Watercolour

Thirty Two

Alana's P.O.V

"Okay guys," I called, spinning around in my chair to face the others who were lounging around on the sofas. "I think it's finished."

"Yes! This is going to be so good," Luke exclaimed, joining me at the desk and peering over my shoulder to look at the screen.

"Go on then," Calum insisted once Michael and Ashton had come over. "Play it."

I'd spent all morning editing the footage from yesterday's recording and after hours of watching the same bits over and over again, I had finally finished. I was depending on my editing skills to make sure the guys liked it and I wouldn't have to tweak anything else.

"That's so good!" Ash smiled once the screen had faded to black. "Like, insanely good!"

"Really?" I asked, scrunching my nose up and smiling.

"Yeah! And the blooper thing at the end was such a good idea," Michael added.

"Phew," I said, feigning relief. "Should I get it up on YouTube, then?"

"Of course," Calum replied instantaneously.

Uploading a video that size was going to take a while so once it had started I headed upstairs to start packing. I was leaving tomorrow afternoon and wanted to get a head start on making sure all my stuff was ready to go. It had been a crazy, fun-filled week and I honestly couldn't believe that it was coming to a close. I couldn't believe that I'd have to go back to shitty England with the shitty life I'd left behind.

I pulled my bag out from under the bed and starting taking my clothes out from the drawers they'd lived in for the last few days; folding each item carefully to ensure everything would fit with ease.

"Knock knock," Calum said, tapping gently on the open door.

"Hey," I replied, putting a pair of jeans into the bag before turning around.

"Can I be of any use?" he asked, pointing to the pile of clothes on the bed.

"I think I'm alright, thanks. I don't have much to do anyway."

"Okay," he said, leaning against the windowsill as he watched me pack.

"I'm assuming there's a reason you came up here. And it was more than just helping me pack," I added.

"You got me there," he chuckled before continuing. "I just wanted to talk to you about you going back."

"Right..." I cautioned.

"I guess it's kind of a- a pep talk?" he informed me, clearly not sure how to categorise what he was about to say. "Okay, so basically I just wanted to remind you that no matter how things go down when you get back home, I will always be here - or, at least, a call away. And so will the others."

"I know... I could never forget that," I replied, smiling without looking up from the clothes I was folding.

"I know you know that. But we all need a reminder every once in awhile."

"Mhmm, I guess so."

"I also want you to know that whatever decisions you decide to make in the end will be for the best; even if they don't feel right at first."

"Cal-"

"I know you, Alana," he interrupted. "And I know that you are not the sort of person to make a big decision in the blink of an eye. You've thought this through and all the emotional energy this has drained from you has gone into making sure you're going to make the right decision for you and everyone else remotely involved."