Happily (Niall Horan)

Chapter Thirty-One: Guilt Trip

Saturday, July 15, 2012:
Presley:
"So how exactly are we going to do this?" I ask Eleanor, who was brushing her hair while I sit on my bed in the hotel room.
"Barbara is going to the spa in about five minutes which leaves Niall on his own for about an hour and a half. That's how much time we have to talk to him."
"Like that's going to work," I roll my eyes but I catch her smirk in the mirror.
"It will work."
"How?"
"We're going to guilt trip him," she says proudly and I hold back a smile.
"But I thought you guys didn't have a plan except show him the video?"
"Well we do now," Eleanor replies, setting the brush down before checking her watch. "Let's go."
I get up and follow her out the door, making sure I have my phone and hotel card in my hand.
This vacation has been...interesting with all the drama yet boring at the same time because the guys have been working a lot. Since we're leaving tomorrow afternoon, they get a day off which leaves us one last chance to smack some sense into Niall. I did have to promise to Liam that I won't hurt him anymore though, so talking will do.
I hear a beep and El looks at her phone. "Barbara just left. Liam and Dani are going to stand outside the door, while Zayn and Louis are going to be the lookouts for Barbara."
"What about Harry?" I question.
"He's going to be with us."
"Why?"
"To hold you back in case you loose your cool," she says seriously in her Manchester accent.
I scoff, "I've never lost my cool."
"Yeah and I've met the Queen," she replies sarcastically. "I chose him because he knows how to deal with your attitude."
"Hey!" Eleanor gives me a look and I look at the floor. "Okay fine, but if he picks me up again, it's him that's going to make me 'loose my cool.'"
"Eh, fair enough," she shrugs with a smile as we approach Danielle and Liam, with Harry by their side.
"Ready guys?" Dani rubs her hands together excitedly.
"I was born ready," Liam mumbles. "I'm sick of his attitude, and that's coming from me!"
"Well hopefully this will fix it," Eleanor comments optimistically. Harry knocks on the door while I take a deep breath. In case Niall looks through the peep hole, we have Dani and Liam stay out of range until we get safely inside the room.
The door opens and Niall stands there rubbing his eyes in black sweatpants and his Crazy Mofos T-shirt. I bite back a proud grin when I see a small fading black and blue ring under his left eye, as he notices us.
"Um, hi?" He greets tiredly, totally confused. The three of us don't even reply, but push through the door and go to sit on the beds or chairs. "What's going on?" Niall asks, closing it behind him as he walks over to us. "I thought you guys were mad at me."
"And we thought you were mad at us yet you opened the door," I say with tint of sass.
"What do you want?"
El sighs, "We need to talk to you."
"About?"
"What do you think, genius?" I comment and Harry places a hand over my mouth. I scowl but let El do the talking.
"We need to talk about Hayleigh." His eyes droop as he gets a water from the mini-fridge.
"What about her?" Niall sighs and I tilt my head when I see he's not mad when we mention her name.
I try to say something but am mumbled by Harry's hand. I look with no amusement at Harry who looks at El, who thankfully nods. He removes it and I clear my throat. "I'm trying to say, I'm sick of the way you've been treating her."
"Did you forget the way she told Barbara to die?" I inhale deeply before staring at him.
"Did you forget that Hayleigh has been with you through everything? She has never left your side, and supports you with everything she's got."
"She doesn't support my relationship," Niall defends and I roll my eyes.
"No one supports-"
"Anyways," El cuts me off. "You guys can't possibly...be done with each other."
"Hey," he gives a forced chuckle. "I'm not the one who left."
"But you're the one who caused it," Eleanor reminds him. "Did you ever think how much it hurt her when you said you wished you never met her?"
"She hasn't been with me through everything," Niall replies instead, slightly changing the subject.
"Wanna bet?" Harry raises an eyebrow.
"What about the time Hayleigh visited you on tour?" I say and the Irishman looks at me.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"The concert she saw was when you had cried on stage over a mean poster from a hateful fan," I answer and he looks at the ground, fumbling with his fingers in his lap. "As soon as you stepped off stage, Hayleigh was glued to your side until you felt better."
