Chasing Ari (a 1D Fanfic )

Chapter 11

***Arianna's POV***

Everyone was exhausted after our fierce game of pool volley ball. I was starting to get hungry. I'm sure so was everyone else.

"Hey, guys?" I voiced. "You think its time we get some food out here?"

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus! Yes, food!"  Kaylie cheered, pumping a fist in the air. Our friends were laughing and some were giving her weird looks. I decided to play along.

"There is a God!" a screamed, flinging my hands in the air and dropping to my knees.

"Proper ladies are never on their knees!' Cross called from his seat at the patio table.

I made a face at his crude comment and rose from my knees. 

"Fork you, Cross. Fork. You." I threw a damp towel at him. 

"Anytime, Ari. Anytime." Cross said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Anyone wanna help get some food out here?" I asked sheepishly.

"I volunteer the guys as tribute!" Sydney grinned madly.

"As long as I get to eat!" Niall snorted.

"I guess, we could start the grill. Get our steak on." Harry said, raising his eyebrows at Niall. Niall laughed at him, and pulled him up from the chair.

"Great. Thanks you guys." I smiled. "Cross, think you can get your bum up and help them find the stuff they need." I baited.

"I'm on the same page as Niall. As long as I get some food." Cross got up and gestured for the boys to follow him to the shed on the side of the house.

"Sydney, wanna help me slice up some fruits?" I asked. I knew I shouldn't put anything sharp in Sydney's hands, but i needed to talk to her, alone. And this was the only to get her alone. She nodded, and I led the way to the kitchen.

I closed the sliding glass door behind us. She leaned against the counter as I rummage around the fridge for various fruits. I gathered some watermelon, pineapples, kiwis, apples, and grapes. Put them in a strainer and ran them under some water. I placed the fruit on the kitchen island and pulled up a clean bowl and two knives.

"Try not to hurt yourself, Syd." I badgered.

"Oh, shush. I think I'll be okay." she playfully slapped my arm and picked up a knife. She started with the kiwis. I picked up the watermelon, since they were my favorite.

"So, you know what I found out last night?" I set up.

"No idea." Sydney said, tossing a grape into her mouth.

"Well, I was talking to McKayla last night. She was mentioning how Zayn had revealed to her that he had a little plan." I explained slicing up some of the watermelon and placing it into the bright red bowl.

"A plan? A plan for what?" Sydney inquired, throwing some grapes into the bowl, probably to stop the temptation of popping another one into her mouth. Grapes were her favorite, after all.

"A plan, " I paused to add to the drama. Sydney gave me a look that said, If you don't get on with your story I might slice you.

"To hook Niall up with me." I finally finished. Sydney's eyes grew in shock. 

"You're kidding." was all Sydney could voice.

"So serious. And, I mean, Niall's cute and all. But I just don't exactly like him like that. I barley know him, and if anything, hes a friend, not a crush."

"Oh, okay. I think its kinda karma that they guy you like, or liked, is trying to set you up with someone else." 

I laughed, " I know, its like the universe telling me to get over my crush on Zayn. He does have a girlfriend, so I'm not gonna be getting anywhere, anytime soon."  

"Exactly, Ari. And you never know. You might like Niall." Sydney pointed her knife at me on accident. She talks with her hands, so she doesn't realise there's something sharp in her palms. She pulled the knife back. "Whoops! Sorry, boo. As I was saying, You never know, Harry had to ask me out three times before I finally said yes. I didn't really like him at first, but as we got closer, I realised how amazing he was for me." Sydney explained, scooping the remainder of the chopped fruit into the bowl. 

She picked the bowl up and headed toward the sliding glass door. I grabbed some paper plates, a container of Nutella and a squeezable bottle of condensed milk, for anyone who wanted to top their fruit salad.

Sydney winked at me when she opened the sliding glass door. She was able to open the sliding glass door with her elbow. Shocker because we both lack coordination. As she stepped out on the patio, she started to whistle the initial notes to Demi Lovato's 'Skyscraper'.