Chapter 12 - Secrets

MARNIE’S POV

The next morning came quickly and suddenly. When I woke up, I felt as if I wanted to crawl back under the blankets and hide for the rest of the day. Or maybe the rest of the week. After not having enough sleep all week, I was finally getting some shut-eye. I should have told Jessie that I didn’t want to come here, but at the time a trip sounded like so much fun. Now though? All I wanted to do was sleep. I wanted to slip back into the warmth of the blankets and go back into the dream world. I wanted to feel at peace.

“Marnie.” Ethan whispered as he shook my shoulder gently. I had pulled the blankets up over my head at the bright light and curled up in a ball, forgetting that he was even in the room. Either way, I didn’t crawl out from my hiding spot under the blankets. “Everyone else is awake and wants to go explore.”

I mumbled some incoherent words that even I didn’t know what was said. I was already half asleep by now.

“Marnie.” Ethan said again, shaking me again. I groaned and rolled over then pulled the blanket down, looking at his blurry figure. “You have to get up.”

I whined and closed my eyes again, though I spoke louder than last time so that we could both understand what I was saying. “I wanna go back to sleep.”

“We’re going out to eat though. And then we’re going to go look around at the shops. Don’t you want to shop?”

I rolled back over and pulled the blanket up to my chin again. “I want to sleep…”

I could barely hear him sigh. He got up from off of the bed and opened the door, going outside. I tried to get up, thinking that I made him mad or disappointed, but my body wasn’t wanting to do anything that my mind was telling it to do. So I continued to just lay there, and nearly fell back into a dreamless sleep like I had been wanting to do all week but was unable to do.

I jolt awake when the light turns off and open my eyes. In the dark, I see Ethan come towards me and then lay down next to me. I feel his arms wrap around my waist and pull me close, but I don’t curl up into his arms like I wanted to. Instead, I just sit up and stare at him in shock. What was he doing here, first of all. He should be out having fun with the others; not here with me while I slept all damned day. He should have fun, not sleep. But then again, I should probably be doing the same thing.

“What are you doing?” I asked just before a yawn escaped my lips.

I see Ethan shrug his shoulders, still sitting up like I was. “You said that you wanted to sleep, so I’ll stay here with you to keep you company.”

I raised my eyebrows, even though he most likely couldn’t see. “Even though I would be sleeping?”

I see him shrug again. “Even if you’ll be sleeping. I don’t want to leave you alone, since I hadn’t seen you all week. I can’t ever get enough of you.” now that my eyes have adjusted to the dark, I see him lean over and kiss my forehead.

“Well I’m not going back to bed.” I said, surprising not only Ethan but myself as well. “I’m going to go have fun with the rest of our friends, like you should be doing too.”

For a long moment, Ethan just stared at me. At first I thought that I had said the wrong thing, and that I sounded as if I were being mean, but really, I just wanted him to have the best time of his life since it was his first time in Denali, and it really was a fun place to be. I wouldn’t let him throw away that fun just because I was exhausted and wanted to sleep.

Finally, he gave a nod and smiled. I sighed to myself in relief, glad that he wasn’t mad that I had pretty much tried to force him to have fun. I shake the thought away mentally, and then grab some clothes out of my bag. Ethan was already dressed, which told me that he had let me sleep in for a little longer before actually trying to get me up. I walk to the bathroom while he walks outside, closing the door on his way out. With his exit, I sigh and close the bathroom door and get dressed. I brush my hair and my teeth, then when i decide that I’m decent, I go to the door and get my boots on. I open the door then wince at the bright light, and look around. James and Sam were rough-housing and messing around while Ed, Lucian, William, Jessie and Ethan stood off to the side. Ethan was actually leaning up against one of the pillars holding up the deck of the second floor with his arms crossed while he watched the two rough-house.

Ethan seemed to realize that I was there, because he looked behind him then smiled when he saw me. I smiled back at him and went to him, and when I reach him he wraps an arm around my shoulders. I smile and look around at my friends. Watching Sam and James rough-house was pretty amusing, but I found myself looking away sometimes because some hits looked as if they actually hurt. Ed and Lucian were standing close to each other their arms brushing each other and their hands touching, though they weren’t holding hands. Jessie was tucked firmly in the crook of William’s arm, but the look on her face showed that she wasn’t here mentally. She was thinking about something else, and William hadn’t noticed. He was staring at the other two, wincing the same way I had been when they hit each other, good-naturedly of course. I’m sure they weren’t actually hurting each other.

