I read Liam's text over and over until my eyes started to dry out. What could he possible explain to me that would make any of this okay? He was dating Sofia, I shouldn't even give him the chance to explain himself. Why did he call me love? I am sure that is more than a term of endearment at this point. We have been flirting for days, I thought; I thought he knew that too. He knows I love him. Why do I fall in love so easily? Can't I just love someone at a normal pace instead of being a lovesick fool when they give me any kind of attention?

Niall was sitting on the sofa across from me and playing a familiar song on his guitar. He wasn't paying any attention to me, just getting lost in his strumming. I had gotten to the last set of photos to edit and send to Paul, I was in the home stretch and I was ready to just relax for the rest of the drive. The bag of popcorn that had been mostly eaten was sitting on the table to my right. I made sure Niall wasn't paying any attention to me as I grabbed a handful. The bag rustled a little louder than I expected and my eyes darted directly towards him. He sat there unfazed by loud bags and slow movements.

"Hey, Ireland." I said as calmly as possible.

He stopped playing and he looked up at me. I launched a handful of popcorn right at him. He moved his guitar up to shield his face from getting hit. There was a small symphony of kernels as they bounced off the body of his guitar. I sat quietly, waiting for him to react, ready to run to the toilet and lock myself in there if I needed to. He lowered his guitar slowly, his eyes barely peering over the edge at me. I saw his hand move towards the bowl of sweets quickly and I grabbed a pillow to cover my head from the downpour of chocolate.

"You're gonna pay for that one!" He shouted.

That was the last thing I heard before he ran over to me, tackled me on the bench of the table and sat on top of me. The pillow was shoved into my face and Niall was grabbing my sides and squeezing. I kicked and writhed as he kept tickling my sides, I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. He moved the pillow from my face and had some green jelly beans in his right hand.

"What are you going to do with those?" I asked, staring at the jelly beans.

"Nothing…" he trailed off.

With one swift movement, Niall shoved a jelly bean up my right nostril. I scrunched up my nose and tried to turn my face from him, which was proving hard as he was still sitting on me.

"Ireland, hmpf." I pouted.

He slowly lifted off me and grabbed my arm to pull me up. My stomach was tight from laughing so much. I reached up to fix my hair, I felt it sticking up from being on my back and under a pillow.

"Only you would fix your hair before removing a jelly bean from your nose." Niall laughed.

He was right, I still had a jelly bean in my nose. I pressed my finger against my left nostril and blew hard out of my right, launching the candy right towards him.

"You're disgusting, Stevie."

I smiled at him and I went to the bathroom to wipe my face off, it was sticky from candy. I heard Niall cleaning up debris, the little vacuum vrooming around the floor. I was glad that there was someone on this tour that made me feel normal.

---

We stopped at a gas station in Texarkana, the buses fueled up while Niall and I raided the snack aisles, getting armfuls of chips and candies. I finally edited all my photos and the rest of the way there we decided that we were going to watch films. There was a bargain bin with cheap DVD's, I picked up Bring It On while he picked up Final Destination. I wasn't really a fan of horror movies, but I would watch them for him. We walked over to the soda fountain and got the biggest cup we could and filled it up with Coke. I grabbed a giant tub of Red Vines and we took our goodies up to the cashier. Just as we set down our things that we were buying, Liam walked in with Sofia on his arm. She was smiling at the ground and his eyes flashed on to my face.

I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. His eyes were tearing into my soul, asking me silently to wait for him.

Niall paid for our stash and handed me three bags full of junk food. He grabbed the Coke and we headed towards the door. We got to the bus and I started laying the snacks out for easy access.

"Stevie, I forgot something, I will be right back." Niall shouted.

I grabbed a piece of licorice, chewed off the ends and stuck it in the Coke. The door of the bus the opened and I heard footsteps behind me.

"So, should we watch cheesy raging teen hormone film or the scary raging teen hormone film?"

"Oh, I don't know, both sound so tempting."

