Settle Down with Me: Chapter 25

LOUIS' POV:

       I showed security the pass in my hand and walked through the iron gates feeling very accomplished. I walked around the lot, looking at all of the different sets, granted I probably looked like a tourist. I said hello to a few people as I walked past and tried to find the trailer I was supposed to be at in three minutes but I was having no luck.

"Do you know where Emily Carlisle's trailer is?" I asked to every person who ran by me, but no one would answer.

"Anybody know?" I said a little louder before finally approaching a cute girl in a head set.

"Excuse me babe, happen to know where Emily Carlisle's trailer is?" I asked nicely as she turned around to smile at me.

"Over there" She said pointing to a huge black box.

"Thanks" I said winking at her. She turned a slight shade of pink before she looked down nervously at her book.

       I followed my new instructions and made my way to the trailer, climbing up the three metal steps and knocking on the door. I waited to be let in by her security and strolled through the door, smiling at the brunette curled up in a ball on the couch.

"Morning sunshine" I said happily as she looked up at me, a smile on her face.

"Hey Lou!" She squealed as she stood up to stand in front of me.

"Well give us a hug!" I joked as I opened my arms. I smiled as she crashed into me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I squeezed her against my chest and kissed her head noisily before pulling away to offer her my hand. She laced her fingers through mine and smiled at me again, she has such a nice smile.

"Ready to go?" I asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes! But I've got to be back in two hours" She said as she pulled me out of the trailer and back onto the lot. We made it through security and left the studio, heading to the sidewalk.

       Now it was Emily's turn to be a tourist, I had started to take her on mini adventures on her lunch. We walked around London and I showed her all of my favorite places, she listened to all my stories and seemed happy to walk around with me- even if it was for a little while. I led the way to a small shop that some of my girl friends had shopped at, Emily smiled as we approached the window- I grabbed the door and followed her inside, she never dropped my hand.

       I talked about the album while she sifted through the jewellery on the table, answering with comments every few seconds. She tried on a few bracelets and I clipped on some necklaces for her while she held up her hair.

"So how are you and Liam?" I asked her, I felt like I should be the one to ask- seeing as I got her to admit her feelings first back at the beginning of the show.

"Perfect" She said with a small smile, I smiled back and placed my hand on the small of her back as we moved to another section of the store.

"What about you, any girls I should know about?" She asked me, winking over her shoulder.

"Met a girl the other day at the studio, her name was Ariana" I said, trying not to turn red. Emily whipped her head around to look at me with wide eyes. She grasped both of my arms and stared at my face, urging me to continue.

"Relax love, your eyes will be stuck like that" I said with a cheeky smile as she shook her head at me.

"Did you get her number?" She asked, slipped a pair of round sunglasses on her face.

"I did" I said, pretending to yell. She laughed and pursed her lips at me, making a silly picture pose.

"Cute" I nodded before trying on a pair of brown glasses for myself.

"You're so sexy Lou" Emily mimicked a typical 'fangirl'

"Please, keep it in your pants Carlisle" I joked, pushing her away from me. I forgot how light she was and she shuffled sideways, almost falling over from my light shove. I apologized quickly and pulled her back into my side.

       Emily bought the sunglasses and a new leather bracelet before pulling me back onto the sidewalk. We strolled around London, looking at all of the houses and the pretty scenery; it was actually a nice day- no rain. I talked about the girl I had met, giving Emily every detail she asked for. I couldn't believe how excited she was getting about this, even more than I was. At the end of our tour she had convinced me to call Ariana and ask her to dinner, we were going on Friday. I walked Emily back to set and we relaxed in her trailer for a little while. I reclined on the couch while Emily sat beside me, legs crossed on the seat; she was still wearing her new glasses.

"Smile love" I told her with a wide grin as Emily flashed her million dollar smile. I took a picture on my phone and immediately sent it to twitter.

@Ms.EmilyCarlise's new glasses, looking good hm? Nice day on set! X

       We talked for a little while Emily read over her script for the next scene. I tried to read over her shoulder but I was pushed away, none of us were allowed to know anything about the film. While she was scanning lines I heard my phone start to buzz beside me on the couch. Emily noticed too and immediately snatched it up in her hands, bringing it to her tiny face.

"Hello!" She chirped into the phone, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hi Mrs. Tomlinson, it's Emily" She said, giving me a wink.  I groaned as the girls talked for a few minutes, I knew my mom would like Emily a little too much- hence I hadn't introduced them. I watched as Emily's eyes lit up and she started to laugh, covering her mouth with one hand.

"What is she saying?" I whispered as I nudged Emily's knee.

