On The Ride

“The Wilde Dolls; forced to stay ‘Up All Night’ with One Direction?”

Daphne Wilde’s green eyes widened when she read the headline that was on The Sun’s website. She mentally debated whether or not she should check the article out. Being the curious girl that she was, she ended up clicking the edited photo of her and her bandmate and cousin, Nina Wilde, and One Direction, and stared intently at her laptop’s screen as she waited for the article to load. When the article finished loading, she took in a deep breath before reading it.

“The fast-rising pop rock duo from Scottsdale, Arizona, The Wilde Dolls, are rumored to have been forced by their record label, Columbia Records, to join British/Irish pop group One Direction, in their upcoming Up All Night World Tour. With One Direction being signed to Syco Music, a company which was founded and is owned by Simon Cowell, it was expected that The Wilde Dolls would be the band’s supporting act in the American leg of their world tour. Since Columbia Records is affiliated with Syco Music, the two major recording labels are under the same company. Simon Cowell had previously stated that he found the girls ‘lovely and absolutely talented’.

Sources say that both Nina and Daphne Wilde were completely opposed to the idea of having them on tour with One Direction, but they couldn’t say no, fearing that their record label might drop them and they didn’t want to give a bad impression to Simon.

‘The girls signed up for the tour because they didn’t want Simon to hate them. They also didn’t want their record label to drop them.’ Source one says.

Source two has something to say as well. ‘Nina and Daphne absolutely despised the idea of them touring with the boys.’

Nina Wilde, the band’s backup vocalist and rhythm guitarist, mentioned in a previous interview that she was ‘not a fan’ of One Direction, and when asked what she thought about Harry Styles, she said she found him ‘repulsive and unattractive’. Ouch! When Harry Styles was tweeted by a female fan about this a day after the interview, he tweeted her back saying: “I guess some people just don’t like me.” Poor Harry, Nina might’ve been a little too harsh on the handsome young man.

On the other hand, her bandmate and cousin, Daphne Wilde, the band’s lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and pianist, was indifferent about being on tour with the lads.

“I don’t care who we’re with or where we are - just as long as we get the chance to share our music.” she tweeted.

However, Zayn Malik seemed to have taken an interest in the green-eyed beauty, tweeting her how excited he was about touring with them. Daphne Wilde tweeted him back, saying that she was feeling the same. They seem like they could make a cute couple, eh? A source told The Sun that Zayn fell in love with Daphne at first sight.

‘Zayn couldn’t take his eyes off her when they first met at their meeting a few days ago.’

The rest of the boys in One Direction have tweeted their thoughts about the tour and all of them said the same thing - they were looking forward to be meeting their fans all around the world.

The Up All Night World Tour will kick off in Hyde Park, London, on December 2, Friday. Tickets are now on sale.”

When she was done reading the article, Daphne immediately closed her laptop. As much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she knew that they were forced to join One Direction in their world tour. She and Nina couldn’t just say no. They basically ‘sold their souls’ when they signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. They were expected to follow the company’s rules and do what the company wanted them to do, especially if it’ll boost their record sales and popularity. Sometimes, Daphne wishes that she could just go back to being normal again. But, it’s not like she wasn’t enjoying the life of a superstar - she was enjoying every minute of it, it’s just that the pressure and the stress was getting to her a little bit.

As she sat on the middle of her bed, Nina entered their hotel room with a frown on her gorgeous face. The older brunette threw her leather tote on her bed, which was across Daphne’s. Unlike Daphne’s dark chocolate brown hair, Nina’s hair was a much lighter shade of brown and she had highlights in them. Nina and Daphne shared the same emerald green eyes, but Nina’s eyes were more wider than Daphne’s. Most people thought that Nina had blue eyes, but that’s just because she found it fun to wear contact lenses from time to time. Daphne stood at five foot six, making Nina an inch taller than her. Both girls were eighteen years old, with Nina just two weeks older than Daphne.

Daphne watched Nina walk back and forth in the room. A few seconds later, Nina sat on her bed, taking her boots off.

“I’m guessing that the interview didn’t go too well, huh?” Daphne asked Nina, who still had the ugly frown on her face. It contorted her pretty features.

Nina shrugged. “It was alright. It would’ve been better if it was you there with me instead of that jerk Harry Styles. I’m just glad that the interview’s finally over. You wouldn’t believe how obnoxious he truly is behind the cameras!”

Daphne bit her lower lip. She didn’t know why Nina hated Harry so much; they barely knew him, but Nina already had a fiery pit inside of her that burned with so much hate for him. Daphne just couldn’t picture Harry being rude to Nina; she would be so disappointed if Nina was telling her the truth, because he seemed like a very down-to-earth guy. Plus, he’s undeniably charming.

“Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, Nina; give him a break. We just arrived here in London yesterday and I bet most of them have jetlag like I do.” Daphne stated.

Nina rolled her eyes. “What part of ‘Harry Styles is obnoxious’ don’t you get? He’s nothing but a class A jerk, trust me, Daph.”

Daphne sighed. The tour hasn’t even started yet, and there’s already hostility coming from both sides of the party.

—-

Harry Styles stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall where the hotel room that he shared with his bandmates were located. Their hotel room was just above Nina and Daphne’s. The original plan was to have them share one luxury suite, but the girls refused. Harry was a little tired from the interview and he was still a bit jetlagged. He tried not to pass out in the hallway, so he increased his pace and finally made it to their hotel room.

When Harry got inside, he ran towards his bed and crashed onto the soft, champagne-colored duvet. He took in a deep breath and smirked. He closed his eyes, and he was about to drift off to sleep when all of a sudden, he felt someone above him.

“Louis, would you please get off me?” Harry said. He instinctively knew it was Louis.

Louis groaned and got off Harry. He sat beside him as Harry turned around so that he was facing the ceiling. “You’re grumpy. Is it about the interview?”

Harry shook his head. “The interview was okay.”

“Then what is it?” Louis asked.

Harry ran a hand through his curly locks. “It’s Nina.”

“What about her? You seem so hung up about her recently.” Louis smirked playfully.

“Shut up Louis, I am not.” Harry felt his cheeks warming up. “I don’t get why she hates me so much.”

“Stop thinking about it too much, mate. Maybe she secretly likes you?” Louis insisted.

Harry chuckled humorlessly as he got up from his bed, and removed his gray blazer. He placed it on top of his suitcase. He noticed that his bandmates were there, doing their own thing - Liam was playing the guitar, Zayn was busy with his phone, while Niall was eating a bag of potato chips.

“Harry, why are you worried about how she feels or thinks about you?” Liam asked as he stopped playing his guitar and looked at Harry.

Harry sighed. “I’m not worried about anything, it’s just that I have to spend the entire American leg of the tour with her, and the fact that she despises me is bothering me. I don’t want her to ruin everything we’ve worked hard for our fans. What if she spreads nasty rumors about us?”

“I highly doubt that Nina would do something like that,” Liam said. “We haven’t even got the chance to get to know them properly. Maybe you should go easy on her.”

“Go easy on her? I’m not even doing anything to her!” Harry said in a defensive tone.

Louis got off Harry’s bed and patted him on the back. “Don’t be so defensive, Harry. Liam’s just saying that maybe you should ignore the fact that she hates you. Right Liam?”

Liam nodded. “Right.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I need some fresh air.”

Louis chuckled as Harry went out to the balcony. The hotel room that they were in was located at a high floor, so Harry didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing him. The paparazzi might be able to take his photo, but he didn’t care. Once the cool afternoon wind met his face, Harry couldn’t help but smile. He still enjoyed little things like that. After all, he missed being all by himself after being all over the place with the boys.

He thought about how crazy the year has been for all of them. And then he started thinking about their upcoming world tour. He couldn’t wait to be at places he has never been at before and the idea of playing their music for their fans from all over the world made him feel a ton of different emotions - excitement, happiness, contentment. He was a very lucky boy.

Then he started thinking about the band they’ll be touring with while they’re in the United States - The Wilde Dolls. He found Daphne adorable and he would love to get to know her better - maybe if he gets the chance to do so, he’ll find out why Zayn’s into her so much. Then he started thinking about Nina; man, was she one of a kind. He thinks she’s really pretty and nice, but he might be wrong - looks can be deceiving after all. Harry wanted to be friends with her, be closer to her… but she hates him for some reason he doesn’t know. He tried flirting with her numerous times now, but she’s rejected him every single time. For once in his life, he met a girl who didn’t gave in easily to his charm.

This was just the start of the ride… a wild ride.

—-X—-

December 2 finally came. The stage that One Direction and The Wilde Dolls will be performing on has been standing on Hyde Park for hours now. The lighting was perfect, and the people who were at the show could no longer contain their excitement. Majority of the audience were female, obviously. There were a couple of guys who were willing to put up with One Direction just to see The Wilde Dolls. The girls were holding up banners with different words or pictures on them about One Direction, hoping that it would catch the attention of their favorite boy band. It was only six in the evening, yet the park was already crowded with fans waiting for their idols. The show doesn’t start until eight. It was slightly raining, but no one cared. All they cared about was seeing their favorite artists in the flesh.

