Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Four

I just wanted to say thank you to all of the people who commented on the previous chapter. I literally cried when I read through the comments. I'm more hyped up than ever to write thanks to you guys! I hope that you guys continue to stick with me till the end! I wanted to dedicate this chapter to SheMoansNialler for the kind words xx

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❝LIAM❞

As I saw the two of them from a distance, my hand reflexively released Eleanor's. She glanced up at me curiously before she followed my gaze and noticed Niall and Louis crouched on the ground. She stopped in her tracks as well and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the sight before us.

Despite them appearing to be seemingly lost in their own world, Niall must have noticed us; he quickly scrambled to his feet and dusted his knees free of dust. He began to tug Louis' arms in an attempt to pull him up with him, but the latter refused to stand and continued to sulk on the ground. Niall tugged one last time, much more forceful this time around, earning a glare from Louis.

Before returning to his prior state, however, that was when he finally noticed Eleanor. Louis steadily rose to his feet with great speed; despite of the burst of energy, his body remained limp and lifeless in Niall's arms.

As my eyes trained on their close proximity, I felt my chest tightening a bit. Strangely enough, these chest pains have been occurring frequently; there has to be no way that I could be developing some sort of heart issues, right?

Eleanor cautiously stepped towards the two. "What's wrong, Louis?" she asked, adjusting the bag on her shoulder as she spoke. Her eyes flickered towards Niall, silently asking him why Louis was behaving in such a manner.

Louis awkwardly shifted in Niall's arms; the smaller lad began rubbing his back, encouraging him to speak. "N-nothing," he stuttered, glancing up at her momentarily and catching her gaze. His eyes immediately drooped and he continued to stare at the ground.

As I watched him sulk, things finally began to click in my head and I felt a snicker threatening to slip past my lips; of course something was wrong. Who wouldn't be swimming with jealousy when they saw the girl of their dreams with her boyfriend?

All of a sudden, a brilliant idea came to me; I could help set up an arrangement for them to meet; certainly Eleanor had a small interest in Louis and I could somehow play that to my advantage and help her open up to other options. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about breaking her heart and she would finally be with a man who could properly treat her the way she that deserved to be treated.

The thing was, Eleanor and I had been friends since kindergarten; we've known each other for so long that we're practically siblings. Our mums were college roommates, and their bond was what kept us together. Of course I loved Eleanor; just not romantically.

She was always the type to chase after all sorts of bad boys and she'd only come to me when they broke her heart. One day, when her relationship with the previous lad ended, she came to my house, crying. I couldn't just leave her there, so I invited her in and made her a cup of tea.

Eleanor had sat on the sofa, curled up, crying softly to herself. Seeing Eleanor sad broke my heart. The only thing I could do was wrap her in my arms and whisper words of encouragement into her ear.

A few hours after the surprise house-crashing, soft snores had began to escape her lips. Slipping out from underneath her, I made my way over to the cabinet to retrieve a blanket.

"Please don't leave me," she mumbled, eyes hazy from sleep.

She had propped herself up onto the sofa with the support of one arm, intently watching me. Before I could respond, she lowered herself back onto the sofa, and silence engulfed the house once more.

"I won't."

I had woken up the next day with Eleanor beside me. Smiling, I reached over and pulled her into an embrace. Her eyes fluttered open and met mine.

"You're not like the others, Liam," she said. "You're kind."

I hushed her and ran my thumb over the red bags under her eyes. Her makeup had worn off over the night and her eyes were red from crying.

She leaned towards me and rested her head on my chest. I ran a hand through her hair, earning a soft giggle.

"Liam?" she then said, tilting her face up to meet mine. "Will you be with me?"

I never once stopped regretting the spontaneous choice that I had made that day. I'd never been in love before so I didn't really know what love was. I only knew that I'd rather punch myself in the face than make Eleanor cry.

Here I was, standing face to face with a man who loved her more than I could begin to comprehend; I'd be Satan if I were to sit back and do nothing.

"Can I borrow Niall for a second?" I blurted, raising my hand in the air like a proper primary school student waiting to be called on by the teacher.

I quickly shot past Eleanor and grabbed Niall by the wrist, dragging him away with me. A huge smile was plastered across my face as I thought about how happy Eleanor and Louis would be together once I was through with them.

As I pushed open the door at the end of the hallway, Niall pulled his hand away from me. "What is it, Liam?" he asked.

I was a little hurt by his actions. In one swift motion, I pulled him back into my arms and pressed my lips against his ear. He shuddered under my touch. For a moment, my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my throat. How unhealthy.

I began to explain to him my relationship with Eleanor and my desire to help Louis. As the story progressed, Niall's eyes widened but he didn't respond. He closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing in deep thought. After what seemed like ages, he slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm sure Louis would like that."

His words didn't match his face or his voice. Sadness was intertwined in his voice and sorrow was etched all over his face.

"Niall," I said, cupping his cheeks with my hands. "Are you alright?"

He smiled and nodded. Lies.

❝NIALL❞

There was always something about the way that Liam looks at me that makes me feel completely exposed. Even though I was trying so hard to hide it, I'm certain Liam was still able to detect my true feelings.

I honestly didn't want Liam helping Louis out, but that would make me such a terrible person. You know those cliché moments when people say that they'd rather see the love of their life be happy even if it was with another person? No matter how hard I tried to be that type of person, I couldn't. I just found it is so unfair. If we loved someone so much, why couldn't we have them? Why couldn't they just love us back?

Liam draped an arm over my shoulder and began leading me back to where we had left the Louis and Eleanor. As soon as we opened the door, the hall was filled with laughter. I glanced up and saw the two of them, huge grins plastered across their faces. In that very moment, I realized that even if I was dead and gone, Louis still probably wouldn't miss me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, removing Liam's arm from my shoulders. "I just want to be alone right now."

Liam opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, I was already gone. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I couldn't stay here.

"Niall!"

"Don't follow me!" I shouted. I had no desire in spilling out my secrets to anybody, especially not Liam.

"Why?" He grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me into his arms.

I've been trying so, so hard not to cry, but the moment when his arms wrapped around me, for the first time in forever, I felt loved. I silently dug my face into his chest and cried.

"It's ok, Niall," he whispered.