Change My Mind

LOUIS
I watched as Stefanie and Erin dropped to the ground laughing and knew we had to make it known that we were still there. I nudged Zayn and Niall and started Clapping slowly at first and the others joined in as we gradually sped up our claps until Erin and Stefanie noticed our presence. Both of them stood up, shocked to see that they weren’t alone. Even with the bright lights directly on them you could see the redness in both their cheeks when they realized they’d been caught.
“Uh…Stef?” Erin asked, her voice cracking from nervousness.
“Yeah Erin?” “Do you see what I see?”
“You mean the guys sitting there watching us act like fools?”
“Yep.”
“Yep.”
Erin dropped the mic and ran backstage out of what I could only guess was embarrassment. Meanwhile Stefanie dipped low into a dramatic bow and said, “Thank you! We’ll be here all week.” Raising her hands into the air and waving at the imaginary crowd as we laughed at her shenanigans. She took the few steps and sat down on the edge of the stage before jumping off and joining us.
“That was brilliant!” Niall said through his laughter.
“Excellent!” Zayn agreed, “But where did Erin run off to?”
“To hide.” she answered looking at all of us with a smirk and absolutely no shame on her face, “She’s not big on being the center of attention.”
“Well that was lovely.” Liam said before looking to Zayn, “We’d better be off, or we’ll be late.”
“What are you guys up to tonight?” she asked.
“Perrie and I are going out to dinner and we’ve decided to set Liam up with one of her friends.” Zayn answered.
“Should be fun.” Liam said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yeah I’ve got a date tonight too.” Niall said proudly, “But first I’m gonna go look for Erin, so I can say goodnight.”
“Oh, I’ll help you look for her!” Harry offered brightly.
“Hmm, I wonder why?” I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes when I saw Harry’s look of mock offense. “Oh wait Harry before you go, Erin and I are going to Archangel. We’ll see you there, right?” Stefanie winked at him and smiled.
“Oh uh, yeah…maybe.”
“No. Not maybe. We’ll see you there! Bosses orders.” she giggled in the sweetest way.
Stop that!
“I thought I was the boss?” Harry said smiling and playing along with her joke.
“Nope. Not anymore—well…at least not tonight.” she laughed as she waved them off and turned around to find that she and I were suddenly all alone. For a second I could see a look of panic in her eyes so I decided to try to break the ice, “Well…It looks like you’ve missed your true calling!” I said, “Seriously, I don’t even know why I’m on this tour anymore. You’re clearly the one who needs to be up on that stage every night.”
“Oh, don’t be jealous just because I’m so much more talented than you.” She threw back at me with a devilish grin. We laughed for a minute or two, and when things started to quiet down I looked at her and could see what Erin was saying clearly now about how she brings a certain quality out of you and doesn’t take no for an answer. She just exuded confidence and I hated how sexy it made her. I stopped laughing and stared deep into her eyes enjoying the light in them for a moment before saying, “Seriously, you are amazing. It was great seeing you have so much fun up there on stage. I couldn’t take my eyes off you, not even for a second.” That light I saw just seconds earlier started to dwindle and as she looked back at the stage I thought I saw that look of panic come back as she said, “Well…thanks. Listen I have to go shut all this down and find Erin. She and I have plans tonight so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Oh…yeah, I’ll see you then.” I said as she turned and hurried backstage as fast as she could. A few moments later the spot lights shut off and I was left in the quiet stadium wondering what I had said to make her upset. I thought I was being nice, so why did she shut me out like that?
HARRY
Niall and I searched a few of the dressing rooms just off the stage area and checked the area where she had all her equipment set up but had no luck in finding Erin. We called out her name a few times but I got the feeling she wasn’t coming out to face us anytime soon. Niall mumbled something about being late for his date and said he couldn’t stay too much longer. I walked with him down the corridor towards the lot where our cars were parked and it was then that I remembered he was going to talk to Erin about me. I cleared my throat and when Niall looked at me I knew I had to ask now or be stuck trying to figure out how to talk to Erin later at the bar.
“So. Umm, did you get a chance to talk to Erin yesterday?” He looked at me and smiled, “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Oh shut up.” I said when I saw the face he was making.
“Okay…I’ll shut up, but then you won’t get to hear what she told me yesterday.”
“Sorry, please tell me.” I said trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
“Well, I gotta tell ya. She seems to think that you don’t like her and from what she told me, it didn’t sound like you were acting like your usual self.”
“That’s because I wasn’t. I was a bumbling fool, Niall. Every time I tried my usual flirting techniques, I ended up sounding like someone who doesn’t know the first thing about talking to girls, or I’d overdo it and sound like some perverted creep.”
“Well, maybe she’s not like the girls you’re used to dating.” I scoffed but he continued, “Think about it. All the other girls you’ve dated in the last three years are girls who are constantly in the spot light and are always being told how perfect they are so they act like it, which means you have to try harder to get their attention. With Erin—well you heard Stefanie, she’s not used to being the center of attention. She actually laughed when I said maybe you were intimidated by her and couldn’t believe that was even possible. She thinks you’re just messing with her to get a reaction, and it probably has to do with the weird way you’re carrying yourself. You want my advice? Make yourself very clear with her because she doesn’t like to read between the lines and guess what is going on in your mind. She’s the type that wants it all laid out for her.” I nodded taking in everything he was saying. Could it be that with everything I had done up until this point she really wasn’t taking it seriously?
“Thanks Niall, I’ll think about it.” I said patting his shoulder, “Really, I mean it…and have fun on your date tonight.” I said as I watched him walk to his car. I stood under the lamp post by the door to the stadium and looked back into the corridor thinking about what I’d have to do to get Erin to understand how I feel. For now I would go home and get ready to meet her at the bar. As I walked to my car I pulled out my phone and texted Louis. If I was going tonight, so was he.



