Stand Up » 1D

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mara Ingles

I woke up with my back to Niall, his face buried in my neck. I tried moving, but he held me tighter. I smiled in amusement and gently removed his hands from around my waist. I got up out of bed and bent down to give him a small kiss on the forehead. He hummed and I giggled.

Yes, I'd found that ever since the night we slept together, I couldn't sleep right without him. The floor just wasn't that comfortable, and Niall would never try to pull anything on me. So we just settled with sharing the bed together.

When I left our room, I noticed that I was the only one awake. Not even Zaylin was up yet. That's odd. Usually she was the first one up and about. I shook off my concerns and entered the living room.

Scratch that, I wasn't the only one awake. Jasmine was staring up at the ceiling through half-closed eyes. It didn't look like she slept a wink last night.

I sat down on her legs and gave her a small smile. "Hey, Jazzy."

"Hey, Mara," she muttered.

I looked up at the ceiling with her. "Whatcha looking at?" I asked.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking, for the most part."

I looked back down at her. "About what?"

"About how miserable my love life is," she said. I winced. Uh oh.

"What are you talking about?" I exclaimed quietly. "You're Jasmine Treader, Aphrodite in disguise! Even Abby says so!"

"If I'm Aphrodite, then how come I don't have a boyfriend?" Jasmine shot at me, sitting up.

"I thought you did?"

"I do. But he's just a boy toy. He doesn't mean anything to me."

I didn't know how to reply to that. I bit my lip and tried not to cringe.

"Why did this have to happen to me, Mara?" Jasmine asked in a pleading way. "I know Zaylin told you; why do I have this crush on Liam? It's terrible, but I love it at the same time!"

I tried not to laugh. "That's why they're called crushes, baby," I told her soothingly. "If they were easy, they'd be called something else."

Jasmine turned and groaned into a pillow. "I don't want to feel this way," she said, turning her face up. "Liam has Danielle, who is a model and everything I can't be. There's no way Liam will ever like me back."

"Not true!" I declared. "You're an amazing girl, Jasmine! Any boy would be lucky to have you." Jasmine didn't look convinced but didn't protest.

"I have an idea," I declared a moment later. She looked at me expectantly. "Why don't you tell Liam how you feel? Trust me, he won't overreact," I added to Jasmine's look of horror. "I know boys. He won't mind. And that way you'll have it out of your mind."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Jasmine hissed. "Why on Earth would I tell Liam I have a crush on him? I can't do that! I'm way too cowardly and nervous to do that."

"No, you're not," I said firmly. "I think you should do it. Liam will think it's just a silly crush and brush it off. As for you, you'll feel better on the inside. And Danielle doesn't have to know a thing about it. How's that?"

Jasmine looked like she was considering it. "But what if Liam tells Danielle?"

"He won't," I said confidently. "After all, they're dating. Liam wouldn't want to end his relationship over a 'silly little crush'." I tried not to sound insulting, but Jasmine didn't look offended.