Time of Our Lives

*Dakota’s POV*

Ah, Christmas, such a dull time of the year for me. I was already sick of the church next door playing nothing but carols all week. I sat outside in the back yard, packing snowballs and throwing them at my dog as he ran back and forth excitedly, trying to catch them. It was cold outside, but I didn’t care. My dad was gone on a Christmas date with Suzy. Kariann was gone to a Christmas Eve dinner with her family. Even Bonnie. Ugh, I seriously needed more friends. Or at least a family that stuck together.

Then I remembered.

It was Louis’s birthday. I grinned, getting out my phone. I had to time this perfectly…

*Eleanor’s POV*

Christmas Eve, such a beautiful time of year. It was also Louis’s birthday. We were walking together hand in hand at a park in London. It was almost midnight, so dark outside, yet so bright from the lights. It really was a beautiful night here. We ended up in front of the huge Christmas tree in the middle of the park. A group of singers were off to the side, singing carols. “Oh…” Louis said, grinning before letting go of my hand to run over there next to the group.

I couldn’t help but laugh as he started to sing with the goofiest looks on his face. I loved the child side of him. It was so adorable and it always brought a smile on my face. He came running back over, picking me up, swinging me around, and continuing to sing. He set me down, letting the song fade from his lips as he bent down, ready to kiss me.

Only his phone started ringing. Louis blinked, pulling back to see who was calling so late. I saw it. The look on his face changed into a soft smile on his face as he smiled. I already knew who was calling. I didn’t know how she did it. Dakota. She brought out the mature side of Louis out. He smiled down at the snow at his feet, kicking some of his as he spoke through the phone. It was so rare to see this side of him, yet she brought it out so easily.

He looked on his phone, which I noticed it was 11:59. “Damn, you timed that perfectly.” Louis said, grinning some as he continued to speak. “Thanks.”

He looked over at me. “Yeah, I’m with Eleanor.” He held out his phone to me. “She wants to talk to you.”

I took the phone. We talked all the time, why would she want to talk now. “Yes?” I asked.

“Hey!” I heard her say excitedly. “Well, it’s still Christmas Eve here, but I’m pretty sure it’s past midnight there… I just wanted to say Merry Christmas, or happy holidays, whatever floats your boat.”

A smile spreads across my face. It was so easy for me to be jealous of what she can do, but I can bring myself to be mad at her. She and Louis have been through so much together. It made me wonder where I put myself. I could see the look on Louis’s face, the love he held for that girl, yet he was so oblivious to his feelings that it only hurt me worse that he didn’t know.

“Merry Christmas to you too.” I said. “And I miss you.”

She was quick to agree. “Yeah, I miss all of you guys like crazy. Mostly you, though. You’re like the older sister I’ve never had.”

The words made my own expression soften. Seriously, it was so hard for me to bring myself to hate her when all I could do was love her. “I guess I better let you go.” Dakota said, sighing. “I just got lonely so I called to say happy birthday to Louis and Merry Christmas to you.”

“Are you by yourself?” I asked.

“Yup.”

“What about family?” I asked.

I heard her snort a little through the phone. “What family? My family fell apart years ago. Ah! My dad’s home. I’m going to go now. Have fun on your date!”

She hung up, leaving me with a beeping phone. I stared at the phone, shocked.

“What’s wrong?” Louis asked.

“Dakota…” I said, handing back his phone. “She must be… so lonely…”

I looked up at Louis. He stared down at me. It was like he already knew. “She said her family fell apart years ago… what does that mean?”

I didn’t know much about Dakota’s personal life. Louis swallowed. I knew he knew, I was pretty sure he knew I could tell. He couldn’t bring himself to tell me. “Let’s not worry about that.” He said, smiling some and taking my hand.

“Can’t you at least tell me?” I asked.

That expression. It was so sad. “It’s not a pretty story.” Louis said. “I’m not so sure myself, but I know enough and heard enough to know that it’s a sad story.”

“Do you pity her?” I asked as we walk.

“I did, but she’s the kind of girl that doesn’t want you to pity for her or worry.” He said, sighing, his breath seen in the cold air. “I learned to stop pitying her. She’ll just continue on with that smile of hers. There’s no helping it either way.”

“Louis…” I started, stopping.

He stopped walking also, turning towards me. “Yeah?”

I looked up at him, looking into his blue eyes. “I wonder why you can’t see what I’m seeing now.” I sighed, my face turning sad.

“What do you mean? Is something wrong?” He asked, worried.

He brought up a cold hand, touching my cheek. “Louis…” I started. “You’re in love with her.”

“What-“

I interrupted him. “The last time she was here, whenever she got lost… I called you to at least tell you I found Liam, but you ignored it. Yet you lied to me about it. You never lied to me before, yet you easily lied for her…”

Louis was talking, but he was listening. “I don’t know why you lied, but I know for a fact you were more worried for her than your own girlfriend at the time. You easily agreed to letting us split up to find her. The only thing you card about at the time was her wellbeing.”

“Yeah, but…” He started, looking up to look at me.

