"Does it kill? Does it burn? Is it painful to learn that it's me that has all the control?" - Maroon 5

ELEVEN

"Did you guys notice that cashier's face?" Niall said between his hard laughter as he entered his flat.

"That was some serious shit," Liam was having a hard time controlling himself, remembering the dead face of that guy. Having the 1D lads in a small random grocery was not something people were used to, as all of the boys would imagine.

"I would love to know the feeling of watching four members of One Direction entering your store and emptying your beer shelves." Sylvia followed them and put the case of beer she was handing on the table, soon followed by Niall and Liam.

"HOLD IT! We're coming!" There was Harry and Zayn coming a few steps behind, holding the pizzas that would feed them that night. "Thank you, sweetie." Harry kissed Sylvia's cheek as soon as they entered.

"I don't think you see Hazza walking around with his buds every day, right?" Zayn soon sprawled himself over the sofa as their joyful laughs were surrounding them.

"I can clearly see that," Sylvia placed her hands in front of Harry's face pretending it was a magazine's cover, "Harry Styles wears his sassy Panama hat and his skinny jeans to buy a cheese pizza and gets mobbed by three fans". They burst into laughter.

"I will miss the ordinary walks just to grab a pizza or something." Soon Harry's hat was off of his head and he threw it on the counter right before squeezing his curls. "On tour even a pizza & beer night becomes something huge and complex to manage."

"That's why we're here, right? To enjoy our last night together before the tour starts!" Liam sat with Niall and toasted his beer with him.

"But I guess Louis was supposed to be here as well, right? I mean, if he's feeling better after that little freak out."

"The kid we watched bursting out today? He's not coming I suppose." Her eyes were still glued on Niall's, waiting for him to tell her why. "Oh dear, don't give me that face. You still have to learn so many things about us." Niall chuckled and shared a gaze with all the boys.

"Maybe that's why I'm touring with you. To get into your world and know how a boy's mind works." She winked at him and tried to steal his beer, but he moved his hand away and quickly placed his body between Sylvia's legs, resting his back on her.

"Well if you don't learn anything after six months with us," Harry said while he placed the pizzas on the table, "at least you will learn how to deal with stinky shit and messy boys."

"And who is the messiest one?" She asked, not really worrying about the answer. Sylvia was so ready to live with them and learn every little thing about those guys, even if it meant dealing with the downsides of being surrounded by testosterone.

"Louis!" They all replied in unison, followed along by their laughter and the sudden opening of the door.

"Oh fuck! I've just arrived and you're already talking about me!" Louis remained standing at the doorframe and shrugged.

"We were just saying you're a bitch for being this late." Liam stood and ran to his friend, hugging him tight. "What happened after your triumphant exit, dude?"

"I cursed Simon and those double cheese fags mentally and went home for some sleep." They shared a chuckled by the mention of double cheese fags; that was what they used to call Richard and Henry whenever they felt like swearing about them, even though Louis was the one who called them that the most.

"So did it help you recover from your anger?" Sylvia asked whilst hugging Niall tighter against her body.

"Who knows?" He glanced her and got a sip from Harry's beer. "They're all a bunch of bitches." The grin covering his face only confused the girl, but that certainly relieved all the boys. That was the real sassy Louis they missed while the angry, uncontrolled lad was spitting fire in that meeting.

"What is that?" Harry couldn't help to notice the little bag Louis' was handing and quickly pulled it to himself. The liquor inside the bag made his smile grow wider and his eyes gape. "JAGER!"

"Holy shit, I've missed that! Gimme!" Niall rose in his feet and grabbed the bottle, holding it close to his chest and softly kissing the glass.

"Stop it!" Liam smacked Niall's arm and got the bottle to the table in front of them. "Maybe you and Mr. Jager don't remember, but you weren't the one who cleaned all your crap after that night you spent totally wasted!"

"Shut up Liam," Niall couldn't control his laugh by remembering the nasty night he spent hammered back in New York. "You had fun with me that night."

"We did!" Zayn chuckled by his memories with his mouth full of pizza. "But poor Niall here didn't get laid because he was too wasted to handle a girl, right?!" He cupped Niall's face and soon got his rebuttal.

"Oh lord, you guys are too ridiculous for each other!" Sylvia sighed as she stood from the couch, leaving Niall alone. "I'll go for the shot glasses".