ERIN

The nightclub at Archangel was located in the basement floor and before Stefanie and I even stepped foot on the stairs leading down to the club, I could feel the bass pumping from the house music playing below us. After handing our I.D’s to the bouncer we stepped inside taking in the sleek lines and black and white décor that surrounded the room. Bright multicolored florescent lights flashed around the room and the effect that was created when they hit the tops of the white surfaces was beautiful.
I turned back to face Stefanie, “Sweet? Right?”
She nodded in agreement and grabbed my hand leading me towards the bar, “Time to get this party started, Chica,” she said with a slight smirk and I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched her lean slightly over the bar to get the bartenders attention.
“Yeah after rehearsals, I could definitely use a drink,” I muttered rolling my eyes. I was still mortified that the guys had caught us. Stefanie had told me to just forget about it but I couldn’t, I didn’t get over things as quickly as she did.
“What can I get for you?” the stunning, black haired, bartender asked, giving Stefanie a flirty smile, which she automatically returned.
“I’ll have a bud light lime and a sex on the beach for my friend here,” Stefanie replied quickly turning back around to face me.
“I don’t know why you’re so worried about it,” she commented, “So they saw us acting a fool, what’s the big deal?”
“You just don’t get it,” I commented having no other argument. Stefanie and I had completely different views on things and that wasn’t going to change through the course of this one conversation.
“You’re right, I don’t,” she admitted with a shrug, “But…I did pull a you.”
“Huh?”
“After you took off, Louis came over to talk to me,” she began, meeting my eyes, “Long story short….he complimented me and I ran away.” She hung her head like she was ashamed.
I stood there for a moment unsure how to respond. Over the years I’d seen Stefanie with plenty of guys and never once had I known her to act unsure of herself.
“Huh,” I muttered, still unsure of what exactly to say.
Stefanie looked up but just as she was about to meet my eyes, her stare locked on something behind me.
“Harry’s here,” she informed me with a giant smile on her face. I tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach at seeing him as I watched Stefanie raise her hand to get his attention.
“Shit,” Stefanie muttered, quickly putting her hand back down at her side, wondering what caused her abrupt change in mood I turned to where she was looking and saw that Louis was walking in directly behind Harry. I glanced quickly at Harry and his eyes met mine instantly, flashing me an adorable crooked smile. I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t affected by it but failed miserably.
Before I could say anything to Stefanie about them the two boys joined us.
“Hi Stef!” Harry said brightly and then turned to face me, “Hey there,” he murmured, biting on his bottom lip as he glanced down at me. I stood frozen as I watched his eyes rake down the length of my body. Involuntarily my entire body reacted to his gaze.
“Hey guys,” Louis said walking up behind Harry, pulling my attention away from Harry’s ogling and saving me from the ridiculous effect he was having on me.
“Hi!” I replied with a warm smile and glanced at Stefanie expectantly.
“Hey,” Stefanie said with a slight sadness in her voice that no one seemed to notice other than me. The plausible tension in the room was almost unbearable.
This was going to be such a long night.

