// This is officially the most I have ever written for one story and I want to thank those of you who read consistently and give feed back! It's so encouraging to know that others are enjoying this as much as I am! Sorry for the short post but my laptop has broken. I will be adding the dedication and cast of characters soon, sometime between this update and the next so please be watching for it! X.x // 

Sydney

Faded images of incoherent fantasies slip through the clenches of my slowly waking mind. My mouth feels like cotton and my head like there's a brick resting upon it. My lungs are weighed down and struggling to breath. My mind wanders to the memories of the night before, no dream could compare, and no hangover could ruin the image of Liam Payne smiling at me, telling me I'm pretty, pulling my hands from my face and looking into my eyes as he speaks with his sexy accent.I clasp my legs together as the thought of his voice causes a stirring between them. In response to my slight movement, I suddenly have an arm draped awkwardly across my neck. I squint my eyes to see a tuft of blonde hair in front of me and immediately think Brittney, but, then remembered the past few days. Brittney and I haven't spoken and... and this is Niall! But, the arm doesn't belong to him, which must mean...  

Liam.  

I close my eyes again and relish in the time I have between the two of them. For the hundredth time this weekend I acknowledge the fact that I am living the dream of millions of girls, but this time, I push it away. I'm going to do my best to just enjoy the experience while it lasts, which can only be a couple days really...  

My heart sinks as reality sets in. Despite the fact that every moment with them is surreal, the thought of it ending is something that hadn't crossed my mind yet. It's hard to be happy when you know it's only temporary, but the reminder that I'm just another girl in another town takes away my nerves. If I'm not special, and they wont remember me, than I may as well do as I please. I push my fingers through Niall's hair, brushing it off of his forehead and then stretch over to give him a soft kiss on the patch of skin that his hair covered moments before. He truly does look like an angel while he sleeps. I feel bad for being so hard on him last night, if I could do it all over again I would have been by his side the entire time.  

Then there's Liam. 'My Liam' I've called him for so long. To know that he's not really mine, and never will be is a truth that I've had to rationalize for years, but having met him only makes that more clear. He's still Liam: beautiful and sweet, but he's not mine, and it's never been more apparent to me than it was last night. Yet with him here in my bed, I can pretend otherwise for just this morning. I'm not bold enough to link my fingers between his, but maybe I'll just.. 

I scoot closer to him and pull his arm further around me, cradling it between my own like I would a pillow, or a Teddy when I was 5.  

"Mmmm" He whimpers in my ear and chills run up my back in response. I bury my face in the pillow I'm sharing with Niall and try to sleep off the rest of this alcohol.  

Liam 

The moments before I wake are always filled with hesitation. Do I really want to enter an existence of depression and drunken mistakes when I can stay in the simple bliss of my subconscious?  I feel a warm body press itself against me and I moan lightly. Maybe last nights mistake will want a morning reprise.  

I open my eyes and see the splash of brown hair spread across the blanket. Immediately my heart stops as I try to recall what I could have done to lead me back to.... but then a soft snore and a peak of blonde on the other side of the bed reminds me that the girl with my arm in her hands is Sydney, and Niall on the other side of her is sure to wake her if she isn't already. Niall on the other side of her... shit! I woke in the middle of the night to take my jeans off and Sydney had rolled over, I had no choice but to let her sleep between us. At least it's me she's curling up to and not him. The thought of her ass rubbing against my legs is enough to cause her to feel me. I don't mind, I know she isn't interested in hooking up, and I'm not either. I haven't known her long, but I know that she's the type of girl who sex means something to. Like the type of guy I use to be, before sex became a form of retaliation against fate.  

Maybe that's why I find her so intriguing, she reminds me of who I once was, who I could have been, who I want to be. If I were a girl anyway. She's woven herself a perfect tapestry of politeness and sincerity, but the closer you look the more threads you find snapped and frayed. She's put together well, but her spare strands of spunk and feistiness draw you in. I want to unravel every last string and find the canvass beneath that matches my own. Someone who at the core, knows who she wants to be, and fights daily to hide her imperfections and strive for the ideal. Maybe she can teach me how to fight myself again. 

"Sydney." I murmur, lips touching her ear.  

"hmmm?" She sighs. 

"Syyydney. Goooood Morning." I sing softly. 

This time Niall stirs. I sit perfectly still, waiting to be sure he's asleep. I lean in again and place a small bit of her earlobe between my teeth and pull. She whips her head around and looks directly at me, wide-eyed and afraid. I smile mischievously and tuck a few strands of hair back behind her now tender ear. 

"I was just wondering if I could get my arm back?" I ask sweetly. 

She lets go of my arm and lies limp, staring into my face with surprise. Her expressions may be my new addiction.   

"Thank you!" I say, "I'm going to need that to put my pants back on." 

The look on her face is comical. 

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to try anything." I say laughing at her, "I just got uncomfortable sleeping in my jeans." 

She nods her head and stretches. With her toes reaching to barely meet my ankles and her arms lifted above her head, she does her best to stifle a yawn, then giggles. 

"Ssshhh." I say, putting my finger to my lips and then pointing towards Niall. She looks over at him, back to me, then drops her head back down on the bed and covers her mouth, trying to giggle quietly.  

I pull her hands away from her face so I can look into her eyes.  

"This is ridiculous!" she says shaking her head. 

"Well, how about we make it a bit more ridiculous? Would you like to go shopping with me today?" What am I doing? 

"Ummmm" She hesitates. 

"I broke my phone and I need to get a new one." I explain. 