Nina was pacing back and forth inside the dressing room that she shared with her cousin and bandmate Daphne and One Direction. Nina and Daphne asked their manager if they could have their own dressing room, but their request was denied, since the backstage only had a small space. The girls had a hard time getting dressed, since the boys were there. They found it hard to move around as well, since the dressing room wasn’t really that big, and the boys constantly moving around without their shirts on didn’t help much.

When Nina got tired, she took a seat on the black high stool placed in front of the white vanity table. Her hair and make-up was done, and she was satisfied with how she looked. She then started tapping the right arm of the stool, staring blankly at the space in front of her.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you Wilde?” Harry Styles, who was sitting on the stool next to her, asked her in a teasing tone.

Nina glared at Harry, her black eyeliner and false eyelashes making her green eyes appear more intense than it already was. “Yes, Styles. You can fuck off now.”

Harry just smirked. Nina groaned; he certainly wasn’t going to give up on her that easily. She was starting to think that he gets a thrill when he’s torturing her. “I know what can take the nerves off.”

Nina pretended to be interested in what he had to say, even if she didn’t want to listen to anything that comes out of his mouth. “What is it?”

“A kiss.” Harry’s smirk turned into a sly smile.

“You’re disgusting!” Nina exclaimed. She felt her cheeks warming up.

Harry chuckled. “And you’re delusional; it wasn’t like I was going to kiss you or anything… unless you wanted me to?”

“I’d rather make out with a bum with halitosis than kiss you, Styles.” Nina crossed her arms, suddenly interested in her carefully manicured fingernails. 

“You know you want to kiss me, Wilde.” Harry told her as he put his left hand on her right knee. He moved his hand in a slow, circular motion. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, it felt good.

Nina uncrossed her arms and slapped Harry’s hand away from her knee a little hard, making Harry wince a little. “Don’t you fucking touch me. Would you just leave me alone?”

Harry stared at her for a minute before getting up from the stool and walking out of the dressing room. Nina wanted to wipe that annoying smirk off his damn face. Nina’s nervousness just increased, and she was starting to feel a little paranoid. She thought about what might happen to her once she and Daphne get on stage; will she get electrocuted? Will she trip over the wires? Nina took a deep breath, and took her phone out. She plugged in her earphones, and drowned in the music of John Mayer.

Unlike Nina, Daphne was calm and collected. She never left the gray couch ever since she put on her wardrobe and got her make-up done. Her laptop was on her lap, and her Lady Gaga Heartbeats in-ear headphones were in her ear. Her music was on full blast, drowning out the sound around her. Her iTunes was on shuffle. When the last song was done playing, Katy Perry’s Thinking Of You started to play. When the song started, Daphne closed her eyes and started humming along to the song. The chorus came, and she found herself singing along to it. A tear suddenly escaped her eyes. She quickly wiped it away, since she didn’t want anyone to see her and smudge her make-up. She sang along to the song until it was over, and she had shed more tears. There goes her make-up.

Daphne took her headphones off and wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes away from her face with the back of her right hand. She closed her laptop, and placed it on the small table beside the couch. She was trying to feel her phone on her side, but instead, she felt a warm hand. She quickly looked to her left, and realized that she touched Zayn’s hand. She removed it immediately.

“I’m sorry, I was just looking for my phone.” Daphne apologized, feeling a little stupid all of a sudden.

Zayn looked at her without saying a word. Daphne felt a little uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her; it’s as if he was trying to read her mind. A minute later, Zayn handed over her phone. “Almost sat on it a while ago if I didn’t see it.”

Daphne bit her lower lip and smirked at Zayn as she took it from him. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Zayn told her with a soft smirk on his lips. The way she was biting her lower lip amused him.

Daphne stopped biting her lower lip and smiled. “Sorry, I’m just nervous.”

“You’re apologizing again,” Zayn pointed out. He chuckled. “I bet everyone is. It’s the first night of the tour, after all.”

Daphne sighed. “Yeah.”

And that was the end of their conversation. Silence started to take over, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. As Daphne took in Zayn’s form, she noticed how he looked like a high school jock, except that he looked more cuter and innocent. He was wearing a red and white varsity jacket, and there were two overlapping letters on the left sleeve of his jacket; the initials ‘DZ’. She wanted to ask him whose initials was it, because it was most certainly not his. But, she didn’t. Underneath the varsity jacket was a tight-fitting black v-neck shirt. He was wearing a pair of khaki-colored jeans, and some sneakers. Daphne noticed how Zayn had his hair up. She already saw his hair down, and she could say that he looked great in whatever hairstyle. Zayn was busy with his phone, allowing Daphne to stare at him. When he looked up though, Daphne quickly looked away and tried to look like she was staring at something else.

Zayn couldn’t help but smile; he already knew that she was staring at him, he just didn’t want to let her know that he knows. He didn’t mind her staring at him; he actually liked it. Now, it was his turn to look at her. Her long, dark chocolate brown hair was in loose curls. Her make-up was just natural, and her outfit consisted of a small, plain white t-shirt with a black vest on top of it, short denim shorts with bright red tights underneath it, and black ballerina flats. He loved how she looked so effortlessly beautiful. He almost wanted to reach out and play with her hair.

Daphne could feel Zayn’s eyes on her, so she pretended that she was looking all around the room. Nina was still sitting in the vanity stool, reading a magazine as she listened to music. The crew was going in and out of the room. The only One Direction member that was in the room was Zayn. Daphne decided to cut through the silence.

“Where’s your bandmates?” Daphne asked, curious to as where were his mates.

Zayn shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know. We’re basically all over the place right now.”

Daphne nodded. She wanted to ask why he was there instead of outside, but she didn’t want to. It was the second question she came up with that she was dying to know the answer to, but wasn’t able to ask. She was a very talkative girl, but with Zayn, she’s just speechless.

Zayn doesn’t have problems with the ladies. He knew how to woo them and sweep them off their feet. But why was he suddenly tongue tied? Zayn liked Daphne; he liked her so much that his bandmates said his admiration for the brunette could almost be classified as obsession. He was more like a stalker now, because he would frequently stalk her Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr instead of talking to her in person. He wanted to take things slow with her; he had so much time to get to know her. But, all Zayn wanted in that moment was for him to get Daphne into his arms.

There was silence between the two of them again. Daphne was still avoiding Zayn’s gaze, but Zayn kept on staring at her, determined to make eye contact with her. When Daphne felt Zayn’s eyes on her again, she tilted her head to his direction and finally allowed their eyes to meet. A minute later though, Daphne broke their eye contact, leaving Zayn wanting to stare into her eyes a little more. He saw how there were flecks of gray and brown in her eyes. He’d never seen such a bizarre eye color. He’d been trying to figure out what her true eye color was for the longest time, and even though he’d made intense eye contact with her, he failed to find out the true color of her eyes.

Daphne got up from the couch, even though she didn’t want to. She had to because the crew had asked her and Nina to get out of the dressing room to get prepared for the show. When Nina and Daphne were out of the dressing room, Nina elbowed Daphne. Daphne looked at her, and she had a playful smirk on her glossy lips.

“You were so having eye-sex with Zayn back there.” Nina stated, raising her eyebrows at Daphne.

Daphne’s cheeks started to warm up. “We are so not! You sound ridiculous, Nina.”

“I don’t sound ridiculous, Daph,” Nina reasoned. “It’s the truth! I think you’re the only person who doesn’t know that Zayn likes you.”

“Zayn does not like me.” Daphne replied.

“Can you hear yourself right now? I actually think that you’re the ridiculous one,” Nina rolled her eyes. “Zayn Malik likes you. You’re lucky to have caught his eye - metaphorically and literally.”

“Well, how do you know that for sure?” Daphne sighed.

“I saw the way he looks at you. You’ve got that boy wrapped your finger, hun.” Nina smirked.

Daphne shrugged. “Whatever you say, Nina.”

“Daphne and Zayn sitting in the tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!” Nina sang with a mischievous smile plastered on her face.

Daphne blushed. “Cut it out, Nina!”

“First comes love, then comes marriage…”

Nina continued singing. Daphne tickled Nina, but that didn’t stop her from teasing her. The girls ended up laughing so hard that most of the crew started to look at them. It took them about a few minutes to compose themselves. When they stopped laughing, the soundtechs started putting different hearing and singing equipment on them. The girls put on their guitars, and they made sure it was tuned just right. Daphne owned a red vintage stratocaster, while Nina plays a silver Gibson SG.

“Get on the mini lifts, girls! You’re on in ten minutes!” The floor director told them.

Daphne and Nina did what they were told. When Nina was on her lift, she noticed that Louis was standing in front of her. His arms were crossed and he was smirking. Nina raised an eyebrow at him, just because something about the way Louis was looking at her made her feel uneasy.

“Louis, right?” Nina asked him.

Louis nodded. “Yeah, Louis Tomlinson - nice to meet you.”

