Time of Our Lives

*Kariann’s POV*

I dreaded to just get on a plane and go home. It was a ten hour flight out of my way, yet I had to wait until tonight to leave. Damn time zones. It would be late evening by the time I got home, then school the next day. Bonnie and Dakota were walking on either side of me as the huge group walked down the streets of London.

It really was a beautiful city. Such an old-fashioned town and with my taste, I felt right at home. Not really now, I was actually feeling pretty homesick.

“I can’t believe I’m actually here.” Bonnie breathed, smiling. “I guess it’s a major bonus having a best friend who personally knows 1D, eh?”

Dakota laughed. “What? You know Niall.”

“Eh… we talk, but we just met today. I mean, look at him.” She nodded in his direction. He was well in the front of the group, talking to Liam. “He acts like a total stranger even though I’m here.”

I smiled a little at her. “He’s shy.”

“Still.” Bonnie muttered, putting a hand through her hair. She then sighed. “Maybe I hurt his feelings on Friday.”

“Why? What’d you say?” Dakota asked, curious.

“I know he’s crushing on me badly, but I’m pretty sure he knows that’s all it is.” Bonnie explained. “I straight up told him that even if we did date, it would never work. I suck at long-distance relationships and I started naming off my flaws with relationships to him.”

“And?” I urged.

Bonnie made an annoyed face. “The damn bastard smiled the whole time.”

Okay. That got me laughing. “Oh, jeez, Bonnie.” Dakota said, smiling.

Bonnie shrugged. “Oh well, I’m not worried about it. I was just being honest.”

“He’ll come around.” I said, interlocking our arms.

I put my other arm through Dakota. We grinned at each other. Okay, maybe I was feeling a lot better. As long as these two girls were around, I was happy. “Smile!” I heard ahead of me.

Eleanor had her phone out, holding it up. A smile automatically pulled onto my face. I heard a snap before Eleanor checked out the picture. “Perfect!” She smiled, showing her phone to Louis beside her.

Liam, Niall, and Zayn stopped too, looking back. “What’d you do?” Niall asked.

“I took a picture.” Eleanor said, holding up her phone.

“Wow, it looks great.” Zayn grinned. “You should send it to me.”

“Yeah, same here.” Liam said.

Eleanor looked around the group. “Who wants one?”

I think we all pretty much said we wanted a copy. I took note of an absence of one voice. Harry. I couldn’t stop myself, I looked over, seeing he parted partially away from the group. Once everyone got the picture, we were walking again. I noticed Zayn putting an arm around Harry’s shoulder, showing him his phone. I couldn’t see Harry’s face through his thick head of curls, but I saw Zayn smiling before messing with his phone.

I felt my day slowly get better. Whatever happened between me and Harry, I needed to just forget it. It really wasn’t his fault anyways. I knew that Brandy girl was just pushing all of our buttons.

God, what a bitch.

Nice job, now she made it completely awkward between me and one of the closest friends I had. The group decided to sit at a café to snack on something for lunch. The tables could only hold four at a time. Eleanor decided to sit with us girls and Louis pulled up a chair to the guys. I was surprised to not see him by his girlfriend. I even asked her about it. “What?” She said, raising an eye. “We’re not together 24/7. I mean, sure we don’t see each other often, but we’re quite independent. Plus… I think the guys are…”

Her voice drained away, not wanting to say it. I turned my head to where the guys had their heads leaned in, trying to cheer up a depressed Harry. I turned back around, facing the girls. They were all staring at me. “What?” I asked.

Dakota cocked her head. “Because of that rotten cheeseburger yesterday, everything is awkward today.”

Bonnie snorted. “Rotten cheeseburger?”

“I only reserve the term ‘bitch’ for one person.” Dakota said, taking a drink from her cup.

She made a bitter face. Why am I not surprised she got coffee again? Otherwise, she continued to drink it. I suddenly felt the urge to do something. “I think I need to use the restroom.” I said, standing up.

I looked at Eleanor. She smiled, pointing inside. “It’s inside to the right.”

I smiled a thanks before making my way inside. I should’ve known that with my absence, the girls would use it to their advantage. Once I was back everyone was ready to leave. “You know…” Dakota said, looking amongst the group. “We kind of standout, don’t we?”

