work right away. I was drawing the cute little 3 year old herself. Sketching helped to take my mind off of everything that had just happened within the past few hours. I'm not sure how long we were sitting there joking around with Lux, but I realized it was some much needed girl time.

"What's dis," she asked, looking down at my drawing.

"It's you!" I held the picture up for her and she let out a squeal in excitement. I handed her the paper and watched as she paraded it around to show everyone. This left me a moment with Mackenzie and I quickly relayed the news about the apartment in hushed tones, not wanting the others to hear. She looked fearful and unsure of what to do with herself. Before I could ask her if she was okay, Lux ran back over to us.

“Come on Lia let’s play!” She took my hand and pulled me out of the seat. “Let’s play Robin Hood!”

“She’s been obsessed since I let her watch the movie. It's like frozen all over again,” Laughed Lou, as Mackenzie and I ran into the middle of the room to humor the little princess.

We armed Lux with Harry’s large green hat and a princess fairy wand as a bow. I was Little John and Mackenzie was Maid Marian. We ran around stealing crayons from Eleanor and Sophia and rescuing Mackenzie from the tower.

“Quick Robin hide! Prince John is coming!” I cried. We ducked behind the couch as the guys reentered the room. Niall pulled Mackenzie into a hug and they fell onto the couch together, she turned and shot us a pleading look. “Look Robin, he has Maid Marian!”

Lux let out a gasp. “We have to rescue Maid Marian!”

“We'll jump out and take them by surprise!" I whispered. She gave me a smile and readied herself to pounce. "Okay ready? One, Two…”

“Tree!” Lux jumped out from behind the sofa and pretended to shoot at the boys with her bow. The boys frowned in confusion as the toddler screamed, “take that Prince John!”

“What are you doin?” Laughed Zayn.

“She’s Robin Hood and I’m Little John and we’ve come to rescue Maid Marian.” I answered. The boys quickly caught on and began to play along.

“Ya can’t have me princess!” Cried Niall, wrapping his arms around Mackenzie as she cried out, “Help Robin! Help!”

“You’ll have to get through us first Robin!” Cried Louis and Zayn. They jumped up and grabbed whatever objects they could find to defend themselves. Louis ended up with the remote, while Zayn grabbed an empty plate for a shield.

“You’re going down!” I cried before we engaged in a small battle. It was pretty historic resulting in the very dramatic deaths of Louis and Zayn. Next were Harry and Liam, who Lux shot down with her ‘arrows’ quickly before they fell to their deaths as well. Lux loved it.

“Let her go Prince John!” Cried Lux. She poked Niall with her wand and he fell over in another dramatic death. Then we took Mackenzie and ran to the other side of the room in freedom. “We saved Maid Marian!”

After a victory dance Lou came over and said it was time to leave. Lux crossed her arms and stomped her foot, “I don’t wanna! We’re playing!”

“We’ll play some more tomorrow Robin,” I said kneeling down and holding out my pinky to promise. She eventually gave in and after giving everyone in the room a hug, left with her mother.

“I think that was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” laughed Eleanor.

“Watch out boys, Thalia and Mackenzie might be the new favorites,” Sophia added. I let out a laugh and set Liam’s hat that I had stolen down on the table before taking a seat next to Harry on the couch.

“No way,” Zayn said, shaking his head. “We’ll always be Lux’s favorite.”

“You two are just a phase,” added Harry. I let out a gasp and shot him a glare. The guys laughed as Harry pinched my side before pulling my legs over his lap.

“Are you all free now?” Mackenzie asked. She was on the floor with her legs stretched in the splits. She seemed to always be in some weird dance position, unable to sit still for more than a few minutes.

"Yes we are. Finally!" Liam said with a fist pump. "What should we do? We've never been done this early before..."

"FOOD!" Mackenzie and Niall yelled at the same time.

"We'll have to split up," noted Zayn.

"We're just too popular," Mackenzie said, flipping her hair. She let out a yelp as Niall pushed her over with his foot.

"Tootles and I are getting pizza," offered Harry. He was gently massaging my legs and it felt wonderful. With every touch he sent shivers down my spine and leaving me wanting more.

