Can Love You More Than This (Narry)

Chapter 14.

Neither Niall nor Harry spoke of their night together as they arrived at the studio an hour later, but it didn’t stop some people from trying to find out…

“Psst, Harry!” Someone whispered with a hint of urgency in his voice. Harry stopped gazing at Niall, who was currently in the recording booth, and looked around, wondering who called his name. He spotted his favorite mop of brown hair, and grinned, walking over to Louis. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Shh!” Louis shushed him and pulled him into a nearby closet. He closed the door and turned on the lights, revealing Liam waiting in the corner. Harry frowned at the both of them, confused and a tad upset that they took him away from staring at Niall’s nice, pale, shirtless chest.

Like he hadn’t seen it before.

Louis noticed the slight pout in his expression and snickered. “Sorry we had to take you away from your eye-candy moment,” he laughed softly, reading Harry’s mind. The younger boy glared at him, but Louis smiled wider. Harry looked at Liam for help.

“What happened last night?” Louis asked, he and Liam smiling as though they already knew. Harry blushed instantly. “Well, uh, Niall came over…Liam, why’d you leave him at my place?” Harry let out a small whine, even though he completely happy that he did. Liam chuckled.

“We heard from Lou here that you were alone for Valentine’s Day,” he started. “Niall was worried something was wrong, since when is the Harry Styles alone?  So he wanted to do something for you.”

Harry raised a brow and put his hands on his hips. “Did you guys have plan this?” he asked. Louis snickered again and Liam blushed. “A little,” he admitted. “But I can assure you, it was Niall’s idea to pop over and give you some company. I just knew you wanted to be alone with him so I made up some bogus excuse not to come in.” He smiled at Harry sheepishly.

The youngest boy rolled his eyes and smiled. Louis nudged him. “What happened last night?” he repeated, his patience waning.

Harry smiled at the memory. “Oh, nothing,” he blushed again. Louis frowned and stepped forward. “I know that expression. Nothing didn’t happen,” he said, looking at Harry’s deep green eyes. Harry giggled, turning redder by the minute. “Nothing really happened Lou! We watched a movie and he carried me to bed and we cuddled and that’s it.”

Liam smiled. “Did you tell him?”

Harry pouted. “No! But that’s because you interrupted with your phone call this morning. Talk about bad timing Lou!”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Why didn’t you wait until after them?”

Harry huffed and rolled his eyes. “You sort of killed the moment,” he sighed, even though that wasn’t entirely true. They did cuddle afterwards, didn’t they? “Look you guys, thanks for helping, but I don’t think he loves me. He loves…her” his heart clenched once more as he thought of Ariette “and not me.  I’m only a friend to him,” he said softly. Liam shook his head. “You’re wrong Harry,” he said. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Both boys looked at him. “What?” Harry asked, confused.

“What do you mean Li?”

Liam gave them both a cheeky smile and pulled out his phone. “Remember that one night when Niall was completely shitfaced not too long ago?” he asked. Harry blushed, as this was the exact same night Niall drunk-fucked him. Both boys nodded, wondering where the boy was going with this. Liam scrolled though his phone and pulled up a video. Harry and Louis hovered over his shoulder as he pressed play. Niall’s face, although plastered, made Harry blush easily, which didn’t go unnoticed.

“Aw, Harry!” Louis cooed. Harry turned a deeper shade and punched him in the shoulder. Louis let out a small cry in pain and Harry smiled. Liam shushed them both and they returned to watch the video.

“Niall, what’s your deepest, darkest secret?” Liam’s voice asked in the video. Niall looked at the camera with a small smile. “My darkest, deepest secret is…” he started drunkenly. Harry gripped Liam’s shoulders in anticipation.

“…I’m in love with someone,” he giggled. Real-life Liam chuckled, knowing what Niall was going to say. “Who? Ariette?” the Liam in the video asked. Niall shook his head and giggled childishly once more. “Yes, I love Ariette; that’s why I’m dating her,” he pushed him playfully. Harry’s heart sank and dropped his head. Niall didn’t love him. He never did.

“But…” Niall’s voice slurred, causing Harry’s head to snap back up to watch the video. “There’s someone else I love more than her.”

“Then why are you dating her, if there’s someone else?”

“Because…because I didn’t think I’d stand a chance,” he whispered softly.

“Who is it?” Liam’s voice was just as low as Niall’s. The Irish lad blushed, the deepest shade of red Harry has ever seen. He gave behind-the-camera Liam a shy smile and looked around, as if that person was in the room. He then propped his head on his hands adorably.

“’Arry…” he whispered.

“Harry Styles?” Video Liam asked, confused. Harry’s heart raced as he waited for the answer. Niall nodded and the video ended. Both Louis and Liam looked at Harry with wide grins on their faces.

“Why did you stop there?” Harry pouted, eager to know more. Niall loved him? He still couldn’t believe it.

Liam shrugged. “Zayn came back with Nando’s and you know how even drunk Niall is when there’s Nando’s in the room,” he chuckled, looking at the younger boy with a gleam in his eyes. “Now you know. Niall loves you.”

Harry blushed. He didn’t know what to say.

“He’s still dating Ariette though,” he frowned.

“Yeah, but if he knew you love him as much as he loves you…” Louis trailed off.

“I don’t even think he knows he loves me,” Harry whispered quietly, still thinking of that night. Liam looked at Louis and sighed. “You don’t know until you tell him,” he responded.

Harry shook his head. He didn’t want to ruin the friendship that he and Niall had, the friendship he cherished so much because he was in love with the boy who may or may not love him back.

“Thanks guys, thanks for trying to help,” he smiled at them weakly and left the closet. As so as the door closed behind him, Louis looked at Liam. “Plan B?” he asked. Liam nodded. “It looks like we have to…”

Harry sighed as his mind processed what he learned. That night suddenly made more sense to him, if it was true. But Niall loving him? It was still unbelievable.

He had just made it to the snack room when he heard somebody calling for him.  “Harry! Harry!”

Harry froze, knowing exactly whom that voice belonged to. He turned around, trying to pretend he didn’t know everything he just learned not too long ago. That the boy who was calling his name loved him.

“What’s up Niall?” he asked.