"So."
"What about the time you felt homesick so she set up a Skype call with your family?" His face breaks for a second, a tiny smile at the edge of his lips.
"Remember when Hayleigh went with you to the studio and fought with you against management who wanted you to only play guitar on a song?" Harry questions.
"Yeah, she wouldn't stand for it," Niall gives a small laugh. "She was there for me until management caved in, and threatened them to never treat people like that."
"I can recall once when you had gotten mobbed and had lost your favorite hat. It was a very bad day for you but Hayleigh made a fool out of herself until she saw you smile," Harry states.
"Oh I know that one," I smile myself. "I had asked Hayleigh why she did that and she replied, 'I love his smile and I'd do anything to keep it on his face.'" Without showing teeth, Niall smiles softly at the floor, his blue eyes slightly shining.
"Then there's the time when you insulted her, yet she didn't shed a tear or anything. She stood there, taking the heat while you let off steam."
"When was that?" He asks and I sigh.
"Thursday night," Harry informs Niall, whose smile fades as he remembers that fight.
"She stood there," Eleanor goes into detail, "while you yelled at her, hurt her mentally, not saying anything in fear of making it worse."
"When Harry and I got back to the room that night, you want to know what we saw?" I ask but he shakes his head furiously.
"No, stop it."
"We saw her crying-while she was asleep. She was curled up in the covers, but her hand was clutching the guitar necklace you gave her," Harry tells and I smile sadly at Ni, who had tears welling up in his eyes.
"She was wearing one of your sweaters. When I saw that, I felt like the worst person in the world because I couldn't protect my best friend again."
"What do you mean again?" Niall's voice cracks out.
"She never told you, did she?" Eleanor asks softly and Niall shakes his head.
"When we were young, Hayleigh was bullied," I say first, gulping. "It happened all through middle school."
"Oh my god," Niall whispers.
"She was verbally abused by everyone in the halls, her confidence ripped to shreds every single day just because of some issues at home. When I watched you yell at her, I saw the fear and pain in her eyes because it reminded her of the past." Niall squeezes his eyes shut, gently tugging at the ends of his hair.
"How could someone ever bully Hayleigh?" He murmurs.
"How could you insult her?" Harry retaliates.
"Why did they do it?" Niall looks at me, his blue eyes now looking like navy seas, with some wet tears on his face.
"I'm not going to tell you, she has to when the time is right," I say, shaking my head.
"Why are you guys telling me this?" He cries softly.
"Because you made a mistake," El responds.
"And it's time you fix it," I add. He sniffles as he wipes the tears.
"How? She will never forgive me. I wouldn't even forgive me."
I look at the other two nervously before saying, "You need to break up with Barbara."
His head shoots up, "Why?"
"Because this whole mess started with her," Harry comments. "You guys have barely fought before she came along."
"Presley and I have something to show you," Eleanor bites her lip and I hold out my phone. She holds up Dani's and I sigh.
"Why are you showing me those?" Niall questions, puzzled.
"Watch," I instruct him and he nods as I push play.
As the video presses on, his eyes get wider and his jaw gets lower.
Barbara out of the blue slaps her across the face. Hayleigh clutches her cheek in pain, and tears begin rolling down her face. The witch closes in on her face, "Listen here, bitch. I've told you once and I'll say it again, Niall doesn't like you. He feels sorry for the stupid excuse of a human being that you are. Stay away from my boyfriend."
"How dare she!" Niall shouts but El gently places her hand on his shoulder.
"There's more. Here's what really happened on Thursday night."
She presses play and the anger in Niall grows as he learns the truth.
"I've told you a few times this week but it seems like you can't get it through your thick head. You, are a pathetic excuse for a human being who doesn't deserve anything but death. Just kill yourself already. What are you waiting for?" That's enough to send him over the edge. He pushes the phone away but we continue.
However after the video ends, Niall doesn't scream or yell. He simply buries his face in his hands and begins crying. The three of us exchange glances; we didn't expect this.
"Niall?" I call his name and he looks up.
