Surprise!

Okay, so I realized that this book reached 100k reads and that's the most any of my stories have EVER reached EVER so here's an extra chapter just 'cause I love you all and I miss this story.
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Why don't we take some time?

Why don't we take just a little more time?

Why don't we make it right?

Girl I don't wanna say goodbye.

- "Change Your Ticket" || One Direction

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"No. Nope. Tell her she can't come over here."

Anais gasps. "C'mon, Soo. Don't be like that."

"No! Honestly, Anais, I can't take Chanel today. I really don't want to hear her start bitching with Liam. I just don't want to hear it."

"What?" Magdalena asks, as she pads sleepily into the kitchen. "Why is Soo mad?" She pouts in confusion, "Soo Joo is never mad."

"Because Chanel wants to come over to study, but-"

"She does know that the boys are coming over, right?"

"Thank you," Soo sings, cutting fruit into a bowl for breakfast. "Tell Ana."

"Ana, Liam's coming over."

"I know, but-"

"But?" Magda laughs, sneaking a strawberry from Soo, "Anais, she hates Liam."

"Thank you."

"But, does she?" Anais asks, jumping to sit on the counter. "Does she really?"

"Um, as much as I love you for being a matchmaker," Magdalena begins, "I don't know if the two of them would make such a good couple."

"Exactly."

"C'mon, girls! Who would've thought Niall and Cara would work?"

Soo nods. "That's true..."

"Yeah," Magdalena laughs, "but who would've thought Cara would end up with any guy?"

"Okay," Soo nods again. "That's true, too."

"You guys are actually the worst."

"Why?"

And the girls turn because it's Jesse, following sleepily behind Magdalena to sit at the table, propping his feet on an adjacent chair.

"What'd I miss? Why's there always something going on each time I'm here?"

"Because we're exciting. Duh."

"Sometimes," he shrugs. "But, seriously. Only sometimes."

"Guys," Anais sighs, "I need this, okay? Chanel and I have that Bio project to do, and I'm not walking all the way to the library." 

"Bio?" Magdalena laughs. "Why'd you take that?"

"Because I need one more science to graduate. Get off my dick."

"I thought that's why you took Astronomy?"

"Zayn's got all his credits," Anais clarifies. "I do not."

"So your man's done and you aren't?"

Ana nods.

"That blows."

"Thank you. Thank you so much, you shit friend."

"Zach and I told you," Jesse sighs with rolled eyes, as he pushes himself from his chair and joins the girls in the kitchen, "to take Physics."

"And I told you, I suck at science. Why'd you think I took Astronomy?"

"Ana, Intro to Physics is the easiest A you could get. Why don't you switch?"

Soo nods. "It's only two weeks into school, Ana."

Jesse purses his lips. "Thank you, Soo Joo."

"Look," Anais shakes her head, "Either way, Chanel and I have homework and she's coming to do it. 'Kay? Thanks."

"Ooh," Jesse sucks his teeth, as Soo groans and Magdalena laughs, "I thought the boys were--"

"They are," Anais nods. "And I think Chanel and Liam can play nice for like, five seconds."

"But not six," Soo pipes. "Or seven."

"Yeah, so a whole damn soccer match?" Magdalena keeps laughing, "This is gonna be so fun."

And Jesse squints, nodding, "I hate to agree with Magda..."

She slaps his arm.

"But," he continues, with a laugh that rings in the kitchen alongside Anais and Soo's. "She's, right, Ana. She's right."

Magdalena was right.

And Anais was pissed.

First of all, it was only the second week that her friends had all been back in town, school had just started, it was unbearably hot in New York City, and everyone had dubbed her much larger apartment the new, unofficial hang-out when Ana wished they could all do what they'd done last year, and that was go back to the bar at Mac's.

It was bad enough that most nights, six people lived in the space, with not only Zayn spending the night but also Louis and Jesse.

And boys were just messy.

So fucking messy.

Which is why initially, when Louis came to them and asked if they could get their friends and watch some Real Madrid match on their television, the girls had been hesitant.

Like, really hesitant.

Because they were so fucking messy.

"You can come," Ana said, "if you clean up after."

Soo and Magda had nodded.

"I second that," Soo said. "I second that emotion."

So the boys were coming over.

Just like they did always, anyway.

So now, not only was their slightly larger apartment crowded as hell, but it was loud as fuck, too.

"Fuck biology," Chanel groans, as she and Anais sit on her bed. "Also," she peers around, "three yellow walls? Did you plan this, Ana?"

