Play The Game (A One Direction Fanfiction)

67

Chapter 67:

~ (Jade's POV) Tonight's the big night: opening night. I can't believe how hard we have all worked on this damned play. This play that made me get close to Niall. "Everyone gather 'round!" called Mr. H as he walked on stage and the lights completely dimmed. All of the cast got in a circle and held hands as we bowed our heads down and Mr. H start to give us a pre-show pep talk. "We've all worked a hell of a lot on this play, so make it worth it. You all know what to do. It's going to be great and you all are going to be fabulous. It's a sold out night. Break a leg," he whispered as we all spun out of the circle and got into places for the opening scene. The curtain went up and the crowd went silent as I stepped on stage with Louis. The lights grew on us and everyone cheered as we began the play~

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Wow. It's over. Opening night is already over and we only have three more performances and then the whole thing is over. That was absolutely brilliant. Everyone did fabulous and the whole show went well. The only thing that had an awkward pause was the kiss between Louis and I. But, can you blame us? I just got finished changing and putting away my costume when Louis came up to me. "Great job, love," he said as he pulled me into a tight hug. "Thanks, Lou. You did wonderful," I said as I picked up my purse and began walking out to the car. "I was so nervous that I was going to forget some lines or trip in my heels or fall off of the stage or something but everything just went so much better than expected and...Lou?" I realized I was talking to myself once I got to the car and Louis wasn't following me. "Louis?" I called out into the darkness again. "Jade-" "Holy shit! Don't just pop out of the darkness like that! Where did you go?" I screamed as Louis popped out of nowhere and touched my shoulder. "Jade..." he said. I looked up into his face to see that, just where the light hit him, there was a small glisten of where a line formed by a tear or two had fallen down his cheeks. "What's wrong?" "Have you checked your phone recently?" he asked. "Not since before the show. Why? What's going on?" I started to panic. "Your mom, she caught one of the diseases of a patient she was treating," he whispered. What? No. She's fine. She has to be. "Is she okay?" I asked, extremely scared of the answer. "She's just really, really, sick. They're doing the best that they can, but they aren't sure how much longer she has, but it's not impossible for her to recover, it will just take a while." I felt the warm tears start to fall down my cheeks. I stood still out in the cold and looked beyond Louis. I wasn't really looking, I was just trying not to deal with what was going on. The worst part of it is that I can't help her. She needs me and I can't do anything about it. Louis put his thumbs to my cheeks to wipe away the tears. "It's going to be okay. It will all work out, it always does," he whispered. "No it doesn't! Not everything works out, Louis! My parents didn't work out, Niall and I didn't work out, you and I have a screwed up rel-friendship, and my mom might not be able to 'work this out'," I shouted. I couldn't take this. She's everything to me. She's the best person in the world. Why do these things happen? I couldn't stand so I didn't. I crumbled to the floor on the side of the car with my face in my hands and me knees against my chest. Louis sat next to me and put his jacket around me. "I'm sorry for yelling," I said once I could talk. "It's alright, I understand this is really hard for you, but I'm here, ok? I promise," he said. I just nodded my head because I couldn't muster up the courage to speak, knowing my voice would fail me if I did. "Let's go, Jade," Louis said as he stood up. I couldn't move. I just wanted to sit here and freeze and wake up from this horrible nightmare that my life seems to have come to over the past few years. "Alright nugget," he sighed. He leaned over and put his left arm under my legs and his right on my side, holding me like a baby. I buried my face in his chest and hooked my arms around his neck until he unlocked my car door and settled me into the seat. I hate being a baby around people, especially someone as close to me as Louis. He climbed into his side as I sat in the seat, curled up into a ball. He didn't turn on the radio, but just drove off in the dark night and up to my house. Once we arrived, neither of us had said a word. I guess I never realized how much my mom had helped Louis and his family too. Louis got out of the car and lifted me out. I forced myself to walk up to my big, empty house and Louis kept his arm around me; not in a romantic way, but a comforting way. I got the door open and walked upstairs and completely collapsed onto my bed. I think I was all cried out because, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't cry. I just sort of laid there. Louis followed me up to my room and stood in the door way. "I'm so sorry, Jade. We'll make it through this, together," he said. I sat up and did the best I could to put on a smile. He mirrored me and whispered, "goodnight," and walked away. "No, Louis," I yelled once he was out of my doorframe. He ran back upstairs quickly and before he could say anything I said, "can you please stay with me tonight?" "Definitely," he said. I crawled under my covers, not caring that I had show make-up and hair still on. Louis took off his shirt that was stained with my tears and climbed onto the bed. After a few minutes I realized he wasn't getting under the covers. "It's okay," I whispered, kicking the covers out and pulling them over him. He put on a weak smiled as I turned to face the other wall. The air in the room was so heavy. I didn't realize there were more tears until I flipped my pillow over to see that the side I was laying on was wet. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the heat I could feel off of Louis' body as we both laid here in sadness. Part of me wanted him to hold me close to him and cuddle to sleep, but I knew it wouldn't be any better for our relationship, so we just laid there. Any hope of sleep had escaped me.

