Funny Kind of Friendship

Chapter 16: the First Date

It's been a week and a half since the incident. I developed an infection from the surgery and couldn't seem to keep my temperature down. But the boys have been with me through it all. My room was full of balloons and stuffed bears. Around half of them were from Liam alone. Okay, I exaggerated. The boys got a bunch of people to send stuff to me. I guess I was well liked! Despite my lack of actually being in class... But people knew my name. I was after all the only American at the Uni, as they call it.

Liam was coming soon, it's Friday so he comes around 2:00pm, it was 9:30am. Damn, not soon enough. The rest of the boys should be coming too, just not as early as Liam. After all, he is my boyfriend. I had just recently started reading a book that Harry had recommended to me. He never really struck me as a reading type of person. Louis says there's a girl in the library that he 'fancies'. Had Harry finally found the girl of his dreams, or was it just another girl? Zayn says he really likes her. She is the reason he reads I guess. Niall sees him go into the library everyday after class, no one really knows for sure... Liam is always with me, other than that no one rarely sees Harry. Last time I saw him was yesterday, but he was in and out within 30 min. No one knew if he was coming today or not, but if he was I was going to ask him.

The doctor walks in and told me to start using crutches. I could use them if I wanted to but he also put a walking boot on my foot so I could walk as well.

"I have seen much improvement from you over the past couple of days, Justine." I hadn't had a high temp since Monday. It's Friday now. "Let's see if we can get you out today." He smiles as my face lights up. I just want to get up and jump around, but obviously I can't. He makes me stand up and try out the walking cast and crutches. Right then Liam walks in and sees me standing up. He smiles and hugs me tight.

"I'm going to leave today." I say, He smiles.

"Good, that means we can finally do something together."

"I'll leave you two alone." The doctor says leaving the room. We laugh and Liam leans in to kiss me.

"So what did you have in mind?" I ask, he grins.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

~~~

I throw my bag of clothes, and all the stuffed animals I received in the trunk and back seat of Liam's car, along with my crutches. I don't really think I need crutches. I guess if its just if my foot starts hurting from walking too much. Liam helps me into the car, shuts the door. He walks around the car and gets in. When he starts the car he looks at me, grabs my hand and squeezes.

"I'm so glad you're out! We're going to have fun today." He says smiling.

"Will you at least tell me where you're taking me?" He laughs and starts to drive. He stays silent.

"Come on, tell me!" I insist but he just smiles.

"You'll just have to trust me." He winks. I have absolutely no idea where we're going. Liam was unpredictable, but where ever it was we were going he wouldn't make me walk a lot. We drive into a small parking lot, I get out and we're overlooking large green fields with a pond in the center. Trees were scattered about, their leaves were lovely shades of reds, yellows and oranges. It was breathtaking. There were hardly any people there, it was quite peaceful. Liam looks down at me and grabs my hand.

"It's amazing." I say breathlessly.

"I know, I thought it would be a perfect place."

"For what?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"I'll show you." He says, then he bends down and effortlessly scoops up my legs. I was surprised by the action, and I let out a small gasp. "Don't worry, I got you. I wouldn't want to make you walk all the way down there." I smile and wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tightly.

Liam carried me down a hill and through long grass. The grass had small wild flowers growing that moved with the wind. We headed towards the pond. There were bushes and trees placed around the pond. We duck under some branches and dodge trunks. We end up under a weeping willow tree who's leaves hang down and come a couple of inches from the ground, over looking the pond. There is a blanket spread out with small pillows placed around the edges, a basket in the center, and rose petals sprinkled all around. We were almost completely hidden from the rest of the world. I gasp at the sight and look up at Liam. I lean in so our foreheads touch. Our lips meet. A passionate kiss is placed, we hadn't had one like it since that rainy night. It was too awkward to kiss in a hospital with nurses coming in and out to check on you every so often.

He walks over to the blanket and lays me down. He lays down right next to me. The breeze was warm but cool at the same time. Apparently the weather couldn't make up its mind. All the snow and ice had melted from when I slipped. Cold one day, warm the next.

"Did you really do this, by your self?" I ask, he smiles.

"I had the idea for a picnic, but Zayn actually helped me pick the perfect spot."

"Zayn? How did he find this?"

"Well," he starts, "Zayn has a temper, he gets mad really easily. He's gotten a lot better in the past couple of years." He stops to think about how he should say what he was going to say next.

"Yeah, go on." I encourage him.

"Zayn was dating this girl, Jane. He really liked her, she ended up cheating on him. He was furious. I had never seen I'm so angry in my life. He was throwing things...I'll spare you the details, but it took Harry and I to pin him to the ground and get him calm enough. He went for a walk and ended up here. It's kind of his 'sanctuary'."

"So he comes here to cool down?"

"Pretty much, peaceful isn't it?"

"Mhmm." I hum in agreement.

"Just wait until you see the sunset." He wraps one arm around me and pulls my body closer so there is no space in between. My weird stomach notices break the silence. Liam laughs, and places a kiss on my head.

"Hungry?" He chuckles.

"A bit, I haven't had decent food in a week."

"Well, I guess it's good I brought this." He says as he picks up the picnic basket sitting at our feet.

~~~

We finish eating and drinking lemonade, my favorite drink. Louis must have told him. Liam must have had quite a bit of help... Turkey sandwiches with American cheese, lettus, and tomatoes, with mini chocolate chip muffins. Plus we are sitting on a purple blanket with green pillows. Rose pedals? These were all a few of my favorite things, he obviously really wanted to impress me. It was working. Every moment I spent with him I was falling deeper and deeper under his spell. He pulls me in close, and looks at me with those brown eyes that make me melt inside. He wraps his arms around my waist and we lay down. I rest my head on a couple of the pillows while Liam buries his head in my neck and leaves small kisses down my neck.

The sun was now setting. The sky was a bright mixture of pink, purple, yellow, red and orange. I never got a chance to see a sunset like this in Minnesota, there are either too many trees, or its too cloudy. I sit up, slipping away from Liam's grasp. I wanted to captivate the moment. I was mesmerized by the neon colors that were painted across the sky. Liam sits up and grabs my hand, I rest my head on his shoulder as we watch the big bright flaming red sun slowly disappear behind the horizon. The only light now was the glow of the moon that hung above us. I lean up and kiss Liam on the cheek. He looks at me and smiles.

"Thank you for an amazing day." I say, "This was more than I expected." He chuckles.

"There's a few more things." He gets up and disappears behind a bush. Just then the whole willow tree is lit up with little fairy lights. The glow lit up our whole picnic area. I stood up slowly, standing there in amazement, trying to take it all in. It looked like I was surrounded by thousands of stars. I hear soft music playing, Liam walks out with a CD player. He sets down the player and walks over to me.

"May I have this dance?" He says holding out a hand, I smile and let out a small giggle.

"Of corse." I say taking his hand as he pulls me close, closing the gap between us. I wrap my hands around his neck as he puts his on my hips. We sway back and forth until the song ends.