He is here! It wasn't just my imagination, he's really here! In my euphoria I hugged him as tight as I could manage with his strong hands still holding on to my sides. "Liam, Liam..." I murmured in his neck. "Shh, Shan, it's okay, love. I'm home now." He gave me a soft kiss on top of my head. A loud sob escaped from my lips and I said, 'Stay home?" "Always," he promised me. Then I saw her thick blond hair drifting before my eyes again, and the short red dress... "But- you-?" Another sob escaped from me and he pulled away just enough so he could look me in the eyes. After a while I managed to choke the words out. "Did you kiss her?" I shut my eyes as I heard my voice crack at the end of the question. In a confused voice he asked who I was talking about. I pointed at the fridge where I had put the photo on, which I had printed out in large. "What? Her? No! I didn't do anything with that girl! Why do think I'd ever want anyone else but you, my love??" He hugged me even tighter while I tried to get my breathing back under control.
"Hey Shannon! - Oh, I'm sorry, are we interrupting something? - AUCH! What did I deserve that one for?" Harry squealed. "Come on, guys. Let's give them a minute," I heard Zayn's soft voice say. I sighed and back away from Liam slightly. "No, it's okay guys. Come in, I've missed you guys like hell!" I said loudly. I turned and looked right into Naill's worried face. I tried to smile reassuringly at him before turning back to Liam. "I'm sorry," I said, "I should've never doubted you, but... since you never returned my calls I thought you were avoiding me 'cause you wanted to break it down to me face to face. I'm sorry, but I believe you now," I said softly because of the guilt that had built a pit in my stomach. "Sit down, guys, after I've hugged you to pieces first!" I smirked. "I made cupcakes! If you just wait a second I'll make some tea," I shouted with a wink at Niall as I finished off my round of hugs.
While the lads started chirping, Liam and I went to take care of everything, since he knew this kitchen very well too. In the past 8 months he had mostly stayed here whenever he was home from touring. As I took my gloves and put them on again, Liam started talking. "Thank you for being here for me always and I'm really sorry but I forgot my phone at a gas station and our manager didn't want to pull over at a shop so I could buy a new one and then we were too busy with the shows... I'm really sorry, Shannon. I love you, I would never do a John Newman-worthy thing to you!" we chuckled at his reference at 'Cheated' and he continued. "A friend of ours introduced her to me and Zayn at a party last week. She was some producer's daughter and well..." he trailed off, not sure how to continue. "...living the life off the party... We had fun with her, especially Niall, but we left without her." I giggled. "Niall on flirt-mode, huh?" I looked at the Irish boy, who was busy walking like a flamingo. Liam burst out laughing, but quickly shut up when the flamingo slowly turned to shoot daggers at him.
"Anyway," he went on, "two days later she shows up on our signing and Niall thought it'd be funny to get her and her friend backstage. Funny it was, but fun, not so much. She was a bit drunk and couldn't keep her hands off of Niall. That's why Zayn and I bailed." I thought about this for a while and said, "What about Harry and Louis? They went to get some popcorn and enjoyed the show?" I guessed. "Ha, yes," he grinned humorlessly, "But it didn't last very long, because James, one of our new bodyguards, threw her out pretty soon. Apparently, someone got to snap a pic of her backstage and threw it online together with the filthy story..." His eyes drifted towards the fridge, but the picture was long gone. "So, you didn't even like her, a tiny bit? Like just her attitude or her looks?" I ask softly while I keep my eyes casted downwards. Liam takes a few steps closer, until he's closed the distance between us. Then he strokes my cheek with his thumb and lowers his face towards mine. All my thoughts -how I couldn't keep myself from asking if he really wanted to forget about her, if he really just liked me, only me- flood from my mind and this is what flood from his lips...
"After all this time you'd think I'd be
Used to the pull of your gravity
But after flying so high for so long, who would think
I'm still learning, still burning, still falling
Still falling
I still reach for your hand because I need it
Your kiss is still the spark that lights a fire
You're still laughing with me,
And we're still making memories,
I'm still a fool for you, and there's a million reasons why
After every late night street light drive
And every "Love you", "Miss you", kiss good night
Girl, your name is still my favorite
Always will be and I'm
Still wanting, still all-in, I'm still falling
Still falling,
Still chasing, still nervous,
Still reeling, dreaming about this
And after every sunrise holding you,
After all the crazy we've been through
Every day and every minute, girl, it's something new,
I'm still learning, still burning, yeah, still wanting, still all-in, still falling.
Still falling."
"It's our song, right? I know it was that Hayes guy who wrote this song, but Shannon..." He didn't continue until I locked my eyes with his. I felt my heart flutter wildly in my chest as he said, "I'm still wanting, still all-in and most of all... I'm still falling for you every day more and more. Being away from you, especially since I've been practically living here these past months, only makes me love you more." He closed his eyes and tried to keep a straight voice when adding, "So much more..."
He didn't have time to open his eyes before I pressed my lips on his fiercely. "Oh God, Liam. I don't think you have any idea what this means to me. Like- I've never, ever been with a guy who could just lays his feelings out in the open, who just says what he feels instead of locking me out. You're just what I need and as long as I'm what you need I'm gonna spent every minute of my life enjoying what we have here and making sure that when we're writing OUR storyline of events I'm making you as happy as you keep on making me. Is that clear enough?"
