Build Me Up (A One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

On the ride home, they all asked me a bunch of questions. Just odd, simple things about me.

"What's your favorite color?" Niall asked.

"Purple."

"Me too!" Liam smiled.

"What's your middle name?" Louis asked.

I hated my middle name, but I'd already found it was easier just to answer Louis' questions, otherwise he'd scream, "NO, TELL ME!", jump up and try to tackle me as best he could in the car, and Liam would yell at him to sit down.

"Mercedes," I responded with my face scrunched up.

"What's your favorite animal?" Harry asked next.

"Oh, I don't know. Something fluffy?"

"That's a bad answer," Harry pouted. I couldn't help but giggle at his response.

"How old are you?" Zayn asked.

"Eighteen."

"When's your birthday?" Liam asked.

I paused. "April 14th."

It was silent for a few moments.

"That's... yesterday?" Niall asked finally.

"Yeah. A couple of hours ago, yeah," I responded quietly.

It was silent again, until Louis broke it. "Let's sing happy birthday!" He said cheekily, beginning the cheesy song, the other boys joining in hesitantly. I couldn't help but grin, and they all began to sing louder. I laughed when they sang "Sammy" instead of "Sam," and for some reason a tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it away as they finished the song, and Niall, sitting right next to me, gave me a concerned look. "Don't cry," He said quietly.

I smiled at him, wiping the corner of my eye.

"I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've heard that song with my name in it since my thirteenth birthday."

Louis frowned at me. "Even from your mum? Or your dad?"

I looked down, avoiding five pairs of eyes. "Even them," I murmured, staring at my hands, fiddling with my fingers.

Suddenly, Niall pulled me into his arms, and without even realizing it, I started crying. I don't know for how long or even why, after I'd been having so much fun with them a couple of minutes ago. I just know it was silent as I cried and Niall stroked my back soothingly, his breath in my hair.

Then, just as suddenly as I'd started, I snapped out of it. Sitting back up and wiping my face, I took a deep breath. "I'm so sorr-"

"Don't be," Harry immediately interrupted. "Don't ever be sorry for crying or feeling bad or anything like that. You don't have to be sorry anymore. As much as I hate to see it, if it makes you feel better, you cry. You cry until there's nothing left to cry. Okay?" He added.

I looked around at all of them, each nodding in agreement.

Somehow, in that moment, I'd knew I'd become the luckiest girl in the world. Not because they were some stupid boy band, or whatever, but because I knew I'd finally found a group of people who seemed to genuinely care about me, whether they'd met me less than an hour ago or not. They cared how I felt and didn't want me to feel negatively and they'd done their darndest so far just to make me smile. And that was the first time in my life that I knew what that felt like.

So I smiled one of the most genuine smiles that's ever been on my face, wiped a tear away, and nodded.

"Okay."

--

"So, this is the flat," Harry led me inside, the other four boys trailing behind. "It's just Lou and I here, but we all spend most of our time here. Niall's right next door and Liam and Zayn are across the hall." He told me as he led me through the living room, where the other boys sat, either on the couch or on the floor, down through to the end of the hall and into a bedroom. "This is where you'll stay."

Immediately I could tell it definitely wasn't a guest room. It was tidy, other than a few pieces of clothing on the floor, but definitely lived in. I looked at him with a frown. "I thought you said you had an extra room, Harry."

He sighed dramatically and smiled. "Well, I don't, but I'm not gonna have you sleeping on the couch."

"It's not a big deal, I can-"

"Sammy." Harry said, and I looked back up at him. I was quickly getting used to the new nickname. "I told you, I -- we -- we're gonna take care of you. So, no, I'm not having you sleep in the couch. I'll stay in Lou's room for a while. Okay?"

I glanced back at the room, then let out a chuckle, shaking my head. "Fine. Just promise you're not gonna change everything about your life just cause you found some dumb girl crying at a fast food restaurant."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly there was a loud whining coming from the living room. "Haaarrrryyyyy!" It was Louis, no doubt.

Harry gave me a smile, said, "you're not dumb," and hurried back into the living room. I followed close behind, only to find Louis holding a DVD in each hand. "Which one?" He asked with a smile.

I giggled as I noticed what the movies were--"Mean Girls" and "The White Chick."

"Chick flicks?" I grinned. As if rehearsed, the other four boys laughed and said at the same time, "Louis loves chick flicks!"

I laughed, looking at Louis as he smiled proudly. "Well, Mean Girls is kind of a classic." I said.

Louis nodded. "I definitely like your taste." And with that he popped the DVD into the player as the rest of us got settled. Liam, Zayn, Niall and I sat on the ground as Harry relaxed on the couch. I leant back on Harry's legs, tilting my head back and offering a smile, finding one already on his face. Niall offered to share his blanket, so we both draped it over our legs. Louis settled on the couch as the movie started. I laid my head back as Harry absentmindedly began fiddling with my hair.

It was unbelieveable how comfortable I already was with him and the other four boys.

About half an hour into the movie, I was startled by Niall's voice, speaking softly. I realized we were the only ones still awake.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked, blue eyes staring at me softly.

"Too late." I joked, offering a small smile and a laugh. "Sure, what is it?"

"Well... I was just wondering. Why were you all alone back there? When we found you?" He asked carefully.

"I... I dunno." I lied, looking down, tears suddenly welling up in my eyes again. I cursed at myself in my head, telling myself not to cry again.

"Oh no, no! Please don't cry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry..." He mumbled.

I gave him a small smile. "No, it's okay. It's not your fault." I said, looking down. "I guess... Cause I had no where else to go and no one to care about me."

"Well you do now." He responded quickly, making me smile. "Y'got all five of us who care about you now, and you'll always have a place to go now."

"Thanks, Niall." I smiled. He gave me a toothy grin and I couldn't help but giggle.

We talked until we fell asleep, about anything and everything that came to mind. It was the first night for a long time that I fell asleep laughing instead of crying.