For the first ten minutes after the boys arrived we all made casual conversation, mostly talking about work. We had been in the middle of discussing our excitement for opening night, when Harry suddenly turned to me and asked me to dance. I glared at him, unsure whether or not he was being serious or just trying to get a reaction of me yet again.
“Yeah, sure…maybe later,” I said, attempting to brush him off without granting him the opportunity to make me blush. I turned back to face Stefanie and Louis and rejoin the conversation. It was a moment later that I felt the lightest touch of someone’s hand against my hip instinctually I just knew it was Harry. He leaned into my body, not touching me anywhere else, but he was close enough that I could sense him.
“Dance with me,” he whispered, his mouth only centimeters away from my ear and the feeling of his hot breath against my bare skin made me feel like my entire body was on fire. I didn’t respond right away, my mind unable to keep pace with overpowering affect that Harry was having on my body.
“I’m not going to let you disappear on me again,” Harry whispered, still dangerously close to my ear, “So, just dance with me.”
“Okay,” I answered breathlessly, letting what my body felt determine the words that came from my mouth. I glanced up at Louis and Stefanie and with a slight shock I realized that they were completely oblivious to what was happening with Harry and I.
“We’re going to go dance,” Harry said from behind me and Stefanie glanced over at the two of us with a knowing smile on her face. I knew she couldn’t have been too thrilled about being left alone with Louis but it was obvious that she was too excited for me to even think about it.
“Have fun,” Stefanie replied with a wink and a quiet chuckle escaped my lips only to be silenced as I felt the warmth of Harry’s hand wrapping around my own. He pulled me towards the dance floor, his eyes never leaving mine. When we reached the center of the floor, Harry lifted my hand and spun me until the back of my body was pressed against the front of his. I attempted to find the beat of the music and dance but Harry made me so nervous that my movements were jerky. A moment later, I felt the familiar heat of Harry’s hand against my hip, “Relax,” he whispered, his lips barely grazing my ear, “Just feel the music.”
As the fire of his touch began to spread through my body again, I somehow managed to turn off all coherent thought and do exactly what Harry had said. Instead of worrying if what I was doing looked okay or went with the beat, I just focused on the feeling of Harry’s body pressed against mine, or the intoxicating smell of his cologne that was invading my senses and mostly on the electric charge that every touch of his hand sent through my body. Harry had awoken parts of me that had been dormant for so long and I was loving every minute of it.