“Not only that, but it’s so obvious.” I said. “Every time she calls, you answer that phone and I can tell it’s her just by reading your expression. When you’re with her, she brings out the mature side of you. That’s something I don’t think I’ve ever done, Louis. You know so much about her and it makes you want to protect her. I see it in you all the time. I see the worry in your eyes when her name is brought up, I see the happiness she is able to bring out into you whenever she calls, and… it kills me to watch.”

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. “Eleanor…” Louis started. “You know I love you. You know I do.”

“I know you love me.” I said, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. “But ever since you and the others have met Kariann and Dakota, you started to change. Look at Harry! He hasn’t touched a girl since he confessed to Kariann, nor even drank. Even I’ve changed. Those girls are like sisters to me and I don’t ever want to see them hurt, but I can’t stand by and continue to love you when you’re in love with someone else. Dakota has changed the both of us, not in a bad way, but in a way that makes me want to just see you and her happy. I know you love me Louis, but there is something Dakota has that I don’t and I can’t just continue to stand by whenever I know you’ll hurt yourself in the long run…”

“Eleanor!” Louis said, taking my hands. “I don’t understand. Why are you saying this?”

“I know, Louis.” I said, looking up. “I watch you enough to know you’re lonely. I may be here by your side, but I bet you now you would be a thousand times happier if it was Dakota standing right in front of you instead of me.”

Louis’s face became so confused, but he didn’t agree nor deny to it. I sighed, letting go of his hands. I felt the courage to say it. “I think we need a break. I want you to be happy, Louis, so figure out your feelings on your own. Please don’t contact me until you figure what your thoughts are.”

I took a step back before I started walking along. More than ever did I want him to come after me, like he used to whenever I got mad and stormed off on him. He would grab me by the arm, kissing me hard on the lips followed by a playful smile. That was how I fell in love with him in the first place. It was his smile. Either way, that smile he had didn’t belong to me, but to someone else. I felt the tears fall down my cheeks as I walked, not hearing a hint of his behind me.

*Liam’s POV*

New Years. The biggest fun was to happen then. I was to be with the boys later on tonight to celebrate, but now I was having tea at my favorite café in town. I heard the doorbell rang, coming in was Danielle. I smiled at her presence. It’s been a month since I’ve seen here, but a few days since we’ve talked. She smiled back before taking a seat in the chair across from me.

We’ve been planning to meet up a few times, but work got in the way sometimes. I could never get over our breakup we had right before summer started. My heartbreak caused me to slowly crush on Dakota, a girl I saw innocent at the time, but realized how stupid I was to like a girl just because I was trying to get over my previous relationship. I was glad Dakota rejected me at the time. It saved us from another heartache.

Danielle and I talked for quite a while. We had so much to catch up on. It amazed me how much her life has progressed since the last six months. She was a model, yet she would be leaving next month for a runway in Paris. “To be honest…” She spoke up, messing with her hands. “I’ve missed you so much. It was hard whenever we both decided to break it off before your tour.”

I nodded, agreeing. She laughed some. “I actually tried going out with another guy but completely rejected me, saying I looked like the kind of girl that would go running back to my ex-boyfriend if he were to ask me out again.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

She nodded. “What about you? You tried dating?”

I nodded, telling her the short story of my crush on Dakota. She grinned. “Well damn, I guess we both had it rough, huh?”

I smiled back and we continued to talk. After some point, I found us holding hands. It felt good to hold those familiar hands into my own. I missed her so much and I dreaded to be with her again. I could tell by looking into her eyes as well. “I want to start again.” I said, looking at her. “I miss us.”

She smiled sadly. “It’ll be hard.”

“I know.” I said, looking down at our intertwined hands. “I’ll fight for us. I’ve always loved you, Dani. I don’t want to let what we had go.”

I could see the tears about to flow from her eyes. She sniffed some, nodding. I smiled, reaching up to wipe away an escapee. I let it rest on her cheek for a second and she reached up with her other hand, putting it over mine. We smiled at each other. This will work out. I know it will.

-Later On-

Niall let out a party howl as I entered the room. He through his rubber chicken at me. “You still have this thing?” I asked, throwing it back.

“Hell yeah, it’s the second best present in me life.” He smiled, making room for me to sit.

He held up a beer, clinking glasses with Zayn, drinking it down. “New Years, baby!” Zayn yelled. “Party all night!”

Oh damn. Well, at least Harry didn’t drink. That was one less boy I had to worry about. I noticed Louis to the side, holding up his bottle unenthusiastically. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than here. I got up to go sit by him. I put an arm around his shoulders. “What’s the matter, lad?”

“Eleanor pretty much just broke it off with me.” He said, blunt and not missing a breath.

My face fell. Holy shit, I was not expecting that to come out of Louis’s mouth. Harry looked over, hearing the news also. We exchanged looks. Zayn and Niall continued to drink down alcohol. “Boo…” Harry started. “You two had it going on strong… why would she do that?”

I tried to think. Why would she do that? Eleanor wouldn’t just randomly break it off with him. Not unless there was a serious reason. Louis put his face in his hands. “I’m just so confused with myself…” Louis murmured.