"Why didn't you tell me your nickname was Boo Bear?" Emily asked with a huge grin. I cursed and covered my face with my hands- I hated that nick name, it was from when I was a little kid.

"Give me the phone" I said impatiently, Emily nodded and held up one finger towards me.

"Ok I have to go; Lou wants to talk to you. Alright I'll get him to give you my BBM pin!
Bye!" She said happily before handing me my mobile. I took a deep breath before I started to speak into the phone, Emily giving me a smug smile as she held up the code for her Blackberry Messenger- apparently my mother wanted to add her as a contact.

"Hi mum" I said as nicely as I could. She greeted me and then started to insist for the small code.

"Yes it's right here" I groaned as I read out the jumble of numbers and letters. Emily smiled as her phone beeped.

"Got it" She said to me.

"Yes if she's on your list that means she accepted mum" I said under my breath, rolling my eyes at their new budding friendship.

EMILY'S POV:

       An assumption that I get a lot is that I must have this crazy exciting life just because I'm a Hollywood actress, however they couldn't be more wrong. While most people were out and partying on a Friday night I'm in my house alone, watching the Notebook with popcorn and chocolate. I really don't care that I'm in my duck pajama pants and one of Liam's sweatshirts- because it's just me. I lay in my bed, buried beneath the covers- laptop resting on my legs as Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling exchange sweet words in front of my face. I wipe my eyes as happy tears fall down my cheeks- this movie is just so cute, how is it possible for two people to love each other that much.

"God where is my boyfriend?" I hiss as I shove popcorn into my mouth. But truthfully I know the answer to this question, he is at a club with his band mates- probably drinking and having a laugh. I continued to chew while the movie played on, the sad parts were coming up next- I took a deep breath and prepared myself for a huge crying session. BUZZ. I look around my bed excitedly, patting the sheets to find my cell phone. Once I have the sparkly BlackBerry in my hands I go to my home screen and click on the text option.

Hey babe, whatttt ar you doing? X- Harry

"Nice grammar Haz" I chuckle as I send him a quick reply.

Watching a movie in bed (: - Emily

Why don't you come to my bed (; - Harry
I flinched at the words on my screen, this wasn't like him. Yes he was a flirt, but never anything more than friendly.

Harry how much did you drink tonight? – Emily

I'm just fine, you're just beautiful – Harry

Alright.. – Emily

I want you Carlisle, and I mean it – Harry

I can't tell you what the sound that came out of my mouth was when I read this message, I remembered that weird saying; a drunk mind leads to a sober heart. I felt my fingers twitch before I tried to even think of an appropriate reply. I stared down at my hands, mouth gaping open.

I know you are there, don't shut me out – Harry

Harry you're drunk, I'll talk to you in the morning – Emily

I'd rather we talk about it now – Harry

Not like this – Emily

Why? What are you afraid of? X – Harry

       I threw my phone on the bed like it was blazing with heat. I didn't want to have this conversation; I didn't want to have it over the phone, not when he was wasted, not if it was the most beautiful day of the history of the world. This was not allowed to happen, this was wrong. I couldn't process a proper thought, god what would Liam think if he saw that. He was so trusting with Harry and me, and granted nothing ever happened but this just wasn't good.

       Nothing could help my crazy working mind as I paced around my bedroom, raking my hands through my hair. I was thinking about everything Harry and I had done and said to each other, I began to analyze all the nights we spent together and every time he told me he loved me. I over looked everything, I was oblivious. I couldn't break up with Liam; he was perfect for me- that wasn't questionable. So what on earth was I supposed to do? My borderline insane thoughts were finally broken up when I heard my phone ringing again; I grabbed my phone and checked the time on the screen. I had been pacing for over two hours, no wonder my feet hurt.

"Hello?" I said nervously, hearing ragged breath on the other end of the conversation.

"Emily you need to come to the complex, NOW" Louis' panicked voice told me.

"Why? Is everyone alright?" I asked nervously, running to my front door.

"I can't explain, please just come!" Louis boomed before hanging up on me. I gripped my phone and ran out of my house, forgetting my terrible appearance and broke into a run all the way to the complex. I breathed heavily as my hair flew around my head, I didn't stop running until I was on the familiar street to the complex. I slowed down and walked up to the end of the road, trying to get my breathing back to normal. I climbed the steps to the front door and tried to let myself in but it was locked.

"Seriously? The one night you jerks lock your damned door?" I hissed to the wood and started to bang on it as loud as I could. I started to yell for anyone who could hear me and I called Louis' phone several times until Zayn's panicked face finally opened the door and pulled me inside with a great amount of force.

