Lizzie

With fourteen people playing, Apples to Apples is an incredibly long game. We had to go through at least thirty something green apple cards in order to have someone win. We almost ran out of red apple cards at one point too, which had never happened in any of the games we had played before.

It got to the point where four people had four cards and we basically just said, “We’re done. Let’s just end it right now.” So, those four won. It was Louis, Niall, and Simone for starters. I was the fourth. I was very proud of that.

The day went by quickly, actually, once that five hour game was done. We all went to bed, knowing that tomorrow would be great.

After all, tomorrow was Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve. The next day, we’d all be overrun with presents, ones that we would work really hard to make sure we could fit in the back now that each of them would be unwrapped and not shaped like an actual box. The girls and I would be able to share our traditions with everyone, and we’d have the best time possible.

Not only that, but tomorrow was Louis’s birthday. I was really excited, actually. Before I met the guys, the girls and I had been those regular fans. Like some other fans, we celebrated their birthdays like they were actually there, in a way. Usually it was just watching their favorite movie, eating some kind of treat like cupcakes or something, and then singing a quick round of Happy Birthday before our parents found us and asked what the heck we were doing.

Oh, that was awkward when they’d come by and ask.

But now we were able to celebrate around them, and it would be nice. Of course, we wouldn’t do the traditions we did at the other celebrations, but we still would celebrate nonetheless, and it would be fine.

I laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling with a small smile on my face. So far, I think this trip turned out fantastic. It was really relaxed and fun, and we were all able to just spend time together like regular teens. After everything that had happened to all of us, it was greatly appreciated. How we wished we could do this all the time.

But the boys had to go back to their job, touring the world and singing on stage to thousands of fans at a time. Kyle had to go back to college, and continue his studying to reach his dream. Michael had to go back to the Air Force and keep serving our country, hopefully not getting hurt in the process. And the girls and I (plus Tanner) had to go back to school for our last year, or years, and then head off to college ourselves.

Man that was a scary thought, college being so close. I knew a girl in my English class who had already picked out her top five colleges, and was working on applications, if she hadn’t already sent them by now. She had been planning her college experience since she was about eight years old. At eight years old, my biggest worry was winning at all those stupid, crazy games on my Nintendo. I didn’t worry about anything related to my future.

In some ways that was a good thing. I wasn’t stressing myself out at such a young age, but at the same time, it would have been nice to at least have some ideas on what I wanted to do with my life, if you know what I mean.

Kelly turned to look at me, and flicked on the light as she did so. “Lizzie, are you okay?” she asked softly, her head still lying on her pillow. The sound of her voice let me know how tired she was, and I kind of felt bad, thinking I had been keeping her awake even though we were in the dark.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, did I wake you up?” I asked her softly, chewing on my lip.

“Yeah, a little. You were tossing and turning in bed a bit, and I was worried. Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to talk about anything?” she asked me, like a concerned sister. She may not be my actual blood sister, but she was as close as I could get. I loved having Kelly around.

“No, I’m fine. Go ahead and go to sleep. I’ll try to sleep too. Sorry,” I said softly and rolled over in my bed to get comfortable.

She nodded slightly and flicked the light off. “Okay. Good night Lizzie. Sleep tight,” she said softly and sweetly.

“Good night, Kelly,” I said softly, but I knew she was probably already asleep. I sighed softly and looked at the ceiling again. With a small smile on my lips, I closed my eyes and drifted off into dreamland.

----------

When I woke up the next morning, I smiled brightly. I had a great plan for the day. Plus I had brought an extra present for Louis for his birthday, since I knew he would love it. I had gotten a decent amount of sleep last night, after that whole thing last night before I fell asleep.

I hurried and made my way up to the floor above me, where surprisingly everyone already was. “Did I wake up late again?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen to find something to eat for breakfast.

“Yeah. We’ve been up for about an hour or so at least at this point. Where have you been?” Simone asked me as she sat on the couch, turning around to look at me.

“Sleeping. It’s break. I am going to sleep. End of discussion,” I replied and poured myself a cup of juice to drink with my meal. Yeah, I had gotten enough sleep, but who didn’t want more as a teenager anyway? Then I looked over at Louis, who was still eating at the table. “Happy birthday,” I said softly and sweetly before I took a drink of my juice.

Louis smiled at me. “Thanks Liz,” he said, in that way that I only let him.

I immediately felt a glare on my back from somewhere nearby. Without even a glance, I knew exactly who it was, and I let out a sigh. It was his birthday for crying out loud! Couldn’t I at least wish him a happy birthday and not get the evil eye from my brother?

Apparently not.

I sighed and went to the table to eat my meal. I took a seat besides Louis for two reasons: One, I knew that it would bother Michael to no end, which made me happy; and two, I just wanted to talk to Louis this morning. “So, how are you today?” I asked softly, ignoring everything else around us.

“I’m great. How about you?” he asked me with a small smile as he ate his breakfast.

“I’m great,” I replied. “I’m still a bit tired though,” I admitted.

“Well why didn’t you stay asleep? You could have slept for a while longer before you came up here,” he reminded me with a small smile.

“I couldn’t sleep, which is annoying. I’ve been sleep deprived because of school, and break was gonna get me back on track,” I said. “I just want more sleep,” I said.

