Who Do You Think You Are

Chapter 26 - Running over thoughts that make my feet hurt

Stacy’s P.O.V.

It was so strange, like watching a movie of myself. I had gotten a haircut, had a shower, and was now on my way to see the boys. I had to go there most of the time since it was hard for them to move around together without getting mobbed. I walked in with brown paper bags in both my arms.

"Nando's!" Niall exclaimed and I chuckled at his child-like excitement.

"So what do you guys think?" I asked, swishing my hair slightly from side to side.

"Looks great, love," Louis said.

"Yeah, it suits you," Liam agreed as he freed my hands, taking the bags from me.

"I though' you were growing your hair," Zayn said. ‘What is with this guy and long hair? He always disagreed when I said I need a haircut. I could only imagine what a hard time he gave his sisters. They'd have to wait until he wasn't around. I smiled at the thought of it.

"It's called 'maintenance,' Zayn," I said playfully.

"Yeah, 'maintenance' Zayn," Harry teased.

"Well I think it looks really great."

I turned around to see Eleanor. She had a big smile on her face.

"El! I didn't know you were here. How are you?" I asked, giving her a big hug and being reminded once again of how short I am.

"I'm good thanks, love. You look great!"

"Thanks. So do you."

El's one of the sweetest girls I know. She's also a lot of fun to be around. She and Louis are just perfect for each other.

Niall's P.O.V.

I had psyched myself up for this moment, but it seemed like my efforts were in vain. I had underestimated how it would feel to walk into that room and see her lying there. It was the worst thing in the world. The worst feeling I've ever had in my whole life. I was absolutely terrified of losing her. My body was moving on auto pilot now. It was as if my brain and my body were no longer working together. I approached her with the most caution and leaned over to kiss her forehead. She looked so peaceful and beautiful lying there, but I wanted to see her bright eyes looking back at me. My legs turned to jelly, so I sat down beside her bed and took her hand in mine. I hated the helpless feeling of knowing that there was absolutely nothing I could do to help her. I started to speak, but choked on my own words. The tears kept coming. This was all wrong. This wasn't the way that things were supposed to turn out. I remembered the doctor's words, 'Touch her. Talk to her. It's probably the best way to bring her back to consciousness.'

"Stace," I said, my voice trembling. "Wake up. Please." I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb. "I know you're stronger than what the doctors think. Wake up and then we can show them how brave and strong you really are. Then we can all get out of here and drive down to Nando's and celebrate and..." I couldn't hold back the tears. My voice cracked and I squeezed her hand. "You're really scaring me right now, you know. Please, don't do this to me babe."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Liam. I stood up to face him and he held me in a tight embrace. "I don't wanna let her go," I sobbed as Liam rubbed my back. "I should have been here. I shouldn’t have gone home. She wanted to talk things through. I should’ve…"

"Shhh. It's not your fault, Niall. You know that." His voice was weak and quiet. "No one knew what was going to happen. Blaming ourselves isn't gonna help anything. It isn't going to help her." I broke away from his embrace to face her. "I just want everything to be fine again." the words barely escaped my mouth. "I want her to be fine again." Liam placed his hand on my shoulder and we stood there, just watching her sleep and waiting for her to wake up.