I went to my room, showered, pulled on Jo's cute pink sweatpants and a tank top, brushed my teeth and hair, and went to find my best friend. I found her on the phone in the living room, a smile stretched widely across her face. "Yes definitely. No, of course not. Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" she said into the phone. She then realized I was standing in the doorway. "Oh whoops, I have to go, I'll talk to you later!" She hung up and walked over to me.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Umm…it was Tibby. You know that girl in my math class? She just wanted me to send her some of my photos from graduation…for a…um…for a video she's making." She said rather disjointedly. I realized Jo was probably very tired, and therefore becoming increasingly incoherent. At least, that was the only plausible explanation for her shifty behavior.

"Listen, Jo. I think I'm going to…" I didn't know how to tell her that I was going to spend the night with my boyfriend. Not that Niall and I were going to do anything, but I didn't want Jo to get the wrong idea. My cheeks started to turn pink at her potential reactions. "Niall asked me…well I think I might…"

"Spit it out Stells, it's three thirty and I'm exhausted!"

"I'm going to spend the night with Niall," I said rather quickly, ripping off the band-aid. I watched her face carefully while she pondered the words. At first, she just looked at me with a confused expression, but then she burst into laughter.

"You were afraid to tell me that you want to stay with your extremely attractive and foreign boyfriend, who just so happens to be in the world's most famous boy band, on his last night in the city? I totally understand Stella, no worries. I don't judge," she said with a wink before turning and walking to the bedroom. "Goodnight! Have fun with Niall!" she yelled in a singsong voice from the other room.

I rolled my eyes. "Goodnight!"

I texted Niall as I stepped off the elevator into the long hallway. Hey, I'm outside. I didn't know if I should ring the doorbell, in case the others are sleeping…?

The door opened after a few moments to reveal Niall standing there in a red hoodie and a pair of gray sweats. "Thanks for not ringing the doorbell. Not that it's bad to have you here, we'd just never get any privacy if they found out," he whispered, rolling his eyes and taking my hand. We shut the door silently behind us and Niall led me to his bedroom, the third door on the left. The inside of the room was simple but very nice. I sat down on the edge of the huge bed, looking out the window at downtown Los Angeles, its twinkling lights seeming to wink at me.

Niall stood before me, interrupting my thoughts of the city, and smiled down at me. He scooped me up easily in his arms and kissed me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him back. Before long, we fell backward onto the bed, giggling all the while. He continued to kiss me, my lips, my jaw, my neck, causing my heart to pound and my breath to shorten. After a while, we had to surface for air. We scooted up to the pillows, lying down side by side, with my head on his chest.

We lied there in blissful, sleepy silence. He had one of his hands on my back and the other was playing with my hair. When he must have thought I was asleep, he started singing to me. I could stay awake just to hear you breathing, watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you're far away and dreaming, I could spend my life in this sweet surrender, I could stay lost in this moment forever…

"Stella…Stella honey..." A gently hand rubbed my arm, obviously trying to wake me. My eyes fluttered open, still heavy with sleep. I looked into Niall's blue eyes, and I remembered that I had stayed in his suite last night. "Jo's here, babe, she said you need to check out now?"

"Oh." I was flooded with sadness. Today was the day. The last day I would see Niall until…until I don't even know when. "Okay."

I got up carefully, hiding my face from Niall as I was sure it would show my despair. "I'll just...check out with her, where should I meet you?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and rolling my shoulders.

"Come back here, will you hun?"

"Of course." I leaned in and kissed him, but avoided his eyes, sure I was going to break down if I saw them. "I'll be right back."

Once I was wearing my usual leggings and crop top, Jo and I checked out at the front desk and put our luggage in my car. Then we headed back up to the penthouse, hoping that our goodbye wouldn't be too drawn out.

Liam opened the door after I knocked and gave us each a big hug as we walked through the door. I could see that all the boys were already packed and ready to go. My eyes pricked but I kept the tears inside.

"This is always the hardest part. But we were thinking, our tour ends in eight weeks, would it be okay if we went and visited you in San Diego after it's over?" Harry asked, looking from Jo to me.

"Of course!" Jo exclaimed, smiling widely. Eight weeks? I guess it was good to know that I'd see Niall again soon, but eight weeks sure seemed like a long time.

The next couple minutes passed in a blur. Jo and I hugged Harry, Louis, and Liam goodbye, promising to show them the sights of San Diego when they came to visit. I was able to keep my composure until I reached Liam, his arms open wide and his smile unconcerned. As his arms wrapped around me, a small sob escaped my mouth and he rubbed my back. "It's okay Jo. I'll see you sooner than you think," he said in my ear.

I pulled back and looked at him. "Eight weeks is such a long time!"

At first, he looked confused at my words, but then comprehension dawned on his face and he shrugged nonchalantly. "It'll be here sooner than you think," he said with a smile, as I scrubbed the tears from my face.

At that point, Zayn and Niall walked out of their rooms. Zayn enclosed Jo and I in a group hug, lifting us both off the ground and causing us to giggle. Niall embraced Jo and said something to her that I didn't catch, but which caused her to laugh. He looked over at me and sighed. "I don't want to say goodbye," he said.

I hugged him tightly and didn't let go for a long time. I pressed my face against his chest, feeling his heartbeat and breathing in his unique smell. When I finally let go, the tears were falling steadily from my eyes, and he wiped them away with a sad smile.

"Let's go then," I said in a quiet voice, as Jo and all the boys seemed to have been watching our goodbye.

We walked down to the parking lot, where the boys put their bags in the tour bus. We shared one last group hug, before Harry, Louis, Zayn, and Liam jumped on the bus. Jo walked slowly toward my car, pretending to be interested in her phone in order to give Niall and I some privacy. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. It was soft and sweet, perfect for a goodbye kiss. The tears started falling again as I pulled away and wrapped my arms around his neck. I squeezed him gently, and kissed his cheek. "Eight weeks," he whispered, squeezing me back. I let go, and stared once more into those beautiful blue eyes before turning around and walking away, the tears falling all the while.