I'll Catch You

Chapter Thirteen:

“I was thinking we could just go in the nearest department store and wreak havoc around there.”

And, after Lou had finished explaining his masterful plan to us mere mortals, we headed out in search of some unwitting store clerks.

“Alright, every one is clear on the plan, yeah? Three, two, one LET’S DO THIS POO!” And with that, we all split up to do our respective parts of the prank. 

Niall and Zayn (disguised in beanies and sunglasses of course) started an argument near the customer service desk.

“What do you mean Derby is better than Man U?” Zayn practically yelled. 

Oh shit, I thought. What if his accent gives him away?

But I shouldn’t have worried. Niall immediately just shoved him and said, in a pretty good British accent,

“You heard me! Derby is the best!”

And with that they were off, chest bumping and shoving eachother until finally the clerk manning the desk (and intercom) had to try separate them.

With the desk empty, Lou, Liam and Harry raced for the intercom. 

“Let’s lead Liam in, yeah? THREE. TWO. ONE. Innnnnnnnn West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days. Chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin all cool. Shootin’ some bball outside of the school...”

The bewildered attendant didn’t know if he should separate Zayn and Niall first or get Lou, Harry, and Liam off the mic and Maddi and I were in tears watching, and videotaping, the entire scene. 

About half way through the rap everyone heard Louis shout

“Abort mission! Abort mission!” 

And we knew it was our cue to race for the exit because the sales clerk had called in backup.

On sheer adrenaline, we sprinted about a block before laughing fits made running impossible.

“Please, please tell me you got that on camera.” 

Except because of Harry’s accent it ended up sounding more like cam-ah-rah.

“Of course we did!” Maddi responded, and pulled out her iPhone.

“Now, don’t tell me this is how you usually treat girls when they first meet you or I won’t feel nearly as special.” I teased Niall.

“No, no,” he laughed. “This is very exclusive treatment. Usually its a lot more... normal. But I guess we’ve all got a bit of a hankering to do something ‘a bit mischievous’ as Lou always says. We’ve had to be good for the press for far too long.”

With his windblown hair and flushed face from running, it was all I could do not to kiss him right there. 

“Oh good, because this is a lot more fun than any normal lunch.”

He grinned.

“Glad you think so. This is how me and the lads are usually. A lot of people don’t realize how weird we actually are.”

“Oh, I think you would be surprised. But don’t worry, I promise I won’t give away your secret.” I said, winking.

He looked like he was about to respond with something important until our private moment was shattered by Liam’s exhilarated shout,

"Where to next, boys? Er, and girls...”