A/N Hey everyone. Again, I'm updating off schedule. I think I'm going to just give up on the whole schedule thing and update when I can. Often times I only have a few minutes, not enough to type up the new chapter, before I have to run and go to a Youth Group thing, or a Girl Scout event. So, no more schedule, just: "Updating when I can!" Sorry about that, I understand if you may be upset.

Also, who saw this new cover? What do you think? I like it. It was made by 0NeonLights0. You should definitely check her out for covers, since hers are amazing!

Thirdly, who heard the news? Payzer is over. I'm kind of disappointed, since I thought they were so sweet together, even though they've been off and on (hopefully this is just an off phase and they'll get back together soon, though).

Anyway, let's just end my rant, and start the chapter, right? So, here it is, Chapter 23! Enjoy!

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Courtney's POV

"LUCY BELLE COLE AND NIALL JAMES HORAN!" I heard Louis yell from Lucy's room. He, Lizzie and Harry had gone into Lucy's room to find Lucy and Niall after they had run away from us. Then again, we were pelting them with Nerf gun darts, so I guess they were justified. But we still had wanted to find them.

I locked eyes with Liam and we both shared an expression of, "Oh no." I took the lead and ran into the room, Liam, Ana, Zayn, Kelly, and Simone following me. We found Louis poking his head out of the window, yelling out the window, Harry and Lizzie peering out the window over his shoulder.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Louis called.

"What's going on?" Kelly asked, asking the question that was on all our minds.

"Niall and Lucy were kissing!" Lizzie exclaimed, turning to face us now. Louis and Harry followed her lead, getting out of the way of the window.

I felt my mouth drop wide open. "Are you serious?" When Lizzie nodded, I cheered. "Finally she actually did something!" I exclaimed, dancing around the bedroom. I had been waiting for that since she explained what was going on with her and Niall.

Simone gave me a strange look, and not because of my dancing. "What do you mean?" Everyone just looked at me, confused.

Shoot. "Um, I just thought they'd be cute together, so I was glad that they actually took a step toward it," I covered my tracks easily.

"Uh huh," Ana said, raising her eyebrows, not believing me but going along with my story since there was no other explanations. But I knew that she secretly shipped them too, but would never admit it. "Whatever you say, Courtney."

Harry peered out the window. "Are you two going to come back in, or are you too embarrassed or something?" he asked them with a laugh.

Lucy poked her head in through the window. "Very funny, Harry. And you all are just...oh never mind," she said, heading into her room, followed by Niall. "You were spying on us, and you're proud of yourselves..." But they both were blushing, which made me laugh quietly. "What's so funny, Courtney?"

I froze. Caught, again! "Oh, nothing," I lied again.

"Uh huh," Lucy said, also not seeming like she believed me.

"Anyway, so we'll all see you guys tomorrow, we have to go," Zayn said, sighing like he didn't want to go. I didn't blame him; a day with us was pretty crazy and fun, at least to us.

"Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow," Simone said, smiling. We all said our goodbyes, which were kind of awkward for Lucy and Niall.

As soon as the boys were gone, I jumped onto the bed and lay back against the wall. The rest of the girls took seats around the room, except for Lucy. We all stared at her.

"So, Lucy," I said slowly and dramatically. "What was that out there, hmm? Care to tell us?"

"And again, I bring up the point that you all were just spying on us," Lucy attempted to change the subject.

"You're nice," I mumbled. "Are you ever going to let this go?"

"Nope, 'cause you said you couldn't let yourself fall for Niall, and then we all find you and him lip-locked on the roof!" I said. Again, everyone turned to me. Shoot, I just did it again, didn't I? Yup, I did.

"What are you talking about?" Ana asked me, not understanding.

I sighed. I took a quick look at Lucy, and asked her a silent question: Should I explain this or not? When I got a nod, I spoke up. "Okay, so here's what happened." And then I began to explain everything. "So, on the Fourth of July, remember when Lucy ran off after we jumped into the pool?"

I got a few nods from that. So far, so good, I guess. "Well, I followed her inside that pool house, or whatever it's technically called, and I found her inside, sitting on one of the plastic pool chairs..."

I saw Lucy run off into the pool house, or whatever it's called (I really don't care right now, my friend just ran off!) and I bit my lip hard. Was Lucy okay? I knew I had to go make sure she was, after all, she was one of my best friends, and I cared.

"Lucy? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, a little too quickly for my taste. I knew just from that little sentence that she was hiding something. I wouldn't accept that.

