Sydney 

Warmth and strong arms cradle me as I wake into a reality that outshines my dreams. My eyes remain closed as I try to catch my breath that the tingle of fingertips trailing my thighs has stolen away. I exhale as his warm lips tickle my shoulders. I tilt my head back, elongating my neck for his convenience as I lace my fingers between the ones toying with the hem of my shorts. His hot breath finds the crease of my collar bone and makes its way up to my ear where he lightly swipes his tongue along the bottom lobe.  

I giggle and pull my head back, turning it to face him instead. Before I can say a word, his lips are pressed against mine, his tongue parting them as his hands tug their way through my hair. I pull his body closer to my own deepening the kiss. I want no space between us. Wrapping my arms around his neck I press myself against him,  pulling his bottom lip between my teeth. His hands make their way up the legs of my shorts where he cups my ass and pulls me on top of him, legs straddled to either side.  

With my head lifted from the pillow my dreams fade away and the troubles of the night before return to the front of my mind. My hands slide to his chest where I push myself away from him. I swing my left leg over his body, planting both feet on the floor. He sits up, looking confused by my sudden rejection.  

"You need to get ready to leave now, right?" I ask, looking back over my shoulder at his bewildered expression.  

"I'm packed, my time is all yours for now." He says, smiling and reaching for my waist.  

I stand up, slipping from his grasp. I don't know what to say. I don't want to let him hold me, only to leave me in an hour. I want him to know that I'm hurt, that I'm angry that he's been so careless with my heart. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to be the girl that gets all hung up on him after just a couple days of attention. A couple of unbelievably perfect days. 

I ignore Liam's protests and slip out the door, into the hallway. I look up to see Brittney doing the same just three doors down. She slowly latches the door, doing her best to not make any noise. She jumps when she notices me, covering her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. 

"Oh God it's just you! Is anyone else awake?"  

"Liam is, but, I don't think he's coming out anytime soon." 

"Oh thank God." She says, looking relieved.  

"Whose in there?" I ask, nodding at the door behind her. 

"Yeah, whose in there?" Niall yawns as he slips out of his room, shirtless and groggy looking. 

"Sssshhh!!!" We both say, making more noise than intended. 

"Can we just get out of here before anyone else wakes up?" Brittney pleads. 

"Whose in there?" Niall and I say together. 

"The freaky one! With the hair!" She says through gritted teeth. "Now can we go?" 

Niall laughs as I shake my head at her. He slips his arms around each of our waists and leads us down the hall towards the stairs. 

"Absolutely not!" He says. "I'm making pancakes!"  I'm incredibly aware of his nudity as my elbow brushes against his bare abdomen. I stiffen, ignoring the unwanted flutter in my chest.  

Liam 

"Babe, can you do it?" 

"Okay okay, I'll let you go. I love you babe." 

"See you soon." 

Zayn hangs up the phone and gives me a thumbs up. 

"Thanks bro!" I say, hugging him.  

"So you really think..." 

"Yes!" I say, cutting him off. "I like her man, I know it's soon, but, I just do." I say, shaking my head in disbelief.

"I like her too. Does this mean your partying is done?" 

"No man, we can still party!" I laugh, "I'm just gonna party like you! With a chastity belt." 

"Aww but I was vicariously living through your every hookup." 

"That’s sick man." 

"I know." Zayn says with a mischievous laugh.  

"I'm done with that though. After that last one, man, I felt dirty." 

"The last one? You mean the bartender? Was she kinky?" 

"Kinky as fuck, but it wasn't the bar tender, it was..." I pause. Do I really want to admit this? 

Zayn scrunches his eye brows questioningly, waiting for me to continue. 

"It was the Brittney chick, Sydney's friend." 

"WHAT!?" He shouts, " Are you trying to fuck things up with her?" 

"No! It was before I really met Sydney." 

"Dude you better not let her find out. Her friend gets around, maybe she'll forget about it. Do you know who she slept with at Niall's party?" 

"I really don't want to know. And Sydney already knows." 

"She already knows? And she's still.... dang Liam she's a keeper. Don't fuck this one up." He says, patting me on the back as he walks towards the door. " Smells like someone's making breakfast." 

