I woke up in Niall’s room, and he was lying beside me. He was still so cute when he was sleeping. I stretched and then he opened his eyes. “Niall, did you carry me down here?” I asked. “Maybe.” He answered, and wrapped his arms around me. It was already 8:30, as we were usually all awake by now, and I heard Harry and Liam barge through the door. Niall and I jumped up and walked in there. I planted myself on the couch.
“Is wittle Annie Nicole tired?” Harry said. “How’d you know that?” I asked, because I never told anybody my middle name. “I um, heard you on the phone with your friend when she called you that…” he said. “Eavesdropper!” I pointed at him. Then, Louis and Zayn came in.
“If any of you ever call me by that name again, I will make sure that each of you wears dresses to the rest of your concerts! Especially you, Harry!” I said, pointing to all of them.
“You guys found out her middle name didn’t you?” Niall said, walking in the living room from the kitchen. “Yeah” they answered. I didn’t ever want anybody to call me by that name, because after my dad disowned our family, I was just Annie. He was the one that always called me Nicole or Nikki. Nobody but him. I haven’t spoken to him in 5 years, and don’t plan on doing it anytime soon.
“Earth to Annie!” Louis said, waving his hand in front of my face. I was daydreaming. “Leave me alone, Lou.” I said, as the thoughts of my dad kept returning to my head. I haven’t even told Niall about my dad yet, but I planned on doing it soon. The question had to come soon, I mean, you can’t hide your past forever.
I curled up to Niall on the couch, because I wasn’t a morning person. As the guys will soon find out, I am always grumpy in the morning. “So, what are we doing today?” Harry asked. “I have to meet with Amy and Kate about planning your outfits. So I won’t be able to hang with you guys the whole day.” I said. “Awwwww!” they all pouted. “Unless you want to wear dresses, you better let me meet with them!” I snapped. “Me-yow!” Louis said.
“I have some things on my mind.” I said, getting up and heading to the kitchen. Niall came in there and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Guys, come in here. I only want to have to talk about this once!” I said. I sat up on the counter and they all came in the kitchen.
“Okay. Here it is. When I was twelve, my father left and never came back. I haven’t spoken to him since he left, and he always called me by my middle name. Nobody has called me by it since he left.” I told them. They all were very surprised by what I said.
“I’m so sorry, Annie. I had no idea.” Harry apologized. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” I said. Niall put his arm around me and looked at me compassionately. I smiled half-heartedly at him. “Okay. I’ve had enough compassion to fill a lifetime. I said, trying to hold back tears. They all left and I and Niall remained in the kitchen.
“Wanna talk about it?” he said. I slid off of the counter and into his arms. He hugged me around the back of my neck and I hugged him back. I buried my face into his chest and just let the tears fall. “It’s okay. I’m here for you.” I said, rubbing my back. I pulled away and wiped my eyes. He wiped a tear off of my cheek and kissed my forehead. He grabbed my hand and led me into the living room.
He sat down on the couch and pulled me into his lap. I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I’m going to Kate’s so; I’m going to get ready.” I said, and left to go to my room. “Bye!” They all said. I waved back at them and left.
I got in the shower, trying to clear my mind about my dad. When I got out, put on some skinny jeans and a plaid Hollister shirt, kind of resembling Liam. I got my design books and headed over to Kate and Amy’s room.
I knocked on the door and Amy answered it. “Hey! Ready to start?” I asked. “Yeah! Come right in!” she said. I walked in and Kate was sitting on the small couch with her books out. “Hey! I have some great ideas!” she said, pulling the little coffee table with her stuff on it towards her. I sat beside her and got mine out.
“For the first part of the concert, we are going to give them their signature looks, but with the color coordination of red. Like, Harry in a suit coat with a red pocket. Liam plaid with red in it. Louis Red skinny jeans. Zayn varsity jacket with red. And Niall a red polo.” I directed. They agreed.
“What do you have for the second part, Kate?” I asked her. “Remember their outfits from One Thing? Something similar to that! Liam in a vest, Niall polo and sweater, Louis suspenders, Zayn a suit, and Harry a suit.” She said, pointing to the outfits she had drawn. “I like it!” I agreed.
“What about the ending party?” I pointed to Amy. She showed me a picture of them in a very classy suit. “Excellent. Now, where are these outfits? I have mine in my room in the closet. We are going to have to do a fitting for them later!” I directed. They each got out their clothes bags and laid them across the couch. I unzipped and inspected them.
I got out my phone and called Niall. “Hey, babe. Get the guys and come over. We have to fit you guys in these outfits.” I said. “Okay. See you in a sec. Bye” he hung up. Literally 10 seconds later, I heard them knocking on the door. I opened it and they all filed in.
“Okay, line up against that wall!” I directed. They all lined up and I handed them each of their outfits. “Harry, go first.” I said, and he went to the bathroom and put on the first outfit. He came out and twirled. “I like it. Next!” I said.
We continued with this routine until we were done. “Okay, these are your outfits for the next concert!” I said, sitting down on the edge of the couch and putting my face in my hands. Niall came over behind me and massaged my shoulders. “You are amazing!” he said. I just smiled at him.
