Cut!

Take 24 - Does He Know - Part 1

A/N: Comment as you read. It makes my day. 

My eyes met Louis’, and I felt like I was going to pass out from the lack of air. I needed to breathe, but somehow, it seemed as if time stood still as long as held my breath.

It was ridiculous, stupid and completely bonkers. However, I couldn’t do anything about it—not really. It was the thing about irrational things—they didn’t make any sense.

A flash of something crossed his face, and he glanced down at the bracelet. Shaking his head, he smiled. “You must be Ludmilla,” he said. He held up the bracelet. “And I guess this is yours.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“No man,” Zayn said. “Around here we call her Cami.”

Louis’ eyebrows rose. “How come?”

Zayn shrugged. “Her numerologist says that Cami gives off a better vibe.” He laughed. “Imagine if that was me, though. My name would probably be Jack if I went to one.”

“Nah, man,” Niall said. “You don’t look like a Jack at all…” He tapped his chin with the hand that wasn’t around me. “You could look a bit like a Sebastian, though.”

Zayn cringed. “Really? Maybe I should go to a numerologist and find out.”

“Sure,” Liam joined in. “We can go together.”

I was confused. Still staring at Louis, I could have sworn he recognized me. Why wouldn’t he out me? Also, why didn’t I connect the dots earlier? I swallowed. No one was to blame for this—except me. I should have done my research.

In my mind, I was already packing my bags while Niall led me over to the couch. As if I was on an auto-pilot I followed mindlessly. Harry sent me a worried look, and I could only guess what that meant. Go figure. When I was about to be exposed as the fraud I was, he would be concerned about me.

“Hey, Harry,” Louis said. “Do you know if this place has like a snack bar? I could kill for some chocolate, and someone has already emptied my stash.” He looked at Zayn.

Zayn held up his hands in surrender. “So, I skipped dinner a few times. That’s not a crime.”

Louis snorted.

“Ehm.” Harry ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah. I guess there’s one downstairs. I can take you if you want?”

“That sounds lovely,” Louis chirped. He placed the bracelet on the table, and soon after, he walked out of the door.

“I’m going to go with them,” Liam said and patted his belly. “I could use a snack too—it was a long trip.”

When they left, I looked between Niall and Zayn, unsure what to do. Should I talk about something? Would it be wasted if Louis told Harry everything? Could I pretend to be fine, and then have my cover blown in just a few moments?

Zayn began to laugh. “Geez, Cami. You look like you’ve seen a ghost—we’re not that dangerous.”

Niall nodded. “Yeah, we don’t bite.” He winked. “Unless you want me to.”

The comment made me feel the heat stream to my cheeks. Oh, dear. What had I gotten myself into?

I smiled at them, trying to look less scared.

“So…” Niall says. “Zayn says you’re pretty fun to be around. Care to elaborate on that?”

His accent had the most adorable hint of Irish, and it almost sounded like he tried to hide it. I shrugged at him. “I think Zayn is better suited to explain what he meant with that—I have no idea myself.”

“She helped me with a gift for Terry,” Zayn said. “It was pretty neat.”

“So, you’re an artistic soul.” Niall nodded and wiggled his eyebrows. “I can dig that.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Don’t scare her.”

Niall mock-gasped. “Moi? I would never.” He looked at me. “Truthfully, I’m just playing.” He held his hand up, palm out. “I swear to god.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m just a bit tired after last night.” Nodding to Zayn, I continued, “We had a small drinking game.”

“Dude,” Niall said. “You never drink.”

“I didn’t yesterday, either.” Zayn grinned. “I was the host.”

“Oh, I would have loved to see that.” Niall laughed. “Did Harry get wasted?”

I looked between them as they talked. It was amazing how carefree they looked. Of course, they didn’t know about the storm that was raging inside of me.

“What do you say, Cami?” Niall said.

I jerked up, realizing I hadn’t been paying attention to what they were talking about. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Couldn’t it be fun to hit the Milan scene together one of the days?” Niall smiled.

Shrugging, I laughed. “I’m not really that much of a party animal.”

“Neither are we,” Niall said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, though.”

“I grinned. “Okay then. Sure.”

“Score…” Niall laughed. “We’re going to get the rest of the boys to join too.”

I gulped at the prospect of going out with Harry. Would this even be possible? Right now, Louis could be telling Harry everything about me. In a few minutes, he could storm in here and demand that I packed my bags and left.

I wouldn’t blame him if he did. Chances were that I’d react the same way if the roles had been reversed.

“So…” Niall said. “You and Harry, eh?”

My eyes widened. What? “Huh?”

“I saw the pictures online, and Zayn here said you’d been spending some time together.” Niall crossed his legs. “Just testing if your intentions are pure and all.”

I must have looked scared because moments after Zayn and Niall burst out laughing.

“I’m really just messing with you,” Niall said. “I promise.”

“Oh, Okay…” I rubbed my forehead. “I think I’m still suffering from a hangover. I’m really not this slow, usually.”

Niall didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he had a good time teasing me about it. I contemplated being offended, but that wouldn’t help anything. Besides, Niall wasn’t what kept my heartbeat racing like a crazy person. It was Harry, and the fact that everything might soon be ruined.

Diana had been right: life is what happens when you’re busy waiting for the right moment.

A/N: Give it a vote, maybe? And it would mean a lot, if you wanted to go back through the story to check if your vote has gone through. Just found out that the vote-button has been somewhat messed up lately. So even if you think you have voted, it might not have gone through. On another note, you got me to Fanfiction #106. Not the best spot, but definitely a record for me <3 Thank you.