Chapter 3
As the night progressed, I realized just how easy it was to be around these boys. They were extremely easy to get along with, and all of them were really friendly!
It honestly surprised me, mostly because I expected them to be more.. stuck up, since they were famous. The fact that they were so down to earth said a lot about them as people.
Out of all five boys, I liked Niall the best. He was so carefree and easy going, as well as funny, that I felt myself naturally become good friends with him. We also shared a love for food, and that was a bonding factor all of its own!
I felt myself being drawn to Louis too, but I wasn’t entirely sure of what way it was. I didn’t try to figure it out either. But, there was something that kept drawing me back to him, and something that kept drawing him to me just as strongly.
Other than that, I found him to be a naturally funny person. He seemed to love pleasing people and making them laugh, or smile at the least. He was a lot similar to how the fans had said he was when I researched him. Clearly, he wasn’t one to hide who he was for the sake of his fame.
I liked Zayn, Liam, and Harry just as much as the other two boys! Zayn was really quiet, but at the same time he was so outgoing that his quietness was made up for. I could see it would just take time for us to get more comfortable with each other.
Liam was pretty casual, he didn’t need to know much about me at all to treat me as if he’d known me my whole life. Of course, because he was attached to Danielle all night, we didn’t get much chance of one on one talking, but I could see him being on older brother to me.
And Harry… well, Harry was exactly like what he was said to be! Harry was quite cheeky, and a huge flirt. I liked that about him though, because it reminded me of my own sarcastic nature. I figured we’d be a good pair once we got accustomed to each other as well. We’d already been cracking a few good jokes (at the expense of our friends) all night!
All in all, I was surprised at how much I liked the boys despite my lack of love for their music.
Around 11pm, Louis announced we were going to play Truth or Dare. The only thing that would be different about the dares is that they’d be in the form of Would You Rather questions that we had to answer and explain our reasoning for our answers.
Everyone was quick to agree to this; apparently, Louis was the king of regular dares and no one wanted to try to do his dare challenges.
We all arranged ourselves in a circle on the floor. Louis started the game (since it was his idea, after all).
“Okay then! I’m calling on…” Before calling a name, he paused dramatically. “No, this can’t be a regular game. Since our lovely new friend, Miss Ashley over there, is new to the group, we’re going to make this game entirely centered on her!”
“What? I really think I disagree!” I protested. “Oh, come on, you all have to be kidding! Danielle, help?”
Danielle smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I would, but they did the same thing to me. Except it was more brutal, because I was Liam’s girlfriend. I’d like to see it happen to someone else… sorry love!”
I groaned. “Oh, fine. Do your worst!”
Louis grinned. “There’s just one condition! Since you are not any of our girlfriends, we can take you out.”
I stared blankly at Louis, not comprehending what he meant. ”So,” he continued. “whichever boy, with the exception of Liam, gets you not to be able to answer a question first gets to take you out for one night.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, fine. As long as it’s not you, Lou, I’ll be fine.” I said jokingly.
Louis understood I was kidding and pulled a face. “I’m truly wounded!” He then grinned, and I smiled back him. “This game is going to take a while!” I commented.
Louis just shook his head. He seemed confident he’d have me down in a heartbeat. “Okay, then! I’m ready. We’ll start off easy for you.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Gee, thanks. I feel so grateful for you starting off easy just for me!”
I heard Harry’s laughter, and I grinning wickedly at him sitting across from me. He flashed me a thumbs up before Louis asked his first question.
“First question… what’s your full name?”
I couldn’t believe just how easy this question actually was. “Er, alright… it’s Ashley Jennifer Taylor.”
Louis grinned. “Jennifer? Your nickname is definitely going to be Jenny!”
I groaned. “Oh god. Like I haven’t heard that one a million times Louis, honestly! I’m sure you can be more original that Jenny. Next question please?”
“I’ll have a go at it!” I heard Niall’s Irish accent say and I turned towards him smiling.
“What’s your favorite dessert?”
