Who You Are (Liam Payne)

Chapter 11

"Oh my gosh, I look like an idiot in this!" I cringed, looking at myself in the mirror.

"Alex, you look so perfect!" Emma, the owner of the pink dress on my body, exclaimed.

As I was adjusting the dress on my imperfect body, someone was at our door knocking. Emma put down her straightener immediately and ran to the door.

The thing was that she didn't know how to whisper. "Liam, I made Alex a princess like in those Disney movies, Sleeping Beauty to be accurate. Be prepared, you won't believe your eyes."

When I saw the door moving slowly, revealing a man in suit and tie, I wasn't ready. My hair looked like spaghetti in tomato sauce. I quickly tucked in my hair behind my ears and fixed my dress for the last time.

When Niall walked in, he didn't say anything at first. He just stared at me like I was pregnant. I mouthed 'I hate you' to Emma because me looking horrible in her dress was the reason why Niall was speechless.

"Wow," was all Niall said.

"I know. I'm sorry, Emma made-"

"You look beautiful. The dress- it's incredible."

"What?" I blushed and covered my face. Emma, on the other side, giggled.

"I mean, look at you." His smile grew wider than ever.

"Thank you," I blushed more.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded and Niall led me to his car. 

"Because I'm wearing a dress, don't think we're going on a date," I warned him.

"Aw, my princess knows how to make a man move."

I hit his arm like I did the last time we were in this car. "What the hell are you talking about? Emma forced me to wear this." 

"You're so adorable when you're pissed."

"Oh, shut up, Niall," I said and smiled, telling him that I wasn't that pissed.

We didn't really talk for the rest of the ride just because we ran out of things to say. Honestly, I wasn't even sure of why this whole thing was happening. I didn't prepare for anything. I agreed when Niall asked me on the phone because I didn't think it was a good time to reject. I needed time to think. And that was the reason why I was here, in Niall's car, for the second time.

I was dozing off and about to fall asleep when Niall poked my arm. "Hey, we're here."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," I sat up properly, fixing my hair and my dress. "Why didn't you wake me up?

"You look cute when you're sleeping." 

I felt a weird feeling in my stomach but ignored it. "Where are we now?" I looked around the parking lot and saw nothing but unfamiliar roads and buildings. 

"We're going to that restaurant," he pointed at the yellow building.

"The Horan's?" I read the big sign.

"Yeah, let's go in."

As we were walking, Niall didn't try to hold my hand or anything and I thanked him in my head. When we entered the restaurant, a man who looked like Niall welcomed us with a smile.

"Hey, Greg!" Niall greeted the man behind the counter.

"Your brother?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, he's Greg," He first looked at me, then at his brother. "And she's Alex."

Greg shook hands with me and we were taken to a nice two seats table around the corner.

"As usual," Niall ordered and Greg left after winking at me.

What's up with these brothers?

"So this is his business?" I broke the silence bubble between us.

"Yeah, but partly. He's sharing with our parents."

"Nice," I nodded, sipping the ice water that a waitress brought to us.

As I was eating buffalo wings and noodles, which were Niall's favorites as he told me, I was thinking about why he had brought me here and why exactly I said yes to his offer earlier. From time to time, we said nothing but smiled at each other.

"Done?" Niall asked when I was wiping my mouth with a napkin. I nodded. "Do you wanna go for a walk? There's a beautiful garden in the back."

Again, I nodded. We walked through the back door to the small colorful garden. Even though it was small, different types of flower were blooming in a nice arrangement. Niall picked a red rose and handed it to me. I smelled it and smiled at him.

Further into the garden, there was a small lake. Next to it was a bench. I sat down on it just to feel what it was like. In a blink, Niall sat down next to me.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I blushed, red like a tomato.

"Because you are beautiful." He held the strand of hair in front of my face and tucked it behind my ear. I knew what was coming next. Before I could even think straight, he was already leaning in, his eyes never breaking contact with mine.

"Liam!"

"Liam?"

I couldn't respond.

"Did you just say his name, Alex?"

Still, no respond.

"Do you like him, Alex?"

I didn't know the answer to it.

"Alex!"

I was finally able to open my mouth. "Niall, I'm so sorry," was all I said before running off to the direction where we came from. My eyes started to water and tears were streaming down in no time. When I got outside, I was stuck. The place was unfamiliar for me. I didn't want to go back in and ask Niall to send me home. But, I also didn't know where the bus stop was or which way I should go to.

I thought about asking Greg, but that was the silliest idea ever. So, without knowing what else to do, I started walking down the road, hoping to find someone and ask for directions.

What was going on my mind?

Why did I have to go this far?

Was it too hard to say no at the very beginning?

I had only taken a few steps when someone called my name. I knew the voice, so I just ignored and kept walking but faster. But my feet got stuck to the ground when two hands gently span my body around. He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the parking lot.

The next thing I knew, I was in the passenger seat with the door of my side locked. Niall got in and I didn't try to say anything. So didn't Niall. We both respected each other's silence as he drove back to where I figured was my house; it should be.

"I'm sorry," Niall said before I got off his car.

"Me too."

---

"Alex!" I rushed to the door and opened it to reveal my best friend at my steps, crying like the night before.

I wiped off my tears with my sleeves. I was still crying. I was crying since I got home and it'd been 15 minutes. "Hey, Emma."

"Alex? You're crying too?"

Total word count: 8677