This Heist Can Only Go in One Direction

Chapter Six

That night, I couldn't sleep. Thoughts and memories kept creeping up on me, making me more and more unsure of what I was going after with Liam. That, and sleeping on the frozen ground with an injured shoulder was less than desirable.

Slowly, I got off of where I laid on Liam's chest and walked. I didn't know where I was going. To be honest, it didn't matter as long as I kept the fire in sight. I just had to get away for a while.

That was always my escape when I was back home. Go outside at night and just walk to clear my head and get my thoughts in order. Things always made my brain all cluttered like that at home, just nonstop hounding and yelling from teachers and other people.

I smiled to myself. Maybe Liam and I were alike, in a way. The paparazzi and management were always on his case, and I always had people on mine. I guess I could relate to him.

My shoulder twinged with pain as I shivered. I hadn't even bothered to look at it. Obviously everyone else had. I didn't want to know how bad the wound really was. The bravado I like to keep up might not hold as well if I knew how horrible it looked.

At that moment, I stopped walking. Liam and I were more alike than I thought. He always had his mask to the world, to his fans, to everyone except those few he trusted, just like me. And for some reason, he had trusted me enough to let his guard down and share his feelings. What I wouldn't give to be able to do that...

I stared into the dark forest as a cold memory re-gripped my heart. No, I could never do that. I shouldn't do that. Love wasn't real. He just wanted something from me.

I sighed, trying to push away these thoughts. My head was just as stuffed as when I left, and to make it worse, I sounded like a bitter old woman.

And I guess, in some ways, I was.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"How much farther are we going to have to walk?" Harry whined, dragging his feet. "It's snowing!"

"Just be glad you don't have frost bite yet!" Zayn called back to him, burying his face back into his tiny scarf that seemed more for decoration than for warmth. Snow settled in his hair, making it look like he had bad dandruff. I smiled as I laughed at my inside joke with myself. Surprisingly, even without their numerous hair products that I'm sure they used, they hadn't looked half bad these past couple days.

I, on the other hand, looked like a half drowned rat.

"What's that up ahead?" Louis stopped running around long enough to point in the trees in front of us. Harry perked up, then sprinted forward, Louis not far behind.

"It's a road!" Harry screamed back, voice cracking on the last word.

"Did he just say road?" Liam looked at me, eyes wide. We all took off, coming to a stop beside the snow covered pavement. From where we could see it, one way went up the mountain to our right, turning around a bend and disappearing from sight. On our lefts, it went downwards at a steady slope, also disappearing from sight.

"Let's go!" Louis yelled, taking off with Harry in tow.

"Louie!" Liam yelled, making them stop.

"What?"

"The cabin is that way! We need to go in the opposite direction!"

"Oh." Louis looked at the way he was going, then spun around on his heel. "Right then! Onwards!" Walking downwards alongside the road turned out to be a lot more difficult than expected. Louis, who seemed to never stay still, stumbled and fell quite a few times. Since the slippery slope required more concentration, everyone slid into silence, save for the occasional comments by Harry and Louis.