The three girls rushed over to us, beaming with joy.
"El!" we screamed and rushed to hug her. Except for Louis, Gabi, and Len, of course. I could already sense what Luanna was trying to get out of all this. She was sly.
"Oh, how I missed you guys," she said, still squeezed tight, but we finally let her go. "Hi, I'm Eleanor, but you can call me El," she introduced herself to the two other girls.
"I'm Ellena, but you should call me Len, or the better Perez," she said, sticking her tongue out at Luanna.
"Oh, another Perez. Poor Josh," El laughed.
"Someone understands," the guy rejoiced.
"No offense, but I don't have anything against a Perez," El laughed.
"Well, I'm Gabriella, but everyone here calls me Gabi, so... You can too," Gabi laughed.
"You're one of the guys' girlfriends, aren't you?" El asked with a teasing smile.
"No, why?" Gabi frowned a little.
"Oh, well, I thought so... Never mind. Don't worry about it," she waved her hand dismissively, chuckling.
Everything was clear. She noticed Liam's gaze too.
"Hello, Louis," she waved to the guy, smiling lightly, and walked over to Luanna, who was already talking something over with Beth.
Louis was utterly confused.
"Did she just accept it and move on so easily?" he whispered to me, his voice sounding like his heart was breaking. How? He was the one who left her.
"Louis... But you," I started.
"I don't know, Niall. What if? What if that's the case? What, what am I going to do?" he was lost in his feelings.
"Oh God, Louis," I sighed. "How can you be like this? How can you mess up so badly?" I lamented.
"Don't judge me, just help," he muttered, resting his head on me.
Everyone slowly started heading towards the plane. It took forever to get through all the checks and security. Luanna, Beth, and El were constantly huddled together, talking, occasionally glancing at Louis and me. I already knew they were planning something. At one point, Luanna and I made eye contact. She raised her eyebrows, and I grinned. She put a finger to her lips, gesturing around, as if telling me not to say anything about their plans. I just nodded and refocused on Louis, who was in the middle of a self-pity crisis. This was going to be a long tour... Not just for me, but now for him too.
February 9th
London. Evening
"Even though I don't like you, your house is really cool," Josh said, sprawling out on Luanna's sofa.
"Like I told Beth once, that's why I built it," Luanna replied, surprisingly pleasantly. No sarcasm or irritation.
"Aren't you two fighting anymore?" I asked.
"I don't know, he doesn't do it anymore," she replied, and everyone looked at Josh.
"I don't know, she's not as annoying anymore," he said, shrugging.
"I'm certain of the real reason, but let's just pretend I believe you," Luanna said with fake sweetness.
"What other reason?" Harry asked.
"None," Josh giggled nervously.
"It's unbelievable!" Luanna exclaimed. "It's so obvious."
"Not everyone is as observant as you," Beth countered. "Spill what you know."
"Seriously, tell us," El asked sweetly, and Louis, sitting next to me, trembled. Pathetic. Wait a minute. I guess I could say the same about myself.
"He'll tell you when he wants to. I like it when he doesn't annoy me," Luanna smiled and stood up. "Oh no. I completely forgot."
"What?" Gabi asked.
"It's the wedding tomorrow," she said.
"Exactly!" I slapped my forehead.
"I knew it," Beth laughed. "I win," she said, turning to Jake.
"I admit defeat," he chuckled.
"I don't understand?" Luanna was confused.
"We bet that you would forget about the wedding. I said you would forget, and Jake said you would remember," the blonde explained.
"Wow, you bet against me. First time in my life," Luanna was astonished.
"Aha, and as if I knew you would, I bought you a dress," Beth laughed. "El helped me, of course."
"Thank you!" Luanna screamed. "And you have a suit, right?" she asked, turning to me.
"Yeah, from the last awards show, if it fits," I replied.
"It will, it will," she sighed and plopped down between Louis and me. I was surprised she sat next to him. "Ugh," she muttered and moved to the other side, between Harry and me.
I started rejoicing too late.
"Are you still mad?" Louis asked.
"Do I look like you've accomplished the one thing that would make me forgive you?" she retorted sarcastically.
"Forget I asked," he murmured quietly.
He looked rough. I'm not kidding. El's presence here wasn't helping him. Or maybe it was his lack of courage. One of those things. I nudged him in the side with my elbow, and he straightened up a bit, looking more alive.
"Well, it's time for bed," Beth and El said, standing up and shooing everyone to sleep.
"Why? It's only midnight," Josh complained.
"Exactly. We need to wake up early to help Luanna get ready, and you, Niall. You'll have to use a brush for the first time in your life and fix that bush on your head," Beth commanded.
"But that will take forever," I whined.
"That's why you need to wake up early," she rolled her eyes.
"But we don't, because he can handle himself," Jake said. "We'll stay here a bit longer."
"Why are you all staying at my place anyway?" Luanna frowned.
"Because you have lots of sleeping space, it's warm, there's plenty of food, and we're too lazy to go anywhere," Harry explained, grabbing one of the fluffy pillows from the enormous and incredibly soft sofa.
"Alright, but Niall and Luanna are going to sleep now, just like us," Beth pointed to all the girls.
"Where are you going to sleep?" Liam asked, frowning.
"There are three guest rooms with big beds. We'll fit in two, and Niall gets a separate one," Len explained.
"This house is bigger than our shared one, and there are only four of us living there," Liam noted. "Usually."
"What can I say? We built the house I always dreamed of," Luanna replied, walking towards the stairs to the second floor. "Goodnight, girls and idiots!"
Luanna's POV:
The Next Day. Getting Ready.
"I want to eat!" I screamed while El was curling my hair, Beth and Gabi were doing my makeup, and Len was taking care of the dress, i.e., ironing, cleaning, etc.
"You'll eat at the event," Beth muttered.
"Just bring me something to eat! Please!" I shouted across the house.
"What do you want?!" someone called up from downstairs.
"There should be some sandwiches put in the fridge!" I called back.
"Don't move, or you'll ruin everything," Gabi threatened.
"I'm dying," I sighed.
Soon, Josh came in with a plate and one half-eaten sandwich in his hand. "Thank you!"
"Is my secret safe?" he asked, pulling the plate away when I was about to grab it.
"Yes, yes. Like I said. You'll tell me when you want to," I quickly said and snatched the sandwiches.
Finally, he left the room. While I was eating, the girls finished their work of art on my face.
"Girls, we made a mistake. How am I going to put on the dress now?"
"Everything is thought out. You have to step into the dress because it's strapless."
I started slowly pulling it up. After putting everything on, and after a long argument with them, I didn't wear high heels. I'm tall enough, and they hurt. A lot.
"Can I look now? I'm curious what I look like," I asked.
"Yeah, you can," El laughed.
I walked up to the mirror, and I have to admit, I looked amazing. As always.
"Luanna, we have to go now!" Niall shouted from downstairs.
I grabbed my purse and rushed out of the room, saying goodbye to the girls.
As I walked down the stairs, I saw Niall in a black tuxedo, and it suited him VERY well. He looked hot.
Wait, did I just think he was hot?