"You shouldn't be here" Zayn hissed, his hand loosening on my arm.

"Louis called me, what's going on?" I yelled as he looked around nervously, followed by screaming. I recognized my boyfriend's voice and then a rather husky one that I assumed
belonged to my very drunk best friend.

"What is going on?" I repeated as I ran into the living room, following the screams.

"Liam! Harry!" I called as I stopped in the threshold and saw the two boys up against each other and screaming harsh words. They both ignored me and began to push each other around.

"What is wrong with you?" I screamed as I tried to go in between them but Niall's strong hands grabbed my waist and pulled me away.

"Let me go Niall" I said seriously as I tried to squirm away from him.

"They both drank tonight, don't go near them" Niall said seriously as he strengthened his hold on me, keeping me right against his chest.

"Liam doesn't drink!" I protested.

"Not very often but he was in a good mood tonight" Niall told me as he tried to get the boys away from each other. I watched as Louis and Zayn pulled on each boy's arms but it was no use.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING LIAM" Harry screamed as he pushed against his chest.

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, AND YOU'VE BEEN DOING IT SINCE WE MET HER" Liam yelled back, I flinched- I had never seen him this angry before.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU CAN'T KEEP HER HAPPY" Harry screamed in his face. I looked to Liam to try and get his attention but he refused to look at me.

"That's not true" I said seriously, Liam still had his eyes on the curly haired boy.

"YOU KNOW NO BOUNDARIES! SHE IS WITH ME NOW, SHE MADE A CHOICE" Liam growled.

"SO I'M JUST SUPPOSED TO PRETEND LIKE IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE THEN?" Harry growled back with a sick sounding laugh.

"IT'S CALLED BEING A GOOD FRIEND" Liam responded.

"I AM A GOOD FRIEND, BUT I'M ONLY HUMAN LIAM. I DIDN'T KISS OR TOUCH HER" Harry screamed as he lunged for Liam's head. I screamed as Liam dodged him and finally his eyes flashed over to me. I shook my head no and could feel the tears streaming down my face. Harry turned to stare at me as well and I lost it completely.

"Nothing happened" I said with a tight throat.

"Yes, listen to your girl" Harry sneered.

"Stop that Harry!" I said angrily.

"IT WAS A TEXT MESSAGE! HOW ABOUT NEXT TIME I JUST JUMP HER THEN HM?" Harry yelled to Liam again and that was the last straw. Liam snapped and punched Harry square in the jaw. I screamed as he staggered backwards and clutched his face. Louis immediately pulled Harry off his feet as Zayn held Liam's arms down, pushing him out of the room. I turned around to hide in Niall's chest- I couldn't look at either of them right now.  

"Oh my god" I said as I continued to cry.

"It's okay Em, not your fault" Niall said quickly as he rubbed my back.

"It is" I responded.

"No" He continued to whisper, trying to calm me down.

"Emily..." Harry started, looking at me with sad eyes.

"No!" I yelled, refusing to look at him.

"Just please go ice your face okay, I don't want you to bruise" I said in a softer voice, still avoiding eye contact with my best friend.

       Niall finally let me go and I made my way through the house to find my very angry boyfriend shaking his hand outside in the backyard. I jogged over to him and placed both hands on his arm. He looked at me quickly and then down at the ground.

"Look at me" I begged, trying to catch his eyes. It was no use; he refused to even turn to face me.

"You are both intoxicated, it was a mistake! You and I are fine, we're fine" I whispered quickly.

"He was hitting on you!" Liam boomed. I flinched slightly and shook my head no over and over again.

"He was drunk" I said slowly.

"So that makes it right?" Liam yelled.

"I didn't say that! But hitting him in the face isn't right either Liam!" I hissed, trying not to raise my voice. He pulled his arm away from me and finally stared me in the face.

"So what am I supposed to do then? Pretend that I don't see the way he looks at you every day? Act like it doesn't make me crazy when he kisses you! Or brings you home to meet his family? Or when he texts you messages telling you to get in his bed? LIKE THAT DOESNT MATTER NOW?" Liam screamed. I bit my lip and stared back at him, I couldn't believe we were having our first fight.

"That is not my fault Liam! I have done nothing for you not to trust me! I have been completely faithful to you even when you had a girl friend! I have wanted no one but you since we met in that room when I was late for the stupid meeting! I didn't do anything wrong Liam, and you being drunk right now isn't helping anything!" I finally managed to yell.

"Well sorry for having two beers with my mates" Liam sneered.