"You remember where it is?" Niall asked her, watching Louis having a hard time trying to open the bottle.

"You guys have been drowning me with shots pretty much everyday," Sylvia's voice was getting lower as she got into the kitchen, trying to remember where the glasses were supposed to be. "Of course I-."

"SHIT!" She literally jumped over her feet as Louis' yell filled the flat, soon followed by a hysteric laugh from the others.

"What the fu-?" She didn't even finish and Louis ran inside the kitchen. The girl started laughing when she saw his t-shirt, totally covered by the black liquor. "What happened?"

"What do you think?!" He blurted as he tried to clean his shirt with water from the sink as curse words left his mouth. Sylvia laughed at the boy who was failing at his own attempt to get cleaned off. "Why are you laughing?"

"You!" she approached him with a wet towel, holding his wrist as she wiped his sticky arm. "It seems sleeping, alcohol, and pizza don't even help you to relax, right?"

His eyebrows rose by her words at the same time she grabbed his shirt to put some more water on it. "You take this shirt off and ask Niall for another one." He didn't even say anything but watched as her expression turned to an annoyed one. "What are you looking at?"

"You!" He giggled to her as their eyes met, "you've just got annoyed because I am annoyed."

"A bad day doesn't mean you can just curse everything around you." She diverted her gaze from his and kept looking for the glasses. "NI-."

"Here," Louis turned the girl to face the shelf above them and opened the little door. "Here are all the shots, mixers and alcohol."

"Thanks," she quickly smiled to him and got all she needed for the shots, whilst Louis took a weird orange bottle from the back of the shelf. "What is that?"

"Just try it." He filled two shots up and gave one to her. "It's a Dutch drink, I guess he got this one our last time in Amsterdam. Cheers?" His shot was just as high as her shot and he glanced her, waiting for her to approval of the shot.

"Cheers!" After clinking both of their glasses together, both of them drank at the same time, in only one gulp. Sylvia's soon contorted itself after realizing it was seriously the strongest drink she had ever had. "FUCK, LOUIS! This-."

"That's how you learn how hard of alcohol you can take!" He held his belly in a way to recover himself from laughing that hard. "Just get used to this. That's just the beginning-."

"The beginning of what? The hell you mentioned at the meeting?" She teased him and drank her beer to clear the awful taste that remained in her mouth.

"Oh here we go," he rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air, not caring to hide how his mood suddenly switched to an annoying one again as his tone got louder. "Do you really want me go along with this crap?"

"Maybe when you learn how to deal with your bad temper," she faked a smile and moved towards the door, nodding her head in disbelief how abrupt he could switch his humor. "Just mind your manners for your own sake."

Sylvia would never realize how his bad temper had affected her after the meeting. The slight thought of an awful relationship with Modest had never crossed her mind, since her bond with Simon couldn't be better. Maybe Louis had strong arguments to act like that and to show so much childish behavior, but she wasn't really up to living in the hell he mentioned, for the next six months. Although, something was telling her the real hell would be living with Louis and his bad temper.

But bothering herself with all of those worries that night wasn't in her plans, so simply kicking all those thoughts about Louis to the back of her mind sounded like a great idea. She was there to enjoy her last night off before her brief trip back to the US and then on to the tour.

As soon as she got back to the living room, she realized how happy she was to accept the fact these boys really knew how to cheer her up. Watching them daring and teasing each other with drinking games just showed her that they were playing hard to get drunk, but she was all taken by surprise after seeing how strong they were when it came to handling their alcohol. She couldn't even imagine how much alcohol Niall had to drink to get wasted with Jagermeister at the NYC party Liam mentioned before; a party that took her a long time to get rid of its memories, but soon was beginning to rush back into her mind.

And what brought all those memories back was the constant presence of those eyes. She couldn't help but notice his vivid, yet dark, eyes seizing every little move of her body or every little conversation she would start with any of the boys. He didn't even dare to glance away from her face whenever their gaze would hold to each other in such deepness. He was just there, staring at the very last layer of her soul and simply smiling back, as if he was expecting another sweet encounter.

The way they kept themselves so locked to each other could only tell her he was expecting her to lower her shields, so then he, and his steady gaze, could cut into her, like he did previously. Although she would never admit how her own eyes were betraying herself by telling that boy how much she wanted him, just as bad as he wanted her.