“Nina Wilde - nice to meet you as well.” Nina smiled.

“Harry will probably kill me if he catches me talking to you.” Louis looked around for any sign of the curly-haired lad - none.

Nina raised an eyebrow at him. “And why is that?”

“He seems… protective, of you,” Louis shrugged. “He told me he’ll kill any guy who talks to you. I’m not lying.”

“Will he kill you right now if he found you talking to me?” Nina smirked.

“Don’t really know.” Louis chuckled. “But we’re buddies, so most probably not.”

“Then good.” Nina winked at him.

Louis was speechless for a moment. Harry was right - she was beautifully contagious. If he didn’t have a girlfriend and if Harry didn’t fancy her, Louis would totally make a move on her. He wiped his mouth with his left hand and shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked up at Nina, who was tapping her foot as she strummed her guitar.

“So, can you tell me more about yourself, Nina?” Louis asked. “You know, aside from despising Harry and the rest of us.”

Nina rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I don’t hate the rest of you that much. But Harry? He can go to hell.”

The fact that she hated Harry so much amused Louis. He simply just didn’t understand the hate she harbored toward his friend. “Boy, you sure do hate Harry so much. Anyway, are you going to tell me all about yourself?”

Nina knew that the clock was ticking, so she ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. She smirked at Louis. “I’m going to when the show’s over or something.”

And with that, Nina and Daphne’s lifts started to go up slowly. Nina winked at Louis. He was left there a little confused. But he was feeling hopeful - he’ll get to know Nina, and that was his mission for his good friend Harry.

—-

“You ready to rock tonight, Hyde Park?!”

Daphne Wilde yelled through the microphone. She got an overwhelming response from the crowd. She looked at Nina, and nodded. And with that, Daphne and Nina started to play their guitars. The first chords of their current hit single, Chemicals React, loudly blared from the large speakers. Daphne started singing, and her voice blended harmoniously with the melody. The Wilde Dolls sounded better live, that’s for sure.

As the two girls did their thing on stage, the boys of One Direction looked at them from the side of the stage. Harry stared at Nina like she was the last piece of steak on the platter and he was starving, while Zayn stared dreamily at Daphne. Liam was moving his head along to the beat, Louis was clapping his hands, and Niall was tapping his foot. Nina might not like them, but One Direction certainly liked The Wilde Dolls.

When the Wilde Dolls finished their set, they immediately got off the stage went to the back. The two girls were sweaty and tired, but the adrenaline and joy they got from performing for a huge crowd of people made them forgot how they actually felt. Their guitars were taken off them by some of the crew, and they were given water bottles and some clean towels. Daphne took a long sip of water from her bottle, while Nina wiped the sweat off her face. Everyone in the room seemed to be very busy, and Daphne looked around. One Direction was going to be on stage in about a few minutes, and everyone made sure that nothing would go wrong. As Daphne looked at One Direction, her eyes met Zayn’s. He smirked at her, and she smiled at him. Before she even knew it, the boys were walking up the stage, and she heard the insane feedback of the crowd. Zayn gained confidence all of a sudden, and it’s because of the smile Daphne gave him.

The first song the boys sang was Up All Night. The crowd sang along with them, and the girls were either screaming on top of their lungs or crying because of happiness. Nina and Daphne went to the side of the stage to watch the boys. All of them came alive when they got on stage. When Zayn was singing his part, Daphne’s cheeks started to warm up, although she didn’t know why. Nina was about to walk away when Daphne grabbed her left wrist.

“Come on, the guys aren’t that bad.” Daphne told her cousin.

Nina sighed and crossed her arms. “Okay fine. They can sing, I’ll give them that.”

The girls watched the boys until they finished their set. Daphne became a fan after three songs, while Nina was still skeptical about them. Nina had to admit - Harry was a great singer. But she believes that his talent is put to waste because of his attitude. The girls had as much fun as the crowd. When the boys got off the stage, they entered the backstage. The crew wiped the sweat off their faces, and gave them water bottles. The sound techs took off their hearing equipments and took their microphones. Daphne walked on over to the boys, with Nina following her. Daphne smiled at them.

“You guys were amazing out there!” She told them with a grin as she hugged each one of them. The first guy she hugged was Louis, then Niall, then Harry, and then Liam. When she was about to hug Zayn, Liam pushed him closer to Daphne. So when Daphne was about to hug Zayn, he bumped into her. She chuckled nervously. Zayn looked behind him and set his eyes on Liam, who just winked at him. Zayn then looked at Daphne, who was still hugging him.

“You and Nina were amazing as well. Your songs are quite catchy.” Zayn chuckled.

Daphne looked down as she bit her lower lip. She looked behind her, and saw Louis talking to Nina. She was a bit confused, since Nina made it clear that she didn’t like One Direction. The rest of the band were at the buffet table.

“Thanks. I wrote most of the lyrics.” Daphne told Zayn who was taking a sip from his bottle of water.

When Zayn was done drinking, he put the cap on his water bottle and smirked at Daphne. “Well, you’re a good song writer.”

Daphne felt her cheeks warming up again. She hoped Zayn wouldn’t see that she was blushing. “You’re lying.”

Zayn shook his head. “No Daphne, I’m not.”

Daphne sighed. She never knew how to take compliments very well. The two of them were silent for a while, before Daphne brought her phone out.

“How come I still don’t have your phone number?” Daphne asked Zayn.

“You never asked me for it.” Zayn told her.

“I’m asking you for it now.” Daphne smirked.

And with that, Zayn took Daphne’s phone from her and typed in his number. He saved it. “Here you go.”

“Thank you. And can we take a picture? You know, for the fans on Twitter and for my contact list.” Daphne said, biting her lower lip.

Zayn smiled. “Sure.”

So, Daphne stood next to Zayn. He was taller than her, so he had to bend a little to be on her level. Daphne brought her phone up, and took their picture. When she brought it down, Zayn straightened up and looked at their picture. He was pleased with how it turned out, and so was Daphne.

“I am so tweeting this right now,” Daphne said with a smirk. “I’ll text you later, okay Zayn?”

“Alright.”

And with that, Daphne walked away from Zayn. However, Nina was still talking to Louis. She was typing her number in his phone.

“Don’t give it to Harry, okay?” Nina said as she gave Louis’ phone back to him.

Louis nodded. “Roger that.”

When Nina looked around and didn’t see Daphne, she hugged Louis. “Let’s get to texting later alright?”

Louis nodded and Nina smiled at him before walking away. Harry, who were closely watching the two while he was at the buffet table, walked to where Louis was. Harry took Louis’ phone and stared at Nina’s number, which was at the screen.

“She gave you her number? I can’t believe this!” Harry exclaimed, completely annoyed.

“Well, if you would’ve asked her nicely, she’d probably given it to you.” Louis told him as he took his phone from Harry and shoved it quickly inside his pocket.

Harry ran a hand through his curly locks. “We couldn’t even have a nice conversation. I doubt that she’ll give me her number. I am hopeless!”

Louis tapped his bud’s shoulder. “Just keep trying.”

“If we weren’t friends, I would’ve killed you already.” Harry jokingly punched Louis in the shoulder. Louis just laughed at him.

The first night of the tour was over. And that was the start of the journey for One Direction and The Wilde Dolls.

—-X—-

It was a cold and cloudy Saturday morning. Even if they were still exhausted from the night before, Daphne and Nina were up early. It was only six in the morning, yet the girls were already wide awake. Nina was drinking a cup of coffee as she stared at the view outside their hotel room window, while Daphne was sitting on her bed with her laptop on her lap as she munched on a warm blueberry muffin. They still haven’t touched their plates of pancakes and bangers and mash, saving the food for later.

As Daphne surfed the internet, she decided to look up videos of One Direction when they were still on The X-Factor. She saw their performances, and she couldn’t decide which video to watch first. Daphne scrolled down the page for more videos, and when she saw the boys’ final performance, her jaw dropped.

“Hey Nins, do you remember when we both agreed to perform Torn by Natalie Imbruglia in one of the tour dates?” Daphne asked as she looked at Nina while taking off her in-ear headphones.

“Yeah. And Daph, where did ‘Nins’ come from?” Nina raised an eyebrow at Daphne as she laughed.

“Sorry, I thought it was cute. Anyway, you need to see this.”

Nina walked to where Daphne was. She placed her half empty coffee mug on the nightstand and sat beside her cousin. Daphne unplugged her headphones so that Nina could hear the sound. Daphne replayed the video of One Direction singing Torn. Nina’s jaw dropped too, and her mouth stayed open until the video finished. Nina closed her mouth and took her coffee mug from the nightstand. She took one long sip from it, finally finishing her drink.

“Been stalking Zayn, haven’t we?” Nina told Daphne in a mocking tone. This made Daphne blush, so she smacked her cousin in the back playfully.

“Aren’t you mad? We’re going to do a song the boys did before!” Daphne said, trying to change the topic.

Nina shrugged. “I guess I’m not. Whatever will boost our career, I’m all for it.”