I looked around, confused. Wait, she really was right. I guess British fans were different from Americans. They actually stayed off in a distance, holding up phones for pictures and whatnot. “Should we split up?” I heard Zayn ask.

Just what…

“Yeah!” Bonnie said, walking over to Niall. “Let’s go in partners. I choose Niall.”

She interlocked their arms and smiled. I noticed Dakota moving over to Liam, sharing a grin with him. Eleanor was already beside Louis, sharing a smile. “Hey! Perry’s in town!” Zayn said excitedly, looking at his phone. “I’m going to meet up with her.

That left me with… I looked over, already making eye contact with Harry.

Shit. I sent mental glares between Bonnie and Dakota. I wanted to say something, but I was quickly interrupted. “Let’s meet up back at the house.” Liam said, indicating to Dakota to start walking.

Everyone seemed to be working on a system of rushing. They quickly left, leaving Harry and I alone with a crowd of fans staring. I swallowed, looking nervously among the crowd. I felt a hand quickly take mine. “Let’s go.” Harry said quickly, forcing me to walk.

I could already hear the screaming and talk. They actually knew who I was. I could tell by them saying my name. “Are they dating?”

“I thought he was dating a different red head…”

“Kariann’s a lot prettier though. She’s not covered in products…”

Okay, hearing that kind of shot my pride up, but for the life of me I couldn’t force Harry’s hand out of my own. He kept a tight grip as we walked away from the crowd and down the street. “Harry-“ I started, wanting him to let go.

We rounded a corner before he finally let go. “London’s big.” He said. “You can get lost easily, so don’t leave my side. Okay?”

He looked down at me. I saw the small distance between us. I swallowed, nodding. He turned back around, beginning to walk. I struggled to keep up with his long stride. Yeah, I know I’m short, but Jesus Christ, Harry was only about 5’10 and was keeping up a good pace for fifteen minutes. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I reached out, grabbing his arm, forcing him to swing to a stop. “Slow down!” I said, slightly panting. I could feel a small sweat on the top of my head.

I kept my hand there. We stood in the middle of the street, not moving. I looked up at Harry. His eyes were guarded and he looked away. “You’re a jerk, you know that?” I said, letting my hand go.

I saw him clench his jaw, looking down at the ground. I couldn’t help it, but the words escaped anyways. “When we first met, you played with my feelings without even considering how I felt about it. I let it go because you apologized about it and promised to do it again. But you did it again! Twice, at that! The time in the Ferris wheel! You pulled a hair from my shoulder to see how I would react and Friday night-“

I shut my mouth. Shit, I didn’t want to mention that. Harry looked up at me. “Friday night?” He asked.

“It’s nothing-“ I shook my head.

“What did I do?” Harry asked, turning to face me. “It’s obviously not nothing. Friday night I was drinking, so obviously I did something to offend you. What did I do?”

His voice was so demanding and stern. The words slipped out before I could stop them. “You kissed me…”

I looked down. Harry was stunned to silence. I took a deep breath. “Either way, you do nothing but play with my feelings… and it’s pissing me off…”

I looked up, looking right at Harry. His face was calm, staring down at me. Just what was it about him that made me want to get lost in those eyes? My eyes lingered down to his lips, feeling the memory coming back up. I felt a heated blush come along and I jerked my head away. “I honestly don’t mean to hurt you like that.” Harry said, speaking up. “It’s not my fault you’re so slow.”

“What-“ I started. I shook my head. “How the hell am I slow?”

“The day you came to talk to me when I was upset? I told you there was a girl I liked. You told me to get peonies for her.”

“Why are you bringing this up?” I asked.

“I gave you a peony.” Harry said.

“Yeah, but as thanks-“

“No, but as a sign that it was you.” I blinked, trying to read his vibe. I looked up, seeing his green eyes stare into my own. “You’re the girl I liked.”

He just stood there, not moving. He was reading for my expression. How I managed it, I wasn’t sure. My face felt completely blank. Harry was doing it again. He was playing with my feelings again. I looked away. “You’re lying.”

“I don’t lie.” Harry said. I knew he was right. “I never lied to you once.”

“What about Brandy?” I asked. “Was what she said true?”

Harry was silent before looking down at the ground. “Going out with Brandy was just another act of stupidity for me. But no, what she said was not true.”