As I stepped farther into the room, I said, "Lucy Belle Cole, I know you're hiding something. Tell me or I'll make you tell me."

"And how do you suppose you're going to make me tell you?" I heard Lucy ask me. She probably was smirking, even though I couldn't see her face.

"I...ah...I'm working on that," I admitted after thinking for a second, coming up with nothing. I took a seat in the plastic chair next to hers. Man, this place needed better furniture!

Lucy chuckled softly, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Okay, but I guess I'll save you the trouble of making me talk," she said. As she spoke, her smile faded away and her laugh did as well. "Courtney, what would you think if I told you I thought I was falling for Niall?" she said softly, probably afraid that someone was going to overhear.

"I would be curious about why you didn't tell me. Why? Are you actually falling for him?" I questioned, sitting up in the chair.

"I don't know. I think I am, but I'm not sure," Lucy said, obviously nervous about this.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, shocked that she was feeling this way about Niall. How could she have not told me what happened?

"Well, it's because I didn't want it to happen. I wanted us to just stay friends, but when we all jumped in and Niall and I were underwater...I don't know, it almost looked as if he was going to kiss me. I was so nervous, so I got out fast and ran in here," Lucy told me.

I nodded as I listened, and I understood what she was saying. I didn't quite understand, however, what the problem was with Niall possibly liking her, though. Although I had my troubles with boys in the past, and I didn't trust some as much as I used to, I kind of thought she and Niall would be cute together, like in a shipping sort of way. Maybe for a ship name they could be Nucy, or Liall, or something cutesy like that.

But I'm getting off topic. I looked at Lucy, and asked, "But, what's the problem with your liking Niall? You two are both so sweet together," I told her.

"I know he's going to have to leave, same with Harry, Zayn, Louis, and Liam at the end of this summer. To me, it's just not worth getting into a relationship," Lucy told me.

"Right, that little detail," I said with a sigh, dreading the day they would have to leave. "But, don't you think you can just forget about that little detail and just have fun, go with the flow and all that?"

"You're sounding so much more serious now. I think being around Liam has helped you a lot," Lucy observed, probably trying to change the subject.

"Okay...hey, stop trying to change the subject. Are you going to just have fun for the rest of the summer?" I asked her, needing for her to answer honestly.

Lucy nodded. "Okay, I will, Courtney. You win," she said, sighing.

"Great! Now, come on! We have some swimming to do!" I exclaimed being the perky, outgoing girl I had been before Braeden came along.

Lucy laughed a bit, and the two of us stood up. I gave her a soft smile, and she returned it before we walked out onto the pool deck together, into the bright, welcoming sunlight.

"And that's what happened," I finished. After a slight pause, I added, "Hey, can I get some water? I need some after telling a story like that!" Then I had a thought. "And can I get some popcorn too? Or could I get something to eat to fill up my empty stomach, please?"

I saw all the girls roll their eyes. "You're always so hungry," Kelly observed.

"Hey, I'm a growing woman!" I exclaimed.

"You're seventeen-,"

"Almost eighteen!" I retorted.

"No, you're not. Your birthday is in February," Ana pointed out.

"You're not helping," I growled at her. Ana raised her hands in defeat. I sighed. "Sorry. I just hate being one of the youngest ones in our group."

"You're mad about being the youngest one?" Simone asked; her eyes wide. "I'm fifteen!"

"Oh, right, I'm sorry, Simone, I didn't mean it like that," I apologized. Then I turned to Lucy. "So, what changed your mind about Niall?"

"Nothing, he just kissed me and I didn't pull away, that's all," Lucy said.

"And explain how that means you didn't change your mind?" Lizzie asked.

Lucy sighed. "I-I'm done. I'm going to bed. You guys can let yourselves out. I need to think," she said. She kind of pushed me out of the way of her blankets, and pushed herself underneath, not saying another word.

Simone looked at us, and then said, "Well, then, if she says so, I guess we should say goodnight too."

"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow," Kelly said, giving us all a wave before walking out the door.

"Later, guys," I said, leaving second and walking out the door behind Kelly.

I walked out into the night and looked up at the stars. I saw one shooting across the sky and smiled. I closed my eyes and thought, Thank you for making a wish come true.

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As I woke up the next day, I had a bright idea. I jumped out of bed and snatched my pink iPod off of my dresser. I flipped through the songs before finding the one I was looking for. I knew exactly what to do.