I turned around and I saw Liam standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed over his chest, his left leg was crossed behind his right. His jeans were sliding down his left hip. I felt my insides tremble, I wanted to throw up.

"Sorry, I thought you were Niall."

"I wanted to see if you wanted to practice when we get to Houston. Sofia is catching a flight back to London, so we will have time to work on your piece more."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I-"

"You're getting so much better, it's incredible."

"I don't want to continue practicing. I have to focus on my job on this tour, learning piano is hindering my job performance. I can't do this anymore." my voice was trembling.

His brow furrowed and he looked offended. He dropped his arms to his side and started to walk towards me. The door opened on the bus and there were footsteps behind Liam. Niall popped up behind him, looking back and forth between us. He looked at me and saw that I was distressed. Niall cocked his head to the left, until you could see a light bulb go off.

"Hey, Payno, we're going to watch some films and the buses are about to head out. Sofia was looking for you."

Liam looked at me one last time, there was hurt in his eyes as he turned away from me.

"Ireland, I am going to the bathroom to wash my face, pick a movie."

I closed the door in the bathroom and tears started to stream down my face again. I hate the Liam had this power over me. I can't be around him unless he's on stage, it has to just be professional from here on out. I turned on the faucet and I splashed some cold water on my face. I let it wake my skin up and reduce the puffiness under my eyes. I looked in the mirror as I dried my face, trying to smile.

I walked out of the bathroom and to the back of the bus where Niall was already comfy and had a DVD waiting to go.

"Hey pet." Niall smiled at me.

I slumped onto the sofa and leaned on my head on his shoulder. He lifted his arm around me and I slid down to his lap. He handed me my Coke with a licorice straw and ran his fingers through my hair. I nibbled on the licorice straw as we watched Final Destination.

"Does he know?" Niall asked.

"Does who know what? The guy in the movie knows that he's going to die?"

"No, Liam. Does he know that you like him?"

"I don't like him like that. I thought I did, but he has a girlfriend."

"You okay?"

I snuggled up to Niall, "yeah."

---

We reached Houston an hour after we finished out movie marathon. We were full of candy, popcorn and regret. We had two days in Houston before the show, and I was in yet another city that I have never been in. I had been looking up places to go while in town, I found a bar for Niall and I to go to. It seemed like a great way to kick off our entrance into Houston.

I dragged my bags into my room and dropped them at the foot of my bed. I threw open my suitcase and pulled out some black leggings and my deep red A-line dress. I pulled out my maroon Doc Martens and set them next to my dress. I grabbed my makeup bag and put it on the bathroom counter.

I climbed into the shower and washed away the past few days.

---

Niall was running late and told me to head to the bar by myself. I grabbed a cab to the dueling piano bar, riding with the windows down. The air was thick and the humidity was making my hair damp. I felt a trickle of sweat run down the back of my neck.

I pulled up outside the bar, there was a small line outside the door, which was odd for a Wednesday night. I paid the cab driver and got behind a group of girls waiting to get in. I fidgeted with the loose change in my purse. Being out by myself in a strange city was terrifying. There were people I didn't know all around me and I was getting anxious.

A black SUV pulled up and Niall got out of the car. A huge wave of relief crashed over me. I needed a familiar face more than ever now.

"Hey, Ireland."

Niall stopped in his tracks with his mouth hung open. I walked over to him and linked my arm around his.

"You clean up well."

"Thanks, Ireland."

"Well, pretty girls like you shouldn't wait in line to get in anywhere." He said as he ushered me towards the doors.

The music blared as we entered the bar. We headed towards the bar, pushing through a sea of strange faces. I felt so safe with my hand in Niall's. I managed to squeeze up to the bar, Niall pressed up behind me. There was a strange sensation that came over me, his hand on my lower back.

I turned to ask him what he wanted to drink, not realizing how close he was to me. Our noses were almost touching. I let go of all my inhibitions and leaned in to kiss him. He grabbed my face and pulled me closer.

Notes