STEFANIE

I could feel him behind me and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Louis was sitting there waiting for me to acknowledge him. As I watched Erin and Harry on the dance floor, a thousand different thoughts ran through my mind, a thousand possible different things to say and yet that nothing seemed like the right thing to say. Nothing would be what I really wanted to say.
“So,” Louis began and without turning to face him I replied, “So.”
“They look like they’re in their own little world out there,” he commented and I nodded my head in agreement, still not trusting myself to turn and face him.
“You know conversations usually work better when the people involved actually look at each other,” Louis continued, addressing my completely awkward behavior. As I felt the blush rise in my cheeks, I bit down on my bottom lip, knowing that I needed to stop acting like a child and face him.
If only I could get myself to turn. A moment later I felt the warmth of his hand against my arm.
“Stefanie, Look at me,” his voice softened. I swallowed, bracing myself before I turned. But nothing could prepare me for his presence, just inches away from me. The intensity of his stare, stripping my mind blank.
“Much better,” he commented with a smirk and oh what a sexy smirk it was. We looked into each other’s eyes, neither of us saying a word and for a moment, just one single moment I let myself enjoy the way that Louis was looking at me. That look in his eyes that told me everything I wanted to know…
But too soon the moment was broken and the reality of the situation he and I were in hit me full force...
“You did a great job today,” I offered lamely, determined to break the awkward silence between us.
“Yeah, I couldn’t help but notice that I was one of the few people you didn’t yell at,” Louis joked and I couldn’t help that loud laugh that came out of my mouth.
“I did not yell at anyone!” I screeched, defending myself.
“You kinda did,” Louis said with a shrug and my jaw dropped.
“Did not.”
“Did.”
“Grrr,” I replied, placing my hands on my hips as Louis doubled over laughing.
“Did you seriously just growl at me?”
“Possibly,” I admitted sheepishly, “But you deserved it.”
After the tension was broken the conversation between Louis and I just flowed. We talked about where we grew up and our families and even silly things like our favorite color and foods. He was so easy to talk to, which inevitably made this all so much harder on me. Why couldn’t he just give me a reason not to like him? Just one little thing that I could dwell on so that I could get over this stupid crush? But no, the more I found out about him, the more I liked him. He was perfect.
Ugh.
“So,” Louis muttered setting his drink back down on the table as he looked over at me.
“We’re back to that again?” I asked with a coy smile and his answering smile stole my breath away.
“No, I was just stalling while I figured out the best way to ask a beautiful girl if she wanted to dance,” he informed me, flashing me the sweetest smile. My heart leapt in my chest at his words, but a moment later I cursed myself for feeling that way. I took a deep breath and forced myself to say the one thing that I really didn’t want to.
“I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate that,” I replied solemnly and Louis guiltily looked down, avoiding my gaze.
“Eleanor, right,” he whispered, so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him. He tilted his head up and met my gaze once again. He looked so torn and all I could think of was wanting to see the gorgeous smile that had been on his face only moments before, but it wasn’t fair for me to want that.
“I just don’t want to upset anyone,” I offered, hoping to give him some type of explanation.
“Either do I,” Louis agreed, “But I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t drawn to you and…,” he began and I held my hand up to stop him from saying whatever he was about to say.
“Don’t,” I begged, “No good can come of you saying anything more, Louis. You and Eleanor are a beautiful couple and I’m your friend. At least I hope I still am.”
“Of course you are,” Louis answered quickly, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable or made you think you weren’t. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s not that Louis, it’s just…God…if you knew my past. This would all make so much more sense to you,” I laughed, all too aware of the fact that I was making a fool of myself. I rubbed my hand over my face and then laid it down on the table, only to have Louis cover it a moment later with his own. I knew I should pull my hand away, but I didn’t.
“My ex, Luke, the guy I thought to be the love of my life turned out to be a liar among so many other things,” I offered vaguely.
“What kind of things?” Louis asked, gently rubbing his thumb over the top of my hand.
“A husband, a father, a totally different person than I thought he was…shall I continue?” I asked with dry chuckle. When Louis didn’t respond I brave a glance at him. He was staring down at our hands as he continued to rub the top of mine.
“I get it. I’m sorry that happened to you,” he said sincerely, “And I don’t know what comes over me with you, but I will try to keep it in check.”
My emotions were completely torn in that moment. He was saying exactly what I should be wanting to hear but if I was being honest with myself I hated hearing it.

Notes

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