Under the Mistletoe (Christmas Special)

Chapter 5

The most annoying part about being friends with someone extremely famous is that there are always paparazzi following you everywhere.

Do you know how hard it is to get through the train station without being mobbed?

Ugh.

It takes us a while longer to get on the train to Paris because of all of the fans and paps. It's not that I find them annoying or mean or anything because I totally understand how much they love the guys, and it's understandable. It's just that I really just want to get on the train and constantly being stopped by fans asking for the same things - a picture and an autograph - gets a little old.

We finally get settled on the train, though.

Louis and Eleanor are currently cuddling; Zayn and Perrie are in the middle of some deep conversation from the looks of it; and Niall and Harry are cracking up.

Then there's me and Liam in the middle of a foot war. Our feet are wrestling beneath the table and I'm practically falling out of my seat into the aisle.

"Liam, let- me- win!" I say between gritted teeth.

"N-ever!"

I fall out of my seat, "Oof!"

All of the guys and Eleanor and Perrie look at me lying on the ground. I brush my crazy hair from my face, "Hey guys..."

Liam extends a hand to help me up, "You okay?"

"Dandy." I comb a few ringlets of my hair behind my ear before getting situated again in the seat. "Let's not have another foot war."

"Sore loser?"

"I did not lose!"

"Last time I checked, I wasn't the one that ended up on the ground..."

I stick my tongue out at him like the mature nineteen-year-old that I am.

He playfully questions, "So, have you gotten me my amazing Christmas present yet?"

I haven't. I have no idea what to get him! I'm pretty good at picking out presents, I think. Except when it comes to guys; in particular, Liam. I could always ask one of the guys or Andy, but I know Liam better than they do (no offense to them, but I spend several hours with him almost every day and we practically live together). Plus, I feel guilty asking someone else what I should get him. I want my present to be from the heart, my heart specifically, as cheesy as that sounds.

"Top secret info that you're asking for. Have you gotten mine yet?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I kind of did and it's pretty amazing."

"Tell me what you got me?" I say with puppy dog eyes. I've never really been good at doing them, but hey, maybe they can persuade Liam in some way (they usually do).

He hesitantly shakes his head, "Not giving in...,"

"But you want to."

"Niall, tell her to stop doing puppy dog eyes!" He whines.

Niall defends Liam, "Come on, Josie, you know he's fragile."

"Do you know what he got me?" I inquire.

"Not a clue, sorry."

I need to know what to get Liam and I'd totally get an idea if I knew what he got me.

"Jo, don't worry about my present too much. I'll be fine with whatever you get me," Liam chuckles.

"You don't understand! It needs to be perfect and it's gonna be. Just wait till you see it."

I'll be waiting to see it, too.

***

I'm going to admit, I was a little nervous about this whole checking in at the hotel thing; none of us speak fluent French. But the hotel people speak English so I guess we luck out.

I don't really know any of the others well enough to room with them, so I'm rooming with Liam.

There are going to be two beds, for your information, so don't get any crazy ideas.

The lady working behind the desk hands us our room keys and we head up. Liam takes my suitcase like a proper gentlemen and I unlock the door to our room. I hold it open for him as he drags our bags in.

The cold air in the room immediately hits my skin. Goosebumps find their way along my arms and I even have my jumper on. My teeth chatter and so do Liam's, so he's probably cold too.

"It's freezing in here!" I say.

"I'll adjust the heat," he goes over to the thermostat and turns the temperature up.

"So what's going on today? Do you have an interview or something?" I question.

"Yeah, we have two. You can hang out with El and Perrie, though. Do girl stuff. Like shopping."

"Liam, I thought we already discussed this? I'm clearly not a girl."

Liam replies, "Ah, yes, we did. Sorry, Jo. I'm a forgetful girl."

***

I decide to take Liam's idea and go shopping with Eleanor and Perrie. I know them well and they're extremely sweet girls, but we're not best friends or anything. We just don't really spend too much time together since we're all pretty busy (except for me because I'm do nothing with my life).

We walk along the streets window shopping. We get stopped by some fans - mostly Perrie's and some directioners. None of us actually want to buy anything, so we're probably just going to keep strolling for a while. We grab hot chocolate from a small café to keep us warm, but the weather isn't too cold right now (for December, at least).

The conversation between us is light. I make them laugh (I have that effect on people) and they're genuine. I like that about them; they aren't fake like some people expect them to be.

Somehow we end up on the topic of me and Liam, though.

"So why aren't you two dating yet? You are perfect for each other," Eleanor mentions.

I mentally groan. "We're just friends. Really. Best friends is all we are and nothing more. We never will be more."

I seriously do not understand why everyone is so set on Liam and I dating lately. Has everyone always thought this way? Because I've only .ever heard the 'you two should date!' once or twice before.

Perrie points out, "Everyone else can tell how happy you make each other."

"Yeah, we make each other happy. That's typically what friends do, isn't it? I mean, not all best friends have to end up dating. And I'm looking for other guys at the moment."

"Why would you look for other guys when you have Liam? It saves trouble; you know you two get along well."

"Liam doesn't like me that way and I do not like him that way. Do we come off as liking each other like that?"

Eleanor pauses, "Well, you guys do look pretty close when you're with each other..."

"But like brother and sister," I add.

Perrie decides to end the conversation, probably because I refuse to see their side of things, by saying, "Okay, sure."

We then continue our not-quite-shopping shopping in the stunning city of Paris.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ending of that was strange. Whatever! I'll update soon as I wanna finish this before xmas (I probably won't...) Comment (I read them all!) && Vote! Let me know what you think! thanks for reading!! xoxo

5 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS, HOLY SHIT