MASTERMIND - H.S

Chapter 13

*• April 2013 •*
- Los Angeles, USA -
~< Forgiveness Is Bittersweet >~

"AND LIVE WHILE WE'RE YOUNG," the words rang through the empty arena as six voices followed the track through the small speakers.

Addie took a moment to catch her breath, taking a swig of water before they repeated the song.

"You okay?" Liam prompted, giving her a worried look. "You seem a little distracted."

Addie shook her head. You've been slacking off, Heathers. Fix your posture. Focus.

"I'm fi-" Addie started, just as Harry walked past them, chatting up Zayn and throwing an arm around his shoulder.

Liam waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Addie? You didn't finish your sentence?"

"Fine. I'm fine," Addie insisted, knowing it wasn't true. She tried to move her eyes away from Harry, but it seemed physically impossible. "Yeah... fine..."

Liam gave her a look, looking her up and down. And then he followed her eyesight, where she was staring at Harry. "Did something happen between you two?"

Addie hummed. "What?"

Liam snapped his fingers, breaking her out of her daze. "Addie, focus. I asked you if anything happened between you two?"

"It's nothing."

"You've both been so off all day, and you're going to tell me it's nothing?"

Addie shrugged. "I can deal with it myself."

"Or, you could stop being a masochist and let me help you out?" Liam suggested, his voice softening. He gave her an intense look, "It doesn't make you weak to accept help."

"I can fix it myself," Addie insisted, dismissing his words. She knew it didn't make her weak to accept help.

She did.

But Addie had always fixed things by herself, always handled everything herself. It wasn't that accepting help made her weak, it was that she didn't need help.

Liam sighed, giving her that look Addie despised so much. It was a combination of his ruthless puppy eyes and a 'I'm-not-mad-I'm-just-disappointed' look.

Addie pushed through the rest of rehearsals, and then soon the boys' choreographer, Paul, was dismissing them.

And as Addie was collecting her things, sweat making her hair stick to the back of her neck and body aching from all the running around stage, someone called her name.

"Adelaide!" Noelle called, gesturing for her to come back. "You're not done yet."

Addie glanced back towards the boys' retreating backs, and the five seemed to turn almost in unison, identical expressions of confusion.

"I thought rehearsals were done?" Addie asked, glancing in between Noelle and Harry.

Harry was frowning deeply, lips turned down.