“Okay guys.” I said, wanting to break up the rough-housing after two minutes of not being able to watch. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

At my voice, the boys stopped and just stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably under their gaze and looked away, then looked over at Jessie and Lucian. Both of them were talking in hushed tones, and then Jessie glanced at me, noticing that I was staring, and then stopped talking. Lucian glanced at me as well and continued to stare for a moment like Jessie was. It confused me, and made me hurt. It was obvious that they were talking about me. They were hiding something from me. Immediately, I became self-conscious of myself with all of these gazes on me, and with Jessie and Lucian, my two best friends, talking about me behind my back - or seemingly talking about me anyway - it only just made me even more nervous. I rubbed the side of my arm and bit my lip as I looked down. I just wanted them to all stop staring at me so that I wouldn’t feel so damned uncomfortable, but the longer that they stared at me the more nervous that I became and the more I started to rub my arm.

“Where are we going first?” Ethan asked, pulling me closer. He must have noticed that I was uncomfortable.

“Maybe to-” Lucian started to say.

“Get something to eat.” Sam finished for him. He gave a friendly smile, but James slapped him on the arm, and not in a friendly manner either. My mouth dropped open at the act, and Sam seemed to be shocked too, but one look at James’s expression told him that he had said something wrong. I wasn’t sure what he had said that made the freak out like that, but I shook the thought away mentally and just looked back at Lucian and Jessie, to see if they were still talking about me. They had their backs to each other now, though.

“I am kinda hungry, actually.” Ethan said with a shrug. “Food doesn’t sound that bad right now.”

“I suppose we can go and try to find someplace that has breakfast. I think that there’s a Subway in the strip mall, but I don’t know how good their breakfasts are.”

Ethan gives me a smile. “Well, shall we go then?”

Everyone nods in agreement, then we get into our cars like little clowns, and we’re off to the small tourist town. Since Jessie and I were in the same car, and I was still suspicious of her saying stuff about me behind my back, no one said a word, and the five mile drive to Denali felt like it was longer than an all-day trip to Anchorage.

JESSIE'S POV

I haven’t been the same since Louis told me who he really was. I’ve been paranoid, watching over my shoulder every few seconds. I didn’t get much sleep last night, because I was too afraid that we were going to get shot at in the middle of the night. I kept thinking about what would happen if we did get shot at, if Louis died, or if I died, or if either of us died. It kept me awake all night, even though Louis had fallen asleep easily. I kept staring at him from time to time, shocked that his appearance had changed so much in just a matter of seconds. I was glad that he had told me who he was when he did, though I was upset because now I was on edge, I was paranoid, and I wasn’t like not being able to sleep at night, thinking that neither of us were going to be okay. I also didn’t like keeping secrets from Marnie… Turns out Lucian knew about the boys’ secret as well, and doesn’t like keeping secrets from Marnie any more than I do, but I’m thinking that she already knows from the looks that she was giving us this morning, back at the camp. She’s smarter than she looks, and she figures things out pretty easily without really any hints at all. Though, how she doesn’t know who the boys really are yet is a mystery to me. By the way that she acts around Ethan, I mean Zayn, you would think that they’ve gotten into each other’s pants already. Because of the fact that Marnie doesn’t know who he really is tells me that they’ve only made out, and nothing more. It’s a disgusting thought, yet funny at the same time, yet it saddens me as well because I don’t want her to be lied to all the time. For a couple months now she’s been lied to, and I know that she isn’t going to take it well if she doesn’t get told soon, though both Lucian and I promised that we would let Zayn be the one to tell her. I know what I’ll do, I’ll just talk to Zayn later and tell him to talk to her about it.

Then with a few thoughts in my mind, I go back to the day that we first met the boys. Marnie and I were dressed in our swimsuits, and we were swimming as we waited for the boys to come over. Sam, or Niall, was the only one able to swim because he was the only one who “remembered his swim trunks.” Now that I think about it, if the boys went swimming, their tattoo’s would show, and we would instantly know who they are. Their tattoo’s were basically world famous. Forgetting their swim trunks was a lie, I now realize. They just didn’t want to show off their tattoo’s, because we would recognize them if they did. Though, Marnie was smart. I remember her pulling me towards her and whispering in my ear that she had a feeling that One Direction were in our back yard, and below and behold, she had been absolutely correct. At the time, I had laughed in her face. Now, though? Damn, I realized that she was smarter than I ever thought before, and I lived with her for crying out loud. She had known all along, she had known before any of us even knew. She knew before she herself even knew, in a sense. That was something else that I had to tell Zayn about. I had to tell him that she already knew, and that he had to confirm her suspicions about them.

When we park in a small parking lot just off to the side of where the little strip mall begins, I get out of the car instantly, with Louis following me close behind. He seems really interested in the little town, and then looks over to the left where the river is across the street. Denali was always filled with the sound of the passing train, the rushing water, and the people talking as they walked around. It was a peaceful little town, though it was only a tourist attraction. No one really lived here, and it was only opened for about four months during the year. It was nice during the summer, and so much fun, but during the winter it was like a ghost town and scary to pass through.