"Kind of, not really," she mutters, as the loud laughter and shouting in the living room can be heard as if they were outside or something. "Look," Anais groans, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "maybe we should just--"

"Oh--oh, yeah--fuckin'--GOAL!"

And there's more shouting and yelling and Anais runs her hands across her face. She really should've just gone shopping with Soo and Magda and Jourdan, today. Union Station sounded way more fun than listening to like, eight men yell at the television.

Well, eight men and Cara.

Anais turns to Chanel, who only offers a small smile.

"We aren't finishing this shit today," she begins, "are we?"

Anais shakes her head. "Break time?"

Chanel jumps from bed, tugging down her shorts. "Break time."

And the girls leave the safety of Anais' bedroom and pass through the soccer party, into the kitchen.

"Hey, babe," Zayn says, looking up from the tv in slight surprise, "Y'done?"

"Hell no," Anais replies, and Zayn smirks as the boys all laugh.

"Aww," Harry pouts, "need some help?"

"Yes," Chanel and Anais respond simultaneously.

And Anais actually rushes across the room and sits between him and Zayn on the couch, "Do you really think you could help, Haz?"

"Why don't you just forget about that shit," Zach says.

"And take Psych," Jesse adds, "Like I've been fucking saying."

Anais lifts a hand, "If you can find me a class that fits in my schedule," she exclaims, and then turns back to Harry, "But for real, if you could help us right now--"

"That would kind of save our lives," Chanel finishes, "Like, really."

He nods, smiling kindly. "'Course," he nods, "At the half, I'll look at it, yeah?"

Chanel clasps her hands together, jumping in place. "Yay!"

"Bless you, Angel," Anais sighs, not exactly missing how Harry's still smiling at Chanel.

"Literally, a life saver."

Anais starts smiling now because Harry still has that flirtatious grin pointed at Chanel.

Liam is noticeably silent.

And things just get even better when Harry pushes back his much shorter hair and licks the seam of his lips and replies, "Only for you, love."

The wheels start grinding in Ana's brain when her own boyfriend snaps her from her trance.

"Might as well join us in here," Zayn suggests with a slight shrug. "Forget about--"

"Bio?" Ana asks.

Zayn smiles cheekily, opening his arms to her. "Pretty sure I'm more fun, anyway."

Anais leans backwards against his chest, "Occasionally."

"No! Boo," Cara calls from her seat in Niall's lap. "Don't start flirting. This is not a space for flirting, Ana!"

"Bitch, this is my house!"

"Think about your guests!"

"I didn't invite you!"

"You never do, but I show up anyway!"

"I hate you, Cara," Anais laughs , feeling Zayn shake beneath her, "You're only proving my point."

"She's also positively riding Ni," Louis adds with a grin. He tips his beer bottle towards her, winking because she's definitely made herself comfortable in his lap, "So, there's that."

"Let's not," Niall suggests, eyes still on the television. "Let's just not today."

"Now that's focus," Jesse laughs. "Can't even take his eyes off the screen."

And Anais can't take her eyes off of Harry, who is watching Chanel shake her head as she laughs, rising from her seat on the floor to stretch.

"I'm getting water," she announces. "Do any of you crazies want anything?"

"Me, please," Ana calls. She'd get up herself, but Zayn's playing with the bottom of her shirt and he's slipping his fingers in and out from under her waistband so she's gonna stay.

"Water?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Anyone else?"

"We're good, love," Zayn responds, his voice deep in Ana's ear. He's good, not only because they've got snacks all over the room, but because he's already thinking about how nice it's gonna be after everyone leaves and it's just him and Anais in her bigger, yellow bedroom.

And Chanel nods, retreating into the kitchen for bottles of water.

She's grabbing water bottles from the refrigerator when she starts to feel her phone go off in her pocket.

Setting bottles on the counter, she grabs her phone and starts laughing because she's got texts from Anais.

Sooooo I think Harry liiiiiiikes you :)

Chanel shakes her head. Ana was so extra sometimes, but at the same time, she was one of the few of their friends still not in a relationship, and to be honest, she wanted to be in one.

It had been a while, almost a year, since she had broken up with her boyfriend.

And she was lonely, not because she didn't have a man, but because all of her friends did. Anais, Cara, Soo, Magdalena...they were always  wrapped up in their boyfriends, and Chanel was becoming the third wheel. It sucked, especially because her last hold out, Jourdan, was slowly being lost too as she got closer and closer to Zach.

She types back.

Harry's cute

And Anais responds immediately.

