A Month In London - A One Direction FanFiction

Chapter 5 - Falling Apart

Ch.5

I felt someone watching me and it sent chills through to my bones. I looked around to see who it was and spotted a dark hooded figure. I started to walk away and noticed that they followed me. I broke into a run and ducked down an alley. Bad idea. It was a total dead end, no doors to escape or anything.

I frantically looked for an escape but realized that the hooded figure was gaining on me. Something glinted in their hand and my heart seized up. They raised the knife above their head and came closer. I was trapped and helpless. The strangers hand came down and I screamed, but made no noise...

I shot up in bed screaming and sweating. Liam startled and his eyes snapped open. Realizing what had just happened, he pulled my face towards him, and making sure I looked him in the eyes. "Love, it's all okay, it was just a dream. I'm here, calm down, it's all okay." he soothed, stroking my cheek and kissing me softly. I still couldn't shake the dream, it had seemed so real!

I looked over at the clock which read 5:00. I sunk back into my pillow and took a few calming breaths. "I'm sorry I woke you up." I rubbed my eyes and wriggled closer to Liam. "It's okay, but I don't think I'll be getting sleep any time soon, love." he stretched and put his arm behind my shoulders, pulling me close. This was the first time I had ever been this close to a guy, emotionally, but it felt as if I had been with him like this forever.

But it's only so long that you can lay in silence, whether or not it's comfortable. Slowly I got up and stretched, accidentally whacking Liam in the face. "UNGH!" he rolled around on the bed clutching his nose. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" I fussed over him and slowly pried his fingers away, the sight of blood making me feel queasy. I ran into the bathroom and pulled out some paper, rushing over and dabbing his nose while he groaned.

If matters couldn't get any worse, a sudden knock sounded at my door. I panicked and didn't know if I should look after Liam or go answer it. Liam noticed my inner turmoil and grabbed my hand. "Go get it, I'll be okay." He smiled and tipped back his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Hoping it wasn't Niall, I sprinted to answer the door and almost cried tears of joy when Lauren was standing on the other side. "Surprise! Miss me?" she winked. "What are you doing here? Omg! I'm so happy to see you!" I jumped into her arms and squealed. "Yes, I missed you! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming?!" she slowly peeled me off with a smile and pulled her bags in. "Cute place, Cat." she gazed around.

Suddenly her jaw dropped and her bags slipped from her hands. Liam had just walked into the room with a tissue held to his nose and a bare chest. He had obviously come in to see who was here but was suddenly embarrassed when he realized that it was one of my 'female-friends'.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to uh...I'm just leaving." he averted his gaze and blushed. "Don't be silly! Leaving? Without a shirt? Pu-lease." Lauren's blazè tone comforted Liam and eased his embarrassment. I slowly pulled Lauren towards Liam and introduced them. "Liam, Lauren. Lauren, Liam." They shook hands and smiled, obviously instantly liking each other.

Liam left to get his shirt and Lauren and I sat down for a morning coffee. "So, why are you here? I thought your course finished in two more days?" I poured her a cup and slid it across the bench toward her. She smiled her thanks and wrapped her cold fingers around the warm mug. "Well, it actually finished early because we had already finished all the content. So I thought I'd surprise you and come over. But I didn't know that you were busy." she winked at me as she sipped her coffee. "No! It's not what it looks like! He stayed over cause well...reasons." I stuttered. "Go on..." she pressed.

"Well, believe it or not but I'm getting hate. Some scary Directioner is threatening me and I'm even trending on twitter!" I sighed and sank into the chair opposite her. "Whoa, that's what that trend was about! Well, I understand now...but I can support you too!" she gave me a warm, reassuring smile. Liam then walked in and leant toward me. "I've gotta go love, but I'll call later to make sure you're okay." He gave me a quick peck on the lips before bidding his goodbyes to both of us and heading off.

"You guys are adorable!" Lauren squealed. I blushed and looked away. Suddenly screaming broke out just outside of my apartment. Lauren and I worriedly made eye contact. I slowly crept up to my door and looked through the peephole. I instantly felt sick when I saw the sight on the other side of the door. I ripped open the door and stalled. What was I going to do?

Liam and Niall were figuratively at each other's throats, screaming and calling each other foul names. I had to think, fast. "ALRIGHT! Stop, NOW!" I screamed, standing in between them and placing a hand on each of their chests. "You are acting like children! You were best buds! I don't know what has gone on but I want this to end now, understood?" I made eye contact with both of them and they both silently nodded.

I dropped my hands and looked at Liam but he refused to return my gaze. "Liam?" his eyes shot up. The hurt in his eyes killed me inside, making me want to drop and curl up in a ball. He pushed past me and ran down the stairs. I blinked back a few tears and looked over at Niall. He was silently stewing, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Niall, what just happened there?" He glared at me and faced me with a taunting smile. "So, he's the lucky guy? Wow, you sure know how to pick 'em." he stormed off the same way Liam did, but looked back only once with...pain? Anger? I'll never know, because he was gone in a second.

I collapsed on the floor and sobbed, letting my tears freely rain onto my cheeks and drip off my chin. Everything had all gone horribly wrong. I could only imagine what Liam was thinking, how it looked to him. I'm not one to cheat...but I don't think Liam would believe me after seeing this. What had gone on that they screamed at each other that way? I felt guilty, as if I had wronged that most perfect guy. Guys in fact! Niall didn't deserve that either. What a mess I had created.

I felt a protective arm wrap around my shoulders. Lauren hugged me close and shushed me, trying to calm me down. I sniffed and gazed up at her. "Am I a bad person?" I whimpered. She looked at me with a disbelieving frown. "Nonsense! You are the most loving and caring person out there! Don't you dare doubt that for one minute. Now come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Lauren led me back into the apartment and sat me down on the couch, handing me a box of tissues. She sat beside me and I cuddled into her, feeling like a baby. Even though I was older that Lauren, right now I felt like she was my big sister, helping me mend my broken heart. "I'm so glad you're here, I have no idea what I would've done without you." I smiled and hugged her tight. I had never felt this homesick in my life and was staring to think that coming to London was a bad idea.

"I'm gonna go pack, I can't stay here." I announced, standing up to make my point. "Are you kidding? You are NOT giving this up! For starters, you can't lose Liam, you guys are meant for each other, and second of all, you have to find out what they were like that to each other!" Lauren stood up and looked at me, using her extra height on me as an advantage.

I sunk back into the couch and huffed. "I guess you're right." I fiddled with a fraying cushion and mentally cursed her for being so right. "Look, I'm gonna go out and get some food for us. Then when I get back we can just chat, you and me, about random shit like we always used to." she grinned and headed out, leaving me alone to my own mind.

Instead of beating myself up further, I picked up my phone and logged on to Twitter, hopefully so I could get my mind of things. But that was a bad mistake. My fear of getting hate? Well, I had no idea it would be this bad. Thousands of girls had tweeted me, cursing and saying hurtful things.

My eyes skimmed the pages and picked up a few stinging words; 'bitch', 'gold-digger', 'slut'. But the most hurtful one was; 'you're nowhere near as pretty and womanly as Danielle was...and you never will be.' That one cut me to the bone. I stormed over to the door and threw my phone outside, slamming my door and collapsing on the floor.