I pull a plain white shirt on over my head and follow him out of the room. The scent of pancakes and bacon lead me to the dinning room where the rest of the guys are sat around the table, Sydney and Brittney on either side of a shirtless Niall. Why can't he put his damn clothes on? Everybody else is dressed properly, it's like he's trying to get the attention. 

"Morning Liam." Niall says cheerily.  

"Mornin'." I mumble, grabbing myself a plate.  

I sit down at the table across from Sydney, just as Michael enters the room. His purple hair is sweaty, plastered to his forehead, and he too is shirtless. Sydney looks up at him and blushes before looking over at Brittney. What the fuck, can't any of these guys dress like there's woman in the house?  

I reach my feet across the table, brushing them against Sydney's to get her attention. She looks up at me and gives a small smile, not quite reaching her eyes. I tilt my head to the side and push out my bottom lip, showing her how sad I am. She tries to hold back her reaction, but I know it's working. She kicks my shin and sticks her tongue out at me and I know that whatever was bothering her before has passed. Puppy eyes always win.  

I shovel the rest of my food into my mouth in one large bite. Sydney looks at me and shakes her head in disapproval. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hands and shrug my shoulders. She still thinks I'm cute.  

"You guys ready to go?" Julian asks, coming down the stairs completely dressed, bag in hand. 

A room full of "mmhmm's" and "yes's" responds to him.  

"Someone needs to do the dishes." Harry says, glaring at Niall. 

"No time for dishes boys, you're already behind. Get your stuff in the bus." 

"Eh Mikey, looks like you'll be joining us on our bus this time." Niall says, slapping him on the shoulder.  

"I can't leave these dishes here." Harry say's again. 

"I'll have someone stop by and do them for you okay?" Julian assures him. 

I see Sydney and Britt make their way towards the stairs and I jump up to follow. 

"Can we talk a moment?" I ask Sydney, grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards me. 

She looks at me straight-faced and then turns to Britt. "Do you mind getting Zerrie and my clothes from the room we were in?" 

"Sure." Britt says, running the rest of the way up the stairs.  

I wrap my arm around Sydney's waist and swing her towards me. "You know I don’t want to leave you, right?" I say lowly.  

She nods her heads and looks off to the side.  

"I'm going to come back to see you soon." 

She doesn't say anything. She doesn’t even look at me.  

"Sydney..." 

"And until then?" She finally speaks up. 

"Until then, I'm gonna get myself another phone. A phone that I use just for you. So we can still talk." I say as I drag my finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me. 

Sydney 

I can't ignore the ache in my heart when I hear Liam's words. He doesn't trust me. He wants to keep me a secret. He plan's on leaving here, with no way to contact me. He looks confused by my lack of enthusiasm. Was this supposed to make me feel special? Was I supposed to be happy by this news? 

"If you'll just give me your number, when I get to Arizona, I'll go to the store right away and I'll open a new account and call you!" He tries again to get me to respond.  

I push him away just as Brittney descends the stairs holding a bag and Zerrie's leash. Niall comes in from the kitchen, still shirtless and smiling.  

"If you want my number, you can get it from Niall. He has it." I say to Liam, before turning to Niall.  

"And I'll text you when I get home. Can you tell Harry thank you for allowing us over? I'd tell him myself, but, I really need to leave now." 

Niall nods his head before scooping me into his arms and squeezing me.  

"I'm so glad I met you Sydney! I'll see you again soon, okay?" He says before letting me go. He reaches out and gives Britt a hug too, saying goodbye. 

I exit the front door without even a look in Liam's direction. I get in my car and start it while Britt gets Zerrie settled in the back.  

"So what's with you and Liam?" She asks, opening the front door and getting inside.  

I shake my head, signaling that I don’t want to talk about it. Not yet. I start the car and begin to back out of the driveway just as my phone vibrates. Brittney grabs and answers it for me. 

"Awww." She says, before turning the screen to me  

There is a picture of Niall, face scrunched and tongue sticking out to the side, with the text at the bottom reading: 

"Miss you already" 

//Hey guy's, sorry it's short! I had to get them out of Cali though! More to come soon!!\\