Daphne narrowed her eyes at Nina. “Who are you and what did you do to my cousin?”

Nina laughed. “You’re right. The guys aren’t that bad. Louis seems pretty cool even.”

“You and Louis are forming a bond I see?” Daphne smirked playfully at Nina.

Nina nodded. “You can call it that.”

“So you like him?” Daphne asked, her smirk turning into a grin.

Nina’s eyes widened. “What? As a friend yes, but more than that… no. And besides, he’s got a girlfriend.”

“Oh, I see.” Daphne nodded.

“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat the pancakes and bangers and mash that we’ve ordered.” Nina said as she walked on over to the cart.

Daphne closed her laptop and got off her bed. She walked towards the cart. She was about to grab her plate of buttermilk pancakes, but she felt her phone vibrating inside the pocket of her denim shorts. She took her phone out and smiled when she saw that Zayn texted her. She opened his text message and he greeted her a good morning. Daphne greeted him a good morning as well and when the text message was done sending, she shoved her phone back inside her pocket and picked up her plate of pancakes. She turned around and found Nina smiling mischievously at her.

“What?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at her cousin.

“Nothing.” Nina said in a sing-song voice.

Nina and Daphne sat on their beds as they ate. Daphne wasn’t aware of it but when she was texting Zayn a few minutes ago, Nina was looking at what she was doing. Nina knew that Daphne and Zayn had been texting since last night, since Daphne was still awake at around midnight holding her phone and laughing occasionally. Nina was happy for Daphne; she knew that the two liked each other and she just wanted them to be together. While Daphne’s love life was blooming, Nina knew that she was far from falling in love.

When the two were finished eating, they placed their empty plates on the food cart. Daphne decided to take a hot shower while Nina figured out what she could do. She sat on the beige couch and turned on the television. When she failed to find a show she could enjoy, she turned it off and went to her bed. She took her phone from the nightstand and saw that Louis had sent her a text message.

—-

“Hey Lou, you’ve been on your phone more than usual. What’s up with you?” Harry stated as he tried to see what’s been Louis doing on his phone since last night.

“Huh, what?” Louis said, looking up from his phone. He was too busy with his phone that he didn’t heard what Harry just said. “What did you just say Harry?”

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to snatch Louis’ phone. “Who have you been texting lately huh?”

Harry continued to take Louis’ phone away from him. Louis tried his best to keep it out of Harry’s grasp, but Harry managed to take his phone away from him. When he saw Nina’s number on the screen, Harry gave Louis’ phone back to him. Harry felt mad and jealous at first, but then he realized that Louis had asked Nina nicely for her number. Harry was about to go out to the balcony when Louis stopped him by putting his hand on his shoulder.

“You can have her number if you want.” Louis offered, giving his phone to Harry.

Harry shrugged. “I don’t want her number.”

Louis grinned. “Oh come on, mate! I know you want her number. If you want it, you can have it.”

Harry sighed and took his phone out. He then took Louis’ phone. When he was done typing in Nina’s number on his phone, Harry gave Louis’ phone back to him. “Thanks Lou.”

Louis tapped Harry’s shoulder. “No problem.”

And with that, Louis decided to join Liam, Zayn, and Niall as they had breakfast in the small kitchen that their hotel room had. When the four of them finished eating, they went back to their beds, except Zayn, since he took a seat on the couch. Louis saw that Harry was sitting on his bed. He also noticed how Harry had a frown on his face as he stared at his phone, which was lying on the bed in front of him. Louis wanted to ask him what’s wrong, but he decided not to, because Harry looked like he could punch someone.

Louis sat on his bed and took his phone out from the back pocket of his black jogging pants. His eyes widened when he read the text that Nina sent him; she asked him if he gave her number to Harry. From how her text looked, she wasn’t pleased at all. Louis felt nervous; he didn’t want to lie to her, but he didn’t want to upset her with the truth either. So he told her that he didn’t give it to Harry. Nina then replied with how Harry just texted her and she asked Louis for the second time if he gave her number to Harry or not. Louis swore to her that he didn’t and then she texted him back if he was sure. Louis repiled with ‘positive’, and then Nina stopped replying to him. He then put his phone under his pillow.

All of a sudden, Zayn laughed. The guys looked at him. Zayn was staring at something on his phone with a wide grin on his face. Niall got up from his bed and sat beside Zayn.

“Why are you such in a good mood today, Zayn? Niall asked as he looked at Zayn. He was curious to as why he was beaming with delight. Zayn should be sleeping, but he wasn’t.

“Well… have you seen Daphne’s latest tweet?” Zayn’s grin widened, if that was possible.

Niall shook his head. “No. What does it say?”

Zayn handed his phone to Niall. “See for yourself. Apparently, she tweeted something nice about me.”

Niall took Zayn’s phone, and there it was - Daphne’s tweet about how she thinks that Zayn’s cute. Zayn had already tweeted her back saying that he thinks she’s cute as well. Niall almost wanted to throw Zayn’s phone across the room, but he controlled his rage. He should be happy for Zayn, instead of feeling jealous. He had liked Daphne for a while now and the only person who knew that he was harboring feelings for the brunette was Liam. Zayn had already made his move on Daphne, and Niall felt so stupid for being shy towards Daphne. He should’ve told Zayn that he liked Daphne; maybe he would let him have her. Or maybe he should’ve told Daphne that he fancies her, but he didn’t want to be too straightforward.

Niall stared at the tweet for a while before returning the phone to Zayn. Niall got up from the couch and went out to the balcony. Liam saw the whole scene unfold, so he decided to check up on his friend. When Liam was on the balcony, he closed the French doors behind him and stood beside Niall.

“Niall, are you okay buddy?” Liam asked the blonde.

“I think this crush on Daphne is turning into something more, Liam.” Niall confessed as he stared at the magnificent view of London in front of them.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

It was all Liam could say. He thought about something that he could say to console Niall, but he failed to come up with anything. Zayn and Niall were both his friends and Liam didn’t want to chose sides. They were all brothers and Liam treated them as fairly as he could.

“I’m crazy, am I?” Niall said, chuckling humorlessly. “I should’ve told her how I felt about her. I don’t have a chance against Zayn - she’d clearly choose him over me.”

Liam sighed. “Niall, you are an amazing lad - do not underestimate yourself. Maybe it’s not the right time for you to fall in love yet. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet that girl you’ll be with for the rest of your life with pretty soon. You just have to wait for her.”

What Liam just told him lessened the pain that he was feeling in his heart. Niall looked at Liam and smiled. “Thanks. I know I could count on you. I love you, buddy!”

Liam chuckled as Niall threw his arms around him. As they hugged, Louis opened the doors with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

“Aww! I see we’re having a Niam moment here!” Louis announced as he joined the two on the balcony.

Liam pulled away from Niall, laughing. “No Lou, I’m not trying to take Niall away from his Nandos you know?”

Louis chuckled and so did Niall. Since it was cold outside the three decided to go back inside their hotel room.

—-

Daphne, Nina, Zayn, Harry, Liam, Niall, and Louis were sitting in a long white limousine, on their way to a posh restaurant located in the heart of London. Simon Cowell called them a while ago. He congratulated everyone on a job well done. He told them that he had been at their show last night and he enjoyed every minute of it. And since he figured that it was going to be their last night at London, he decided to throw them a dinner party in a really great restaurant in the very heart of the city. Simon told them that he’ll take care of all the expenses, so they had nothing to worry about.

It took them about forty-five minutes to get to the restaurant. A crowd of fans and a bunch of photographers were there, waiting for them. The driver of the limousine opened the door for them and they stepped out of the vehicle one by one. When all of them were out of the limousine, all of them wanted to take pictures with the fans, but the security prevented them from interacting with anyone. The flashes coming from the cameras of the paparazzi slightly stunned them and they were only able to feel comfortable when they got inside the restaurant. Simon immediately saw them, so he walked to were they were and welcomed them.

“Finally, you’re here!” Simon told them with a warm smile on his face. He each gave the boys a hug and he hugged Nina and Daphne as well. “You are all looking good! Congratulations on your first show by the way.”

“Thanks Uncle Simon.” Liam said in response.

“Let’s go have dinner now, shall we?”

Simon told them as he led the way to the table reserved just for them. The table was located in the back of the restaurant, which is considered the V.I.P area. When they got there, they saw that delectable food were already on served on the table. Nina and Daphne’s eyes widened; some of the food on the table looked too good to eat and some of them looked very exotic that it almost scared them. When they sat on the table, the jazz band started to play a groovy song. Nina and Daphne looked at each other and chuckled. They rarely got the chance to eat at a fancy restaurant, so everything felt surreal. They were thankful of Simon and everyone.

Simon asked everyone various questions, like are they excited about the world tour and what places they’re excited to go to. He engaged in an interesting conversation with them as they ate their dinner. After an hour though, Simon had to leave for something important. He said goodbye to them and told them that if they want more food or if they need anything, they just have to ask a waiter. And with that, One Direction and The Wilde Dolls were left with each other on the table.

