Hopeless

Chapter 17

Phoenix's POV

"Lads!" I singsonged into the kitchen, grabbing one of the Christmas cookies that we had all made together last week.

Niall came skipping down the stairs and kissed me on the cheek before grabbing a cookie. The other lads came down still looking half asleep. Zayn, with his hair spiked up all over, looked like he had put in the most effort, while Louis, with old chinos and an old tee shirt, looked like he had put in the least effort.

Like zombies, they shuffled into the kitchen, each taking a cookie before plopping down on a stool.

I had a surprise planned for them that morning, and I'd already thought ahead as to how to get them out to the van.

"Liam, Louis, surprises in the back seat, back row. Zayn, Harry, your surprises are in the back seat, front row. Niall, yours are next to me, in the passenger seat. Let's go!" I shuffled them all out to their respective seat, and that seemed to wake them up some.

"Carrots? Cookie?" Louis asked. Apparently he was forming single-word sentences.

"Cookie? Hair gel?" Zayn said. He still wasn't super awake.

"Cookie? Hair dye?" Liam couldn't believe it.

"Cookies and tacos. Nice," Harry approved as he dig into the taco.

"Awww babe. You got me Nandos and Oreos? Thanks, babe," Niall pecked me on the cheek.

As I pulled out of the drive, one of our favourite songs came on the radio.

"Everybody wanna steal my girl. Everybody wanna take her heart away. Couple billion in the whole wide world. Find another one cuz she belongs to me!" we all shouted. The song was really catchy and the meaning behind it was clear: none of the lads were going to let me go without a fight. Niall adored me, Harry loved me, and the other three were protective like brothers.

Niall's POV

Phoenix took us to a huge house that looked deserted. When we got out, I gave the lads a questioning look that said, 'What is this place and why are we here?' They shrugged their shoulders, so we followed Phoenix to the door.

She held the screen door open for us, and we all filed in, waiting for her to take charge. She seemed to be having trouble getting through the door, as if there was an invisible force field that only affected her. I decided that I would carry her in, bridal style, since she was having difficulties. It was a struggle, but we made it in. Almost immediately, the mood and aura of our surroundings changed to really dark and foreboding, borderline spooky.

Phoenix didn't really say much, but took us around the main floor, occasionally stopping and then moving on. The upstairs was a long, narrow hallway with doors on either side. She peered in each door and move on, each time peering in longer and moving slower. The last door on the left, she went into and walked around it, as if in a trance. The basement was super eery as well, so we didn't spend much time there either.

By the time we left, Phoenix was walking woodenly, and, fearing that she'd get stuck again, I carried her out. Her limbs were like wooden rods, and I would've mistaken her for a doll had she not been breathing or blinking. Her skin was cold, her hands clammy, and her gaze unmoving.

As we all climbed into the van, I put Phoenix in the passenger seat and drove. Something was wrong with her. She didn't even look like her normal self. I was legitimately scared for her.

Phoenix immediately disappeared into her room when we got back to flat. As much as I wanted to follow her and talk to her, I wasn't able to because she locked her door. I was really upset that I couldn't do anything to help her. She wouldn't even reply to my texts.

One hour later

It was time to eat supper, and because Phoenix was still in her room, I went up and knocked on her door. She answered a couple seconds later, closing the door behind her.

"You alright?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she replied.

She didn't say anything else the rest of the night, mostly locking herself in her room

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Author's Note

Sorry about the long wait. I was too lazy to copy this chapter in to my notebook, and then I hurt my wrist, so I couldn't really update then. But, I copied up through chapter 19, and there will be lots more of the story to come.

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Love you Hopefuls!

Lizzy-Luci :)