Bittersweet

7

Quickly, I got to my feet and taken my Fin as she took us to my bedroom, locking the door. Crap, she's gonna yell.

"Esme Rose Harris, you can't be so stupid!"

Five points for Esme. But she was right, I was acting like a teenager again, and those times weren't my brightest moments.

"If Niall was with us, I wouldn't even want to know what would've happened! Don't you understand he's as fragile as you? That boy is ready to break every time Harry is even breathing the same air as you! Now I know it's not my place, only those two know what happened to ruin there friendship, but what ever went down, it was bad. And lets not forget, it was about you." She rants and all I was thinking of how right she was.

"It's not that I don't want you with Harry, it's just that I don't want drama surrounding my wedding, so you'll wait till after to see where things go with you both."

"I get it, I'm not even sure if I want things to go anywhere with him," I sigh, "you know me."

"I do, now lets go have a peaceful group dinner with no drama, alright?" She pleads. "You know what group of people you're talking about." I stare at her as I pick my jacket up and follow her out my room. "Sadly." She mumbles before walking over to Zayn.

"Uh, can we talk first?" Harry asks, pulling me by the arm. No, I hate talking about my emotions. Fuck, I told my ex I was breaking up with him in a letter that wasn't addresses to him and was super vague. Instead of saying what I truly want to say, I simple nod.

"I don't want to force you into anything, and honestly..." He stops and grunts, rubbing the back of his neck and paces. Wow, it was that hard for him? "Honestly I don't want to be a rebound for him. I want you to be with me for me, but I don't want to rush into anything if you don't."

"There's nothing to worry about, he's engaged and nothing is changing that. But I don't want to rush into this, especially with our past and all." I say and it feels weird to acknowledge the engagement. "Good. So slow?" He grins with hope filled eyes. "Slow." I agree, taking his hand and pulling him out of the apartment.

Great, now this is going to be awkward.

"I like your bum, Harris." Harry says quickly before kicking my butt with his knee and jogging up to get away from me. "I'd say the same but there's nothing there." I kick his ass back. He laughs and wraps his arm around my neck, pulling me up with him.

Slow. Slow. Slow.

*

Niall's POV

"Come on babe, you look stunning as usual." I tell Emma who claimed she needed to reapply her makeup before going into the restaurant. I move my head and rest it on her shoulder, staring as she fixes her lipstick. "You don't need that baby." I whisper, kissing her neck, causing her to blush.

"Alright, I'm done!" She raises her hands in defense and opens the car door. I bite back my laughter, knowing how much she wanted to impress my friends since they were all here for the first time in a while. Well, minus Liam, but he was busy being a big shot college kid.

"Reservations under Zayn Malik?" I say to the waiter who nods and begins to lead us there. It seemed as though we were the last to show as I notice all the seats except two occupied. My body tenses when I see Esme leaning into Harry, but I shouldn't care. I should hate her and him. But I don't. I should say she looks like a hag or something, but she doesn't. She looks so much better and I can't come to the fact she wasn't the one I knelt down too and proposed too. But Emma. She was the most beautiful and thoughtful girl I've been with since Esme. I love Emma, and I loved Esme.

"I'm mad Niall's a grooms men, what about me?" I hear Louis complain. "I'm just cooler." I shrug and laugh. "Oh please, you were a replacement for Caspar!" Fin shots me down but laughs too.

"Caspar Ryan? Man could that guy throw a party." West adds. It was true, Caspar was your crazy friend that partied nonstop, manages to make really good pay off who knows and the one who just never grows up after finishing high school. He made me remember Luke, who instead turning out like Caspar, something we all expected of him, he ended up in the army. Right, Luke in the army?

"You still have that shirt Niall?" Esme, who sat directly across from me, says with a cute smile. No, I can't say that, she left you Niall, don't forget that.

"Er, yeah." I reply as though I'm irritated, getting a punch on the leg from Emma. Esme looks taken back but doesn't say anything more and goes back to twirling Harry's rings. "Uh, yeah, I'm surprised it still fits me."

She looks at me with a shock expression along with everyone else at the table.

"I guess I was just a good shirt giver." She says with a tiny laugh. "Wait, you gave him this shirt?" Emma questions, sounding more surprised than annoyed. Which in fact annoyed me. Shouldn't she be jealous?

"Oh. Yeah, it was for his...thing that happened then." Esme tells her, choosing words carefully. "She means my court date." I clear up fiancé's confusion. "I think she would know something so important in my life, Esme."

My words register in my head and I look up at her. She's staring down, blinking extra hard and biting down on her bottom lip as she nods way to much for normal. Zayn, Matt, West and Louis looks like they're about ready to kill me as is everyone, actually. "You're right, but even if it wasn't important to you, she'd still deserve to know." Harry speaks up, stirring his new drink and stares at me with a clenched jaw.

"Oh you guys, it's not all that serious!" Emma laughs, completely oblivious of Harry's indirect. "Aha, right?" Esme says as she still stares at her lap. "Excuse me, but I need to go to the bathroom."

Go after her, Niall.

I can't though, it'd be obvious to Emma and that wouldn't look good for me. I can't.

"Actually, I think I need to go to." I try to be nonchalant as I slide out my chair and walk to the restrooms. There's a line for the woman's, but there's no Esme. But then I catch her brown hair through the window, and I make a dash for the door to catch her.

What the fuck am I doing?

"Esme! Wait, Esme!" I call after her.

"Esme I'm sorry but she can't know about us." I say as I jog besides her.

No answer. Of course.

"You wouldn't understand if I told you why and I---"

"I wasn't fucking important in your life?" She asks, flushed by the cold winds and her tears. I hate seeing her like this. My hand reaches for her cheek but she pushes it away. "Wasn't I the one who stood by you when you thought all was lost?"

"Esme, it's freezing, you don't have your jacket, take mine." I offer but she slaps that away too.

"I fucking loved you. I fucking ruined my relationship with my father for you. I brought my little brother into our mess, for you. Fucking you. I had the worst senior year because of all the shit I was put through but I still loved it because I had you, yet I'm not that fucking important for the girl you're planning to marry to know about? I'm so pissed I wasted moments hating myself for hurting you when you're just the biggest asshole I've ever met."

She gave me the dirtiest look and began walking away again.

No Niall, don't. Don't say it.

"The asshole who followed you to Australia just to see the girl he loved with another guy."

She stops in her tracks and slowly turns around.

(A/N HOLY POOOP. What's gonna happen? If you wanna know sooner, make sure to COMMENT what you think, VOTE right after, and SHARE with your peeps!!! (: love y'all!! Ox, Dee)