Wildest Dreams [UNEDITED, ON HOLD]

Chapter 3

"Oh, my God. Liam. Is this your actual literal car?" I asked, sitting in the seat as we drove away from the paps and crowd.
"Yep! It was my dad's friend's. He found his car from when he was a teenager and fixed it up. I asked him if I could buy it and he said sure because he couldn't keep it and he was going to sell it anyway," Liam explained.
"I love it. What is it, a Model-A?" I examined it all over as he tore down the road.
"No idea. But it's old. Maybe a Model-T? Actually forget that, I really do have no idea, that's just the only kind of old car I know of and I'm trying to impress you," he admitted, a sheepish grin on his face.
I laughed out loud. "Well, it's not working," I teased.
The car was old, but not old like it was falling apart: old as in it came from a more retro time. The outside was a bright red, the wheels black, the metal around the headlights and taillight foot pedals flashed gleaming silver. The inside was white leather, the steering wheel white with a black frame. It was classy and I loved it.
It was one of those old convertibles, designed for reckless teenagers to show off to their friends. The top, which was currently down, had to be manually pulled on or off, and there were no doors: you climbed into this bad boy.
But this car was also obviously made during an era where women wore skirts and had to be conservative at all times, so there were footrests to make it "easier" for girls.
Originally, this car also had no seat belts, but his dad's friend installed some so he could drive it around for real. I felt alive in this car. I would have loved to live in this era, everything about it: the diners, the cars, the clothing, the drive-ins, and the incredible music...I loved it more than anything. What a time to be alive.
I ran my hand over the leather interior in Liam's car. I looked over at him and saw him looking at me, and he tore away his gaze with a small smile on his face.
We had bagels and cream cheese and hot chocolate, and we were heading out to a "hidden place" as Liam called it. His buzzcut hair looked soft and fluffy but I bet it felt spiky. I had a sudden urge to run my hand over his head, but shook it off.
We drove for miles and miles, the city buildings and crowds fading into countryside and farms, and then it was trees and thick vegetation blocking out the sun, the only source of light was the rays that managed to poke through the leafy canopy and hit the uneven road in dappled spots.
"Is this even safe?" I asked as the car went over an incline and hung in the air before slamming back into the chopped up pavement.
Liam laughed. "You don't change. You said that the first time I brought you here, and, yes, it's perfectly safe. We've been here a lot, and I wouldn't ever do anything to put you in danger. Ever."
"We've been here before?" I couldn't remember it at all.
"I'll explain when we get there," he assured me.
It was like driving through a more heavily forested version of Jurassic Park. It was dark and somewhat scary. It was cold and I could see wild animals scurrying around. It was in the middle of nowhere and the only things on the broken, unpainted road were abandoned buildings, rusted and decaying.
And yet flowers bloomed from the roofs of houses that had been sitting here too long. Squirrels and rabbits made homes in cars that had no tires or doors. The sunlight filtered through the trees and made everything look like a fairytale.
And it was amazing.
"This is, like, Wonderland," I said.
Liam smiled. His eyes crinkled at the edges and his mouth lit up his whole face. His lopsided grin was infectious and beautiful.
Finally we rolled to a stop. "The road ends here," Liam explained. He picked up the picnic basket and swung himself out of the car with one hand. I chuckled to myself and unclipped my belt buckle, sitting on the edge of the car and sliding off, following Liam.
We walked down a path, obviously not cleared, but it had been marked with faded red cloth tied to branches on surrounding trees. We walked in a comfortable silence, the air cool despite the sunny day due to the thick covering of leaves and branches overhead. It was like a tunnel had been carved into a solid part of forest, something you'd see in a fairytale. Flowers bloomed and littered the path sides.
"How was this path created?" I asked, confused.
"Well, we found this cut like this and we followed the path to the place we're going to, and every so often I trim the branches back and stuff. The red cloth markers were also tied by us," he said.
After about a quarter of an hour, he turned to me and smiled. "Close your eyes, babe."
I closed them.
He put his hand on my waist and guided me forward, turning me gently ever so slightly. Then he kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, "Alright, open them." I shivered as his warm breath tickled my neck, his lips nudging my collarbone.
