
The Paris Trip
Chapter 9
“Thanks, Liam.” I blushed as we reached the hotel room door. He grinned and pulled out a roll of duct tape.
Ms. Fleur wanted to make sure that no one would exit the hotel in the middle of the night so she put a strip of duct tape on the room doors to insure no one could exit. I figured that once I went out with Liam and made my way back, he would replace the duct tape with a fresh piece to trick Ms. Fleur into thinking that I had not gone anywhere in the night.
I said goodnight to him and closed the room door behind me. I heard the sound of duct tape peeling off and being replaced on the other side. I sighed in relief and made my way to the bed. Leah was still awake and she hugged me as I slouched myself on the covers of the mattress.
“So how was it?” She asked, still sleepy.
“We kissed and I told him I loved him and he said it back.” I couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh my god!” She squealed and squeezed my hand. “I’m so happy for you! Details! I need to know about the kiss! Passionate or simple and sweet? Were his lips soft as silk or a tiny bit chapped? OR what about where his hands were- oh no! How about how close your bodies were! Oh tongue or no tongue?” She fumbled around.
“Shhhh!” I looked over at Ashley who was halfway off the bed but still sleeping. “We’ll talk about it later, okay?” I said as my arm wrapped around my pillow. She nodded and I watched as her eyes closed; her soft snores echoed through the room. I looked over at the time and saw it was 3:45 am. I had 5 hours and 15 minutes till I had to wake up. I smiled as I quickly drifted asleep.
****
I groaned as I heard the alarm go off on the side of the nightstand. I blindly reached out and attempted to shut it off. I finally managed to turn it off and I grabbed my phone. I decided to text Liam really quick.
Hey, I was wondering whether you wanted to meet up today, somewhere close to the Eiffel Tower? Last night was amazing… Love you… -Casey
All of a sudden there was an ungodly knocking at the door.
“WAKE UP! KIDS, GET READY!” I heard the unmistakable voice of Ms. Fleur shouting down the hallway.
“What the hell?” I said as I sat up straight and looked at the door.
“UGHH!!!!” I heard Leah’s groggy voice scream as she threw a pillow at the door.
“Let’s go.” I heard Ashley’s voice come from the other bed. “She’ll kill us if we don’t go. Let’s go!” She pushed our bed and urged us to get up. She made her way to the bathroom and when the bathroom door closed I heard Leah roll over.
“What is her problem? It’s like having a mini Ms. Fleur in the room.” She got up and walked over to her suitcase.
“I know right?” I said as I stretched and walked over to mine.
After an hour, all three of us walked out of our hotel room and made our way downstairs towards the breakfast area.
“Hey, is it okay if I sit with you guys?” She looked around, uneasy. “I’m not sure if anyone really wants to sit with me…” She placed a piece of her red hair behind her ear, shyly.
Leah and I looked and each other and shrugged. “Sure, go ahead!” I said as the three of us sat down at seats near the edge of the room where no one was.
“Okay, tell me everything!” Leah leaned close and whispered as she stabbed her half burnt waffle.
“Tell her what?” Ashley asked, wide-eyed.
“Ummmmm…..” I looked over at Leah, trying to think of a lie.
“If this has anything to do with you sneaking out last night and at dinner yesterday to meet with your mystery guy, then go ahead, I already know about that.” She smiled as she spread cream cheese on her toasted bagel.
Leah and I just stared at each other, jaws dropped.
“I’m a light sleeper. I kinda acted I was still asleep. Also, I could hear everything you were saying from the bathroom…” Ashley giggled as she looked back at us and took a bite of her bagel.
“You cannot tell anyone.” I looked her dead in the eye.
“Please, we know how uptight you are and we just would really appreciate you not telling Ms. Fleur, okay?” Leah interjected.
“Guys, guys, relax! I’m not gonna tell anyone. I mean, I haven’t had a lot of friends on this trip, and you’re right! I’m very uptight and shy. I may not have had a great first impression on you guys but I just want to be friends and talk, you know? I don’t want to be a ‘mini Ms. Fleur’! I promise I’ll keep your secret!” She reassured Leah and me.
“Well, then there’s something you should know about the mystery guys.” I looked at Leah with a grin.
“They’re Liam and Niall… from One Direction…” She gave an awkward smile and assessed Ashley’s facial expressions, wondering whether we should cover her mouth to muffle her screams.
