All Your Little Things

Chapter 32- Held Back

May

Elizabeth

It was the end of May, and I had gotten back to Cleveland after my first complete year at Georgetown. I was going back to London tomorrow, and the boys had just finished touring last week.

I had not seen Niall in a month and a half, and I missed him terribly. We were both changing. I had grown up a lot in the last few months. It was different now. I was getting tired of waiting around for him, irritated almost. I hated him being away so much, and the fact that I had to go to London to see him. Our conversations were getting less cheery.

We were getting into more fights, ironically. Over skype call and over the phone, texting, everything, we just seemed to be arguing so much. I hated it, but both of us were feeling strained.

I would find myself sitting up at 2am crying over everything, including the hate and the fans and him being away and the pressure of school. It was too much.

Suddenly, I heard the phone ring, but someone in the house answered. Moments later my little brother, Michael, walked in with the phone.

"Lib, phone's for you."

"Oh." I took the phone. "Hello?" I said.

"Elizabeth Maurey?"

"This is she."

"Hello, my name is Craig McMahn from The Capitol Building."

I had applied for an internship at a newspaper right in Washington D.C., and several applicants were applying for two spots. I had doubted any chance of getting in, but if I did, then it was huge. This internship would be something to put on a job application at a later time, and it would have been a huge accomplishment.

"Oh, hello, Mr. McMahn."

"Yes, Elizabeth, I am calling to congratulate you because you have earned one out of the two internship spots for our summer program!"

"Oh my god! Are you serious? This is insane!" I said, and he began talking about the program. I was still in shock.

Then, I thought about how excited Niall would be for me. Fuck. Niall. I was supposed to spend the summer with him. If I didn't, I probably would not see him until October, and that was four and a half months. He would be upset.

"So I assume you'll be taking the position?"

"No." I sighed. "I-I-I'm sorry, I can't take it."

"Well, that's a disappointment. I'm sorry. Thank you for your application." He hung up.

Damn it! That internship was a big deal, and I would have never been able to take it because of Niall. This relationship was getting in the way of absolutely everything. I had been quiet about it. I really had not mentioned that I was upset to Niall. He was touring, and we were all busy. I was silently, slowly, getting fed up with everything, and it was tearing me apart. Tearing us apart. It was tearing us apart, and Niall had no idea.

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*3 Days Later*

We all sat in Niall's apartment in London, all the boys and their girlfriends. I had on a blue sleeveless blouse, skinny jeans, and black three inch booties. Ali and I had flown in two days ago.

"Have you guys started working on the next album yet?" Eleanor asked.

"GOD! I don't even want to THINK about our next album!" Liam threw his head back and sighed. "We just finished our tour!"

"Management's got quite the tight grip on you." Perrie said, brushing Zayn's cheeks with her index finger. "They keep you on a tight leash, all right."