"I'm the worst person in the world," he sobs, shaking his head. "She was trying to tell me the truth but I wouldn't even look at her! I told my best friend I wished I'd never even met her. I didn't mean it! I don't mean it!" He cries out and Harry pulls him into a hug. "How could I tear her down like that?"
"You need to fix this," I tell him seriously. "You know the truth now, so do something about it."
He nods but looks at me, "I don't even know where she went." I avoid the cracking of his voice and stay focused.
"She's in New York," I say, even though I wasn't supposed to. "Said she would meet me back in London."
"Do you think she'd meet us at the airport?" Niall softly asks and I go to deny but El gives me a look.
Sighing I say, "Maybe."
"Hayleigh defended you, ya know," Harry speaks up. "Even when you'd spend time with the witch instead of her, she still didn't allow even us to insult you. And boy did we want to insult you."
Niall glances up at us, "Could you guys ever forgive me for treating you like that? You don't believe how big of douche I feel like right now." We all grin at him before pulling him a hug.
"Of course," El assures.
"Awe man," a voice speaks up and we pull away to see Louis, Dani, Zayn, and Liam standing there with smiles etched on their faces. "I told you we'd miss the group hug," Lou complains, walking over to us.
The rest of them race over, pulling Niall into a big hug. "I'm so sorry guys," he says in the middle of our bundle of love. "Please forgive me."
"Consider yourself forgiven," Dani widely smiles.
"Glad to have you back, mate," Liam comments, patting his brother on the back.
"And what the hell is going on here?" A familiar snotty voice enters my ears and my lips immediately scowl.
Niall steps forward, "We were just talking." His voice sounds too fake right now and when he winks, I know he's acting.
"About what?" The devil crosses her arms over her chest.
"About how what a deceitful, lying bitch you are," he answers, with a wide smile in a high octave.
Her jaw drops in shock, "Excuse me?"
"Guess who found out the truth, Barb?" I smirk triumphantly and her expression turns into a sad one. Here she goes.
"Niall they're lying," she whines, wrapping her arm around his bicep. He gives her a disgusted look before yanking her off. Out of the corner of my eye, Lou sneakily pulls out his phone.
"You've been the one who is lying," he snaps. "Don't even think that you're going to get away with this. You are the one who insulted my best friend. You are the one who treated her like a piece of shit. I'm sick of you and your whiny attitude and how you made me turn against my own brothers! Go ahead and cry if you want but I know the truth and I'm not falling for your petty acting again." All of us are open-mouthed but proud of Niall for finally standing up.
Even Barbara was standing frozen, probably because she's not used to having a reality check. "You're forgetting that you insulted her too," she finally comments. "You're the one who made her run away like a baby, not me."
"You think I don't know that!?" Niall shouts angrily. "I know I hurt her and I regret it with every fiber in my being. I Because I let you mess up my head, I lost the one person I care about most! But I can guarantee that I will beg and plead for her forgiveness because she means everything to me, unlike you who deserves to-"
"Luckily for you, Barbzilla," I interrupt with a sickly sweet smile and she scowls at me, "we packed your bags for you. Goodbye."
Her eyes widen as she shrieks like an annoying dog, "Where am I supposed to go!?"
"We were nice enough to go ahead and buy you a plane ticket," El smirks.
"They were nice enough," I correct. "I would've been fine leaving you in the streets." I'm actually glad this plan worked because all of us would be out money if it didn't.
"I hope you guys rot in hell," she growls before taking her bright pink suitcase and wheeling it out of the room, slamming the door behind her for emphasis.
"Thank god that's over," Niall mumbles, burying his face in his hands.
"Step one, complete," I give Eleanor a high-five.
"Now Step-Two," the emotional Irish teen speaks, looking at all of us, "getting my best friend back."
A/N: Niall said it perfectly so I'll say it again, THANK God that's over!! I really hated Barbara in this story. Gosh, what a drama queen.
No offense to the real Barbara Palvin. I'm sure you're amazing in real life!
Anyways, this was a longer chapter but I didn't want to split it up. Hope you enjoyed it though!! Xx.
Don't be afraid to comment what you think Ni will do to get Hay's forgiveness.
Vote:)
Comment:) (Dedication Up For Grabs)
Stay Beautiful:)