“They’re- Li-Nia- Oh my god…” She placed her bagel down and stared wide-eyed at Leah and me. She then covered her own mouth and giggled. “NO WAY.” She blurted, still giggling, on the verge of tears.
“Shhh!” I placed my finger over my mouth and giggled.
“Like, THE ONE DIRECTION?! Like the biggest band in the world?!” She ran her fingers through her red hair.
“Yes.” Leah chuckled.
“Oh my god! I’m a huge fan of them!!!!!” She half-whispered, half-shouted.
“Alright, now that we’re past that, I’ll tell you guys what happened!” I giggled. I told Leah and Ashley everything within 15 minutes. They both grinned as I came to the ending of the story.
“Oh My gOD!” Ashley squealed. “Casey, that is perfect.”
“Congrats, so when are you guys meeting up next?!” Leah stared at me wide-eyed.
“Ummm, I’m not sure actually. We never really talked about it after the kiss. I texted him this morning but he didn’t text back, which is pretty unusual.” I scratched my head. I honestly wasn’t sure when we would meet up again. I could still feel his soft lips collide with mine; I blushed just thinking about it.
All of sudden, I heard Leah gasp. My focus snapped back to her and realized what she had seen. She was looking at her phone under the table when she saw a text message from Niall. “Look!” She shoved the phone in my hands and I showed Ashley as well. The text read:
Hey Leah! I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today? Tell me what you want to do? Xx Yours truly, Niall
“Oh my gosh, Leah! He wants to hang out with you! What are you going to do? Are you going to go?” Ashley asked anxiously.
“I don’t know, actually.” She said as if she were lost in thought.
“Leah,” I grinned, “What the hell are you talking about? I say go for it. This is Paris, a city of possibilities but most importantly, the city of love…” I recited her rant from last night. She just looked at me and smiled.
“He wants to hang out today, so maybe I should tell Ms. Fleur that I’m not feeling well and that I would like to stay in the hotel?” Leah questioned.
“I guess? I mean, wouldn’t she send someone to check on you or something?” I looked at Ashley, who nodded in agreement, and then back at Leah.
“I don’t know. But, it’s worth a try.” Leah got up from her seat and made her way over to Ms. Fleur’s table. Ashley and I followed her and stood behind her.
“Ms. Fleur, I don’t think I can come with the rest of the group to the Eiffel tower today.” Leah said. Ms. Fleur looked puzzled and then looked at me with a devilish grin, like she knew something.
“Why?” She finally asked.
“I’m not feeling good at all. I have a… ummm…-“ Leah hesitated.
“CRAMPS!” I panicked and blurted out of nowhere.
“Nice save.” Ashley whispered in my ear, chuckling.
“Thanks.” I giggled.
“Oh, my. I understand… Are you sure you can’t walk with us though?” Ms. Fleur looked surprised.
“I don’t think so.” Leah looked at the ground. Ms. Fleur just paused and looked at the all of us back and forth as if she were suspicious.
“Umm. Alright.” She stared at me for some reason. I looked away and headed back to area where we were sitting earlier.
“Do you think that was kinda awkward, or was it just me?” I asked as we all sat down and looked back over at Ms. Fleur.
“A little…” She said as she texted Niall. Her smile was emerging as she typed.
“I’m really happy that you’re going to see him, just make sure you’re careful.” Ashley said with a hint of worry in her voice. “Also, tell him that I said ‘hi’ to Harry.” She smiled sheepishly.
“Alright, Ash, do you want me to text Niall and ask if Harry wants to come along and hang with you?” Leah grinned.
“Ohmigod! You would do that for me?” Ashley’s eyes lit up. “I mean I don’t know if I could do it, though. I mean, I don’t want to break the ru-“
“Ashley! You’ve been shy and uptight all your life! This is the first time that Casey and I have ever seen you smile! Do something crazy for once!” Leah interrupted Ashley.
Ashley thought for a second and then grinned, “Alright! I’ll come with you today. Let me tell Ms. Fleur that I’ll stay with you today! Thank you so much!” She smiled widely, hugged Leah tightly, and left to tell Ms. Fleur.
“Leah, she looked at me like she knew something. Do you think…” My mind replayed what happened a few moments earlier as my voice faltered.
