5                              Charlotte POV             Day 2 of Tour: On the Road

“Try to stay seated this time,” Eagle grumbled over the intercom. We were entering the highway; headed for Los Angeles, California.

The bus jostled around which woke Zayn up. I glanced over at him wiping his sleepy eyes. “Good afternoon sleeping beauty,” I said with a smile.

Zayn looked at the five of us piled up on the long couch watching Forrest Gump. He blinked. “Where…?” he started to yawn.

“We hit the rest stop,” Harry explained.

Louis said, “You snooze you lose, lad.”

Zayn rolled out of the bed and landed on the ground with a soft thud. The big open sleeves of his tank slid off track; showing his toned chest underneath. He ran a hand through his raven colored hair and then sauntered over to join us on the sofa. Niall made room for him by pulling me up onto his lap.

We all got quiet to watch the first few minutes of the movie. The commercial had just come to an end when I heard my Samsung jingle from my bed.

“Sorry,” I nearly stepped on Harry’s big feet. I made an awkward smile as I bounced over to get the ringing phone. A picture of my mom flashed on the screen. I smiled and brought the receiver to my ear. “Hey ma,” I said.

“Hey Charlie Baby,” She laughed. “How’s everything going on the road?”

I nodded stupidly before realizing she couldn’t see me. “Oh it’s great,” I replied. The TV was pretty loud, so I wandered into the available bathroom for some privacy… since that was the only way to get it on that super small bus.

“I’m glad you’re having fun. But don’t forget about the online lessons: I don’t want you falling behind.”

“Okay, mom.”

“And listen to Liam, alright? Do what he tells you,” Mom added. I sighed with a tired smile. “Be careful of the curly haired one; I’ve heard he has quite a reputation.”

“Mom I know what I’m doing-”

“Make sure to stock up on Kotex. I put some on the bottom of your bag, but you’ll run out eventually.”

“Okay, mom,” I rolled my eyes at my reflection in the mirror.

“Oh and another thing,” I took a seat on the ledge of the bathtub as she continued. “Try to get some exercise, okay? Let’s face it baby, you can get pretty lazy.”

“MOM.”

“Fine, I’ll shut up.”

I laughed and jokingly slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Is there anything else?” I smiled.

“Actually there is…”

I started to nonchalantly pick my nails; preparing for another list of Mommy’s Dos and Don’ts.

“I’m engaged.”

My heart stopped so fast I lost my balance on the rim of the tub. I stumbled back and violently whacked my head against the porcelain bathtub. My hand reached up to grab the shower curtain for support; but I ended up tearing the Rubber Ducky fabric off of the hinges and shattering the railing that held it up. Both it and all of the soaps and shampoo bottles came crashing down on top of me.

Stampeding feet came rushing to the back of the bus. One Direction threw open the small door to the bathroom to see me sprawled out in the tub like a dead spider… or a very clumsy loser.

“Shit,” I grimaced and bit my lip; blushing red as a tomato.

“Are you okay?!” Louis laughed. Niall and Liam squeezed into the tiny bathroom and scurried to help me up.

I looked over at my phone that sat next to me. The battery had been popped out and dropped in a puddle of water.

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENNED?

“You’re bleeding,” Harry noticed from a little farther down the bus.

I instinctively put my fingers to my lip, pulling back blood. “Shit,” I grimaced yet again.

“Okay something’s wrong,” Liam said. He crossed his arms over his chest after he and Niall had lifted me up.

“Well I assume so. She just fell into a tub!” Louis replied.

“Nothing’s wrong. I was just talking on the phone and we must have hit a bump because I went stumble flying into the stupid tub and now my phone is broken and I’m just having ahellofareallybadday.”  I jumbled my words together at a million miles an hour.

“SHE’S CUSSING AND RAMBLING!” Louis announced quite loudly. He mocked Liam’s stance, “Okay something IS wrong.”

I blinked.

“Am I really that easy to read?” I thought.

“Yes.”

I blinked again. “Did I seriously say that last part out loud?”

“Yes again,” Zayn said in all seriousness.

“Stop changing the subject,” Liam said. “What’s wrong?”

I observed my pink socks and mumbled, “Nothing,” before shuffling past all five guys and landing in my bed; which happened to be a foot or so away.

They all spun towards me. I saw Liam and Niall exchange a worried glance with the others. I sighed; turning to the window and the wall. “Just wait them out. They’ll go away.” I told myself. I wasn’t sure if I was talking about the boys or the hot tears prickling at my dark russet eyes.

I could feel one of them nearing me. “Just give her a minute,” Liam said protectively; as if I wasn’t in hearing distance.

Four sets of feet wandered back to the living space. The movie was resumed. I knew there was still a Direction standing by me; but I wasn’t sure who. The hand that gently lied down on my sideways hip told me it was Niall. His other hand set down my put together phone on the bed next to me. He slowly leaned down to my face and kissed me smoothly on the forehead.