I rubbed his shoulder. “Ever since she said that…” Louis started. “I can’t help but feel that she’s right.”

“What did she say?” Harry asked, curious and gentle.

“She says that I’m falling in love with another girl and even though she knows I still love her, she just can’t stand by and watch as if she knows I’ll end up hurting myself later on…”

Falling in love with another girl? “Who…?” I had to clearify.

“Dakota.” He mumbled. I barely heard him.

Harry and I stared at each other. Louis spoke up again. “I… just don’t know what to do. I feel that she’s right yet I’ll never know unless I see for myself. She says it’s so obvious by looking at me, yet I can’t tell. I’ve talked to Dakota, and ever since Eleanor said that to me, I just get confused about my feelings. Hazza, how the hell do you deal with this? I’m the one with the girlfriend, yet I can’t tell which girl I love more…”

“Well…” Harry started. “Let’s think of it like this. Let’s say that you and Dakota started to go out… how would you feel then?”

“I don’t know…” Louis said. “Plus, that’s impossible. She hates dating anyways. If I were to tell her I was falling in love with her, she’d break it off right there.”

That came as a shock to me. “What?”

“She’s told me.” Louis said, staring at the ground. “The day you confessed to her. She told me that she can’t stand the thought of dating someone that was falling in love with her when she knew she would never feel the same. That’s why her first relationship never lasted.”

“Ah… so it seems she’s afraid to fall in love.” Harry said, nodding. “Kind of reminds me of Kariann a little, but I digress.”

I let out a breath, trying to think. “What about you?” I asked.

“What?”

“Are you falling in love with her?” I asked, asking directly.

Louis bit his lower lip, looking toward the floor. “Ever since Eleanor made the suggestion I was, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Every time I tried to think about my and Eleanor’s relationship, I think of Dakota and what could happen between us. There’s just something about her that makes me want to be a better person, whilst I’m with Eleanor, she accepts me for whatever I am. I hate judging them like this. I feel like a total dick-wad just thinking this way.”

Harry and I flashed each other pitied looks. “Okay…” Harry said. “Well, what do you want to do? What if Dakota really is afraid to love?”

Louis thought before nodding to himself. “It makes me want to prove her wrong, but I never thought I would be the one that had to do it. When I tried to advise her before, I was talking about Liam, but that got nowhere…”

I patted his back. “Guys… what do I do? How the hell am I supposed to choose without hurting them?” He asked, looking between the two of us.

“I’m not sure.” Harry said. “I think you should consider your own feelings. Eleanor was upon knowing her own. She didn’t have to tell you what she saw, yet she didn’t want to see you get hurt with loneliness later on. She loves you enough to let you move on, though I’m sure she knows you don’t want to let her go.”

Louis nodded, sighing. “Liam?”

I thought before I answered. I squeezed his shoulder. “I just want you to be happy, mate. The heart wants what it wants. Whoever you choose, if you end up choosing, I won’t judge you either way. If Dakota is the one that needs to be in your life at the moment, so be it. Just be honest with yourself and to the two of them.”

Louis nodded. “Thanks, guys.”

Harry reached up, patting his shoulder. “No problem. We’re your friends… unlike some people in this room.”

He turned his head toward Niall and Zayn, already drunk and dancing around the room. I reached over, grabbing a bottle. “Drink your heart out. Have fun. The heartache can wait for now.”

Louis nodded, standing up as he took the bottle. He went over to the other two guys, ready to mess around. “I wish there was some way to help him realize his feelings.” Harry said.

“We won’t get to see the girls until March…” I said. “The girls will be on Spring Break then.”

Harry nodded, eyes lighting up. “Hell yeah. We’re still going to the islands right?”

I nodded. It’ll be great weather with the beaches. “We’ll get to surf, party all night…”

“And I get to see her in a bathing suit…” Harry blinked. “Shit, did I say that out loud?”

I laughed, patting his shoulder. “You’re hopeless.”

“It’s not a private island, right?” He asked, looking at me.

I shook my head. “There should be others there. Not many though.”

Harry grinned. “Good. I think I have an idea on how to help Louis…”

I wasn’t going to ask, but Harry seemed dead set on making Harry realize his feelings. I sighed. Danielle should be back from her stay in Paris then. I’ll ask her to tag along. I couldn’t wait. It’ll be a fun two weeks with the others.

It just made me wonder how much heartache would come. Not for me, but for the guys. Louis was confused with his feelings, and if he just so happens to be in love with Dakota, which I found highly possible, he would have to deal with Eleanor’s heartache, something she’s already experiencing. Not only that, but with his own when Dakota may very likely stop their relationship from his feelings. Even Niall, I pitied him. Though he sees Bonnie as a crush, I could tell as the days go by how much he’s starting to fall for her. He already said it to us though, she wouldn’t even attempt a relationship anyways. Why? The distance.

Always. It’s the distance.

For all of us, it will be the distance. That’s one of the many things we had to deal with though. There was nothing we could do about it though. We would make everything work out in the end though. Definitely will.