A/N Happy Friday, everyone! How are you all today?

I actually got this chapter done a day early, so I was able to do a bit more editing. Hope you all like it!

And happy early birthday to Zayn Malik, who turns 20 tomorrow!

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Courtney’s POV

By the end of the night, we had all laughed and smiled more than we ever had, at least for me. We brought up hilarious conversation topics, and I almost forgot about him, the one who hurt me and broke my heart.

Almost.

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We had all crashed on our beds that night, but when I woke up the next morning, we were all buckled into our seats in the van. My head was resting on my neighbor’s shoulder. I looked up and realized it was Liam. The sun shone through the windows onto my face. I blinked a bit, trying to keep the sun out of my eyes until I turned to look around at the rest of the people surrounding me. I drowsily commented to anyone who was listening, “So, you carried us into the van then?”

Liam turned to me and smiled. “Oh, good, one of you is awake. The rest of the girls are still asleep, except Simone. And, we did carry you into the van, except Simone, who was awake to let us into the van.” I glanced around the van again. Sure enough, all the girls were fast asleep. Even Simone was. I guess she was tired now. Actually, even the boys were asleep, except for Louis, who was driving, and staying out of the conversation.

I bit my lip in nervousness. At least I had an explanation for why I ended up here this morning. It also explained how I ended up in my bed after the bonfire. But I didn’t feel very good about it.

You see, besides Kyle, I don’t trust guys around my own age. It was all because of Braeden, my ex-boyfriend. He abused me. I finally broke it off around the last week of school.

“Braeden, we need to talk,” I had told him the Friday before the last week of school. I led him to a more secluded area of the cafeteria, a frown on my face. I looked down at my feet, wanting to just kick off my flip-flops and just go barefoot, but I couldn’t in the middle of school.

I knew that was something Braeden had said he liked about me, my carefree, happy attitude. But I had learned that I was just a pawn, a trophy, something he was just using for show. I was a pretty popular girl at our school, and I was liked a lot by many people. Braeden was the quarterback of the school football team, and the most popular boy in school.

“What’s up, girl?” Braeden asked me, snaking an arm around my waist and trying to pull me closer. Instead, I pulled back and kept my distance, although I couldn’t move his arm from my small waist.

“We need to break up,” I finally admitted, looking him straight in the eyes so there would be no mistake on what I want. I played with a friendship bracelet I had gotten for my birthday last February as I stared him in the eyes.

His eyes showed shock, and then anger when he realized I was telling the truth. “What are you talking about, girl? You can’t break up with me. I’m Braeden Michaels, quarterback of the football team! Nobody breaks up with me, especially you, you-.” Braeden glared at me, but I cut him off before he could say anything else.

“Don’t call me anything like that,” I ordered him to stop. “Leave me alone, Braeden. We’re through.” I slipped out of my grasp and turned to leave.

“Wait, Courtney!” Braeden yelled out, earning the attention of all the people in the cafeteria. I bit my lip, now we had an audience to watch me break up with the most popular boy in school.

“What, Braeden? Are you just going to tell me you’re sorry, and then when I finally trust you again you’ll abuse me, just like last time?” I asked him quietly, so nobody else would hear. He opened his mouth to speak, but I held a finger up to tell him to be quiet. “Don’t even try it, Braeden. We’re through.” I turned and walked back to my table, sitting with my real friends.

Braeden was left there, his facial expression a mix of shock and anger, both directed at me.

Liam noticed me zoning out, and he asked quietly, so he wouldn’t wake up the part of the group that was still asleep, “Courtney? Is everything okay?”

I glanced up at him. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. “Everything’s just fine. Don’t worry.”

Liam nodded slowly. I could tell that he thought I was lying, which I was, but he didn’t make any comments about it. We both faced forward and rode on in silence as Louis continued to drive the van towards home.

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By the time we reached home, the sun was setting on us. Louis pulled the van into the cul de sac in front of the center house, Lucy and Simone’s.

“Home, sweet home,” I heard Simone say behind me quietly. The rest of the girls had woken up along the way. I heard a few clicks of the seatbelts coming undone as some of the girls made their way up the bus aisle.

I turned to Liam, and asked, “Hey, I forgot to ask this, but where are you staying over the summer? It’s not like you’re staying in any of our guest rooms.”

Liam smiled at me. “That’s true,” he said with a small laugh. “But Paul set up a hotel room for us in a hotel a few towns over.”

Lizzie, who was just getting out of her seat, said, “Ah, okay. That makes sense.”

The rest of the girls and I filed out of the van, not saying a word.

Niall and Harry hopped out of the van behind us and helped us with our bags. “Thanks, you guys,” Lucy said to the two of them. Niall and Harry smiled at us in response.

Poking their heads out of the van doors and windows, Liam, Louis, and Zayn joined Niall and Harry. “Goodnight,” they chorused, smiling at us.