I opened my eyes and gasped. It was incredibly gorgeous, another fairytale scene. "Oh, my God."
A stream, clear as crystal, sparkled as it flowed into the woods. The banks surrounding it on both sides were grassy and green, flowers of blue and pink sprinkled across it.
The sun was shining, as no trees were in this area. A large weeping willow tree sat about ten yards away. It was literally a circle of paradise, about twenty yards in diameter, cut out of a magical fairytale forest.
"Yeah. It's pretty cool."
"That's an understatement."
We took a seat under the weeping willow to block the sun, a soft blanket beneath our legs. Liam spread cream cheese on half a bagel and handed it to me, pouring me a cup of hot chocolate from the large thermos. Despite the sunny sky, it was cold outside and I saw clouds in the distance, a storm.
Typical London.
"Liam," I said suddenly, remembering something. "You called me 'babe' and you said we'd been here before and you put your hand on my waist and kissed my cheek, and I'm confused."
"It's simple," he said softly. "We're in love."
What the hell.
He looked at me curiously. "Do you believe me?"
No.
"Yes."
He laughed, "No you don't."
"Okay, fine, I don't," I admitted. "Explain," I demanded.
"About a year and half after you were with Niall, we accidentally kissed when we were alone...and we liked it. But we weren't sure if it was just a small thing that would go away, so we stayed hidden and you stayed with Niall," he told me.
What the hell.
"That doesn't sound like something I would do. Cheating," I said.
"No," he agreed. "But you did. We found this place and we came here often. We planted those flowers along the tunnel, and we would go wading when the water was warm. We'd bring my dog, Loki, and have picnics here a lot."
"Does anyone know?"
"Nope."
"How long did this go on?" I asked him.
"It started a year ago," he said quietly.
"Did it end?"
He hesitated. "No."
What the hell.
"Oh."
"Jade, you have to believe me. Babe, when you got in that accident...I was so worried you'd forget me. Which you did," he said.
"Why?"
He bit his lip. "The day you got back I was going to bring you here. And we'd have a candlelight dinner. And I'd sing to you. And the water was supposed to be warm. And the scene perfect. And I was going to propose to you, and, maybe, hopefully, make you my wife."
What the hell.
"What about Danielle? How does she fit in to this?" I asked.
"I dated her to sort of ease the tension. There were so many rumours of us being together I had to do something, so I got a girlfriend," he explained. "But when I planned on proposing, before the accident, I broke up with her."
"And was I going to break up with Niall?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Assuming you accepted my proposal."
"What the hell?" I finally said it out loud to him.
He nodded, "Yeah, I know," he agreed.
"And do I love niall?" I desperately wanted to know. I must've, if I'd stayed with him while...cheating. The word sounded bitter in my head, and I imagine it would be just as sour on my tongue as if I said it.
Liam nodded again, sadder. "Yeah. That's why you stayed with him. Because you loved us both and you didn't know who to choose. That's why I was going to propose. I felt that maybe your love for me had grown stronger than your feelings for him, but now I'll never know."
It was silent for a bit.
"Do you live with Niall?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, I live with Zayn. Niall doesn't really like me."
"You're in the same band."
"I know, but he's jealous, that's all," he said. "You and I met at the 2008 X-Factor. We were old friends by the time I auditioned again in 2010 and when Niall met you. I guess he just wishes he'd met you first. He doesn't hate me, exactly, and we joke around and go to pubs and stuff, we just aren't as close anymore."
"That's awful. I feel terrible."
"Jade, don't," he assured me. "It's okay."
He took my hand. I didn't pull away. "Listen, Jade. I love you. And I know you may not love me yet, but I want to try to be yours again. You're already mine."
I thought about what he said. He was a kind guy, loving and sweet and funny, with a kick ass car. Most of all, he seemed incredibly sincere about it all.
I smiled to myself, and he tilted my chin up with his head. He leaned in to kiss me, but I jerked away. "I'm sorry, I can't. Not yet. Or, ever. I don't know. I'm sorry," I managed to get out.
He nodded. "It's okay," he said. But his eyes were sad.