I think he wants you. Can I ask him?

Chanel groans aloud. "Anais!"

"Alright there?"

She jumps, whirling around. "Jesus--" and she lets out a short laugh. "Of course. It's you."

"Thinking about me, eh?" Liam grins. His hands are stuffed into his jean pockets as he enters the kitchen.

"Not exactly."

"Heard you passed Spanish."

She nods, looking up from her phone. "Barely."

And Liam laughs.

"Wow," Chanel bites, "I did not expect to be made fun of for Spanish II today."

"No, wait," he shakes his head, holding out his hand, "I wasn't--I didn't mean," he sighs. "It--Your response was funny. Wasn't trying to make fun of you."

And he lets another laugh escape. It's a little high-pitched giggle, and his nose is scrunched and his tongue wets his bottom lip and it's kind of...

It's kind of cute.

But eew.

She wrinkles her nose.

"I'm sorry," he says, and Chanel sure as hell wasn't expecting an apology on top of things, "I just can't stop giving you reasons to hate me, can I?"

"Look, Liam," she says, shaking her head, "Anais asked me to be nice today, so--"

"So?" He shrugs. And he leans against the counter, shrugging more, "What's stopping you then?"

"Look," she scowls, suddenly annoyed by his calm and his face, "don't you have a girlfriend to bother, or a game to watch?"

"We broke up, actually," he replies. And he cocks his head, smiling a very small smile, "And you know what I think?"

"I didn't ask."

"Sometimes, I think you like this."

Chanel rolls her eyes, grabbing the water and attempting to push past him out of the kitchen. "Like, what?"

"This," Liam bites his bottom lip, side-stepping in front of her, "Arguing with me."

"Mhm," she purses her lips, "That makes perfect sense."

"You act like you can't stand me," he continues, arms outstretched. She can't go anywhere now. "But, we both know that's not true."

Chanel can't stop rolling her eyes. "I don't dislike you, Liam," she states matter-of-factly. "I just--"

"You just...?" He asks.

She scoffs. How petty does it sound to say that his kiss-ass in class was slightly more than annoying? When the smart kids in class made the not-so-smart kids feel like idiots, is that a reason to dislike someone?

"I just..." She sucks her teeth, "We're just two different people."

"And that's a reason to hate each other?" He hikes a brow. "Doesn't make much sense to me, Chanel."

"We have two different friend groups, Liam."

"Do we?" He chuckles, motioning behind him to the noise escaping the living room. "Really?"

"Okay, look," she blows hair out of her face, "let's just drop it. Go back to ignoring each other, okay?"

And he shakes his head. "I can help you," he says at once, "with Bio. If you need it--"

"Ugh, Liam," she groans at once, "Stop. Stop it with that shit. I get it," she states, "you're smart! I'm not. I need help. You don't. Stop rubbing it in my fucking face."

"Whoa, Chanel," he holds up his hands, "I don't--I'm not trying to insult you."

"Yeah? You're sure about that? Because every class we've been in that's all I hear. You never shut up long enough to hear anyone else talk, so I'm surprised you can even hear yourself think."

"I--Wow," his mouth opens and closes, brown eyes wide, "I didn't mean--I didn't--"

"Whatever," she waves him off, not trying to do this today. She wasn't trying to fight, her friends would kill her, "it's fine."

"No, I'm sorry," he says, and he's got his hands on her waist to keep her from leaving him in the kitchen. "Really. I didn't know how you felt."

"And again, it doesn't matter."

"No, wait," he says, "I'm serious. I don't offer to help 'cause I think you need it, I do it 'cause I don't want you to struggle. I--" he runs a hand through his dark brown hair, "I just know how important grades are to you, and--"

"Really," she waves him off, "it's fine."

"I feel like it's not."

"Can you just drop it?"

"Chanel?"

She grunts, feeling frustrated all over. "What, Liam?"

"We should start over," he suggests. "Right? Like, put the past behind us."

"Why?" She lifts a challenging brow. "Why do you care so much?"

"Jesus, Chanel," his hands fall from her waist, "it's not enough that I don't want you to hate me?"

"You're the only one who seems to care."

"I mean," he shrugs with a little chuckle, bashfully almost, with eyes that are big and brown and he's biting his full bottom lip again that he's made wet and shiny with his tongue and why is Chanel thinking these thoughts?

She can't seem to stop, apparently, because he's giggled again as he continues with an, "I do. I do care."

And Chanel cocks her head and crosses her arms, "You care a lot about what people think," she asks, "don't you?"