“Goodnight,” the girls and I responded, not nearly as close to the same time as the boys had done. The girls and I wheeled our suitcases up to our doors. The boys didn’t leave until all of the girls and I were inside of our houses.

I watched Louis start the van up again and drive away through the window in the front hall. I smiled to myself. I guess that the fighting had been good for us, in a way, at least. Since we had, we met our favorite musical artist ever, and were having the best summer because of it!

I kicked off my flip-flops quietly and placed them near the front door. I loved being barefoot, and I was so grateful to be able to be like that again.

I carried my suitcase up the stairs into my room. Placing the suitcase next to my small bookcase, I launched myself at my bed and crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was so tired! I didn’t even care that I was still in street clothes! Plus, Braeden didn’t send me any texts or call me all day. Maybe he had finally given up on me.

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The next morning, I woke up around eight-thirty. My eyelids fluttered open and I pushed myself out of bed. I slipped my robe on over my clothes from yesterday so my mom wouldn’t figure out I had slept in my clothes. I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, running a hand through my slightly curly blonde hair.

Reaching the first floor, I turned and walked down the hall. “Morning,” my mother greeted me, smiling in my direction. She was preparing breakfast for us. It was my favorite, chocolate éclairs for breakfast! “How was your trip?” She inquired.

I smiled back at her. “It was great, mom. We all had an awesome time.” Looking around, I realized that my dad and my brother weren’t there. “Where’s dad and Kyle?” I asked, walking to the fridge and pouring myself a glass of orange juice.

“Your father’s on a business trip in Cancun, remember?” My mom asked me in response, preparing a plate for me. I nodded in response, remembering. “And Kyle’s doing an early shift at Dairy Queen, so he left before you woke up or something. Actually, I think it was even before I woke up!” She passed me the plate with a smile.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said with a smile in response, taking a seat at the table.

“No, get up missy. You need to feed Bailey,” Mom lectured me.

I snapped my fingers in annoyance. As if on cue, Bailey ran in and slid on her paws over to me. She looked up at me with her puppy dog eyes. “Gosh, you’re adorable,” I sighed, petting Bailey’s fur with a smile. I stood up and got Bailey her food, as well as I filled Frassy Mocha Chrysanthemum Bacon Strip Fatty Pants, my cat’s, dish as well. I named her when I was way younger, so don’t judge me!

“By the way, I need to run out to a meeting at Mrs. Lombardy’s house. I need you to clean the house for me,” Mom told me as I slipped into my seat, beginning to eat.

I set down the éclair quickly. “Wait, what?” I asked. “I have to clean the whole house? And I have to do this all by myself?”

“Well, yes, unless you can recruit the rest of the group to help you,” Mom answered as I picked up the éclair again and continued to eat. “I have to go now. Don’t call them unless you’re dressed,” she warned me, grabbing her keys. “Love you! Have a good day!” She left before I could even say goodbye.

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“Where’s the duster?” I heard Lizzie call up to me from the basement. I was on the first floor, organizing some papers and magazines strewn around the house.

I decided to have a bit of fun with her. “Why do you need to know?” I responded in a sassy voice, comparable to Lucius’s wife in The Incredibles. I walked towards the door to the basement.

“It’s because it’s dusty down here! Why the heck would I need it for any other reason?” Lizzie responded, poking her head around the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

“Touché,” I said, walking into the mudroom and grabbing the duster off a shelf.

The boys had been able to come and help us out, surprisingly. I would have thought that they had something better to do, or maybe they just expected that when we were done we could go do something cool.

I passed through the kitchen where Niall was raiding my fridge. “Hey, Niall?” I asked as his head turned towards mine. “Can you bring this down to Lizzie? She’s in the basement.” Niall nodded, shut the fridge, took the duster from my outstretched hand, and headed to the basement.

I then decided to walk upstairs to work in my room. I climbed up the stairs and slipped into my room. I turned on my iPod and put the ear buds in as I turned on my dance playlist. The first song that played was C’mon, C’mon. I smiled to myself as I got to work.

As I organized my closet, I danced along to the song, grinning. I laughed just a bit as I did a small spin. I put one of my Hollister shirts on a hanger as someone knocked on my door.

Thinking it was Niall coming upstairs to ask what else he could do to help, I said, “The garbage needs to be taken out, Niall. Then you can go back to raiding the fridge.”

Then, instead of Niall’s voice, I heard Liam’s. “Um, Niall’s already raiding the fridge, and it’s Liam, not Niall.”

I bit my lip, continuing to face the closet. I didn’t want to show him my embarrassment. “Oh, hi Liam,” I finally answered him. My expression was now back to normal, lacking the slight blush I had just developed.

“Hey, Courtney,” he smiled at me. “I was just wondering if you needed any help up here?”

“Uh, that’d be great,” I responded, smiling and pulling out my iPod to shut it off. On accident, I pulled the ear buds out and C’mon, C’mon blared out for us all to hear. It was also very loud, so even some people on the first floor could hear it.

