[Up in Louis and Zayn's room]
"I honestly don't know why you're packing. You're not going anywhere, Louis."
Louis shrugged, "It's rose ceremony night. Everyone who hasn't got a rose already has to pack. Just in case."
"You shouldn't."
"I'm not so sure about that, Zayn."
"What? Are you kidding me?"
Louis sighed, finally looking up from his suitcase. "I didn't go on a date this week, the chance of me going home is big. If I don't get a chance to talk to him tonight, then I will be going home for sure. Maybe even before the rose ceremony..."
"Then talk to him."
Louis kept on packing, "I don't know if he still wants me here. Sure, I've got the first impression rose, but...what does that really mean? Not much if I don't get the chance to get to know him."
Zayn sighed, "I'm gonna tell you something, but, you can't tell the other guys, ok?"
Louis stopped what he was doing, looking up at Zayn with a raised eyebrow.
"I did kiss Niall on our date."
A small smile appeared on Louis' face. "I already guessed so. Why are you telling me?"
"Because we have something in common. You received the first rose, me the first kiss." Louis nodded, waiting for Zayn to continue, because he somehow knew he wasn't done talking yet. "I guess what I mean to say is that I know how hard it is. I mean, I'm gonna have to listen to everyone's stories about kissing Niall, while I'm probably gonna have to stay at the mansion next week."
"You don't know that for sure," Louis answered, "But, I get what you're saying. You're gonna have to listen to everyone's stories while sitting here, and I had to watch boys come back with roses in their hands while I'm still in doubt."
Zayn nodded, "I had hoped Steven wouldn't come back, though."
Louis snorted, "I know the feeling. That guy isn't here for the right reasons."
"You noticed too, huh?"
Louis nodded, "Thanks for telling me, though."
Zayn shrugged, "I just want you to give this a chance. I can tell you're here for the right reasons. I don't want you to give up after one week."
Another smile graced Louis' lips. "Thanks man. If you ever have doubts, come to me, yeah?"
Zayn grinned, shaking the other's outstretched hand. "It's a deal. By the way, me and Harry decided not to steal Niall away from anyone because we already have a rose. More chance for you to talk to him, right?"
"That's very kind of you guys, not only for me, but for the others too."
"Yeah...I just hope Steven will do the same."
"We can't be sure about that, can we? This is Steven we're talking about."
--------............----------
The cocktail party had begun and soon enough, Niall came in to join them and have a talk with the guys he didn't really have much of a chance to talk with that week. Guys like Leo and Louis.
He had a quick chat with the whole group of them, but immediately noticed something was off...His eyes travelled over the boys and found out what seemed so off. It was Louis.
The brown haired boy was looking anywhere but at Niall, what hit the blonde boy even harder was that not one joke had come out of the boy's mouth yet, while usually Louis was the center of attention, Niall had noticed even in such a short amount of time and some of the boys had told him as well when he'd asked them how things were going inside the mansion, this wasn't normal.