"Oh that sounds amazing!" Agreed Eleanor.

We ended up in three separate groups. Eleanor and Louis had decided to go for pizza with Harry and I. Zayn ended up tagging along with Niall and Mackenzie for burgers, while Liam and Sophia disappeared to who knows where. We now had two members of One Direction in our group, so taking the subway was no longer an option. Max agreed to drive us in one of the large SUVs since my father still hadn’t said a word to me since our disagreement. I did my best to pretend it didn't bother me.

We pulled up outside a small little pizza parlor in the heart of the city. It sat underneath a row of apartments and we hand to climb down some narrow steps to get inside. It was quaint and completely packed - meaning it was bound to be delicious.

"Look El, we're on a double date with Larry," I giggled.

"I will fight you Little John," replied Louis, shooting me a glare. Harry rolled his eyes and pulled me into the small booth. He rested his arm on the back of the seat allowing me to lean in in closer to him.

"Ready for some New York style pizza?" Asked Harry?

"I'm so excited!" I replied, bouncing in the booth and earning laughs from my three friends. However I was immediately distracted by a text from my Maeve.

From Mae My Lover: list of things missing - 3 of my paintings, some of your sketches on the wall, the money in the vase, and Mack's jewelry.

I frowned. Why would Calhan take Mackenzie's jewelry? That didn't make any sense. But who else could it have been? And why would they take my sketches? Maeve's pictures were actually worth something, but my sketches were worth hardly anything until I had turned them into paintings. I wondered which ones they have taken and quickly texted Mae back asking if she knew which ones were missing. Then I let out a sigh and locked my phone, pushing the problem out of my mind.

"Everything alright?" Elaine frowned, noticing my change in emotion.

"Yeah...um." I debated for half a second whether or not to tell them about the break in but realized they would most likely find out anyway. To avoid their eyes I began playing with the candle that sat in front of me on the table. "Maeve called earlier...apparently someone’s broken into our flat."

"What?" Cried Harry and Louis simultaneously.

"Do you know who?" Asked Eleanor? Her eyebrows were knit tight and she looked at me with concern.

"No. Mae and El have already called the police and nothing much was taken."

Harry and Louis exchanged a glance and though I had no idea what it meant. They looked determined and I felt the need to intervene before they did something drastic.

"It's fine, we'll get the money back for whatever was taken," I said hurriedly, putting a hand on Harry’s leg in reassurance. "I'm sure it was just some druggie looking for a bit of extra cash."

Harry didn't seem convinced but before I could say anymore my phone buzzed.

From Mae My Lover: 1 of you and Mack, the four of us, and Mack and Jasper are missing from my pics. Not sure from your pile.

I frowned once more in attempt to think of who could possibly want those photos. But suddenly I was pulled from my thoughts as Louis said, "As long as it wasn't a fan."

"No!" Cried Eleanor. "They would never do that."

"They've hacked into video cameras," shrugged Louis.

"To get innocent videos of you dancing in your underwear," Eleanor pointed out. I nearly spit out my drink from laughing.

"They did what?" I cried.

"They hacked one of the cameras at a hotel and caught Niall and I in our trousers," Harry replied, failing at keeping a straight face as I burst out laughing.

"I think that is the best thing I have ever heard in my whole life."

Just then the waitress came over to take our orders. She appeared to be momentarily star struck upon seeing Louis and Harry, but recovered well. We ordered two giant pizzas and continued to joke around until the food came. It was beyond delicious. Harry really knows his New York restaurants.

"Thalia," Louis said between bites. "When are you going to tell your dad about you and Harry? I'm sick of not being able to embarrass you about it."

"Well in that case Lou, I'm no telling him a thing," I smirked.

"What?" Cried Harry. He was looking at me like a lost puppy, earning snickers from Louis.

"Joking babe." I let out a laugh and pinched his dimpled cheeks before pointing to Louis. "No dirty jokes."

"How are you going to stop me?" Louis challenged.

"I won't, but my dad will when he castrates you."

"As far as I can see Harry's the only one who will be castrated," snickered Louis.

Harry shook his head and gave me a smirk. "I remember someone saying they'd protect me?"