“WHO’S PLAYING THE MUSIC?” I heard Simone yell out, directed towards me and my blaring iPod.

I fumbled with the device and finally shut it off. “Sorry!” I cried out, blushing slightly as I placed it on the dresser. “Didn’t mean to do that!”

“Next time, turn it down! You don’t want to lose your hearing!” Lucy chorused.

“Whatever!” I rolled my eyes slightly, blushing, especially because when Liam heard the song, it was when the chorus was playing.

Liam smiled at me as I apologized to him specifically. “Sorry, Liam!” I said. “I didn’t mean to maybe blow out your hearing!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to loud noises. Especially screaming girls,” he joked, giving me a wink.

“Okay, that’s true,” I smiled just a bit when he winked at me.

“Anyway, you said you needed help?” Liam asked me.

“Oh, right. I would appreciate it if you could, um…” I glanced around my room, then out the door into Kyle’s room. It was pretty dirty, which didn’t surprise me. “Uh, if you could maybe work in Kyle’s room, I would appreciate it,” I told him quietly.

“Okay then. I’ll get to work,” Liam said, turning and walking back towards Kyle’s room.

I decided to get back to work in my room. I folded up some laundry and put them in the drawers in my dresser. That was when my phone beeped.

Hey babe. Wanna hang out? ;)

I instinctively threw my phone at my bed. “Ugh! I yelled as it landed on my pillow. “Is everything okay up there?” Louis called from below me. “I heard you yell out, Courtney!”

“Yeah, I’m okay Lou. Don’t worry about it,” I called back to him.

“Alright…” Louis responded before going silent. He probably had just gotten back to work now.

I took a seat on the ground, legs crossed, my head in my hands. “Why can’t Braeden just leave me alone?” I mumbled.

Liam poked his head around Kyle’s door and looked at me. “Courtney?” he asked me.

I looked up at him and tried to change the subject from what I knew he would ask. “Kyle’s sports gear goes in the closet. His baseball bats lean against the wall,” I informed him quietly.

“Courtney, what’s wrong?” he asked, walking into my room and sitting on the ground next to me. He gently placed a hand on my shoulder. I winced at the touch, remembering Braeden.

I looked up at Liam, and said, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Liam.” I gave him a soft smile to try and prove that I was okay.

“Then why were you sitting on the floor with your head in your hands?” Liam asked in response. “Courtney, I just want to help you out.”

I finally decided to tell him, but only a little bit. I didn’t want to push all of my problems on Liam Payne, of all people! “My ex-boyfriend is the problem. I broke up with him the Friday before the last week of school, so about two or three weeks ago.”

Liam nodded, seeming to understand what I was dealing with. “I’m guessing that he is trying to get you back, then?” He asked me. I nodded. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t want someone like you back.”

I blushed slightly, hearing him say that. My lips curved into a smile as Liam complimented me. “Oh, wow, thank you,” I said to him happily, smiling slightly as well.

“I’m just stating the truth. But why did you break up in the first place?” he asked curiously, not rudely.

I looked at my hands that were folded neatly in my lap. “We just didn’t work out,” I finally answered. “That’s all there is to it.”

Liam nodded, and said, after a long pause, “Well, if you ever want to talk about it, Courtney, I’ll be here to help, okay?”

I nodded and smiled up at him. “Thanks, Liam,” I told him happily.

Liam smiled at me in response, and stood up. “I’m going to get back to work in Kyle’s room. Do you need anything?”

I shook my head. “No, but thanks,” I responded.

“You’re welcome,” Liam said, walking back to Kyle’s room to continue working.

I walked over to my bed and picked the phone up from my pillow. I reread Braeden’s text before responding.

Sorry, can’t do that. BTW, aren’t we through?

After a little while, I got a response from him.

IDK. Wanna get back together?

My eyes widened as I read the text. The nerve of that boy! I instantly shot him a text.

HECK NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! :(

I smiled to myself, happy with my response. But, of course he had to send me a response.

Aw, c’mon, babe. Give me a chance!

A bit ticked, I sent him a response.

Didn’t I just tell you to leave me alone?

I could almost hear him say what he sent me next.

No…

Well, I did. Now go away.

I could practically see him rolling his eyes at the text I had just sent. I got a response.

Whatever. L8r, babe.

I almost threw the phone at the wall this time.

DON’T CALL ME THAT! JUST GO AWAY!

Once I sent it, I shut the phone off and ignored any texts he sent me. Thanks to Liam, I had someone to help me out when Braeden tried again. For now, at least.

Meeting One Direction definitely helped me out way more than expected. And, I think I’ve found some boys that I can trust now, one of them more than the others.

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A/N Hope you all liked it! Vote and comment please! I'd love feedback!

Video of the Chapter: One Direction - C'mon C'mon ( Lyrics + Pictures )

Picture of the Chapter: Annasophia Robb as Courtney

Love you all! See you next week!