“Well… this is awkward.” Nina said in a sarcastic tone.

The guys shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Liam then placed his elbows on the table and leaned in so Nina could hear him, since the music was getting a little too loud. “How about we play twenty questions?”

Nina and Daphne looked at each other and nodded at Liam.

“Hit us with your best shots.” Nina grinned.

And with that, the boys bombarded the girls with questions they’ve been dying to know, like what were their favorite colors, their favorite brand of chocolate, and their bad habits. When it was the girls’ turn to ask questions, they asked intriguing questions that made they boys feel a little embarrassed. When they were done asking one another twenty questions, they felt like they already know each other so well. They ended up joking with one another.

Daphne noticed how Zayn had left the table and never came back. Feeling a little worried, she tapped Harry on the shoulder. Harry stopped talking to Louis and turned to Daphne.

“Where’s Zayn?” Daphne asked, making sure she was close enough to Harry’s ear so he could hear her.

Harry leaned in to her ear. “I don’t know, Daph. He couldn’t have gone that far - check outside, maybe he’s smoking.”

Daphne’s eyes widened; she should’ve asked them a while ago if they had any vices. She then smirked at Harry. “Thanks Harry.”

“Don’t mention it.” Harry winked at her and resumed his conversation with Louis.

When Daphne left the table, Niall couldn’t help but look at her. He knew that she was looking for Zayn, but he tried to tell himself that maybe she’s just going to the ladies’ room to freshen up. Niall looked down and sighed. Nina noticed it.

“Something wrong, Niall?” Nina asked, confused with Niall’s sudden mood change.

Niall shook his head and faked a smile. “Nothing’s wrong, Nina.”

Nina knew that something was wrong with Niall, but she didn’t press him on anymore, fearing that he’ll snap at her. The jazz band finished their set and then the disk jockey started to play party songs. Adam Lambert’s song For Your Entertainment started to play and Nina grinned when she heard it.

“I love this song! Would anyone like to dance with me?” Nina asked the boys, staring at them one by one. Liam decided to pass, since he was on the phone with someone and Niall was eating his dessert. When her eyes met Harry’s, she quickly broke the eye contact and quickly grabbed Louis’ hand. Louis was surprised. “Come on Louis, dance with me!”

And with that, Nina stood up from the table and ran towards the dance floor, dragging Louis along with her. Harry gave Louis a cold look, but Louis just shrugged and mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Harry. Harry groaned with displeasure and ran his hands through his curls. He stared at Nina and Louis, who were now dancing on the dance floor. He couldn’t resist biting his lower lip at the sight of Nina; the teal tulle dress that she was wearing hugged her body, showing off her curves. Her legs were shaped perfectly and as she moved her head to the beat, her light brown hair swayed along with it. The way her hair moved reminded Harry of grass being blown by the wind. The way her hips moved frustrated him and all he wanted to do was get on that dance floor and dance with her. But, she made it clear that she didn’t want to dance with him, and that’s the reason why she literally dragged Louis to the dance floor with her.

As Harry continued to stare at them, Louis and Nina’s dance moves went from being safe to a little seductive. If Louis’ girlfriend, Eleanor, had been there, a catfight would’ve started already. Harry caught Nina looking at him a few times, and it was as if she was trying to seduce him. If she was indeed trying to seduce him, she was doing a great job at it. Harry had enough of it; if Nina could tease him like that, he could certainly tease her as well. So Harry stood up from his seat and went on the dance floor. He looked for a girl to dance with, and when he spotted a really cute blonde dancing with her friends, he grabbed her hand and spun her around towards him. She was surprised at first and she looked scared, but when Harry gave her his infectious dimpled smile, the blonde smiled back at him and started to dance with him. Harry looked at Nina and she now had a frown on her face as she eyed him and the girl he was dancing with. Harry smirked, feeling superior now.

“That asshole.” Nina said, looking behind her as she wrapped her arms around Louis’ neck.

“Whoa, calm down, Nina! We’re here to have fun… remember?” Louis replied to her, seeing how mad she looked.

Nina looked at Louis and took a deep breath. She smiled at him. “Right.”

As a slow song started to play, Nina and Louis continued to dance. The way her arms were wrapped around Louis’ neck and how Louis had his hands on her hips made Harry feel more jealous now than angry. That should’ve been him if he didn’t act like a total douchebag around her. Harry wrapped his arms around the blonde, trying to have fun instead of getting back at Nina for the things she’d been doing to him.

—-

Daphne had a hard time in finding Zayn. Considering the fact that she was new to the place and she didn’t know it at all, she didn’t know where to start looking for him. Her first thought was what if he was smoking inside the men’s room. If he was, she wouldn’t be able to get in. But then again, the restaurant had a strict ‘No Smoking’ policy and she knew that he wouldn’t risk getting caught smoking inside the establishment. So that’s when it hit her - maybe he was outside. But if he was outside, wouldn’t he be bothered by the paparazzi and the dedicated fans that were lurking around the building?

Daphne looked for the back exit, and when she found it, she found herself standing in a cold and empty alleyway. She looked around for Zayn, but she failed to find him. She was about to go inside but Zayn’s deep voice stopped her from doing so.

“What are you doing out here?” Zayn asked her. She gasped; how did she miss him when he was just standing beside the door?

“You left the table a while ago and didn’t come back. I was wondering where you were.” Daphne said as she walked towards him and stood against the wall beside him.

Zayn took a drag from his cigarette and inhaled the smoke. He then exhaled, sending the smoke into the night air. “So you decided to look for me? You shouldn’t have.”

“But I found you, didn’t I?” Daphne told him, biting her lower lip.

Zayn smirked at her. “Yes. But it’s cold out here and you’re wearing quite a small dress.”

Daphne looked at her outfit - she was wearing a little black dress, with lace sleeves. It showed off her gorgeous legs, since her dress ended about mid-thigh. Her black Christian Louboutin heels added a few inches to her height. Her feet were slightly aching, but she wasn’t feeling cold at all.

“It’s not small,” Daphne shrugged as she referred to the length of her dress. “And I’m not feeling cold anyway.”

“Not yet.” Zayn told her, taking another drag from his cigarette.

Daphne hated smokers, but Zayn somehow made smoking attractive. As she watched him smoke, he suddenly threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, putting it out. Her eyebrow raised when she saw Zayn taking off his navy blue varsity jacket. Zayn stood in front of her and wrapped the jacket around her. He smirked at her and then stood beside her, placing his back on the wall. Daphne wanted to take it off, but she loved the warmness that the jacket gave her. Plus the scent the jacket had - it was comforting, even though the smell of the cigarette had cling on to it. Zayn’s perfume was intoxicating.

“Thanks…?” Daphne said, holding the jacket close to her.

“You’re welcome.” Zayn replied as he put his hands inside the pocket of his pants.

“If you saw my tweet this morning, it’s actually a reply to everyone who’s been asking if I thought you were cute.” Daphne told Zayn, her cheeks warming up.

Zayn remembered her tweet and he couldn’t help but smile. “So you really think I’m cute?”

Daphne nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

“Well, I think you’re cute too.” Zayn winked at her. Daphne already knew that Zayn thinks she’s cute as well, but it was nice to hear him say it.

Daphne was about to respond to him, but then they heard people walking down the alleyway. Fearing that it might be some of the photographers waiting for them, Zayn took Daphne’s hand and opened the entrance door. It was nice standing there with her and just talking, but people had to ruin their moment.

“Let’s go inside before someone finds us here. They must be thinking that we’re doing something.” Zayn told her. Daphne’s eyes widened at what he said.

When they got inside the the restaurant, they tried to find their table, since it was so close to midnight and the restaurant had turned into a nightclub. They made their way through the crowd. A few minutes later, they found their table. When they got there, they were still holding hands and Daphne was now wearing Zayn’s jacket. Liam smirked while Niall tried to pretend that he was looking at something.

“What?” Daphne turned to Liam.

Liam pointed their hands, and the two quickly stopped holding hands. Both Daphne and Zayn blushed, and Liam was quite amused at the sight in front of him. Niall, however, wasn’t. He could still see Daphne and Zayn from the corner of his eye. Seeing Daphne wearing Zayn’s jacket crushed Niall’s broken heart. Daphne and Zayn took their seats.

“Where’s the other three?” Zayn asked Liam and Niall.

“They’re probably heating up the dance floor.” Daphne said, chuckling.

Louis returned to their table and took a seat beside Liam. He was a bit sweaty.

“You left Nina on the dance floor?” Daphne asked Louis.

Louis nodded. “Yeah. Harry wanted to dance with her, so I got out of his way.”

“I highly doubt that Nins will dance with Harry.” Daphne replied, knowing how much Nina hated Harry. She was pretty sure that the boys knew that her cousin hated the curly-haired lad.

“Uh, Daphne, you have to see this.” Liam said, looking at the dance floor.

