Copyright ✘ One Direction [EDITING]

T W E N T Y - S I X

The smoke alarm was going off throughout the house.

"Uh, we should probably go check on that," I muttered, tugging my fingers through my brunette tresses. The more my fingers ran through my hair, the more the previous moments ran through my mind, and all I could think of was the hands that had travelled through them before.

"Yeah." Liam nodded. His gaze never left mine; neither of us was making a move to leave.

I finally huffed and spun around on my heel to exit. I made my way down the hall and then down the winding staircase, Liam following closely at my heels. When I got to the kitchen, the sight of a panicked Louis waving his hands in the air in an attempt to dissipate the smoke caught my eyes.

"Nothing to see here," he said franticly.

"What?" Liam coughed, pushing Louis out of the way. He quickly opened the oven causing a cloud of smoke to escape. "Louis, you almost burned down the house."

"We're not fireproof," I continued. I watched as a pan of scorched, unrecognizable lasagna was brought out with sad eyes.

Louis sighed. "Well, it's been so long since I've cooked, I thought that I could pull it off."

I place my hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "We still have cookie dough...How about I take you guys out for dinner instead? We can try cooking another time."

Liam chuckled, "But that means the bet is called off, so now you owe me that car."

"Wow," I was shocked. "You rich people never fail to amaze me. A simple bet and now you're buying him a car?"

"It's not for me," he quickly responded.

"...Okay." I took my car keys out of my pocket. "Let's get going. Who wants McDonald's?"

Louis disappeared inside his hall closet and took out his coat. "So we can't buy a car but you can treat two celebrities to a fancy meal? Scandalous."

"It's those fat paychecks she's been getting from all those jobs she's had," Liam said. He had come up behind me so suddenly that I jumped slightly. He grabbed my waist to steady me in retaliation, his body pressing up against my back, and subconsciously I found my face leaning back towards his.

"Yeah, Carter's been stacking up lately." Louis returned and we quickly jumped apart. He raised an eyebrow at us but turned away fast. "Off we go!"

I hummed in relief and left the house as fast as I could. I was heading towards my car when I heard the beeping of a car unlocking that wasn't mine. I turned and saw the lights come on on a sleek, black Range Rover.

"We're taking this one." Liam was already at its door.

I rolled my eyes but went over to the vehicle anyway. Liam opened the door for me and I avoided his eyes as I slid into the seat. I couldn't help immediately falling in love. The seat was smooth and grey, the car had a wooden-brown theme on the inside. I gazed at the controls in front of me, playing with the buttons on the interface in front of me.

Liam got in the driver's seat and Louis got in the back.

"This is...a nice car," I said casually.

"Really?" Liam had a slight smile on his face as he turned on the car and began rolling down the circular driveway. "You like it?"

I hummed. "A nice change from what I'm usually in." I turned around to face the brunette in the back. "Is this yours or Payne's?"

"Neither," Louis replied, "It's the gift."

"Well, whoever it belongs to is quite lucky." I turned back around. "I'm turning on the radio."

"Go right ahead," said Liam, his eyes not leaving the road once, which I admired. I couldn't count how many times I've been in a car with a reckless driver.