“Hey,” I told him softly, getting his attention. Every time he looked at me now I instantly blushed. “I need to go talk to Ethan… I mean, Zayn.” I corrected, my cheeks flushing more.

Louis gave me a look. “Jess, don’t pressure him into telling Marnie. He’ll tell her when he’s ready.” he said softly.

I shake my head and then glance over at Marnie to see her holding hands with Zayn, walking down the boardwalk and showing him everything, the stores that she liked to go into, the crappy restaurants, you name it. She has having the best time of her life, and it would only be better if she knew just who she was really holding hands with, who she was really dating. I knew for a fact that Zayn was her favorite member of One Direction, and she would be happy beyond anything I can imagine if she found out about him.

“I’m not going to pressure him.” I said with the shake of my head. “I’m just going to talk to him about it. To tell him some things about Marnie before he does.” then I look at the two who were smiling and talking quietly with each other just before they walk into the only ice cream parlor that was in the town. Then I look back at Louis. “Besides, I’m her best friend. I’m supposed to be looking out for her. It’s only natural if I have a talk with her boyfriend since I’m her best friend and it’s my job.”

Louis raises an eyebrow at me but shrugs a shoulder. “Alright, I see your point, but didn’t you talk to him when they first started dating?”

I shake my head yet again. “That was before I knew that he was Zayn Malik.” without letting him say another word, I walk away and go to the ice cream parlor. I see Marnie and Zayn, still holding hands, looking over the endless flavors that were up on the board. And by endless, I mean about fifteen. I come up next to them and look over at Zayn then bite my lip. I see now how blind I was. If you look closely, you can see that his blue eyes were contacts, and that the facial structure and skin tone was the same as the ones that I’ve seen online in pictures and videos. I couldn’t believe I was blind to see that.

“Ethan?” I asked softly, remembering to call him by his fake name in front of Marnie. “Can we talk for a minute?”

They both look over at me, and I try my hardest not to look over at Marnie. I can see the confusion and pain her eyes, though I try not to look at her because if I do I know that I’ll crack and hug her close to me and tell her everything that’s been going on. Just by the way that she looks at me I know that she can tell that I’m keeping secrets from her. If anyone could see that, it would be Marnie. I had to hold it in though.

“Yeah, sure.” he looks back at Marnie and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back.”

We walk out, and then go to the go to the end of deck and sit down on one of the benches. He looks at me for a moment then leans forward and looks out over the town. I look out at the town with him in silence, then sigh and shake my head.

“Louis told me everything.”

Zayn looks over at me, and his eyes are wide. I look back over at him with a calm expression on my face, my back pressed against the back of the bench. He looks over at Louis, who was with Liam and Niall, looking at the ice cream flavors with Marnie. He stared back in front of him, and sat up straight, then looked back at me.

“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me something about Marnie.” he says quietly.

“She’s smart, Zayn. Really smart.” I say softly. “She will figure it out on her own if you don’t tell her, and I know for a fact that she won’t be happy that you lied to her if you do. She hates it when people lie to her, and I hate lying to her. I really do. Lucian is in the same place as I am. He hates it as much as I do, if not more. We can’t keep secrets from her. And besides, she already figured it out.” I tell him.

He looks at me confused. “What do you mean she already figured it out?”

I sigh and shake my head then look at my hands. “That day that you guys came over to swim, but didn’t, when she whispered in my ear she told me that she had a suspicion, and that One Direction was on our property. I laughed at her at the time, but dammit, Zayn, she was right. She was freaking right. Like I said, she’s really smart, and she already figured it out.”

Zayn looked back at Marnie and took a deep breath. Then he looked down at his hands, and rubbed his face with them. “Dammit.” he mumbled. “I will tell her, I just need to have the right moment.” he then looks at me again. “Please, keep this secret for a bit longer. I’ll tell her eventually, I just want to do it on my own terms.”

I nod, which makes him sigh and rub his face once more. I stare at the cars going by on the highway as he gets up and starts to walk back towards the ice cream parlor, where everyone had gathered now. I guess that they decided to get ice cream for breakfast instead of fast foods…

I watch as he walks up behind Marnie and snakes his arms around her waist, and then leans his head on her shoulder. I can’t see her reaction, because their backs are to me, but then my eyes land on another face. It was Louis. He was looking straight at me, and he was looking at me with a concerned expression. He puts both thumbs up, as if asking if I was good. I give him a smile and put my thumb up, which seems good enough for him because he turns back around and ordered his ice cream. I watch all of my friends while biting my lip, then sigh and get up myself to join them, having an uneasy feeling in my stomach like something that wasn’t good was about to happen.