Liam nods, and Chanel is surprised to see him responding so honestly. "Yeah," he says, "I guess I do," and he lifts his eyes from the floor to her own, "M'not Zayn, y'know? I care, and I care a lot."

And Anais could actually identify with that. She wasn't Anais. They were best friends, but Ana tried hard in class and got great grades. Chanel tried and ended up still barely scraping by. She hated feeling stupid, or dumb, but she set standards so high for herself that she let herself down when she didn't reach them.

So she understood Liam being compared to Zayn.

Friends, yes.

The same person? No.

But he does take a page out of Zayn's book and outstretches his hand.

"I'm Liam."

Chanel snorts.

But she shakes his hand anyway.

"Chanel," she replies, feeling her small, thin fingers against his large, rough palm.

But his hand is warm.

And he's smiling at her. And he's giggling kind of nervously. And he's staring at her with eyes that remind her of how Zayn looks at Anais, or how Jesse stares at Magdalena.

Eyes Chanel hadn't had aimed at her in a long time.

And Chanel's own eyes are like saucers. What the fuck is happening?

She lifts her hand from his. "Liam..."

"You know, you're even more beautiful when you don't look like you wanna meet me in a boxing ring," he laughs.

The statement kind of makes her blush. She stares at the counter tops. "I never said I wanted to actually fight..."

Her voice falters immediately as her eyes snap to his.

When did they get so close all of a sudden?

"What the fuck is--" Her voice falters. "What're you doing?"

Liam chuckles softly, "Something," he pauses, "Something I've been thinking about for a long time, actually."

And Chanel doesn't know why she's frozen in place, but she is.

She is.

Her eyes are giant; she's blinking rapidly and somehow, Liam's still got that look on his face like Zayn gives Anais or Louis gives Soo and Chanel's heart is positively hammering because this didn't happen to her.

Not Chanel.

Not lately.

And damn sure not with Liam Payne.

So when he frowns, biting down on his lip and coming closer, closer, closer, and as their friends cheer in the other room, Chanel panics and says, "Aren't you missing a game?"

And she thinks that'll deter him from doing anything...anything they'll both regret.

But, Liam isn't phased by the soccer match.

"I'd rather make amends with you."

"Liam," she groans, "we started over. We're fine."

He smirks. "You promise?"

"I promise."

"Y'sure? 'Cause I don't wanna turn around and you're back to sending me death threats."

"Very funny," she retorts, as his eyes get all squinty and he giggles and Chanel finds herself smiling.

"I'm really not a bad guy," he says at once. "Just hope you know that."

"I--I get it, Liam."

"And I can help you with Bio," he adds. "Y'know, but only if you need it."

"Only?"

"I--" He falters, and he nods instead of replying.

"Okay," Chanel breathes. And she actually genuinely laughs, "Thanks, I gue--"

Her words are cut short and her heart stops and her lungs cease to pump air and her eyelids don't blink because Liam presses his lips to hers and she hears herself squeak like a mouse when the words don't come and Liam's pulled back and looks to her as shocked as she does to him.

"I'm--I'm so sorry," he exclaims. "I didn't, I--Shit. Sorry, Chanel, I--" he gapes like a fish, backing from her and the kitchen and turns and all but jogs into the living room and away from her and pushes past Zayn and Anais to get away.

Away from her.

What the fuck.

Liam Payne did not just kiss her.

He didn't.

He didn't.

He did, though.

And Chanel's shocked face meets her friend's.

Anais is sporting the most smug smile, and Zayn is too--and Chanel is a mixture of both embarrassed and shook to her fucking core.

"I--Did you two--"

"I wanted to know what was taking so long," Anais says, arms folded. "So, ta-da," she says, that grin stretching wider, "Here I am."

"And I came too," Zayn adds. He looks after Liam, shaking his head with a laugh, "To see that, apparently."

"Did you--? You saw?"

"Everything, girl."

"Fuck yes," Zayn nods, hand running across his face. "We saw everything."

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Like, one of my favorite chapters in this thing is when Liam is mocking Chanel about her Spanish, (because they're both speaking horribly and, idek it makes me laugh y'all - side note, my sister read that and cringed and I was on the floor), so I had to bring them back. I heart zanais but I also heart all the girls so here's this and I hope you enjoy it and thank youuuu for reading.

I'm obsessed with love triangles.

Would you read a sequel? I'd have to think about it, but...thoughts?

DEFINITELY COMMENT AND VOTE. <333