Where Have You Been

Chapter 9

Taylors POV

I smiled eagerly at Zoe, awaiting her explanation. Her eyes shifted upwards, as if racking her brain for an excuse. I saw right through her.

“Zoe” I grabbed her arm. “I mean it, I’m your best friend, you can tell me” I looked sincerely into her eyes. She brought her head slowly upward, looking slightly guilty. She bit her lip, causing the blood careen outwards, enlarging the rest of her lip. She looked innocent and shy, not like the Zoe that I knew.

“Well I forgot to take my flowers…. And he gave them to me?” her voice trailed upwards at the end, as if she was unsure whether it was true or not. I was unsure of the same thing. The story seemed believable enough. She did, in fact, forget to take her flowers, but why did that make her deserve so much attention from Niall? (I think now that I’ve met him, we’re on a first name basis). I arched one eyebrow, demonstrating my skepticism. She nodded sincerely, and her enlarged, poignant eyes got the best of me.

“Ok…” I let it go, and hugged her. I could feel her muscles relax through our embrace. “Let’s get you home. Ok?” I felt myself acting as a mother to her, because her own was incapable of such duties. Shannon was still one step behind us, reveling in the impossibly happy moment that had just occurred. She seemed to be in a dreamy state, her brown eyes swimming with a love for One Direction. Pretty freaky if you ask me, but I loved her still. Zoe didn’t like to admit it, but she certainly had her mother’s genes. I laughed at my thoughts, and got a few weird glances from Zoe and her mother. This only made me laugh harder, because, of course, their glares looked exactly the same. It was late at night, almost 12; it was one of those moments where you were so drowsy that everything seemed hilarious beyond belief. I called a cab, and ended up cracking up halfway through the call, my deep laugh crackling through Zoë's ancient blackberry.

“16th and Broadway” I giggled, and hung up the phone. By this time, my obviously fatigued companions had joined in, not even knowing the cause for laughter. We looked like a bunch of fools. We stood on the snowy corner of a street, lit by only a stray, yellow lamplight, our shadows dancing on the glistening ground. The washed-out yellow cab screeched to a halt directly in front of us, as if recognizing us from our laughing stances. Although we were still giggling as we slid into the car, right as the door slammed shut, we lay our heads down to rest.

Zoe was slumped on top of me, her hair sprawling in all directions, like medusa. Sh        http://www.wattpad.com/11904040-where-have-you-been-chapter-1annon was collapsed against the opposite window, her breath erasing the icy condensation that had built up on the glass. The cab driver had to gently shake us awake when we reached our stop; we were all passed out on the leather seats. I slumped dazedly up to our hotel room, sprawling out on top of the down-feather bed before I could think a second more.