Daphne’s jaw dropped when she saw Harry and Nina dancing. Zayn and Niall were watching the two as well. At first, Nina tried to push away Harry and was about to walk out of the dance floor, but since the dance floor was crowded and the people were getting rowdy, Nina was pushed into Harry. Her face met his chest and Harry grabbed her hands, preventing her from walking away from him. Nina looked up, and Harry smirked at her. Nina rolled her eyes.

“I don’t want to dance with you, Styles.” Nina told Harry for the second time.

Harry pouted. “Please, just one dance?”

Cobra Starship’s song, You Make Me Feel was playing, and since it was one of Nina’s favorite songs, she decided to let Harry dance with her. “Okay fine, but I’m only going to dance with you because this song is my favorite.”

“Really? It’s my favorite too!” Harry grinned, his dimples showing.

Nina rolled her eyes once again and closed her mouth before she could say something nasty to Harry. As the song progressed, Nina and Harry found themselves dancing quite suggestively. Harry was standing behind Nina, his hot breath hitting the back of her neck, making her feel a little ticklish. Nina’s body was so close to him, and Harry couldn’t help but bite his lower lip. Nina had to give it to Harry; he wasn’t a bad dancer at all. He knew how to move with her and she liked that.

When the song was over, Nina turned around to face Harry. “Song’s over. You happy now?”

Harry nodded. “Very. Can we dance some more?”

“I don’t think so, Styles.” Nina told him with her green eyes narrowed at him.

Suddenly, Nina heard Liam calling out to them. The music was slightly turned down, so Nina could hear Liam a little. He told them that it’s time to go. Nina yelled that she and Harry will follow. She grabbed Harry’s arm.

“It’s time for us to go.” Nina told Harry, who was trying to look for someone on the dance floor.

“Alright. Would you wait for me though? I have to get Bree’s number.” Harry said. Nina knew that he was referring to the blonde he was dancing with a while ago.

“Whatever, I’m leaving.”

And with that, Nina walked out of the dance floor without Harry. She didn’t care if he gets left behind. It will be his fault anyway, since he had to get the blonde girl’s number. When Nina was about to get out of the restaurant, she felt someone taking her right hand. She looked behind her and she found Harry smiling at her. His dimples were present again and Nina was so annoyed by it.

Harry and Nina walked out of the restaurant holding hands. The photographers took their picture as they did their best to hide their faces. Nina was tired, so she didn’t bother protesting when Harry took her hand. And besides, she wasn’t in the mood to have an argument. Maybe she’ll start an argument with him soon though. As Harry and Nina walked towards the limousine, Nina started to worry about the pictures; in less than twenty-four hours, pictures of her and Harry will appear on the internet and on magazines. Various claims will be made, such as they’re secretly dating and everything.

Once Harry and Nina were inside the limousine, the driver closed the door. Nina took a seat beside Daphne, immediately letting go of Harry’s hand. Harry sighed at the loss of contact. Harry sat across the girls, and took up the space beside Louis. The photographers were still trying to take their picture, but good thing their vehicle had pitch black windows. It took them about a few minutes to be able to drive off from the restaurant, since the limousine was surrounded by photographers. They were finally able to drive away from the restaurant a few moments later. Everyone felt tired, but all of them had fun. They couldn’t think of a better way to spend their last night in London.

It was going to be a Sunday tomorrow and the date’s going to be December 4. One Direction and The Wilde Dolls have to be at the Heathrow Airport before seven in the morning, since their flight to the United States is at seven. The boys were nervous about going to the United States, but good thing they already know two Americans.

—-X—-

“I don’t really think that this is a good idea.” Zayn told the boys as he followed them.

“Oh come on Zayn! It’ll be fun!” Louis insisted.

The boys were walking down the hallway where Daphne and Nina’s hotel room were located. It was only four in the morning and instead of using their remaining time in London to get some rest, they decided to wake the girls up with The Wake Up Song. Niall brought his guitar with him. All of the boys were still clad in their sleep clothes. Harry wanted to go with them in just his boxers, but Liam asked him to either wear a shirt or a jacket. Harry decided to wear both, since he might make Nina feel uncomfortable, and it’ll only give her more reason to hate him. Well basically, that’s what he wanted - he wanted her to see what she’s missing out on. Zayn was still feeling a little sleepy, but since he didn’t want to miss out on all the fun, he decided to go with them. He also wanted to see Daphne, that’s why he was there with the boys instead of sleeping like a baby on his bed in their hotel room.

When the boys were in front of the girls’ hotel room door, Liam slowly turned the doorknob. He opened the door and got inside. The rest followed him and then he closed the door. Niall prepared his guitar and the boys stood in the middle of the room. They started singing the song. As they continued singing the song, Louis and Liam jumped on Nina’s bed. Louis started shaking her shoulders and Nina soon opened her eyes; she didn’t know what the hell was going on.

As for Daphne, Harry and Niall were jumping on her bed. Harry took off the fluffy lavender comforter from her body and cupped her face, but she refused to open her eyes. Niall strummed his guitar close to her ear, but she still won’t open her eyes. She was just like Zayn, who was hard to wake up. The boys were making such a loud noise now, yet Daphne was still sleeping soundly. Nina however, knows what was going on now and she tried to get back at Louis by hitting him with her pillow. Louis gasped when Nina hit him with her pillow and she just chuckled.

“Pillow fight!”

Louis declared and then he grabbed a gold throw pillow from the bed and hit Nina in the head with it. Nina glared at Louis, so she hit him in the face with her pillow. Liam and Harry decided to join the two and Niall soon followed. He made sure that his guitar was set aside. As Zayn stared at them, he yawned. Everyone looked like they were having fun, but he was just not really in the mood to get hyper. He looked for Daphne and he found her still sleeping on her bed. Despite the boisterous laughter coming out from the mouths their friends, she managed to stay asleep. Zayn pulled the covers and decided to join her on the bed, hoping that she wouldn’t mind. To avoid being disturbed by the others, Zayn covered himself and Daphne with the fluffy lavender-colored comforter.

Daphne groaned and turned around when she felt the left side of her bed sinking. When she opened her eyes, her vision was blurred at first. But after a few seconds, her eyes had adjusted to the view in front of her. She saw that Zayn was on her bed, staring at her. He smirked at her. Her head was slightly pounding from the confusion and the noise. Her brain had a hard time processing what was happening. Even if she just woke up, Zayn thought that she looked beautiful. Her chocolate brown locks was in perfect disarray and her emerald eyes were sparkling. She was pouting as she rubbed her right eye.

“What’s going on?” Daphne asked Zayn as she yawned.

“The boys and Nina are having a pillow fight.” Zayn chuckled.

“Why aren’t you with them?” Daphne asked, a little confused.

Zayn shrugged. “I’m feeling sleepy instead of hyper, that’s why.”

Daphne yawned again. “Well, since you’re in my bed, I suggest we get some shut eye.”

Zayn yawned and smiled at her. “I like the sound of that.”

Before closing her eyes, Daphne stared into Zayn’s. Zayn’s hazel eyes twinkled in the slight darkness, making her heart race. Zayn blinked, and Daphne could’ve sworn her heart skipped a beat. He had a gorgeous set of eyelashes. Daphne felt her cheeks warming up and she was thankful for the little darkness that her comforter provided, because if Zayn saw her blushing, he might laugh at her because she might be as red as a tomato now. Zayn was staring into her eyes as well, still trying to figure out her true eye color. The flecks of brown and blue in her green irises confused him so much. As he looked into her eyes, he noticed how her pupils were dilated. Zayn once read on the internet that if a girl likes you, her pupils would expand. He was pretty sure that her pupils had expanded, instead of contracting. If it contracted, that might not be good for him, since it’s a sign that she doesn’t like him.

“What’s in your head, Daph?” Zayn asked, interested in what was she thinking in that moment.

Daphne bit her lower lip; she just couldn’t tell him that she was thinking about him; she didn’t want to creep him out. So she just shook her head and gave him a soft smirk. “Nothing. Let’s go to sleep now.”

And with that, Daphne turned around so that her back was facing Zayn. She closed her eyes, determined to fall back asleep. Zayn sighed; why did she just refused to tell him what she was thinking about?

Zayn ignored it and closed his eyes. He moved closer to Daphne. Once she felt Zayn’s warm breath on the back her neck, Daphne’s eyes shot wide open. She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. Every little thing that Zayn does has so much effect on her. Zayn controlled his urge of putting his arms around her waist.

Before they even knew it, both of them had fallen asleep.

—-

“They look so cute when they’re sleeping, don’t they?”

“Shh, keep quiet Nins! You might wake them up!”

Nina and Louis said as they stared at Daphne and Zayn sleeping. Louis pulled down the lavender comforter so that he and Nina can see them. Daphne was now facing Zayn. Zayn’s arm was on top of Daphne and it looked like he was trying to hold her close to him. Nina brought her phone out and took a picture of them. She showed it to Louis and he chuckled. He covered his mouth when he realized that he might’ve chuckled a little loud, but they knew that the noise wasn’t enough to wake the two up. Nina and Louis tiptoed away from Daphne’s bed and joined the rest on Nina’s bed. Harry was doing his infamous ‘Sprinkler’ dance. All the boys were laughing, except for Nina.

