"Care to introduce us?" Louis grinned, looking at Rose warmly.
He'd probably heard all he needed to from Zayn, who couldn't take his eyes off her.
I believe he liked her; she looked like the perfect bad girl, her eyes knowing and had seen too much, somewhat mischievous but wary.
Rose blushed a little beneath her makeup, and my heart thawed. Though appearances were deceptive, she wasn't as tough as she seemed.
I laughed, "This is Rose."
We all greeted each other, almost awkwardly, and though there were enough of us to talk the hind legs off a donkey, we all didn't know what to say.
Harry caught sight of Cara and I watched in amusement as his eyes grew comically wider. I'd love to see Mr Paisley's reaction.
Louis slapped him on the head and he moaned, "Louis! That wasn't nice!"
Cara blushed from behind me and I smirked, pleased that stubborn Cara had been subdued.
Zayn and Niall caught my attention, and so I watched on as Zayn, with incredible bravery, wrapped an arm around her waist. "You look lovely."
I felt myself blush for Rose's sake - Rose looked flustered whereas Zayn looked very smug.
"You look...you look...wow." Niall breathed, standing in front of me.
My cheeks flamed; a trail of deceptive heat rising from my neck to my face.
"Y-you think?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.
My heart thumped in my chest, and I gasped at the feeling of his hand brushing mine.
This feeling was too strange...too...unusual.
Niall blushed and stared at me intently, "Yes."
I smiled shyly, unsure what to make of the situation.
Could it be that he was only saying it because he heard Zayn and Rose?
I slid in the seat next to Niall, with Liam on my left.
Turning to Liam, I asked, "Do you and Louis have girlfriends, then?" Worried they'd feel like third wheels, I fired up a conversation.
I knew about them, their birthdays, their interests, but I never knew what to believe when it came down to relationships.
"Louis is dating Eleanor but she's on holiday with her family. Danielle and I broke up but we're back together. We couldn't stay away from each other." Liam said; a shadow of a smile on his face as he mentioned his girlfriend.
I wished I had someone to think of me like that, I thought idly. I wanted to be that someone whose name could even bring a smile to someone's face, without me even being there.
In that moment, it became very clear to me what I wanted.
I wanted to be loved. I wanted to love someone and dream of them and fight and makeup and talk about everything and nothing.
I wanted, no, needed love, because I'd been short of it my entire life.
I had a wealth of love to give to someone else, but I also wanted to be cared for.
I knew my mum loved me, and I loved her, but I wanted a connection with someone.
For my world to be guided by their light, to be someone's heartbeat.
I wanted to make someone's heartbeat quicken, and I wanted someone to give me butterflies and make me blush and...
"Olivia? You there?" Liam waved his band in front of my face and I blinked, embarrassed.