“NIALL!” Everyone chorused.
“Niall, your obsession with food is so unhealthy, I mean-” Liam began to say, but Danielle clapped her hand over his mouth. He pulled it away, smiling down at Danielle before giving her a kiss.
“Oh god, get a room!” Louis called out. They broke apart, smiling. I smiled at them before turning back to Niall.
“Favorite dessert?” He nodded. “Well, there was this restaurant chain back home, called Chili’s. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
The others all shook their heads, but Niall nodded.
I grinned at him. The boy did have a clear obsession with food, and I wasn’t surprised he knew of the American based restaurant.
“Well, anyway, they have this amazing Vanilla Bean cheesecake I never left without having. It was topped with white chocolate shavings, and then put on a plate that was drizzled with chocolate syrup. Plus, there was a strawberry on the plate. That’s my favorite fruit, I’ll go ahead and answer that too.”
Niall’s mouth hung open, and I think he was imagining the dessert. “It sounds amazing…” He trailed off, and everyone started laughing.
“Alright, my turn!” Zayn said confidently, and I turned to him next.
“Uhh… what’s your favorite band?” He asked, and I smiled.
“The Fray, definitely The Fray! Well, there’s also Maroon 5… and Train… oh wait, there’s The Script…” I trailed off, pondering my answer. “Okay, definitely going with The Fray, but The Script is a close second!”
Louis gave me a high-five. “The Fray is excellent! You’ve gained some respect from me, dear.”
I smiled. “Liam or Harry?” Liam raised his hand like a schoolboy, and asked his question.
“Do you like Toy Story?” he asked, innocent as could be. Everyone did a combination of groaning and face palming themselves, even Danielle!
I just nodded. “I cried like a baby when I saw the last movie.”
Liam’s face lit up. He turned to Danielle. “Why didn’t I meet this girl when you first did? We’ll be having a Toy Story marathon someday soon.” He directed towards me, and I grinned. “Awesome!”
“Okay, okay! Movie made for children aside,” Liam protested in the background, but Harry ignored him. “I want to know… do you like cats?”
I laughed. I expected nothing less from Harry, and answered him without pause. “I do like cats… they just don’t like me!”
Harry smirked. “You just don’t have the right touch, I suppose.”
I bantered with him a bit. “Or maybe I just don’t smell like fish.” I said, cocking an eyebrow.
Everyone laughed at that, and Harry stroked his chin. “I like you. You’re going to be just as good with banter as Louis is, in time. You’re going to be interesting to have around!”
I smiled at his statement. “Danielle, are you going to ask me questions?”
She nodded. “What’s your life-long dream?”
I didn’t hesitate in answering the easy question. ” My life-long dream has always been to star as Clara in a production of The Nutcracker. It’s my dream to do it, even if it’s only one show.”
Everyone was quiet, and I broke the silence quickly. “Don’t say something all at once! How about another question, Lou?”
“Alright then! Do you have any siblings?”
I shook my head. “Just me and the people I call my parents, I’m afraid.”
I couldn’t keep track of each person that asked questions after that, because they were never ending.
But, some of the questions they asked included my favorite movie, places I wanted to go, my favorite color, a list of my past pets, a TV show I never stopped loving, my favorite brand of potato chips, if I could sing, and even what my favorite piece of clothing was.
Finally, it was Harry’s turn. “Okay… um, do you like our music?”
I hesitated, then covered my face. “Danielle…” I said, wanting her to answer.
“Can I answer for her? Is it legal?” She addressed to Lou, who shook his head.
He then pried my hands off of my face. “You do have to answer, or Harry’s going to take you for a night out.”
I blanched, picturing a night surrounded by cats. “Okay, I’ll answer!”
I leaned over to Louis. “I don’t want a night surrounded by cats.” I muttered to him, and laughed so loudly that he caused everyone to look at us strangely, wondering what we found so funny.