“What is he actually doing now?” Nina asked Louis as she stared at Harry.

“Oh, he’s doing the Sprinkler dance, ‘cause he likes to make girls wet.” Louis chuckled and winked at her.

The boys were still laughing with Harry. Nina stared at him with her eyes slightly narrowed. When Harry realized that Nina was staring at him, Harry gave her his cheeky smile and looked right into her eyes. Nina tried to look away, but she was captivated by him. Harry stopped dancing now, since he noticed how Nina’s eye color had changed. Last night, her eye color was a slate blue; but now, it was a vibrant green.

“Hey, you have green eyes,” Harry pointed out as she sat beside Nina. “I always thought that they were blue.”

Nina was a bit shocked that Harry noticed such a little detail like her eye color. She could tell that she was blushing now because her cheeks were burning. She looked away and just nodded. She didn’t want to start her morning with an argument with him. “Yeah, I do have green eyes.”

“Uh, Nina,” Niall said. Nina turned her head towards Niall. “What’s that on your… abdomen?”

Forgetting that she was wearing a very skimpy pair of lace panties from Victoria’s Secret and a grey off-the-shoulder top that showed off the straps of her pink bra, Nina suddenly felt embarrassed. She knew that the guys wouldn’t tell her to put some pants on or anything, since they were guys and all, and she knew that they’re liking the view. Harry looked at her abdomen and he quickly looked away; Nina was undeniably sexy. Biting his lower lip, Harry looked at Nina’s abdomen again and he saw the black ink. The other boys became curious as well, since they didn’t know that she has a tattoo. Nina looked down at her abdomen. Seeing the tattoo made her remember all of the things she had long buried into the back of her mind. Nina sighed.

“It’s a tattoo. It says ‘No Regrets, Just Love’.” She explained.

“Cool!” Niall said, smirking.

“Isn’t that a lyric from a song by Katy Perry?” Louis asked, scratching his head.

Nina nodded and smirked. “Yeah, it is Lou.”

“Neat,” Harry grinned. “May we see it better?”

Nina felt her cheeks warming up again. “No, Styles!”

Harry pouted and gave Nina the puppy eyes. Most girls he gave it to in the past immediately gave into it, but Nina just shrugged. She stood up and went to her suitcase, trying to find a pair of sweatpants. When she found one, she put it on. She then looked at the guys with a hand on her stomach.

“Hey guys, I’m hungry. Let’s go get some breakfast?”

Everyone agreed with her, except Niall, who was suddenly too busy playing with his guitar.

“Are you going to go with us Niall?” Nina asked.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’ll just wait for all of you to get back.”

“We know you’re hungry Niall, just come with us already!” Liam said as he ruffled Niall’s blonde hair.

“Trust me, I’m not hungry… yet.” Niall chuckled.

And with that, they got out of the room one by one. Harry was the last one of the boys to get out, and that’s because he was waiting for Nina. She was trying to find her wallet. When Nina found her wallet, she walked towards the door. She was a bit surprised to see Harry standing in the doorway. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well don’t just stand there, get the fuck out!”

Nina told him. Harry just smirked at her as he stepped onto the hallway. Nina quietly closed the door behind her and started walking down the hall.

—-

When Daphne woke up, the first thing she saw was Zayn’s handsome face. She smirked; he looked so adorable while sleeping. How he managed to do that, Daphne couldn’t figure out. She also noticed how Zayn’s arm was on top of hers. Suddenly, she was nervous about how there was so little space between them; the space was so little that Daphne could feel Zayn’s breath on her face. Daphne wanted to get up, but she didn’t want to take Zayn’s arm off her, since she might wake him up. And besides, his arm on top of her felt pleasantly warm.

So she stayed on her bed for five more minutes before she gently took Zayn’s arm. She took it off her as lightly as she could. When she was successful at placing his arm on his side, Daphne got out of her bed, leaving Zayn there.

She was hungry, so she tried to look for something to eat. After a few minutes of searching for food, Daphne found none. It seems like everyone left her and Zayn there and went out for breakfast. She sighed. Daphne walked on over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone. She discovered that it was only five in the morning. She was about to call Nina to ask where they were when suddenly, she felt hands on her shoulder. She screamed and she dropped her phone on the olive green carpet. She turned around and found Niall.

“Niall! You scared the hell out of me!” Daphne said as she held her chest.

Niall chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his blonde hair. “Sorry Daph, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Daphne replied, picking up her phone from the carpet. “Where’s everyone?”

“They went out to buy some food for us.” Niall said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Nando’s?” Daphne smirked, knowing how he loves that restaurant and their food.

Niall chuckled and looked down. “How do you know that I love Nando’s?”

“I’m smart like that.” Daphne grinned.

“Really…” Niall said, smirking at her as he rubbed his chin.

Daphne nodded with pride. “Yeah, really.”

Daphne and Niall laughed. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, since the two of them didn’t know what to say. Daphne tried to look around the room, and that’s when Niall caught a glimpse of her eyes. He had always wanted to see them up close, and now he did. Her eyes were a mixture of different colors, but green was the color that stood out the most.

“You have really pretty eyes.” Niall told her as he looked at her right in the eye.

“Oh,” Daphne said, a blush creeping on to her cheeks. His accent made his compliment sound so much better. “Thanks, Niall. I like your accent by the way.”

Now it was Niall’s turn to blush. “Err, thank you.”

Daphne smirked at Niall. Everything was fine when all of a sudden, the door burst open.

“Oh Niall! We have McDonald’s!”

Louis exclaimed when he entered the room, holding two McDonald’s bags in his hands. Niall grinned and walked towards him. The blonde quickly took the bags from him and hugged it close to his chest.

“Mine!” Niall said.

Daphne put her chin on top of his left shoulder and dug through one bag, successfully grabbing a french fry. She ate it and smirked at Niall. “Feed me!”

“Only if you feed me first.” Niall winked at her and Daphne chuckled.

—-

Just a few hours ago, they were just eating breakfast. Now, they were sitting on a plane on the way to the United States of America. The boys were feeling absolutely nervous about going across the pond, but when they remember the reason why they’ll be going there - which is to perform for their dedicated American Directioners - all their nervousness goes away and gets replaced by excitement.

They were flying first class. All of them were seated in the middle of the first class area. Zayn was sitting beside Daphne, while Niall was sitting next to her. Liam sat behind Zayn, and beside Liam was Harry. Since Nina’s ticket number was next to a window, she sat on the right side of the first class area. Next to her was Louis, who had the ticket number next to hers.

Harry wanted to sat so bad beside Nina, so before their flight took off, he had talked to Louis about exchanging seats with him. Being his best friend, Louis agreed, but first, they had to wait for Nina to fall asleep, since Nina clearly didn’t want Harry to be near her.

So when Louis noticed that Nina had already fallen asleep with her head on the plane’s wall, he looked at Harry. Harry quickly stood up and so did Louis. When they were done exchanging seats, Harry quietly sat beside a sleeping Nina. She had an eye mask over her eyes. Harry stared at her; he wanted to bad to stare into her vibrant green eyes, but that damn eye mask had to shield her eyes from his stare. As he stared at her, Nina suddenly stirred out of her sleep. She yawned and then she put her head on Harry’s shoulder. Harry was shocked at first, but then he smiled.

“Can I borrow your shoulder, Lou? Thanks.”

She said before settling herself on Harry’s shoulder. He didn’t mind if she thought that he was Lou; if making her think that he’s Lou is the only way he’d be close to her, then so be it. Harry had the strong urge to touch her light brown hair, so he gave in and touched her hair; after all, she thought that he was Lou anyway. After touching her hair, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Nina took in a deep breath and moved her head, trying to find a comfortable position. Harry rubbed her shoulder. He too was feeling a little sleepy, so he closed his eyes and put his head on top of his seat.

Two hours later, the only ones who were awake were Niall, Zayn, and Daphne. Zayn was wide awake since he had gotten a decent sleep on Daphne’s bed a while ago, and the same goes to Daphne. They were talking about New York City, the next stop of the world tour.

“New York is great! I hope to live there one day.” Daphne shared with the boys. “Although I really want to settle down in a place where’s there’s peace and quiet, and fresh air.”

“You can always go to Ireland?” Niall suggested.

“Ireland’s actually on my ‘Places I Have To Go To Before I Die’ list.” Daphne chuckled.

“Well I can bring you with me next time I go there. What do you say?” Niall grinned.

“You would?” Daphne bit her lower lip.

Niall nodded. “Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all! I’d love to go to Ireland with you!”

Zayn was feeling a little out of place as he stared at Niall and Daphne talking. He could join their conversation, but he was a little tongue tied. He noticed that there was a strange twinkle in Niall’s eyes and he only saw that twinkle when Niall was talking to a girl he liked. Could he possibly fancy Daphne too? If he did, Zayn couldn’t blame him - Daphne was to die for.

Daphne turned to Zayn now. “How about you Zayn? Any place you’d like to visit?”

