Capture

We Are The Storm

I spent the rest of the morning watching Niall in his office, unable to shake the suspicion that he was up to something—possibly with Zayn. But he just sat there, working as if everything was perfectly normal. By lunchtime, I had accomplished absolutely nothing. I was completely distracted. Liam, Harry, and now Niall and Zayn had each taken up residence in a different corner of my mind, like I was some lovesick teenager with a one-track focus: boys.

Groaning, I pushed back from my desk and walked out of my office. I bypassed the break room entirely and headed straight for the lift, riding it up to the roof. The moment the fresh air hit my skin, it jolted me awake—but not enough to clear my head.

"You hiding?" Liam's voice cut through the quiet, catching me off guard.

I jumped. Of course it was him. "What are you doing up here?" I asked, trying to sound unfazed. I wasn't.

"I could ask you the same thing." He stepped a little closer, his tone casual. "I was here first, you know."

"Well, I'm here now, so could you just... piss off?" I snapped, sharper than I meant to be.

He blinked, then gave me a crooked smile. "What's gotten into you today, doll face?"

I exhaled heavily and looked away, nudging a few stray pebbles with the toe of my shoe. "Sorry. I saw something this morning that confused me. Still trying to wrap my head around it."

"Styles give you the ick?" he said with a smirk.

I shot him a look. "Could you not be a total ass for once?"

"I could," he said, laughing lightly. "But where's the fun in that?"

His voice was too familiar. Too easy. After last night, it shouldn't have felt easy. And yet here we were, pretending like nothing happened—like I hadn't shown up at his place, like I hadn't let my guard down, just for a second. "So what are you doing up here?" I asked, needing a subject change. Any subject.

"Hiding from Zayn."

"Really? What, are you two going through a breakup?" I joked, forcing a laugh, though my mind flickered to Niall and Zayn this morning. Something about them was off.

"I just like my space sometimes," he muttered.

"You don't really let people get close, do you?" I said, not even thinking before the words came out.

"Or maybe people don't like getting close to me," he replied, quieter this time.

I didn't respond. The silence between us felt heavier than it should have. Maybe because it wasn't just about today. Maybe it was about last night and everything unspoken between us.

"Yeah, sure," I muttered eventually. "Anyway, this has been... whatever it's been, but I'm going back."

I walked over to the door and pulled on the handle. It didn't move. I tugged again. Nothing.

"Let me guess," Liam called behind me, voice tinged with amusement, "you forgot to wedge the steel pipe in the door jam?"

I turned and glared at him. "You're shitting me."

He grinned. "Looks like you're stuck with me, doll face." Then he sat down against the wall like we weren't trapped, like being alone with me didn't mean anything.

I patted my pockets for my phone. Nothing. Of course. I'd left it on my desk. "Do you have your phone?"

"Nope," he said, popping the p like it was a joke.

"Shit." I groaned. "How the hell are we supposed to get down?"

"We wait for the door to open."

I groaned louder. "You know I hate waiting."