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I don't remember falling asleep, and I don't remember dreaming, I just know that I blinked my eyes open to an overbearing brightness. I looked over to see Louis was still sleeping. He needs to sleep. The clock read 5:30 AM and I sighed. I have no chance of getting back to sleep, so I decided to get up slowly and take a quick shower. Once that was done I walked downstairs to see what I could make for a quick breakfast. Pancakes and bacon sounds simple enough. The whole time I was cooking I couldn't stop thinking about my mom. She has to make it out of this. She's so strong. I saw my purse still sitting on the counter and I reached inside to get my phone. Louis had wondered if I had checked it, and I haven't since yesterday before the show; better late than never, right? Missed calls from Mom. I expected it. I had a voicemail from her and I'm not sure if I have the heart to listen to it, scared what I would find, especially knowing Louis' reaction. I put it down and decided not to listen to it, but put on some Marina and the Diamonds instead. *ring* Who could be calling me at 6:30 in the morning? I ran to check my phone, thinking it might be my mom, and nearly dropping it when I saw who it was. "Hello?" I asked, my voice shaky. "Hi, Jade. I know this is really odd and it's early in the morning where you are, but I heard about your mom and I'm so sorry," Niall said. "Yeah, it's uh, it's hard," I said. "Jade, would you mind if I came and visited? I really want to make you happy and comfort you. I'm such an ass and you wouldn't believe how hard it's been for me to not talk to you," he said. "You want to visit?" I asked in shock. "Yes. I mean, just for a day or two and I need to see my parents anyways but I want to take care of you and show you how much you mean to me. I'd do anything to have you back." "When were you thinking of doing this?" I asked. "Tonight and tomorrow." "I have the show tonight and tomorrow." "I'll watch." "I don't have anywhere for you to sleep." "I have my parents' house." "I can't drive anywhere." "I can." "I've been sick." "I'll take care of you." "I don't know what to do," I whispered. "Let me treat you like the princess you are," he whispered from the other side. I didn't know what to say. "How do I know?" I asked. "Know what?" "Know that this is a good idea. How do I know that you aren't just going to hurt me and leave again? How do I know that you truly care about me and aren't just lonely?" "Because I'm willing to drop the rest of the tour right now and come to you if you told me to. You should know because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, or talking about you, or dreaming about you, or wanting you. Everything in me just wants you, and I'll prove it to you. I want you so badly, but I want you to be happy even more than I want you. If me moving to Russia and changing my name and number would make you happy, I would do it. If me visiting you would make you happy, I'm going to do it." "Okay," I said. "Okay? Okay? Okay! I will see you after your show tonight and keep your phone handy so I can text you and we can get dinner or something," he said excitedly. "Okay." "See you tonight ba-Jade," he said and then hung up. Okay. Niall is coming. Tonight. He's coming tonight. What did I just do? I'm not ready to see him. I guess...I guess I just really want to see him. I know, deep down, I want things to be okay between us, whether it's okay as friends or in a relationship. I miss him. I'm going to make this be alright. As alright as two, broken, ex-boyfriend and girlfriend can be after not seeing each other for almost a month and speaking only twice. I put the phone back on the counter and served the pancakes on the plate just in time for Louis to come downstairs. What the hell is he going to think about this? "Morning," he said sleepily. "Good morning," I said, taking a bite of my bacon. "Thanks for making breakfast," he said as he sat in front of his plate. "It's no problem. Thanks for being here for me." "I'm so sorry about your mom. This is all going to work out, ok? But let's not think about it because we have another show tonight and closing tomorrow! Excited?" He asked. "About that..." I started. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Um, Niall just called me," I continued. "And he heard about my mom. And he wants to come visit," I said. "When?" Louis asked harshly. "Tonight," I said quickly. Louis looked up at me and sat back in his chair. I watched him apprehensively, not knowing what to expect. "He's coming tonight?" "After the show he wanted to take me to dinner so we could talk and catch up," I said. "You agreed to all of this?" he asked. "Yes," I said. He shook his head and sighed. "I guess, if you're fine with it, then I have no choice to be too," Louis said. We made eye contact. "But if he says anything that hurts you in any way at all then I want you to call me and I will pick you up right away. Do not get sucked into some Niall-love-trap-thing. I can't stand to see you hurt any more than you already have," he said seriously. "Promise me that you won't let him do that to you," he said. "I promise," I whispered. "You really want to see him?" "Yes." "Why?" "I feel like I've been missing him, and I know that sounds stupid considering he hurt me so much and we didn't even talk but I feel like this is right. Everything happens for a reason. This is a good thing, I promise," I said. "I trust you," he said, sitting back in the chair and continuing to eat. I wish I could trust myself.

#playthegamefanfic