But no, hell no. No need to get closer to make her feel uncomfortable, yet she still felt desired. She knew by far the effects of his eyes on her, and she enjoyed that feeling. Yet, he wasn't simply watching her, she wasn't up to let him know how vulnerable she felt herself by his sharp glance, just like she felt on the previous night they were together.

Unable to feel the gaze of his eyes any longer, Sylvia softly patted Niall's back for him to leave her lap and she quickly stood up, heading straight to the restroom, leaving the boys wondering where she was with such a fast pace.

The heat began rising through her body as she replayed that night's events over and over in her head. Even though she would not admit it out loud, Sylvia would love to have another night like they had shared for their own sake.

When she reached the bathroom she turned on the tap and splashed some cold water on her face, trying to bring herself back to reality. She wasn't there to flirt with him, to tease him or even to be locked with him inside some room where it felt as if the walls were on fire, even though she would beg to. Once her face had been dried on the small hand towel on the counter, she stood back upright and jumped at the other face staring at her in the mirror.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked after holding his gaze in the mirror for a while, unable to trust herself to stand face to face with him.

He smiled down at the ground and took a couple steps closer to her, slowly placing his arms around her waist. "I wanted to come see you," he whispered in her ear.

"I- I don't think this is a good time." Sylvia's voice faltered, making her sound weaker than she had wanted to be known. She couldn't help but sigh at the warm breath that was aimed at the back of her neck.

"So when's a good time?" He moved his mouth from her ear and faced her, with their lips apart by a mere of inches, close enough for their breath to mix together as his eyes switched from her gaze to her lips.

Sylvia felt the knot forming in her stomach. It amazed her how quickly the words coming out of his mouth could make her body react. In a swift reaction she told herself she would not let it happen again. No way would she be able to keep the one-night stand thing with one of the members of the band, that would be too much for her too handle.

"We should go to-."

Suddenly she shoved his arms from her body and cut him off. "No fucking way." Sylvia pushed herself away from the sink and hit his shoulder with hers, causing him to move out of the way as his chuckle filled the restroom. Not really willing to give up, he held her wrist and slammed the door behind her, pressing her body to the doorframe, with eyes still locked in her lips.

"It won't be that easy." She stated with a much stronger voice than before, showing a rough side she hadn't seen coming. Not when it was about threating him like that.

He reached up and placed his hands on either side of her face as his body squeezed her against the door behind. "You will regret that so much." His hand gently traced all the way down her back as he reached her jawline with his lips and his muttered words. "So fucking much".

Again, their eyes met in silence, but in no matter of time she pushed him away and opened the door. Soon Sylvia reached the hallway, she heard heavy footsteps not so far behind her, but she didn't even consider looking back. She had had enough of him, even though she knew how weak she was when it came about that boy who was freaking the hell of her.

By that time, there were not many things left for her other than to leave. That was certainly the best thing to do; leaving before she would end up trapped with him due to her weakness to battle him. Because she knew they would surely go for a battle where either of them could lose, but both would win in a way.

OCTOBER 2013

The lounge located at the very last floor of the famous Top of the Rock could only tell her how far she went in such a small time. But the astonished feeling inside of her wasn't just the aftermath of the breathtaking panoramic views of Manhattan, but of the news she got earlier in that morning. Being the opening act for huge artists such as One Direction had never crossed her mind, yet she knew she would need to start from somewhere.

The fancy Modest and Syco dinner for their expansion to America was too much for her to handle, as she'd rather stay away from the spotlight to catch her breath whenever her overwhelmed soul begged for it. She needed to put everything together so then she could finally face what was so close to happening to her. By watching the lads acts and how people praised them in that night, she learnt how they would be such a big part of her career; if not the most important one.

"I'm sorry, lady." Her eyes glued to the glass ahead soon turned to the brunette who had just approached her. "But I guess this Simon's thing over here is too interesting for you to be here alone."

Liam offered her a glass of champagne and she got a sip of it, not getting distracted of his attentive eyes. "I'm still a little shocked, you know?"

"Too much for one day, right?" She smiled to the boy and nodded her head, watching him getting closer to her and enveloping her shoulders under his arm. "You will learn how to manage all these great things coming to you."

