Accidentally in Love

Distance, Timing

My day began like clockwork with Sophie crying at five in the morning. She was teething, which meant that more often than not, she woke up bawling in the early hours of the morning. On this particular day, I didn't mind as I had planned on getting up early anyway. The boys had an interview on a late night talk show in Ireland, which meant I had to be up early to see it.

I had thought seeing Connor for two days would tide me over for the next six weeks, but quite the opposite had happened. I found myself missing him more than usual, our brief reunion only serving to further intensify my longing. So to help ease the ache, I had begun to watch every interview they had, just so I could see his face.

After brushing my teeth, I picked a whimpering Sophie from her crib and made my way to the freezer. Once there, her teething ring was found and wrapped in a towel as to not freeze her small hands. She grabbed the ring from me, sticking the cold plastic against her aching gums to numb the pain.

Once the quiet sobbing had stopped, I settled onto the couch and turned on the television before calling Haley. She was out of town on a business trip and had been gone for the past two weeks. I missed having her around and knew she wouldn't miss the chance to see her boyfriend's face. We had come accustomed to wallowing in our misery together.

She picked up after two rings, yawning loudly as she spoke. "Morning."

"Morning, Hales," I laughed, situating Sophie in my lap, "are you ready for this?"

"God, yes," she replied, "I haven't seen Alec in so long that I'm starting to forget what he looks like."

I rolled my eyes, squealing in excitement as the boys entered the television studio on screen. I felt my heart start to race at just the sight of Connor and found myself mimicking every smile that graced his beautiful face. Haley and I watched in enraptured silence, commenting every now and then as the interviewer asked the typical questions.

It wasn't until their relationship statuses were mentioned that things began to get interesting.

The interviewer smiled at the boys in general before his gaze focused on Connor. "Now, Connor, are you still dating your girlfriend?"

Connor grinned automatically and I mimicked his actions. "Yes, I am."

"Evelyn, is it?" the interview asked.

Connor nodded, his curls bouncing beneath the black bandana tied around his forehead. "Yes."

"She's lovely, isn't she?"

His smile widened and his gaze softened. "She's amazing."

The interviewer grinned. "I think we have a picture of her, actually."

He pointed at the screen and up popped a picture of Haley. I snickered slightly. It was reasonable that the interviewer would confuse me with Haley. Connor and I hadn't been seen together in public much since we started dating.

Connor furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment before Alec piped up. "Actually, that's my girlfriend, Haley."

I heard Haley giggle on the other end of the line and couldn't hold back my grin. "Alec just called you his girlfriend on television."

"I know," she whispered quietly, and I didn't have to ask to know she was smiling. I was happy for them. It was the first time I had seen Haley so genuinely excited about a relationship.

To my surprise, the interviewer didn't just apologize for his mistake and move on. Instead, he furrowed his brow as well and shook his head. "Then why is she with Connor in the picture?"