Once he had left I immediately got up and pulled the curtain that separated the living room from the bedroom. I crawled into my heavy covers and let myself mope selfishly; thinking about my mother and her new man. I also thought about that magazine, and how my life was never going to be the same. But mostly of my mom... was she happy with him? Would he hurt her, like all the others did? Why hadn’t she told me about him?

I looked over to my phone sitting beside me. Cautiously, I dialed my mom. 

The phone rang on her side.

I quickly hung up the phone; unsure of what exactly I had to say.

“Engaged,” I breathed the word out of my mouth like it was poisoned. How could she be ENGAGED? Past “just friends”, “together”, “dating”, and “couple”- she was getting MARRIED! And she had never even mentioned him: not once.

I must have laid there for a few hours before Liam popped his head in through the curtain. “Do you want any lunch, love?”

I was prepared to say no- but decided food would be nice. I silently smiled up and him and got out of bed.

The TV was turned on the local Californian News. My friends were all eating different things: Niall had a sandwich stacked as tall as his head, Louis was eating some sort of soup, Harry was chewing on a king size Crunch bar, and Zayn had just finished eating a tortilla filled with an assortment of goodies.

Zayn wiped his hands on his napkin before crumpling up his trash and tossing it in the waste basket. He looked at me and smiled handsomely.

“Zaynster made you lunch,” Harry narrated from his lounging spot on the sofa.

My heart swelled, “Thanks Zayn…”

Zayn got up from the breakfast table and reached into the fridge. He pulled out a yellow foam plate that held a gorgeous looking ham and cheese sandwich. I anxiously took it from him to peak under the bread.

“Aww- you even put Doritos on it for me!” I smiled giddily.

 He shrugged, “I knew you fancied it that way.”

Liam grabbed my shoulder to twist me around so he could see my face. “Hey there,” he soothed. “Don’t cry.”

Cry?

As if on cue I felt a tear trickle down my jaw. I reached up to wipe it away with the back of my hand. The boys all regarded me as if I were a sick, lost, pathetic puppy dog that had wandered a little too far away from home.

“I’m not crying,” I laughed awkwardly.

“Look what you did Zayn!” Louis screamed at the raven haired boy.

“I’M SORRY!” He joked back; a dramatic look of anguish on his face.

The corners of my mouth rose in a quiet smile. “I do this a lot, don’t worry. I’m such a cry baby.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Harry spoke up. “You’re just…” He struggled to search for the word.

“Sensitive?” Louis said.

“Susceptible?” Zayn suggested.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means vulnerable,” I explained to Harry.

“She’s smart too,” Niall grinned. I felt myself blush.

I glanced around at the boys. I bit my lip, considering telling them about my mom. They were my friends… and they might make me feel better. But was that the sort of thing you talked about with your best friends? Should I just keep it to myself?

I sat down on the couch and set my plate on my lap. “My mom’s getting married,” I said softly.

Harry, who was sitting next to me, nodded his head and grinned a bit. “That’s cool,” He said.

“Sure, I guess.”

Louis and Niall looked at me from their seats at the breakfast table with blank expressions. Zayn sat down at the table with them and ran a hand through his hair. Liam wandered over to me and plunked himself next to me on the couch.

“She just told me,” I explained.

Liam tried to make eye contact while I stared down at my ham sandwich. “What do you think about that?” He said- being the sensitive guy he was.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know his name.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing, Charles.” Louis said. “She needs someone now, with you gone and all.”

I nodded and picked up my sandwich to take a bite. Maybe he was right; maybe this would be good for mom. And who was I to stand in the way of her being happy? She had always been supportive of me and what I did; especially lately with the whole One Direction thing.

“You know I’m right,” Louis sang. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Yeah… I guess so,” I smiled up at the goofball.

Harry’s finger tapped my shoulder. I looked over at him and the coloring book he was holding in his hand. “You up for some arts and crafts?”

I smiled. These boys knew just what to say to make me feel better.

“No, Goofy’s hat is green.”

“Does anyone have the blue? I need blue.”

“Cinderella is blonde, idiot.”

“I love Toy Story!”

“How am I supposed to color Dory without freaking BLUE?”

We were all lying on the hard floor of the moving bus an hour later, deep in the coloring process. Each of us had torn out pages that we liked and were using National Geographic magazines as little tray tables.

Hey Soul Sister played from Liam’s iPhone on its dock. I scribbled with the stubby green crayon as I colored the Little Mermaid’s tail. After I had finished with that I threw the crayon back into the center of the floor and reached into the bag of potato chips.

“That looks awful!” Harry laughed at Louis’ paper. It was one of those activities where you have to replicate the drawing on the opposite side of the page; and Louis’ Mickey Mouse looked nothing short of a black blob with three eyes.

“Not as awful as your Sleeping Beauty! She isn’t a ginger, by the way!”