“No, I mean Liam replaced the duct tape after you came back in. She couldn’t have known from that. I don’t think she knows at all, Casey, take a breath, okay.” She responded.
“She knew something, Leah! I could tell! I don’t think this a good idea after all…” I started to get up from my seat.
“Casey!” She said, “It’s going to be fine. You are going to the Eiffel Tower to enjoy yourself and get your money’s worth, okay? I’ll spend the day with Niall and Ashley will get to hang out with Harry. Just make sure the group doesn’t come back to the hotel before 6 in the afternoon, alright?” I nodded and hugged her.
“Go get him!” I whispered in her ear.
“Go!” She giggled and disappeared as she made her way upstairs to get ready for a date.
“Alright students! To the Eiffel Tower it is! Breakfast is over, chop chop! Dans la voiture!” Ms. Fleur ushered the group to different cars.
“Hey Casey, she said it was fine!” Ashley hugged me as she walked past me, following Leah up the stairs.
“Yay! Have fun! I’ll text Leah constantly!” I responded to her.
It took awhile to get to the Eiffel Tower due to the somewhat heavy traffic. I constantly texted Leah to make sure she was doing well on her date with Niall and Ashley was doing well with Harry. We wandered around in the shops near the Eiffel Tower and spent our time on the streets and taking pictures.
“Let’s make our way up!” Ms. Fleur screamed and motioned towards the large monument. I swiftly made my way past her when I heard Ms. Fleur whisper to me, “As for you, Casey, we need to talk, later of course…” My heart stopped as she slid her way past me to the front of the group. What could she possibly want to talk about? Does she know that I snuck out last night? How could she? Does that mean that I was right at breakfast? Why wouldn’t she tell me she knew as soon as she found out? Does that mean she knows about Leah and Ashley too? I quickly texted Leah and waited for a reply but it never came. I sighed as I realized that Leah wasn’t going to text me back anytime soon.
When we finally made our way to the top of the Eiffel Tower, I paused and looked down at the town underneath. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The small buildings and greenery in the distance made the view surreal. Just then, I felt my phone vibrate. I quickly got it out, thinking it would be Leah but to my surprise it was Liam. It said:
Hey, I’m at the Eiffel Tower… at the bottom. Can we meet up in private around the Eiffel Tower, somewhere your teacher won’t notice? Love you xx –Liam
I smiled and responded saying that we could meet when I got down.
Later, we descended the Tower and made our way back to the ground again.
“We’ll leave in a few minutes, take some time to look at the street shops!” Ms. Fleur said as she stared at me.
I couldn’t find Liam for 10 minutes and decided to wander in one of the street shops in close proximity of the Eiffel Tower so that Liam could spot me. I wandered to this tiny magazine shop with green wooden boards plastered on the sides. There was a beautiful green vine overlapping the name of the small street shop and plenty of colorful magazines on racks. I skimmed some of the magazine covers when something caught my eye, causing me to do a double take.
A pink and blue covered Teen Observer magazine had the headline, “LIAM PAYNE’S GIRLIE FRIEND!” I quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking and grabbed the magazine off the shelf and flipped to the first page to see a whole article on Liam. I looked at all the pictures trying to see if I was in them, but to my disbelief, there was an entirely new girl on the page. She had light brown hair, wore a black jumpsuit, and had dark sunglasses. The magazine identified her as Annabeth Dalton, a longtime girlfriend of Liam’s. It even had pictures of them kissing, smiling, and hugging at the airport in France yesterday morning, exactly after our flight landed. It even had a picture of them at the restaurant we ate dinner at last night; meaning that he probably saw her before or after he met with me!
My hands started to shake and the magazine fell to my feet, my chest started to hurt with constant pangs of pain, and my eyes had welled with tears as I heard the familiar echo of Liam’s voice calling my name. I turned around to see him looking left and right, searching for me and calling my name; he still hadn’t seen me. I ran the other way towards my tour group and left with them. But the only thing that I could think about during the ride back was the burning image of him smiling, wrapping his arms around that girl and kissing her.
Notes
Ok here's the next chapter! Hold on tight this is gonna be one hell of a ride! Also wanted to give a huge shoutout/dedication to @Unicorn_Princess! Hope you guys liked!
-N. ^-^
@PaperHearts!
Haha thank you so much! So glad you liked!
-N. ^-^
6/20/15