I changed into a turquoise Aéropostale shirt and a pair of jean shorts before heading downstairs. I grabbed a stick of French Toast (Mom was out of éclairs) for breakfast and scarfed it down quickly before running into the backyard.

I pressed the play button on my iPod and played the song that I had found: Can't Hold Us by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. I stretched out to the music before doing a random free style, smiling.

I did a couple moves I had learned recently from the past years that I had been to Dance Camp. I skipped it this year so I could spend the summer with my friends, considering it was my last summer before Senior Year. I was actually pretty nervous, but dance took my mind off it. It took my mind off of everything, and made me calm. I could express myself so much better when I was dancing

I spun around on the grass, doing my favorite moves as the song changed to Nelly's Hey Porsche. I was having such a great time as I danced. I grinned widely and danced, blocking everything out about the world. Nothing else mattered, nothing would hurt me.

I didn't even realize that someone was watching me until I spun around at the end and did the splits, facing my house. That was when I saw those chocolate brown eyes watching me dance. I blushed, and called out for him. "Liam, were you spying on me?"

"Not really," he answered, smiling as he walked over to me. "I came to find you before the lads and I left to go and have a photo shoot for a magazine, and I saw you dancing. I didn't want to disturb you or anything, so I chose to watch and see you dance. You're a terrific dancer, Courtney," he complimented me just as he reached me.

I smiled and popped up off of the ground. "Thanks Li," I said to him. "Hey, before you leave, do you want me to teach you some moves?" I suggested.

Liam checked his watch. "I guess I have time to learn a couple," he answered, smiling. "What have you got to show me?"

I then got a perfect idea as I remembered what I had done at dance camp last summer. I walked to my iPod and changed the song from the new song that had begun playing, which was Alive by Krewella, to One Thing by none other than 1D.

Liam raised his eyebrows. "You didn't..." he began, knowing what I was thinking of.

"You're learning the dance I made at Dance Camp last summer," I laughed. "Okay, so now watch me." I started the dance, and then stopped myself. "Wait, Liam, why don't you teach the boys this later? They'll think it's hilarious!"

Liam looked at me with a curious (and probably nervous) expression. "Um, sure, Courtney, why not?"

I grinned a mischievous grin and started the dance as the chorus began.

So, get out, get out, get out of my head.

I did a crazy sign with my hands, hoping Liam would imitate me. He did, practically being my mirror. I laughed, knowing where this would go.

And fall into my arms instead.

I leaned back, rocking on my heels before coming back up straight forward, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Liam tried his best to imitate me at the same time. Oh well, there were repeats of this chorus, and he knew that as well as I did.

I don't, I don't, don't know what it is

I shook my head and tapped my finger to my head, one hand on my hips and shaking them back and forth. Liam looked a bit like he was thinking, "Uh...okay then..." and went along with it. But oh boy, would it get worse...

But I need that one thing. You've got that one thing.

I brought my free hand down and pointed at me, and then held up one finger. Then I pointed at Liam, and then held my finger up again.

When the first chorus ended, Liam said, "How did I do?"

I smiled. "You did good, but remember there's a second half to the chorus, remember?"

Liam nodded. "And I'll teach this to the lads," he added.

We smiled at each other and then the chorus started up again. I did all the moves for the first half, and then I began the second half.

So, get out, get out, get out of my mind.

I did the crazy sign with my hands again, and Liam imitated me.

And come on, come into my life.

I motioned for him to come closer, and then I did something kind of like the locomotion with my arms, and moved my hips again. Liam looked a bit wary of it, like he wasn't sure if he should do it or not.

I don't, I don't know what it is, but I need that one thing. You've got that one thing

I repeated the moves from the prior chorus, and Liam imitated me warily. When we were done, Liam stared at me. "I have to teach the boys that?"

"Yup," I exclaimed with a laugh and a smile.

"Are you sure?" Liam said.

"You promised, Liam," I reminded him. "Now, you have a photo shoot to do. Have fun!" I waved, grinning with a smile and waving him off.

When he left, I laughed again, smiling. That was a lot of fun. I couldn't wait to see the guys doing that. It would totally be worth it now. Perfect.

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A/N So? What did you all think? Did you like Courtney's flashback to when Lucy told her what was going on? Please vote and comment, I really do love feedback, and it doesn't really help me want to write when I see I have a lot of reads and only one or two votes. It would mean a lot, so please think about it.

Video of the Chapter: One Direction - One Thing

Picture of the Chapter: One Direction dancing on Alan Carr!

Anyway, please vote, comment and fan! Love you all, and see you next update!