“I’d really like to visit Arizona,” Zayn told her. “And your hometown, Scottsdale. What’s it like there?”

“Oh,” Daphne felt herself blushing. “Well, I believe that Phoenix is the best; it’s very modern and quite picturesque. Scottsdale is a great place to live in, although some people could be quite snobs in my opinion. And oh, the weather’s very nice in Arizona; the sun’s always out.”

“That sounds lovely,” Zayn said, imagining the things he could do under the sun with her. “Good thing we have a tour date there.”

Daphne nodded. “Very lovely indeed.”

“You are going to take me home right?” Zayn asked, smirking. Niall’s eyes slightly narrowed at him when he heard it.

“Yes,” Daphne chuckled. “I could give you a tour of the Wilde residence.”

“And now I can’t wait to go to Arizona.”

Zayn chuckled. He noticed how Niall became quiet all of a sudden. Zayn noticed how he had been acting a little distant towards him lately, but he tried to shrug it off.

—-

“Harry, Harry! Marry me!”

“I love your voice Liam!”

“Zayn you are amazayn!”

Those were just some of the things the boys heard as they were making their way out of the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Their American Directioners had gave them a warm welcome to their country. They wanted to interact with them so bad, but unfortunately they weren’t allowed to. Barricades had been set up and security was on full alert. Daphne and Nina followed the boys. Some of the girls gave them dirty looks, but the two just ignored them. None of their fans were there, mostly because all of the attention was on One Direction. The girls didn’t mind though; it was nice not being in the spotlight for once.

When all of them were inside the limousine, the driver got on the road.

Harry and Nina didn’t know it, but when they were sleeping, Louis had taken their photo. He immediately tweeted it, and the picture had already received a ton of comments. Most of the comments were positive and amusing, while the rest were a bit offensive and negative. The fans started calling them “Hina”, which is a combination of Harry and Nina’s names. Nina decided to get on Twitter and check out was going on. As she was going through her feed, she saw Louis’ tweet. She clicked the link, and when she saw the photo of her and Harry, she frowned at Louis.

“What is this?!” Nina asked Louis as she held up her phone to his face.

“You fell asleep a few hours ago, and so did Harry.” Louis told her, smirking.

“Obviously,” Nina said, closing the picture and logging out of Twitter. “I thought it was you who I was sleeping on.”

“Sorry, that was Harry.” Louis replied.

“She even drooled on me!” Harry said.

Nina gasped. “I so did not Styles!”

“Did to!” Harry insisted.

“Enough you guys!” Liam exclaimed. Harry and Nina stopped arguing like little kids, and then it was silent in the limousine. Liam didn’t want them to fight at all.

Everyone in the limousine was amused with Harry and Nina. But Nina wasn’t; she was truly pissed. Louis knew that all of this was his fault and he was starting to feel a little guilty. He tried apologizing to her, but she gave him the cold shoulder. Nina ended up ignoring everyone in the vehicle as they made their way to Millenium Hilton. Harry on the other hand, couldn’t enjoy the fact that Nina fell asleep on his shoulder: how could he enjoy it when he knows Nina didn’t liked what happened? Nina figured out that Harry switched seats with Louis when she fell asleep. She gave the boys props because when she woke up, it was Louis that she saw and not Harry. They had good timing.

When they made it to the Millenium Hilton, the first person to step out of the vehicle was Nina. Taking her suitcases with her, she walked up to the entrance of the hotel, ignoring the paparazzi who were trying to talk to her as they took her photo. Daphne was the next one to get out of the limousine. She showed nothing but respect and kindness towards the paparazzi, since she was known for being an angel. When it’s the boys’ turn to get out, the swarm of paparazzi that had formed outside the Millenium Hilton went nuts. Even if the boys were tired, they were all smiles for the flashing cameras.

When they got inside the hotel, they all stepped into the elevator and headed to the the fiftieth floor of the hotel, where their suites were located. When they got there, the group went their separate ways. Daphne and Nina were roommates as usual. Harry and Louis had their own suite, while Zayn, Liam, and Niall were going to stay in another room.

Nina crashed on the large, soft bed the second she stepped in their suite, leaving Daphne to fix all of their luggage in one space. When Daphne was done, she closed the door and sat beside Nina, who looked like she was thinking deeply.

“Nins, are you okay now?” Daphne asked, a little worried about her cousin. Boy, she sure did have a temper.

Nina chuckled humorlessly. “How I wish. I mean, how could they?! I’m actually more disappointed than mad - well, I don’t know exactly - but just… how could Louis do that to me?! He knows I don’t like Harry and yet it’s like he’s trying to build a bridge between us!”

Daphne bit her lower lip. She had been thinking about what if Harry likes Nina, and he’s acting the way he is around her is because he fancies her. Daphne wanted to tell Nina her theory, but now was definitely not the right time to tell her. “What do you mean ‘trying to build a bridge’?”

Nina sighed. “First, I think Louis gave Harry my phone number. Second, Louis left me on the dance floor when we went out for dinner. And third, this. Can’t they understand that I don’t like Harry?”

“Nins, I think you’re overreacting here,” Daphne told her, still biting her lower lip. “Harry’s quite nice. If you could let your walls down just for a second…”

Nina glared at her, her green eyes filled with anger. She stood up from the bed as she started pacing back and fourth. “You’re taking their side?! What the fuck Daph!”

Daphne stood up from the bed as well, closely standing in front of her cousin. “I’m not taking anyone’s side, Nins! God, would you chill the fuck out?!”

Nina sighed and ran a hand through her messy light brown hair. “If you need me, I’ll be in the bathroom.”

Daphne nodded as she watched her cousin walk to the bathroom. When the bathroom door closed, she heard a knock on the hotel room’s door. Daphne walked towards it and opened it. She smiled when she found Zayn standing in front of her. Zayn smiled back.

“Hey Zayn, why are you here?” Daphne asked.

“Just wanted to hang out with you, that’s all.” Zayn said, making Daphne blush slightly. “Can I come in?”

Daphne stepped out of his way and nodded. “Of course, Mr. Malik.”

Zayn grinned. “Thank you, Ms. Wilde.”

Daphne chuckled and closed the door when Zayn got inside. He sat on the black leather couch and turned on the television. Daphne sat beside him, looking behind her just in case Nina comes out.

“Nina’s still mad I bet?” Zayn asked Daphne, looking at her.

Daphne sighed. “Yeah, really mad. I hope she really doesn’t mind that you’re here.”

Zayn’s eyes narrowed. “Why would she be mad at me? She has no reason to.”

“Her mind works in a different way.” Daphne shrugged.

Zayn just nodded. “I see.”

A few minutes later, Nina got out of the bathroom. Daphne looked behind her and she saw that her cousin had a mischievous smile on her face. Nina felt Daphne’s eyes on her, so she looked at her and smiled. Nina was about to talk to her so she could apologize for lashing out on her, but she noticed Zayn. Nina’s smile turned into a teasing grin.

“Hi Zayn,” Nina greeted. “Daphne didn’t told me you were coming.”

Zayn looked behind him and smirked at her. “Hey Nins. I came here by surprise actually.”

“Oh what a pleasant surprise that is for Daph I guess.” Nina winked at Daphne.

Daphne was blushing heavily now and Zayn felt a little awkward. Silence slowly started to took over. The two were still looking at Nina, who was taking her wallet from her suitcase. Nina looked at the two again as she held her phone and wallet in her hands.

“I’m going to go get some fresh air. If you need me, you can call or text me or something,” Nina said as she walked to the door. “And don’t do anything naughty while I’m gone okay?”

Daphne didn’t know what she meant by that, but she was getting the feeling that Nina might’ve done something. When Nina was out of the room, it was silent again. Zayn wasn’t actually watching the show on the television, he was just playing with hands. Daphne took her phone out of her jacket’s pocket and signed in on Twitter. The first tweet that she saw on her feed was Nina’s tweet. She saw that she tweeted a picture link with the caption “Someone’s having a sleepover.”. Daphne clicked on the link and what she saw made her jaw drop; it was a picture of her and Zayn sleeping on her hotel bed a few hours ago in London.

“What’s that you’re looking at?” Zayn asked as he looked at Daphne, who wasn’t blinking and was blushing as she stared at her phone’s screen. When Zayn saw what she was looking at, his breath suddenly got stuck in his throat.

When Daphne finally blinked, she logged out of Twitter and put her phone back inside her jacket’s right pocket. Nina sure did had a bizarre way of thinking.

“I’m so going to kill her when she gets back.” Daphne stated through gritted teeth.

“Whoa, relax; it’s just a picture you know?” Zayn told her, chuckling nervously.

“You know how people can react to pictures like this,” Daphne said, a little worried. “They’ll think we’re more than just friends.”

“Let them think that way; at least we know what’s real.” Zayn smirked at her. That was all Daphne needed to stop worrying.

Daphne and Zayn spent their time together just talking. The two loved talking to one another; they had so much in common, which was quite flattering and shocking at the same time. Unlike Harry and Nina, the two liked being together.