"C'mon man, you'll be back in an hour." I heard the voice, but the words didn't process in my tired state.

I heard a deep sigh from somewhere close to me. Niall. "I know, I know." A set of arms from the other side of the bed carefully lifted me up from where I had been sprawled across Niall's chest. My eyelids fluttered open and saw Liam's smiling face before me as he gently placed me back on the bed.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, my eyes snapped shut again, still weighed down heavily with sleep. I continued to hear voices, but my brain refused to distinguish individual words. I rolled over and fell back to sleep.

When I woke up, I could sense that some time had passed. I sat up slowly, noticing a piece of paper next to me. I unfolded it, reading the words there:

Stella~ The boys and I have gone to a quick signing down the street. It shouldn't take long, we'll be done by ten. Text me when you wake up so I know when to pick you up. See you soon, beautiful. ~Niall

I smiled at the sweet note—giggling especially at the hearts and wink faces drawn in a different hand, probably Louis's—before glancing at the clock. It was nine thirty. If the signing was to be over at ten, the earliest he could be back would be ten thirty. I picked up my phone and typed out a quick text:

Hey Niall! I'm finally awake. You can pick me up whenever, it really doesn't matter to me. Where are we going?

I got an answer within the minute:

Perfect timing! Does ten thirty work for you? And I can't tell you where we're going, that would ruin the surprise!

I wrote back quickly, having anticipated his answer:

Ten thirty sounds great. Can you at least tell me what I should be wearing?

I stared at my phone until his response arrived.

Wear a swimsuit and some cool clothes, I heard it's going to be hot today. Bring comfortable shoes.

I smiled at the thought of being outside. I had been hoping we wouldn't be staying indoors on a beautiful day like this. Plus, if he was willing to be out in the open with me, maybe Liam was right, and this wasn't a one-day thing…

I looked over at Jo, still sleeping soundly, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. As peaceful as she looked, I knew I had to interrupt her beauty sleep. I went over and gently shook her arm, telling her to wake up. She opened her eyes slowly as if she was in the middle of a good dream. "Wake up sleepy head," I said quietly. "Niall's going to be here in an hour and I need your help to get ready!"

She sat up slowly, stretching. "Okay. Okay. Go take a shower and I'll be—I'll be—" She stopped here to yawn loudly. "—I'll be functional when you're out."

I skipped off to the bathroom, trying hard not to think about where Niall would be taking me, what we would be doing, and what we would talk about. I showered quickly, scrubbing all the products out of my hair and the makeup off my face. The warm water felt comforting against my tensed shoulders, and I found it hard to turn off the faucet. Once I was wrapped up in a towel, I went back to the bedroom, where Jo had laid an outfit for me on the bed.

"What the hell? There is not a chance I am wearing that," I said in disgust, pointing to the outfit she had designated for me.

"Why not?" she complained loudly. "It's so pretty!"

"Oh let me think… One, those aren't even my clothes. Two, we're going somewhere outside, not to a nightclub. And three, it's extremely trashy!"

I picked up the black silk corset and the tiny red denim shorts. "Really? Does this look remotely close to anything I would wear?" I said, almost laughing at the situation.

She smiled. "I guess not," she said in a voice that sent us both into hysterics. When we recovered from our laughing fits, she said, "Go start your hair, I'll pick out a new outfit then come do your makeup."

I reentered the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and dried my hair. By the time I was done, the time on my phone read ten fifteen. "Crap." I ran back to the bedroom and threw on my white bikini, carefully double knotting the strings so it wouldn't come loose. I approved of Jo's second outfit, gave her a thumbs up, and quickly dressed in the denim shorts and lime green halter top. I sprinted back to the bathroom, and, deciding I didn't have enough time to curl my hair, just straightened it. As I was turning off the flat iron, the doorbell rang.

I turned to Jo, who was perched on the edge of the counter, and thought on my feet. "Please go get the door and tell him I'll be ready in five." She skipped out of the room, leaving me alone and stressed out. I concluded that my hair was impeccably straight, but nonetheless a little boring. So I braided a strand of hair on either side of my face and pinned them together at the back of my head, creating a crown of sorts. I dabbed some powder on my face, applied a thin layer of mascara, grabbed my purple bag from the counter, shoved a towel, my wallet, and my phone inside, and stepped into my Rainbows. I took a deep breath to collect myself, then opened the door and stepped into the living room where Niall was seated on the sofa. He stood up when I walked in and looked me up and down, making me feel very self-conscious. I blushed a light shade of pink when he looked me in the eyes.

"You're beautiful." My heart pounded in my chest. I absolutely adored the way he said you're beautiful instead of you look beautiful. It might not sound so different, but it was a big deal to me. It said that he wasn't looking at my clothes, or my hair, or my makeup. He was looking at me.

"Thank you," I replied sincerely. "You look great yourself." He was wearing a perfectly fitted light blue t-shirt with white and gray striped board shorts. I looked down at his feet and smiled. "Look, we match!" I exclaimed, referring to our matching pairs of brown Rainbows.

He looked at me and smiled. "I guess that's a sign then. It's going to be a great day." He closed the gap between us, lacing his fingers with mine, and then pulled me toward the door.

"Ahem!" Jo's voice chimed from across the room. I had completely forgotten she was sitting there. "Forgetting someone?"

I wheeled around to see her and Liam sitting on the sofa in the corner, which was not visible from where I had been standing. "Liam?" I asked, confused.

"The boys and I decided to kidnap Jo for the day, considering you're ditching her for Niall," he replied in a mock fatherly tone.

"Jo!" I chastised. "I'm not ditching you! I just—I'm—"

She stood up and grinned at me. "No worries Stells." She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, enclosing me in a hug. "Trust me, I'm not complaining," she whispered in a voice only I could hear. I giggled again as she pulled back, and she winked at me. "Have fun, you lovebirds."

I smiled at her, waved at Liam, and then followed Niall as he left the room.