"Don't do that! Do not make me the bad guy now! I am not the one who got in a fist fight with my band mate! I was at home, watching a movie in my bed! Waiting for you to come home, not Harry, YOU" I said grabbing onto his arm.

"But you were texting him" Liam said, his eyes looking less angry.

"I am not having this conversation with you when you are like this" I said seriously as I turned on my heel and started to walk away from him.

"Where are you going?" He said, following behind me.

"Come see me when you are sober and not acting like an arse!" I replied, power walking into the house.

       I fumed through all the rooms and avoided making eye contact with Niall and Zayn as I almost ran past them. I ignored Harry's calling my name until he finally grabbed my arm and pulled me against him.

"I'm sorry, babe I am so sorry- I was dumb, I shouldn't have sent that" He said, his eyes scanning every inch of my face.

"Harry no, not tonight please" I begged as I tried to push him away.

"No! I need you to forgive me!" He said in a panicked voice.

"Do not leave without telling me you don't hate me, I can't handle that" He growled, clutching my arms.

"I don't hate you, but you were wrong tonight" I whispered before running away from him and out the front door.

LIAM'S POV:

       I walked around the back yard fuming; I can't believe all this happened in less than an hour. I got in a fight with my girl friend, punched one of my best friends in the face and scared everyone in the house. I paced quickly, trying to calm myself down and think rationally- I needed to apologize to Emily, that much was for sure but she wasn't going to talk to me tonight, I had messed it up too much. After a few more minutes of arguing with myself I finally walked back into the house and stopped as all of the boys stared at me, including Harry who had ice on his cheek. I returned their questioning looks and ran up the stairs to my room, slamming the door behind me.

       I stripped down to my boxers and lay down on my bed even though I knew I wouldn't fall asleep right away. I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my messages, groaning at the cute words Emily had sent me earlier this afternoon, before everything blew up.
Call me when you get home! XX – Emily

"Yeah" I said quietly, I can't believe I missed that message when we were at the club. Man did I feel like the biggest jerk in the world. I clicked on Emily's name and watched as her picture popped up on my screen. I smiled at her happy, smiling face and started to write a new message.

I'm sorry, x – Liam

EMILY'S POV:

       The sun streamed through my window, causing my puffy eyes to burn in my bed. I groaned at the beeping of my alarm and rolled off of the mattress, thumping against the floor. Memories from last night played through my mind, the fight and the yelling stung in my brain. I dragged my feet to the shower and stepped into the hot water to try and calm myself down. I dressed in sweats and one of my own shirts today before grabbing my purse, phone and a granola bar and walking out to the car waiting for me in my driveway.

"Morning" I said quietly to the driver sitting in the front.

       I sank into the makeup chair and grimaced as Kaylee, the main artist chastised my eyes.

"What am I supposed to do with this? You look like you died babe!" She scolded me as she started to cover my skin with foundation.

"I'm sorry, it was a long night" I croaked, my throat was so sore.

"Did something happen with the boyfriend?" She asked with a pout. I nodded yes and started to launch into the story, Kaylee had turned into my onset therapist since the shoot started. She listened to me rant and rave and gave me some input when I would stop for a breath.

"That's rough hun, have you talked to him yet?" She asked as she glued on my fake lashes.

"He texted me last night, but I didn't respond" I said quietly.

"Maybe you should call him later, at least try and fix things" She said in a sweet voice before painting my lips a nice pink colour.

"I just don't know what to say" I sighed.

"Do you want to continue dating him?" She challenged, popping her hip to the side.

"Of course, it was just a fight" I said nodding my head.

"Then that's what you say" She said kissing my cheek and sending me to set.

       I made my way to set and greeted Taylor, my new love interest. We chatted quietly for a few minutes, I tried my best to be chipper and pleasant- it wasn't his fault everyone else was acting like little babies.  We listened to our instructions and I set myself up for the scene, it was our first encounter at the zoo. I dragged my fingers along the iron bars of the cages and tried to avoid Taylor's gaze as the camera zoomed in on my face.

"You know if you get any closer the lions will eat you right?" Taylor said his line with a smug grin.

"Oh, sorry" I said nervously, retracting my hand and walking closer to him.

"I'm April, Greg's daughter" I said holding out my hand.

"Tyler- I work for your dad" He smiled, shaking my outstretched hand.

"So what's the story with this place?" I asked, dragging my feet slowly against the pavement.

"It's a rescue zoo, so we take the animals that would otherwise be killed. Most of them are from circuses and shows, we run on donations and gate charges, but we can barely afford to feed everybody so we're on the verge of closing down" Taylor said his lines, shoving his hands in his pocket as we walked around staring at the empty cages.