"Well,  I would like to, but, the clock behind you says it's already noon which means I need to start getting ready for your concert tonight." Her grin spreads across her whole face, creating creases at the corner of her mouth.  

"Shit you're right, we'll need to get going to." I say, suddenly a bit panicked. If anyone is looking for us, it looks like we didn't go back to our room all night, and with my phone broken, that leaves Niall's phone as the only way for anyone to get ahold of us.  

I feel a tight grip on my arm and look down to see Sydney wide-eye'd and pouty.  

"Would you mind just staying, one more moment?" She says softly. Her sad face is adorable. 

"It's just that, once you leave, you're famous Liam Payne, and I'm just the crazy stalker fan girl. While we're here though, under the covers, we're just two people who are sharing a morning in bed. I just want one more moment where I can feel like this is normal." 

I open my mouth to tell her she's not making any sense, but, close it again when I realize she's right. Whether hotel or home, I always feel the most like myself when I am in bed, when my mind can relax and think what it likes. The moment I get up, I begin creating the image that I want the world to see. As I adorn clothes and style my hair to match the person I want to be, I filter my thoughts to fit the mold of this character I've created.  

I reach across both our bodies with my left arm and stroke the side of her face, cupping her chin in my hand, I tilt her face up towards me.  

"You can't be a stalker, I came to your room, remember?" I say, winking at her, "I hope you're still a fan though, cause I like you."  

Ha. Let her dwell on those words all day! I don't know what I mean by them, but it felt right. Let her try and figure it out.  

"I do need to go thou..." 

"Me too!" She says, cutting me off and jumping out of the blankets. She crawls down the middle, grabs a towel, and rushes straight to the bathroom.  

"What the fuck was that?" I say to no body. 

I walk around to the other side of the bed and sit beside Niall. I wish I had a wash cloth to wake him with, but I believe she's getting in the shower and I don't want to bother her.  

"Niall.." I say, softly shaking his shoulder. "Niall we got to get up man, we're late." 

Niall stretches and yawns, slowly opening his eyes and looking around the room. 

"You're in Sydney's bed." I answer the question his eyes were asking. 

He looks under the blanket at himself. 

"You didn't sleep with her." I say laughing at his worried expression. "Come on now, you're the only one with a phone and we've got to get to the stadium." 

Niall stumbles out of bed and looks around on the floor.  

"You threw up all over your shirt man." 

He looks up at me with a dazed face, but I know he's looking for me to make a suggestion. 

"Here." I take my shirt off and hand it to him. I always have an undershirt so I'll be fine. HE slips my shirt on, it's a bit lose on him but for the most part we all share clothes anyway.  

"You smell good." He mumbles and I smile at him. I slip my jeans on and toss him the room key.  

"It's just down the hall, go ahead and shower up, I'll be there in a minute." 

Niall slowly walks to the door and leaves. He's looking really sick, we'll have to have Zayn get him something to perk him up before the show tonight.  

Sydney 

"AAaaaaahhhhheeeekkk!!!!" I scream into the wet washcloth, hoping the sound of the running shower will stifle any excess noise!  

I. 

Can't. 

Fucking. 

Breath. 

He can't say shit like that! I mean he could like me as a fan, as a person, as a crazy stalker, he could mean anything. Which means that he COULD mean that he really, actually, likes ME. I mean, he doesn't, but it COULD mean that!  

I lay back in the water and relive every moment of last night and this morning, only connecting the parts that made me happy and leaving out the rest. Drinks with Liam, Niall recognizing me in the bar, Niall coming to my room, undressing in front of me, sleeping in my bed, drinks with Liam again, him touching my thigh, pulling my hands off my face, carrying me to bed, waking up between them... eeek I can't even finish!  

The water loses it's warmth. I shut it off and wrap a towel around me. This has been the best 12 hours of my life and no matter how mad I am at Brittney, it's time to let it go. I need someone to share all this with, and I technically owe her for the tip which lead to everything. I listen by the bathroom door to see if I hear the guys out there still. Nothing. 

I slowly open the door and peek around the corner to be sure they're not there. I'm a little disappointed to see them gone, but at the same time I wanted them to be gone by the time I got out so I didn't need an awkward good bye of pretending we might see each other again or them wondering whether or not the should trust me with their phone number. A clean break. I walk to my night stand to pick up my phone and call Brittney. I nice day of shopping, getting read, and rehashing the weekend sounds perfect. 

A piece of paper tucked beneath my phone catches my eye.  

I want to see u again, I have arranged tickets for you to pick up at will call for 2nites show. I didn't know ur last name so you'll need to give them ur room number.   X Liam 

PS. What's your last name? 

My heart falls. That’s a weird description considering I'm ridiculously happy, but that's what it felt like. I felt like it sunk right through my chest and into my stomach onto a bed of daffodils and cotton candy. I throw myself onto the bed and wrap myself around the giant pillow that he was laying on, hugging it and burying my face in side.  

"IlovehimIlovehimIlovehim!" I squeal, kicking my feet in the air. 

Oh my gosh! 

I rock myself back and forth on the bed, clutching the pillow and grinning like a crazed mad man.  

I finally calm myself down enough to send a quick text to Britt asking her to meet me in the lobby, before running in to the bathroom to grab Niall's shirt. 

I have an idea!  

Niall

I turn the shower on and let the water wash away all my thoughts.

She kissed me.

But she likes Liam.

Liam likes her.

And who I like?

Well that doesn't matter to anyone.

x