“But…” I started.

“Yeah, she reminded me of you.” Harry explained. “But you’re not just another ‘red-head I want to fuck.’ You’re Kariann Taylor Young, a girl I fell for before I even knew it myself.”

I looked up, not able to bring myself to believe him. Harry sighed, swallowing some. “Whenever we first met in that Janitor’s Closet, it felt so weird for me to meet a girl that way, yet quite fun and interesting. The second time, I was an idiot to just come out and ask you to date me. It was just how I was. I dated girls for the fun. I didn’t know what it was whenever you rejected me, I thought it was a blow to my ego, but it was so much more. It took me a while to realize it was then I was starting to fall for you. From there, the talks we had personally about home and everything else. It made me feel so… normal. You’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met before. You make me feel like the person I was before X Factor. You make me want to be normal again. That was how I knew I fell for you the way I did. I couldn’t do anything about my feelings though, because I didn’t want to hurt you. I tried in other ways, but you’re just so damn slow!”

He was breathing quite heavily now. I was speechless. “But I have…” I started.

Harry snorted sarcastically. “A boyfriend. Yeah, I know. Every time I felt when we were getting closer, that boy of yours would call and ruin everything.”

I couldn’t help it. His tone made me flinch. We stood there awkwardly for a brief second before he continued. “Well then. You know how I feel now. I suppose you should just save yourself the heartache and reject my feelings.”

“Reject you?” I asked, looking up.

“Isn’t that what you do best?” He looked right at me again.

His stare was so menacing, it was almost like he was issuing a challenge. I let out a breath, looking back at him. “I won’t reject your feelings, Harry, but I’ll acknowledge them. But I’ll say right now-“

“Don’t give me any of that bullshit about you not liking me back.” Harry said. “You done told me yourself that I do nothing but play with your feelings with me.”

He took a step closer, bringing his face down where it was a mere few inches from mine. “I won’t stop.” He said, a grin pulling up on his face. “I’ll take you away from that kid. I’ll be the bad boy if I have to. I’ll have you falling to my feet in no time…”

My breath caught as he lightly placed his hand over my cheek. “Though I’d rather just have you staring into my eyes instead. Like you are now.”

I smacked his hand away, taking a step back. How the hell did it become like this? All I did was confront him about how hurt I was and he turned it around to a confession, leaving me confused and breathless. “Come on, we’re getting stared at.” Harry said. “I wasn’t lying about you having to stick by my side. You’ll get lost easily.”

That bastard, I thought as I started walking, keeping a safe distance behind him. How the hell was I supposed to act around him now, knowing his feelings for me? Did Dakota feel this way whenever Liam confessed to him? No, Liam isn’t the type to force his feelings around on you to the point you like him. He knew to back off, but then again, Dakota didn’t feel any attachment towards him.

I was a different case. I stared at the back of Harry’s head. I knew if I didn’t do something soon, I would be falling for this boy just as hard as he fell for me. But I loved Alex. Yeah, I still loved Alex, which I knew. It’s just that… Harry had something Alex didn’t have.

Listen to me! I sound like the type of girl that would leave a boy to go to another man in a heartbeat. No, I wouldn’t do that. I had to ignore whatever was going on between Harry and I. Alex was my priority.

Yeah. I needed to get my priorities straight.

*Dakota’s POV*

I felt good about leaving Kariann and Harry alone together. For about three hours, Liam led me around London and showed me many of his favorite shops and places. It’s been a while since I got to hang out with him and talk. It was fun.

We settled down in a shop, he getting coffee and I decided on a water. “No coffee?” he asked.

I made a face. “I seriously hate that stuff. Bitter as hell.”

He laughed, before checking his phone. “You’ll be leaving to head back home here in a few hours.”

I sighed, resting my head on the table. “I don’t want to go. I just got here.”

Liam placed a hand on the back of my head, messing with my hair. “I wonder when we can hang out again.” He said. “Louis’s birthday is next, but that’s in December before Christmas.”

Ah, Christmas. It may have been too think about it, but I couldn’t help it. It would be just me and my dad. Such a boring holiday it has become for me since my parent’s divorce. “He’s an old fart, isn’t he?” I asked, sitting up.

Liam laughed. “Twenty-two isn’t too old.”

