.Ch. 5
Niall's multiple failed attempts to pull me into the party scene resulted in him halfway giving up and me getting to know Harry.
It was a typical Friday night for us. Niall and Amira dancing their clothes off, literally sometimes, Effy somewhere getting completely and totally stoned, Louis drinking everything in plain sight. I wasn't a huge fan of this atmosphere. It wasn't that I was uncomfortable - for lack of better term, I was aware of everything around me at all times. I liked to be. Obviously, Harry and I were similar in this way. Usually, wherever the party was, we found a cozy, quiet place to sit. And talk. And that's all we needed to have a satisfying time.
I felt as if Niall didn't care about my presence, whether I was there or not. But then there were those times when I was in the kitchen, grabbing another 6-pack for Harry and I, and Niall would just come up behind me and smother me in kisses. His breath was faint with alcohol and his neck was sweaty, and it was the best thing I've ever felt in my life.
Niall didn't pressure me to do stuff, and this I liked. He wasn't overprotective of me and trusted me to hang around his guy friends. I trusted him and Amira as well. After all, they were my best friends.
Harry and my spot for the evening was the host's attic. It had a window with a full view of the stars, and the only thing in the room was a futon mattress and a small desk lamp. I flicked it on and the room brightened.
"So," I flopped onto the mattress next to Harry, who was cracking open the pack of good 'ol Sam Adams. He passed one to me, and I accepted gratefully, chugging the cold and curling my hands around the bottle.
"So," he retorted, flipped his mass of curls to look up at me.
"Something's up," I sensed, noticing how oddly quiet Harry was tonight compared to others spent by talking my ear off.
We sat there for a moment, downing our beers, soon reaching for another.
"It's Louis," he gave in, most likely due to the alcohol.
"What about Louis?"
"I feel like he doesn't love me anymore," Harry looked so vulnerable I had to sit up and squeeze him, hard.
"How can you say that? Louis is absolutely head over heels in love with you. There is no doubt about that. I really don't think anything could make that change," I rubbed soothing circles on Harry's back; it wasn't hard to tell he was crying.
"I just feel like- I feel like he expects more of me. What if he wants me to, like, commit? I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"Don't you love him?" I was just confused now.
"Of course I do... I'm just scared of the future, you know? We're so young."
"I know." I whispered into his neck. I understood Harry. It was sort of similar to Niall's and my situation. Did Niall want me to commit to anything? Or was this just a summer fling?
Ten minutes passed with Harry buried into my shoulder. Slowly, I eased him off, muttering something about getting more beer. The party buzzed on just below me, bass pumping in my ears. I slipped down the attic's opening in the ceiling and landed in the hallway. The kitchen was surprisingly empty, but the closet, however, wasn't.
"We can't keep doing this," an Irish-accented voice whispered. Niall? I couldn't tell. Maybe I should lay off the beer for a bit.
I shuffled around the stranger's kitchen, trying to find some beer, anything. I stood up straight after peeking into the nearly emptied fridge, and met Zayn's perplexed look.
