Defining Stars

Chapter 4

Louis knocked on the open door, and I looked up at him and tried to force a smile. He knew I had overheard them talking about Chad. He yelled behind him, "Guys, Nancy Drew is at it again." They've always referred to me as Nancy Drew because they've never been able to keep a secret from me. I was going to object Louis yelling for them because I didn't want Oliver to see me like this, but I need to stop acting as if something is going to happen there. Come on, Stella. You're still waiting for Chad to text you. You can't be into two guys at once. That's not you. 

They all came in and sat on my bed. We sat there in silence until I spoke. "So...Chad's an idiot." Everyone laughed. 

Louis took my hand, "Stella you were always too good for him." 

George chimed in, "We all thought that from the beginning. You're also far too pretty for him." 

Oliver cleared his throat, "I agree with everything they said, and I've only known you and Chad for a day now." He laughed and continued, "I am truly sorry about his actions, Stella." He has got to stop saying my name. 

"I mean, let's be real, I probably deserved to be treated this way." I laughed as my comment got them riled up. Louis threw me over his shoulder and yelled, "Take it back!" 

I continued to laugh as he carried me downstairs and threw me onto the couch. He took a pillow and hit me with it several times before he gave me a chance to sit up. "I was just kidding, Lou.” 

"I know, and that's what pisses me off." He sat down next to me and ruffled my hair. "I still love you, though." 

We both laughed as George and Oliver stared at us from the bottom of the staircase. 

"Can we eat now?" I laughed as the guys ran to the room and brought everything to the living room. I turned on the first episode of Once Upon a Time, and after a few jokes and snide remarks, everyone seemed to enjoy it. After a few episodes all of the guys were asleep. I turned off the tv and went to grab some more blankets from the hall closet. I came back and found Oliver awake and picking up the plates to take them to the kitchen. 

He saw me and smiled, "Is this a slumber party now?" 

I giggled as I put the blankets on the guys. "Only if you want it to be. I know your schedule is super busy... Olly." 

He seemed caught off guard at first, like he wasn't expecting me to call him by his nickname. He didn’t say anything, so I tried to explain myself. “Sorry, I just heard the guys call you that earlier." 

"Oh, no problem. It's just been a while since someone else has called me Olly." 

"So you've been friends with the guys for a while then?" 

"Yes. We all grew up together." 

"Really? Did you go to the same school?" 

"I did in fact." 

"That's fun. So you're royalty too?" I laughed as I said it, but Oliver looked super uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me?" 

"I mean, you know, the super preppy boarding school you all attended?" 

"Oh." He chuckled a bit to himself and sighed. "Right. I guess you could say we were spoiled as children." 

All of a sudden someone's hand was over my mouth. I immediately screamed and turned around to see George laughing. I hit him in the arm. "I thought you were asleep!" 

Louis came up behind him. I frowned. Did we just wake you up?" 

George shook his head. "Not at all, love. Actually, my sister just asked if I could come over and fix their sink. I figured I'd invite everyone, considering there's a party going on right now. Louis looked at me and nodded, smiling.