“It is compared to me.” I grinned.

A thought came to mind. “I’ll be right back.” I said, getting up to go to the restroom.

Liam nodded, resting against his booth as I left the room. It didn’t take long before I walked out of the stall and back into the café. I froze, seeing a girl stand before our booth, talking to Liam. I saw the look on his face, the shock and… what was that? A smile lit up on his face as he indicated for her to sit down before him. I looked at the girl. She was really pretty, like a model. Wait a minute… didn’t Liam use to date a model?

Holy shit! It was Danielle! I felt the excitement rising in my body. Oh, my God! I knew that look on his face. Tender love. Oh man, was this something. I can tell by the way they were talking they haven’t spoken in a while. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin their parade, so I decided to step outside out of their view. I took a seat outside, making sure I could see in.

I felt my phone beginning to buzz in my pocket. I brought it out, ready to answer. I had some bad signal, so the call was immediately cut off. My dad called, so I needed to hurry and call back. I walked down the street, not really paying attention to where I was going. I finally found a spot, a little’s away from the streets and began to call my dad back.

He answered. He was just wonder how I was and when I would be home. I gave him the details and I started to hear my phone beep. “Shoot, Dad, my phone’s dying.”

“Okay. I’ll see you when you get home, okay?”

I said okay. We exchanged goodbyes and my phone suddenly shut off. I looked out from the small alley I was in. I could see the sun beginning to set. I stepped out, looking around the street. I looked around, not even sure where I was even at.

I felt my heartbeat picking up quickly. “Shit…” I muttered.

I looked down at my phone. Dead. No one to call, not even Liam. I had no idea where I was and I was lost. I looked around, not even sure where to go. Curse my bad sense of direction. I really needed to start paying attention to what I do…

Oh, God… I suddenly wanted to talk to my dad again. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck…

I could already feel the panic settling in.

*Louis’s POV*

The sun was setting and getting dark whenever I felt the phone in my pocket vibrate. I answered. “’Sup, LiLi?”

“Mate… I’m in a dilemma…” I could hear Liam’s breathlessly say.

“Why are you so out of breath?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

“Dakota’s missing. I can’t find her anywhere. I don’t want to worry the others… I need your help.” Liam said.

My eyes widened in shock, stopping in my tracks. “Where you at?” I demanded.

He started to describe to me where they were last at. Shit. She was in a bad part of town too… I put my phone in my pocket. “What’s wrong, babe?” Eleanor asked.

“Dakota’s missing.” I said. “I need to go find her.”

I saw worry flash across her face. “Oh, my God! Should we call the others?”

“No, let them head back to the house. Come on, she shouldn’t be far from here…” I said, grabbing Eleanor’s hand and beginning to briskly walk.

“Let’s split up here.” Eleanor said at a street corner. “Call if you find her.”

I nodded, letting go of her hand. I started running down the street, making sure to look into the alleys, hoping by God nothing is wrong. I frantically looked around, not sure where to look. “Fuck!” I heard myself scream in annoyance. “That idiot! I’m going to hurt her for running off like she did…”

Then I saw her. Standing right in the middle of the street, oblivious to her surroundings. I felt myself stopping from running. I could feel the sweat pouring down my face and breaths coming in quickly. “Hey-“ I started.

She jumped, barely turning her head before she started to briskly walk. Damn it, I thought. At least she was aware of perverts, but still. It was me, did she not recognize my voice? I started running after her and she started to run also. “Damn it!” I breathed, running even faster.

Good thing I was a runner. I caught up quickly, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stop. I was about to yell at her, but my breath caught whenever she turned around. Falling freely down her cheeks were tears. “Louis…?” She whispered.

I pulled her into my chest, hugging her. She sobbed and I reached into my pocket, dialing Liam. “I found her.” I said. “Call Eleanor and tell her to meet up with you.”

“Where you at?” Liam asked.

I looked around, I wasn’t even sure myself. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring her back to the house. Just make sure Eleanor’s safe.”

“Isn’t she closer to you, though?” He asked, confused.

I brought a hand up to the back of Dakota’s head, trying to calm her down. “I don’t want her to see.” I said, feeling Dakota clutching my shirt as she continued to cry.

