You Think I Hate You? (Larry Stylinson AU) Stepbrothers

Chapter 12

Eventually, I arrived at my locker to find my best friend standing there as usual, although he wasn't wearing that wide grin on his face today. Apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling down this morning. "Morning, Liam," I greeted with a grimace as I put in my combination and opened my locker to get rid of my backpack and jacket.

"Hey," was the only thing he said, which made me more curious about what had happened to make him this sad.

I sneaked a glance at him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem very happy. Did something happen?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to upset him in case someone near him had died or something. Who knows, it could be anything.

A small, weak smile formed on his lips as he shook his head. "Nothing important. I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, you know?" He tried to joke, but not even a little kid would laugh at him, I was sure of it.

"Ha ha, very funny, Li. Now, tell me what really happened," I demanded, grabbing my Math books and closing my locker to face him.

Before he could open his mouth, though, a tap on my shoulder interrupted him. He stared at the person behind me weirdly, as if he had no idea why they would be there. Frowning, I turned around only to be met with a sight that made my eyes widen. No wonder Liam thought it was weird that he out of all people was here, trying to get my attention. "Niall?" I asked in confusion, raising my eyebrows at him. "What are you--"

The blonde-haired guy held up a hand with a grimace on his face, signaling me to keep my mouth shut. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior at the party Friday night. What I did was just uncalled for and I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I just... gosh, I'm so sorry," he said, running a hand through his blonde locks nervously with a pink blush tinting his cheeks.

I just shook my head, feeling a little awkward about the whole situation. I could still remember the way he had tried to make me dance with him and also the way he had tried to seduce me. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but he had been drunk after all, so I shouldn't blame him. Many people did weird things when they were intoxicated.

Liam's eyes stared at the side of my face now, a curious glint glistening in them. "Eh..." I trailed off uncertainly. "Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean anything, so relax. I'm not going to tell anyone, by the way," I promised, giving him a timid smile.

He furrowed his eyebrows together but didn't say anything, which I found a little weird. However, I didn't question it but just waited for him to finally open his mouth. "Cool. Thank you for understanding," he muttered before turning on his heel and walking away from us.

For a moment, I just stood there, following his figure until it disappeared around the corner. What the hell was that? And why would he even apologize in the first place? I mean, I thought it was obvious he didn't know what he was doing that night, and that he had just acted on the alcohol. It even surprised me that he remembered he had actually flirted with me, judging by his actions that evening. It all just really confused me, making me want to push it aside and think about something else instead. It was just too much for me to handle.

Thankfully, the bell snapped me out of my thoughts, and also saved me from being questioned by Liam about what had just happened. Though, I knew he would probably ask me about it as soon as he got the chance to, so it only helped me for the time being. But, at least that was something.

Together, Liam and I made our way to the Math classroom and joined the students who had already arrived there. The bell had rung, yes, but there were still quite a few people who weren't here yet, one of them being a certain feathery haired boy who lived in my house. I sat down in my seat, dropping my books on the desk in front of me as I waited for the class to start.