The genuine grin covering his features washed her body with an unexpected relief. Liam was probably a good mirror for her experience; he was the one to leave one of the most popular TV shows without the biggest prize, but soon became one of the biggest hit-makers over the last few years. He and the boys didn't seem to get enough of being on the spot.

"Guess I should gain something from Mr. Payne's bright mind, right?" Liam chuckled and rolled his eyes at her words.

"Well, miss, being cool and helpful is just a start for what's coming next," he leaned closer to her and offered his glass for a toast. "I guess it deserves a toast."

"So do I," she raised her crystal class and softly toasted his glass as their eyes deeply met. "Cheers. For the-."

"For the tour of our lives." His smile grew wider, causing her to pretty much jump over the moon for him and his teddy bear cute face. Liam opened his arms and embraced Sylvia. "Welcome to our family! This time, for real."

She agreed with him in silence and held his embrace for a while. The safe sense she felt in that moment was undeniable and she hoped that it would last for the next few months, and ever longer.

"Would you allow me to go outside for a sec to catch this view?" She got rid from his arms and looked through the balcony. That view was seriously tempting her to get into the American spirit at the scene laid right before her eyes. "Please?!"

"You go, but I'll make sure you won't be alone for the rest of the night, ok?" Sylvia jumped on her feet and embraced her arms around his neck, right before pecking his cheeks. "So cheesy!"

As soon as Liam left, Sylvia reached the lonely balcony and the cool breeze welcomed her by touching her soft skin. The bright skyline rose out of the open like a curtain for a show that overwhelmed her mind. The scenic lights dancing around Manhattan's sky made her feel like she was in the top of world. Maybe the top of her world, the one she always dreamed about, and that was starting in that moment on.

Manhattan's lights took her out of reality for a while and she would never know how long it lasted. Until a known voice invaded the parallel world she was in and outshined the city's magnificence with his presence. He slowly stepped through the balcony with his phone glued on his ear and leaned his back over the guardrail oppose to her. The easygoing chat he was into didn't really catch her attention, but her eyes never failed to seize the little things of him she had never realized before. Not in that way.

She tried to be careful by not turning to face him, but she couldn't help her eyes from scanning that boy. As his laugh filled the air, she watched how his body reached the concrete with his feet crossed in front of him. From moment to moment, the drink in his hand met his mouth to wet his parted lips, the ones that curled into his unique smile that could easily melt her all on the inside.

By the moment the little talk ended, there was still a mischievous small grin plastered on his face whilst he typed something on the screen. Her eyes skimmed down his features, until they meet the upper traces of his chest tattoos slightly popping from his loose black shirt. Telling herself she wasn't desperate to see all his bare tattoos would be a waste of time; she could only think how his sweaty inked tattoo squeezed all of her skin that night.

"Enjoying the party?" She never realized the moment he faced her until his voice sounded through the balcony.

"Not really a party, I would say." She stood on the balls of her feet and held the railing in front of her.

"A fancy dinner full of alcohol always turns into a party." Alcohol. Party. Him.

Fuck.

His words flew between his giggle and a few steps were enough to get closer. He leaned against the railing and took another sip of his drink, feeling again her eyes that actually never stopped scanning him. "Whiskey?"

"I don't like it," She shook her head at the drink he offered her and their eyes suddenly met, but soon she got herself back to the city's sight for her own sake. She couldn't simply enjoy him with just her eyes.

A sigh left his mouth as he scanned his eyes down, watching the liquid move inside of his glass as he swirled it. A playful smile covered his face and she wished his body to never emanate that lustful feeling that easily could hook her by everything about him; again.

The boy left his spot and relief took over her. Yet everything she would beg to have in that moment was his bare body over hers, his absence would surely be the best way to not get rid of everything that would soon start taking all her sanity away.

"Maybe," she was all got by surprise when his whisper reached her ear from the back, "we should go to your flat to talk about things we like and dislike".

His slowly voice suddenly cut her thoughts as his hand tightly involved her waist, pressing their bodies together until she could reach the railing. "Or we could just -."

His voice faded away as she felt his warm lips tracing from her nape to her jawline, giving a rapidly growing shiver down her spine. Their hands intertwined together and a shy moan left her mouth as his thumb traced her upper thigh and made its move inside of her dress. "You look so gorgeous today," he muttered as his wet tongue teased all the way to the back of her nape. "So fucking hot."

