Cut!

Take 24 - Does He Know - Part 2

A/N: Please comment as you read. Your support makes my day.

“Anyway, Niall,” Zayn said. “How’s thing with your love-life?”

Niall shrugged. “I gave my number to a girl… told her to text me when she got home.”

“What happened?” I asked.

He grinned. “I think she might be homeless—she hasn’t texted me yet.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s missing,” Zayn said. “Plenty of other fish in the sea.”

“What if I’m allergic to seafood?” Niall asked.

Zayn and I rolled our eyes in unison. “You don’t have to eat her,” I said.

When Zayn and Niall began to laugh, I realized what I’d said. That could be taken in so many different ways. I played offended, crossing my arms and pouting. “You know what I meant.”

Zayn was literally wiping tears away from his eyes, and I began to worry again. Why wasn’t Harry, Louis and Liam back yet? I glanced at the clock on the DVR in the room, trying to calculate for how long they’d been gone now.

“Want to play a game?” Niall asked.

“What kind?” I asked. In all honesty, it would probably be better if I did something—anything. I needed to do something with my hands.

“We have an x-box in here.” Niall shrugged. “We can play anything you want.”

I agreed, and they settled on some kind of co-op shooter game. It was extremely violent, and every time I died—which was often—red blood splattered on the screen. Of course, this didn’t seem to repulse the guys. Instead, they found it even more hilarious. Especially after seeing me squirm.

“This game sucks,” I said and threw the controller away. “I’m not playing anymore.”

“Don’t be like that,” Zayn said. “Look. I’ll only play with the ax then. Then you have a bigger chance.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Nope. I give in. You are the masters of video games.” I stood up and stretched my arms. My nervousness had made me tense up.

“I’m heading out for a small walk,” I said.

Zayn waved goodbye with his controller, and Niall nodded his head in my direction. However, a new game had already started and they didn’t look away from the screen.

I walked out of the suite and into the hall. I didn’t exactly know where I planned to go, but it didn’t matter. I had to do something. I walked to the elevator and headed for the lobby. Part of me wished I’d run into Harry and Louis, but I didn’t exactly know how that would go down either.

The rumors that One Direction had arrived must have spread, because the lobby was filled with security guards who talked into their headset as I walked past them.

“Cami,” a voice said. “Long time no see.”

I stopped up to see Jamie beside me. To be honest, I hadn’t thought of him lately. “Yeah… sorry about that. I’ve had a lot going on.”

“I heard about that.” He frowned. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’ll live. Just a bit crazy that’s all.”

He smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. I hope that when… things settle down, maybe we can get together one day?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Just give me a couple of days to get this movie over with. Then I’ll know better what kind of time I have on my hands.”

“Ah, yes.” Jamie cringed. “The movie. As if you don’t have enough on your plate already. I read about the concert too, that has to be exciting.”

“It is…” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Look, I got to head out, but good luck on… Wednesday is it?”

“Thursday… and thanks.” I waved at him, and then looked around the lobby.

Something smashed into me fast, and I could feel myself falling. And this time, there was no Harry to save me.

This was going to hurt…

I landed on my bum, wincing as the pain shot up my spine. I looked around to see what it was, but whoever just ran into me was long gone.

“Are you okay?”

Looking up, I saw Liam standing above me. He reached out a hand to me, helping me to my feet.

“Yeah… I just think someone tried to run straight through me.” I dusted off my hands out of habit. “What are you doing here?”

He held up a big pack of gummy bears. “Raided the candy store… I was on my way up to the room again. What about you?”

“Just thinking of getting some fresh air, really.” I shrugged. “Zayn and Niall crushed me in some video-game, and it felt like there was a little too much testosterone for my taste.”

Liam laughed. “Okay then. Well… I can go with you if you’d like company?” When I didn’t answer, he nudged my shoulder. “I could catch you if you get run down again. Plus, I’ll share my candy with you.”

I laughed. “Okay, okay. You’ve convinced me. How can I say no to a knight with shiny gummy bears?”

He wiggled his eyes and rattled the bag. “You can’t…”

We walked through the lobby, and somehow we ended up by the private pool. Once again, it looked like a fairy land, with the multi-colored lights.

“So does that back there often happen  to you?” Liam sat down on a chair.

I sat next to him. “Not that typically. I’m usually very careful not to stand in the way of people.”

Usually, as in before I entered celebrity business less than three weeks ago.

“Clever choice, clever choice.” He nodded.

“My biggest fear currently is not being able to defend myself,” I admitted. “I still haven’t found out who could have broken into my room.” I didn’t know if I was actually talking to Liam, or if I was just thinking out loud.

“Yeah, I heard about that.” Liam opened his candy and offered me first grab.

Smiling, I grabbed a small handful and slowly chewed on one of the gummy bears.

“You know,” Liam said. “I could help you with that if you want.”

“With what?” I asked with a mouth full of chewed up candy.

Smooth, Cami. Smooth.

“With the not being able to defend yourself.” He shrugged. “I can teach you a few moves. It won’t make you ready for full-on combat, but it could give you the element in a surprise in case you ever need it.”

“Really?” I swallowed. “That would be so cool.”

“Sure, no problem.” Liam smiled.

I smiled back at him. I liked Harry’s friends and bandmates. So far, they’d given me no reason to worry. The only problem was whether Louis had told Harry or not. And if he had, what repercussions would it have for me?

“Hey, where’s Harry?” I asked.

“He was talking to Louis, so I ran away. It seemed like a private conversation.” Liam shrugged, but my stomach churned. “I think he’s—oh there he is.” He pointed.

I looked up to see Harry in the door. His eyes met mine.

“Cami,” he said and walked over to me. He was slightly out of breath, as if he’d been running. “I need to talk to you.”

Oh no…

 A/N: Double updates! Woo. Also, I've already written over 25.000 words this month for NaNo. All thanks to you. Now, I'm on #106 on the Fanfic list, and if you all vote, comment, and add this story to a reading list, then we might be able to push me into top 100. It would literally mean the world to me if that happened. Love you all. Give this a vote, maybe?