"I would pay to see that fight,” laughed Louis.

We finished our meal and headed back out onto the streets. Harry convinced Max to let us wander over to Times Square before heading back to the hotel and we quickly set off to sightsee. There was a chill in the air and I pulled my jacket closer in attempt to trap the heat. We effectively blended in with the New Yorkers as we made our way down the street to one of the most iconic places on the planet.

“Ready Tootles?” Harry asked. He let out a laugh when he noticed me skipping with excitement. As we rounded the next corner my jaw dropped. I didn’t know where to look first and ended up just spinning around in a circle in attempt to capture the scene.

“You’re going to make yourself dizzy!” Laughed Harry. He wrapped his arm around me and I stumbled into him giggling.

“I was pretending I was in a movie,” I smiled up at him. He looked down at me with those gorgeous eyes and let out a laugh. Suddenly he scooped me up bridal style and began to spin us both around. I let out a scream and clung to him for dear life knowing how much of a klutz he was and expecting us to fall at any moment. But we didn’t and he set me gently back down on the ground dizzier than ever.

“Look Thal, there’s a sight for you to see!” Cried Louis. I followed his gaze to a man standing in his underwear holding a guitar and wearing a cowboy hat. “It’s the Naked Cowboy of New York!”

“Oh my!” gasped Eleanor. “Look at him!”

“We have to get a picture!”

“Thalia!” Cried Louis as I pulled a stunned Eleanor over to the man.

The cowboy turned and gave me a smile before touching the tip of his hat. “Well hello there pretty ladies.”

“Hello!” I smiled. “May we get a picture with you?”

“Sure your boyfriends won’t get jealous?” He asked. I turned to see very un-amused looking Louis and baffled Harry.

“No. He wants to be in the picture too,” I replied, giving Harry a smirk before pulling him into the picture. Eleanor looked terrified but took the picture with us anyway. After paying the man Louis pulled us away before I could embarrass them further.

“I’ve never done that,” laughed Harry.

“I can’t believe we did that,” added Eleanor.

“Check off the bucket list!” I said, still bouncing from excitement. “Mae’s gonna die when she sees it.”

“God you’re such a tourist Thal,” Scoffed Louis.

“Whatever Mr. Lamo at least we’re fun peop-AH! LOU PUT ME DOWN!” Louis had grabbed me from behind and spun me in a circle, nearly tipping us both over in a fit of giggles.

“Careful you two!” Harry scolded playfully, catching me before I fell. He wrapped his arm around my waist as I steadied myself and then pulled me close as we started walking again.

After leaving Times Square and stumbling upon a small cupcake shop we decided to head back to the hotel. The guys had to be up early in the morning as they were performing on the Today Show.

“Well that was fun,” I said as we stood in the elevator. “I like exploring New York.”

“You’re like Dora,” smirked Harry. I frowned before realizing he was talking about Dora the Explorer. I broke into a smile and hugged Harry’s waist. He kissed the top of my head and I noticed Louis shoot Harry a wink.

“Exploring makes me tired,” Eleanor said with a yawn. The elevator chimed and we all stepped off, suddenly feeling exhausted from all of today's excitement.

“Come on love,” Louis said, wrapping his arms around Eleanor’s waist. “Bedtime.”

I giggled as they waddled the rest of the way to their room looking like a pair of penguins. But Harry distracted me by interlacing his fingers with mine and gently pulling me towards his room.

“Harry!” I hissed, looking around to make sure no one was watching. The hallway was empty but knowing my father someone would be around to check in a few minutes. "What if someone comes around?"

“What happened to your sense of adventure?” he teased. Those bright green eyes were boring into mine and making my brain go fuzzy.

“You’re going to get us killed one of these days…” I replied. He gave me a smirk in response.

“Then turn around,” he whispered, knowing full well I would do no such thing.

Notes

Hi. I have an insane amount of homework but I've decided to pretend that it doesn't exist and just write all night instead. Sound good? Yep. Okay.

It looks like Thalia's disagreement with her father is turning out to be the least of her problems.
Who do you think broke into the girls' flat? Could it have been Calhan like Thalia suspects? A fan? Or someone else...?