She leaned her body into him and closed the space between them as she grasped tight the back of his hair, losing herself by the constant rough touch of his hand at her weakest point. She was sure the fact that she was tipsy was making everything worse, but the way he was teasing his mouth over her shivered skin and rubbing his crotch over her body could only tell that they were already going way too far.

Right before she could think about anything, he released her hand and made his way inside, leaving her speechless and motionless. She was blank, not believing him. As soon as she could move on her feet again, she faced his grin a few steps away, wishing she could look into his mind, body, and soul so then she would know why the hell it was that he had just done what he did.

Once she got inside the hall again, standing on her heels didn't seem to be the easiest thing to do in that moment. There was the eminent fear of his presence. He was everywhere she would be; talking to Simon, standing by her side whilst chatting to the boys, meeting unintentionally at the bar, or even standing by himself at the farthest corner, but his eyes were always fixated on her.

She felt naked and alone in that room, his eyes not even worrying to move from her and it was eating her alive. She was his easiest target. What had that boy done to her? It was sex, merely sex, but the idea of being so vulnerable and dominated by him made her head spin. She would not ask for anything other than his touch, his kiss, and their sweat mixed together in that motion she hadn't forget.

Dammit alcohol.

Fearing for her own soundness, she decided to leave after realizing he wasn't there anymore. That was the best time to go and be sure he wouldn't push her any harder, yet she knew that wouldn't be necessary. She said goodbye to the boys and made her way out of the hall, heading towards the main elevator.

Suddenly she felt a grip on her foreman, pushing her inside the support room and soon bringing her closer to his body. All her previous fears were confirmed as he got her once again, disarmed and unable to react, but she could only stare at his addictive eyes. The surrounding silence didn't seem to bother them, since their deep gaze through the dimming light could tell each other anything they would blurt. Words were not enough anymore.

His eyes were somehow terrifying to her, scaring the shit of her for being so exposed and defeated in front of him. She needed to do something, otherwise that would be the end of her if they would take it any longer.

"I-," he abruptly smashed her against the opposing wall and slammed his lips into hers. His body pressed to her as the kiss never strayed from being fierce, hungry, and ravenous as they wished it to be. He held the back of her neck tightly, as her tugged herself in his hair, and wrapped her leg around his waist, causing him to thrust against her and to watch how a little moan left her parted reddish lips. He was hungry for her lips; he couldn't get enough of her taste.

He tilted her body towards him and sucked her bottom lip as his hand invaded her dress, lifting it up over her thighs. She was so lost in his dominance she didn't even realized all of his movements until his thumbs contoured the fabric of her panties. Before she could even react, he thrust one finger into her and a louder moan left her mouth. Her eyes dilated as he circled her entrance with his thumb, teasing his finger into her. She dragged herself on his body as a spark ran down her spine, pulling his shirt's collar and instinctively digging her nails on his skin, but he quickly gripped her hand and pressed it against the wall. Their lips were again connected to each other in a rough and desperate kiss and he suddenly pulled her hair back, making her face his crazed eyes in an endless silence, only their labored breath filling them.

"Next time," he brushed his lips over hers, deepening the gaze over her as he held the back of her neck. "Next time I won't make things that easy for you."

His grip was soon released and he gave her his back; he left. He left the dimmed room, not even daring to look back. He left that breathless and numb girl by herself in that room, still bewildered by his actions that she wished to take her all night long. She just watched him walk away, already facing her way back home; alone.

--------------------

For that time, she went to her hotel by herself, never considering the boys' ride back. Sylvia was better alone in the backseat of a cab, with the past events running through her mind and reminding her of the things she couldn't just easy get rid of. His last words of that night were still vibrating inside her brain, just like his touch lingered on her skin. How could he do that to her; put all of her shields down and shut her down like he did? How could he just come in, awaken her fiercest lust and simply walk away?

She knew that couldn't be easy; it would never be that easy.

[A/N]

Dedicated to the one and only Alysa, my rocking socks' editor. You have no idea how awesome she is and how much she helped to go through this chapter! Go check out her story and hi 'Hi' for her 'cause she deserve all the love from this erath, shall you?

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