“Same,” Courtney said, pointing at me as she hopped up on the arm of the couch. She chose not to sit like a regular person and be her awesome self.

Louis just laughed. “I’m gonna just say every single one of us is sleep deprived in one way or another around here,” he told me.

I smiled and nodded. “That’s true,” I said and nodded before sipping my drink again. I felt the glare on my back intensify, and I sighed. I was so done with this. “I’ll be right back, Lou. I need to take care of something,” I said softly and stood up from the table.

“Alright,” I heard Louis say, but at this point, I didn’t hear it. I was glaring at my brother with my arms crossed.

“I need to talk to you. Come with me,” I told Michael before I walked down the stairs towards all the bedrooms. As I walked, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.

I stopped in the hall and waited for him to join me. It wasn’t long before he did, since he had only been a few steps behind me. “What’s up?” he asked me, pretending he hadn’t done anything wrong. You liar.

“What the heck is your problem, Michael? Honestly, why can’t you just let me be happy?” I asked him in response.

“What do you mean? What did I do?” Michael asked me, tilting his head in mock confusion.

“Ever since I met Louis, you’ve been different,” I explained.

“In what way?”

You little liar. You know exactly what you did. “When I first told you about him, you kind of sounded like you didn’t like it. You hardly knew who he was or anything else about him and you basically told me that I should let it go without even giving him a chance,” I said.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if he’d end up being a bad person or something, so I didn’t want you to get attached. If you did, I was worried you’d get hurt or something. I was just trying to be a good brother to you,” he said softly.

“Well, you’ve seen he’s a good guy, and he didn’t leave me while he was gone and I was in school. So why haven’t you just let it go?” I reminded him.

“Because I still don’t trust him, okay?” Michael said honestly. “I don’t trust any of these guys, in all honesty. And I have a good reason not to. You might want to listen to me. I’m trying to help you out this time, but you won’t listen to me.”

I gave him a glare as I heard this. Why didn’t he just trust me to make a good choice? I trusted Louis, and I didn’t understand why Michael didn’t want to give it a chance. He was better than the other guys at my school, more mature, yet much funnier, and made me smile when I really didn’t want to. “Why wouldn’t you trust me to make a good decision on who to date? Why don’t you trust him?”

“Because, I just don’t want you to end up getting hurt. What happens when you go to college next year, and they’re still touring and making music around the world? What are you supposed to do then, you know? I just don’t want you hurt, okay?” Michael seemed like he meant it, but I didn’t care. He still wasn’t trusting my judgment.

“I can make my own decisions on who to date, Michael. My relationships are my business. You don’t have to make me feel guilty for my decisions!” I give him a glare and cross my arms. “What do you hate so much about him? You can see he’s a good person, and I now you can, so you should just let it go!”

“I’ve met guys who seem like nice people at first, Lizzie, and they remind me of him. They’re good people, but later, you realize that all they want to do is break your heart and leave you in the dust. My ex-girlfriends dealt with people like that multiple times. You’re my little sister. I don’t want you to be like that,” he told me.

I was glad he cared enough about me to want me to date the right person, but at the same time, the fact that he still didn’t like who I was dating bothered me. I could make my choices about who I wanted to be with, and who might break my heart if it just so happened to be that way. Plus, I had dated plenty of people who were nice guys, just like Louis, and Michael had been okay with all of them. So what was his problem with Louis specifically?

“You know I’ve dated plenty of nice guys, just like Louis. You never had a problem with any of them. So what’s your deal with him?”

“He’s a celebrity and he’s going to leave you,” Michael said plainly, and that was where I gave up.

“You know what? That’s it!” I yelled at him, my eyes filled with fire. “You have no right to tell me who I can and cannot date! It’s my choice, and you can’t stop me! I don’t care if you don’t like him, and I don’t care if you do. It’s my choice!” I stepped closer and looked directly in his eyes. “I never gave you any problems when you brought home girls to meet Mom that I didn’t like. So quit doing that to me, okay?”

Michael was definitely surprised with my outburst. But it was over and done. I just wanted him to stop, and this would end if I had anything to say about it. “Lizzie, I just…” he began softly, but I shook my head.

“I’m done,” I said and walked away. I walked right back upstairs to the others, fuming.

Nobody said a word to me as I came up. There was just complete silence, and I knew that they had heard my outburst downstairs. Like I cared. I pretended nothing had happened and took a seat at the table again, just wanting to finish my meal.

Everyone sat there in silence, until Simone decided to speak up to stop the awkward silence. “So, Lizzie, what was that all about?” she asked softly.

I looked her straight in the eyes. “Well, Simone, I’m not going to be walked over any longer. I stood up for myself and now I’m free to do whatever I want.”

And I didn’t regret it.

For the most part.

As soon as I went up there, after I had said what I had, I felt terrible. You see, even though I had stood up for myself, and was free to do whatever I wanted, I felt terrible. I had messed up my relationship with my brother because of it, at least that’s how I felt about it. I was actually pretty worried about it.

As happy as I am, I think I made a huge mistake. Maybe I should have let it go and stayed the same, with Michael being angry with me while I was happy with Louis.

Sadly, it was too late now. The damage was done. And now it would never be the same.