Liam was silent before sighing. “Alright. I’ll call her. Don’t be too long, they have a plane to catch.”

We hung up and before I was about to put away my phone, it started to vibrate again. It was Eleanor. “Louis… I was so scared…” Dakota sobbed.

I couldn’t answer the phone. Dakota needed me. I stuck the phone back in my pocket, wrapping my arms tightly around her. “It’s okay. I’m here now.” I whispered to her, stroking her hair gently.

It took a while for her to calm down, but once she was done crying, she pulled away. “Sorry… it was just that Danielle and Liam were talking and I didn’t want to bother them… my dad called so I tried to find a spot with better service…”

“Why didn’t you call when you were lost?” I asked gently, reaching up to wipe away tear streaks from her cheeks.

“My phone died…” She sniffed. “I tried calling out for Liam, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I managed to find the shop too, but he was long gone…”

“Why don’t we head back?” I asked, hands placed on both of her cheeks.

She nodded. I reached down, intertwining our fingers before I started walking. It took a while to get where I knew where we were. We were silent the whole way home, but it seemed she made sure not to let my hand go, even when we were on the double decker. She was scared. I kept our hands tightly together, letting her know that I was there and I wasn’t planning on letting go. We made it back to the house with an hour’s time left for the girls to get ready for their plane ride home.

I reached into my pocket, seeing Liam’s text.

From Liam: The others don’t know what happened. Try to act normal.

I looked at Dakota. Her eyes were slightly red, but otherwise her composure was fine. I opened the front door, letting her in first. She gave me a small smile before letting my hand go and running inside. She was quick to head to one of the rooms she was staying in to pack. I walked into the corridor.

“Is she okay?” Liam asked, worry plastered on his face.

I nodded. “She’ll be fine. She was just scared.”

Liam sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Seriously, I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off of her… Damn it, if only Dani didn’t show up like that…”

Danielle? Now that I thought about it, Dakota mentioned something about her. “Dani?”

“We talked for a bit.” Liam said, rubbing his head. “She wants to get back in touch, but before I could answer that was when I noticed Dakota hasn’t showed up. I knew she wouldn’t bother us and leave us alone, but I wasn’t expecting her to flat-out leave like that. I ran out in a moment’s notice.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Everything’s fine now.”

It should be at least. I saw Eleanor walk into the room, phone in hand. I briefly made eye contact with her before I heard the three girls coming into the living room with their luggage. Eleanor came up to me. “I tried calling. I was worried, but Liam came and told me you found her.” She whispered.

I nodded, already feeling the lie coming out of my mouth. “Sorry. I didn’t get it.”

I regretted it the moment the words left my mouth. A soft smile came onto her lips, almost as if she knew, but played along anyways. “It’s okay.”

It was time for the girl’s to go home. I, on the other hand, wasn’t ready for them to leave. I would do nothing but worry for them. I couldn’t stop it though. It was our turn to see them off, and that void in my heart became even bigger whenever I let go of Dakota as we were entranced into one of our long usual goodbye hugs. “Thanks for earlier.” She whispered in my ear, smiling as she pulled back.

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. The rest of us waved them off.

“God…” Niall said. “I really hate doing this.”

“Tell me about it.” Zayn said, hand in hand with Perry, whom I just noticed was with us.

“It’ll be alright.” Harry said, smiling toward the direction of the girls. “We’ll be together again. After everything that has happened this weekend, we can’t simply ignore each other anymore…”

“The hell you saying?” Niall asked.

Harry couldn’t help but smiling. “I confessed to her.”

“Seriously!?” The others asked, shock.

The other three boys were immediately on top of him, they’re way of congratulations. I stayed by Eleanor’s side, not sure how to act. “Those girls are quite lucky, aren’t they?” Eleanor asked, a sad smile on her face.

I looked down at her. “What do you mean?”

“They have boys that cares deeply for them.”

“Oh, yeah…” I said, looking after their disappearing figures.

Somehow I felt Eleanor meant something different. I figured she was just talking about the five of us guys caring. Sure, we just met Bonnie, but she was already like family. Kariann was like the mother to us all, like Liam being the daddy. Dakota, well, there was something about her. Not just to all of us, but to me. She really had a way of making me worry like crazy for her.

Eleanor squeezed my hand. I offered a smile, squeezing back.