I rolled my eyes and giggled. I peeked over at Niall’s paper; which he was trying to hide from me. He caught me and threw his arm over the drawing.

I laughed and glanced at Zayn; who was still frantically searching for the blue crayon. Liam caught my eye and winked at me while pointing to the couch. In between two of the cushions was the little blue Crayola. I smiled broadly.

“Louis can you pass me the red,” I said. He picked it up and chucked it at me. My hands went up to catch it, but I missed by a mile and the crayon hit my cheek. “Thanks buddy.” I sighed and rubbed my cheek.

“What do you think?” Liam held up his picture and showed it to me. It was a scene from Toy Story 2.

“Very nice,” I said. A few weeks ago I would have never guessed that these five heartthrobs were such goofy oddballs.

“Great job, Picasso.” Niall said. “You took the easy way, though. I’m making mine from scratch.” He took a potato chip and munched on it.

“Shut up and eat,” Liam tried to say seriously, but ended up laughing.

I took a Ritz cracker from a box next to Zayn and chewed absentmindedly. “I have to start my online classes tomorrow,” I sighed. “Can I use someone’s laptop until I get my own? I let mom have mine.”

“You can use mine, babe.” Niall pointed up to his bunk, “I’ve been keeping it with my clothes. I’ll help you get set up, if you want.”

“Yeah, I was going to help her with all that too.” Liam added. “She needs a credit card for the fees.”

“I can pay for it,” I said with a strict tone.

“Do you have a credit card, missy?” Liam asked.

I looked down at my Ariel picture and mumbled, “No.”

“There you have it then.”

I sighed and ate another cracker. Liam’s playlist went on repeat, and I found myself bored with the same songs.

“Hey,” I said eagerly. “We should listen to Disney songs. Since we’re coloring, and all.”

“Whatever you want,” Niall replied with a handsome smirk.

Blushing; I stood up. I maneuvered past Zayn’s outstretched legs and reached for Liam’s phone. I went onto YouTube and looked up a Disney Song playlist.

The Little Mermaid soundtrack was the first. Under the Sea played loudly through the expensive speakers that were sitting on the breakfast table. I smiled like a child and looked back at Liam who was laughing at me.

“You’re crazy!” He shook his head playfully. “But you have good taste in Disney music, I must say.”

I flopped down onto the ground and curled my legs up to my chest. I abandoned my crayons and just observed the boys as they colored and sang along to the music. I rested my head against my knees and lovingly watched on.

“I’m almost done,” Niall narrated, biting his lip and vigorously coloring.

Harry picked up his paper; holding it up to the light. “These princesses are looking pretty damn fit, if I do say so myself.” He pulled out his cell phone and took a picture. Probably for social media.

I shook my head and giggled. I caught Zayn’s eye, slowly drawing my gaze towards the couch. His eyebrows rose. Trying to be as nonchalant as he could, he leaned back against the couch and reached his hand along the cushions. His wandering fingers eventually hit a small blue crayon. Zayn winked at me and I in turn smiled proudly.

“You sure like Disney stuff, don’t ya?” Louis asked me.

“I always have.”

“Have you ever been to Disneyland? It’s pretty cool,” Liam said.

“Twice. I loved it!”

Harry talked around a mouth full of Ritz, “We should all go sometime.”

I smiled broadly, “That would be so much fun!”

“Okay, Charlotte… I’m done. You want to see it?”

“Of course I do!”

Niall scooted closer to me. Using both hands, he held up his paper for me to see. His face was bright and childlike. I laughed when I saw it. Niall was drawn horribly inaccurately; with ugly features and long fingernails. Dancing with him was a gorgeous princess with a bright yellow dress and long black hair.

“Oh I get it,” Louis leaned over my shoulder and examined the picture. “You guys are the Beauty and the Beast!”

“You can say that again,” Harry joked. Niall shot him a playful glare.

“I love it,” I said.

The next song played. My ears perked up at the familiar sound of one of my favorite childhood memories. I closed my eyes and let myself melt into the song as my heart started to swell.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for you keep…”

My hair fell against my closed eyelids and tickled my long lashes. I smiled to myself; remembering all of the times the song had been lovingly sung during my childhood.

One memory stood out above the rest.

“Mommy, are we leaving dad now?”

“Yes, it’s time. It’s finally time.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to a place where we can be happy, Charlie baby. A place we’ve only ever dreamt about.”

“Like Cinderella sings about?”

“Yeah, just like that.”

“Can you sing it to me now, momma?”

“I guess so… “A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through. Nobody how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true.”

A gentle, affectionate kiss on my lips brought me out of my foggy memories. I lazily opened my eyes and found myself staring into the baby blues of Niall Horan.

“What are you thinking about?” He said quietly; so only I could hear him.

I bit my lip. Cocking my head to the side, I examined him lovingly. Niall wrapped his hands around my own and pulled me up onto his lap. I sighed, “I was just thinking about how all of my wishes have come true.”