A/N Hey guys, sorry if I caused any confusion with the last update. It will all make sense soon, I swear! Anyways, thanks for reading. Please comment, vote, fan, ya know. Here’s chapter 20. Enjoy! (: xx
Zayn’s POV
I chuckled as I walked away from Niall and Liam. No, none of what I said was true. Sure, Harry had been saying stuff to Liam all day, but nothing as dirty as that. So why did I tell Niall that? Well, two reasons. One, Niall will get jealous, which is exactly our plan. Well, that’s what Harry thinks. I actually just want him to get fed up with all these games and tell Harry how he feels, because really? Who pretends they’re sleeping with their best mate to get someone to like them? Well, it did kinda work, but whatever.
The second reason I told him that was to make Liam blush. Liam is pretty much the cutest person I’ve ever seen. He’s like a really, really, sexy puppy dog, but when he gets uncomfortable, he blushes 57 shades of red, and it’s honestly the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed. So yeah, I like to make him blush. And it’s not like it’s hard to do.
I looked back over my shoulder to see Harry talking to Liam and Niall. I grinned when I saw Niall. He looked like a little kid who’d just been caught taking the last cookie from the jar.
My grin vanished when I saw Liam looking up the hill towards me. I’m not sure if I imagined the look of longing on his face or not. Dammit, Liam! I don’t deserve you! I’m trying to show you that, and you’re not making it any easier. I groaned. Why did I have to fall for someone who’s so far out of my league? He’s so perfect he’s basically in a separate league all on his own. He’s just too good for a worthless piece of trash like me, no matter how much I want him. I sighed, turned, and continued back towards the school. I hope everything works out for Harry.
Harry’s POV
I walked up to Liam and Niall. I saw Zayn leave and I’m not sure what he said, but Liam was redder than a tomato, and Niall looked a bit uncomfortable. I bit my lip to hold back any sounds as I saw Niall reach down to adjust his pants, and then coughed awkwardly to get his attention. He looked up, startled, an extremely guilty expression on his face.
“Uh, hey guys,” I said, trying not to look at Niall. He still had that expression, and I couldn’t handle the cuteness. It just…it made me want to kiss him so badly and that would ruin Zayn’s plan, so I controlled myself.
“Hey Harry,” Liam said, the blush receding a bit, so I winked at him. That brought it back full force. This guy is too easy.
“H-hey,” Niall stuttered, and I grinned at him, showing off my dimples. Hey, it works on all the girls. I was gratified when his cheeks turned a slight pink.
“Are you coming to practice Niall?” I asked him, and he nodded.
“You too, Liam?” I asked him, purposely making my voice a little deeper. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I uh…I mean…I’m always there, Harry.” I nodded as if I’d forgotten.
“That’s right…you’re the one with the tight six pack,” I flirted, and he looked away uncomfortably.
“Yeah…that’s him,” Niall said, sounding a little breathless. He put his arm around Liam’s waist, and I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Why was this not working? Isn’t he supposed to get jealous or something? Zayn said he would…what the hell does Zayn know? I’ve got a new plan. I’ll just flirt with Niall. Then he’ll know that I like him, and maybe he’ll choose me over Liam…I can only hope. I nodded decisively to myself.
“So, Niall, are you any good at soccer?” I asked him. He shook his head.
“No, uh, not really. I mean, I used to play a bit, but I haven’t in a few years.” I had a brilliant idea.
“You should try out tonight,” I suggested.
“We could use a cute blond on the team,” I added flirtatiously, and he blushed and made a weird choking noise. Liam pulled him closer, whispering something in his ear. He flushed from his ears down to what I could see of his neck.
“I-I uh…I don’t h-have any gear,” he stuttered, and Liam laughed at him. I frowned. It’s my job to make him laugh. He stuck his tongue out at Liam, and Liam whispered something else to him. His eyes grew impossibly wide, and he looked back at Liam with a panicked expression. It was starting to bug me. I’m still here…
“You can borrow some of my gear if you want, Niall?” I smiled, and he looked back at Liam before he nodded hesitantly.
“Yeah, sure…ok. I’ll do it.” I cheered inside my head and refrained from doing a victory dance.
“Awesome,” I grinned, and he grinned back happily. I want to see that expression on his face all the time. It’s beautiful.
We arrived at the locker rooms, and I gave him some gear. He walked over to a bench next to Liam and began to strip. I tried not to watch, I really did, but he was so fit…I did manage not to drool, but only just.
I was preparing myself to go flirt some more when Liam pulled off his shirt, and Niall gasped out loud. I frowned. His body couldn’t be that good. I sneaked a glance and inhaled sharply at what I saw.
There was a large bruise on his stomach. It covered the top half of his six pack and spread over his ribs on one side. It was an awful dark purple color, and that coupled with the bruise from when I punched him made him look like he’d just been in an awful fight. An awful thought occurred to me. That…that couldn’t have been me right? I replayed the scene in my head and decided that I couldn’t have caused this, mentally sighing in relief.
I glanced over again to see Liam wincing as Niall lightly traced his fingers over the bruise. It was so gentle and loving that I couldn’t help but be jealous. I mentally smacked myself. I have no right to be jealous of this situation. Liam is seriously hurt. Niall looked up at Liam and whispered something I couldn’t hear. Liam looked up at the ceiling before he whispered something back. I caught part of what he said though.
“Did I mention I ran into my father?” Niall frowned deeply, concern shining from his eyes as he wrapped Liam in a tight hug. Liam hugged him back; his face completely void of emotion, but his eyes told a different story.
I’d never seen this side of Liam. I’d never seen him be anything but happy and encouraging to others, and it was weird to see him needing a hug and trying to hide the pain he was obviously in.
My respect for Liam multiplied by 50 as I wondered how many other times things like this had happened and no one had known. I frowned to myself. I have to stop this plan. I have to stop. Niall and Liam…if they care about each other…and they want each other…who I am to ruin that? I want Niall to be happy more than anything, and Liam, well, he obviously needs Niall. I can’t ruin that.
I felt my heart break a little bit as I looked up to see Niall and Liam smiling at each other. I give up. I give up on Niall. I forced a smile onto my face as I decided to give up the boy I love. If it makes him happy, I’ll do it. I’ll make him happy, whatever that takes.