"What are you going to do to save it?" I asked quietly.

"We're having a fundraiser at the end of the summer" Taylor told me, giving me a half smile.

'AND WE'RE CLEAR, GREAT WORK GUYS' The production staff yelled and everyone started to buzz around and watch the shot on the small portable screens.

       After my long day at work I almost had to be carried out of my trailer. I walked out of set and checked my phone messages, two from Liam, and four from Harry and one from Niall. I slipped into the car waiting for me and started to read the missed alerts.

I was wrong, I miss you already. – Liam

I know you are still angry at me but I just wanted to say good morning and have a good day at work. X      - Liam

Babe, please- Harry

I was wrong- I know that – Harry

I promise to never drink again- Harry

I didn't mean it, I swear – Harry

Come over after work love, I made dinner! X – Niall

"Can you take me to the complex please Brian" I said nicely, he smiled and nodded- turning onto the boy's street.

"Going to see Liam?" he asked politely as he switched lanes.

"No I'm going to see my leprechaun" I joked as I stared out the window.

       Brian, the driver dropped me off at the front door, I took the steps two at a time and let myself inside. I looked around the foyer nervously and breathed a sigh of relief when neither Liam nor Harry was there. I ran down the hallway that led to Niall's part of the house and opened up his door slowly, checking to make sure he wasn't naked or anything.

"Hey Nialler" I called once I was inside, dropping my bag on the ground. I looked around the room and was surprised that he didn't answer me. I started to walk into the couch area and sat down slowly, pulling out my phone to check if had missed one of his messages.

"Niall are you here?" I yelled again, getting slightly nervous. I listened as I heard someone fall in another room, followed by a grunt. I got out of my seat and ran to Niall's bedroom, rushing inside to see the closet door moving. I walked over to the closet and tried to open it; Niall popped out and gave me a worried look before running to the door and gripping the handle. I looked over to the blonde boy and then down at my feet to see my boyfriend in a ball with tape over his mouth and hands. It only took me a few seconds to realize what was going on before I tried to stop Niall from leaving.

"Don't you dare lock that door!" I told him sternly, he stopped and smiled at me.

"It's best for everyone" he said before slamming the door shut and locking it from the outside. I ran to the door and banged on the wood, cursing Niall out loud. I heard him snicker in the hall and whisper to someone, I'm assuming it was Zayn. I dropped my head into my hands and walked over to sit on Niall's bed, staring at Liam's huddled figure with scared eyes.

"Did you do this?" I asked him sternly, he shook his head no. I got up onto my feet and went to stand in front of the closet; I stared down at him and watched as his eyes begged for me to speak. I took a deep breath before helping Liam get off the floor and stand on his feet. He mumbled something through the tape that sounded like a 'thank you'.

"What do you want me to do with the tape?" I asked quietly as I tried to find a loose end on the circle around his hands. He tried to talk but his voice was too muffled.

"Do I rip it off?" I asked him, finally looking into his eyes for the first time since the fight. He nodded yes a few times and squinted his eyes while I started to pull the silver binding from his wrists. I grimaced at the ripping sound but continued to pull for a few minutes until his hands were finally free. He stretched his fingers and dropped them down to his side.

"You know that this is going to hurt like hell right?" I asked seriously as I gripped the tape attached to his mouth. He nodded yes and closed his eyes completely shut.

"Ready?" I squeaked. He nodded again and dug his nails into his legs before I started to pull slowly, causing him to whimper.

"Well you need it off!" I hissed.

"Aaaaaaa mmm nnnceee" He mumbled.

"What?" I growled, giving him a weird face. He gestured with his hands for me to rip quickly and I took a deep breath before gripping the tape again.

"You're sure?" I asked nervously, he nodded yes and I did as I was told. I ripped the tape off his face as quickly as I could, resulting in a scream of pain as he gripped his mouth with his hands. I winced at his shouts and stared down at the stubble left in the tape, I had basically waxed his mouth.

"Sorry" I said quietly as I threw the tape in the garbage bin. I stared at Liam, standing a good two feet away from him as he looked at me with a pout.

"Are you going to talk to me at all?" Liam asked sadly. I didn't say anything, just sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Take that as a no" He said as he sat down beside me, our legs touching. I flinched at the touch and started to scoot away from him slightly; he gave me a sad smile and rubbed his hands on his jeans before finally looking at my face and opening his mouth slightly.

"VAS HAPPENIN?" Zayn yelled through the door, followed by the sound of him getting hit on the head.

"Ouch Niall!" he yelled again, causing me to giggle quietly.

"You've got ten minutes" I said seriously, crossing my arms over my chest.