I shook my head, giggling lightly, then answered the question. “I do think your music is catchy. And it’s very clear that all five of you are extremely talented; I have no doubt in my mind about that! But, I don’t really prefer your music over my own taste. Sorry.” I added as an afterthought.
They all nodded thoughtfully. “At least you don’t hate it!” Zayn said, trying to be nice.
I smiled. “It’s not that it isn’t very good music. It’s great music! I just prefer more… mood music, I suppose you could call it. Since I’m more of a contemporary and ballet dancer, I prefer music that I can choreograph dances to.”
The game continued, and began to get more and more personal.
There were questions about my past boyfriends. There were questions about my parents, and about the town I was from. I began to think I might win this game, because I answered every question I was asked with ease.
“Okay, it’s my turn again!” Louis said. His questions had taken a turn for the more personal, and but I was still confident I could answer them.
“What are you most afraid of?”
“Dying.” I said, without a second thought.
My answer caught Louis off guard. “Dying? Why?”
I answered truthfully. “Can’t you just imagine? What if there isn’t an afterlife, or whatever you personally believe? What if, when you die, there’s nothing but blackness? It’d be horrible. Dying itself is horrible, and whatever happens after probably isn’t any better.”
They were all quiet. “Well, I don’t think I have anymore questions.” Harry said, and the others all agreed… except for Louis.
“I have plenty more!” He said loudly.
I rolled my eyes, yawning. “It’s nearly 1AM, Louis.”
He smiled. “I have a never ending supply of questions. Maybe you should give up now and go out with me for a night.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Fine, Tommo. Keep asking your questions. I’ll amuse you a little longer.”
He grinned. “Okay then! What’s your favorite quote?”
“Live for the moment, because everything else is uncertain.” I responded, reciting it easily from my memory.
Louis stared at me. “What?” I asked, unsure of the way he was looking at me.
He smiled slightly. “That’s my favorite quote, too.” I smiled in response.
“How about this question? What song has the most emotional meaning to you?”
“A tie between So Small by Carrie Underwood and Down To Earth by Justin Bieber.”
Louis nodded. “Why do these songs mean so much to you?”
“So Small holds meaning to me because when my uncle… passed away,”
I had to pause, because in truth, my uncle committed suicide. But I couldn’t be honest about that.
“I listened to that song so many times and it got me through the hard times. As for Down To Earth, I listened to it every time my parents fought. I reminds me that I’m not the only one whose parents went through a divorce.”
Louis took my hand and patted it. “Don’t feel so alone. Most of our parents have divorced in this room. I would be one of those people.”
I looked up at him, a little surprised, but nodded. “Next question?” I said quietly.
He nodded. “How did you uncle die?”
This question, I was not prepared for. I tried not to think about it. I always avoided it, because it made me go crazy and wonder why. “I… I can’t answer that.”
Louis blinked, taken aback. “This? This is the question you get stumped on? Well, I don’t want to take you out on a question like this, it’ll feel wrong…”
I smiled, and punched him playfully. “Shut up, Lou. A deal’s a deal. You were the one who stumped me, the question doesn’t matter.”
He stared at me, seeming to think I was lying. When he saw I was being honest, he smiled. “Okay then, hand me your phone.”
I rolled my eyes, but handed it to him. He proceeded to enter his number in it, as well as the other four boys’ numbers.
“Now, sometime soon, I will text or call you with details, and I’ll let you know when we‘ll meet up and what you should wear!”
I raised my eyebrows at that, but he didn’t notice and continued to speak. “And I’ve given you the other boys’ numbers because I have every idea you’re going to become good friends with us.”
I smiled. “I think so, too.”
“You want to watch a movie?” He said. “I mean, everyone else has fallen asleep. But we’re still awake, so we might as well do something interesting.”
I looked around, realizing everyone else had actually fallen asleep.
Before answering, I had an idea.
I stood up and offered him my hand. “I’ve got a better idea.” I said, suddenly nervous about it. But, from how it seemed so far, if anyone could appreciate the place we’d be headed, it would be Louis.
