Let Me Be Your Last | z.m vs n.h fanfic [MAJOR EDITING]

Chapter 38

"Niall! Quick, come into the living room, I have something to say!" Liam called instantly. 

I trudged out of the kitchen and sat on the sofa, rolling my eyes. I really couldn't be bothered with this today. 

"Hurry up Niall," Liam ushered him along. There was something different about Niall, but I couldn't quite work out what it was. I frowned. No, I really had no idea.

“What is it Li?” Harry asked, grinning so that his dimples showed. Liam smiled gratefully at him, happy that someone was actually bothered by what he was saying.

"Ok, so the announcement is..." Liam paused, trying to be dramatic, but only adding to my annoyance. "I'm getting married!" 

I blinked a few times, and then stared at him. "You what?" 

"Yeah, I asked Hannah last night, and she said yes!" He nodded his head enthusiastically. 

"Wow, congratulations," I said, trying to feel happy for him. 

In reality, I was burning up with jealousy. Liam had found a girl who truly loved him, all I'd found was a player. The other boys all smiled and patted him on the back, while I stood there awkwardly. I wasn't in the mood for being happy for someone else when their relationship was working out, seeing as mine had fizzled and died before there was even anything there. 

Yes, I was a selfish idiot.

We eventually all settled back down onto the sofas to watch some rubbish daytime television. I flicked aimlessly through the channels, ignoring the other's protests when they saw that I skipped past Jeremy Kyle and Friends. 

I settled on some house renovation programme that none of us had any interest in and closed my eyes, hoping to gain some sleep. It was no use. My mind was racing with everything that had happened over the past few weeks, and the others seemed to be louder than usual, meaning that falling asleep was hopeless. 

I rubbed my eyes and sat up, giving up on a nap. The television show really wasn't capturing my interest, so I tried to figure out what was different about Niall. 

I watched him carefully, taking in every detail. He was acting a little distant, but other than that he seemed completely normal. I frowned. There was definitely something odd about him today, I just couldn't place my finger on it. My eyes flickered over his face. He had a snapback on, pulled down low over his forehead. I squinted. Did he? Yes, there was a faint smudge on his cheek. It looked like foundation. What the hell was he doing wearing make up? 

He yawned, stretching his arms above his head. His shirt lifted up a little, revealing sickening purple and blue marks that made me feel nauseous. I gripped the edge of the sofa and swung my legs around so that I could stand up. 

"Niall," 

He looked at me and grinned. "Yeah?" 

"Where did you get those bruises?" 

He froze and the other boys turned to look at him. "What bruises?" 

I groaned. "Don't lie; I just saw them when you yawned. And you've got make-up on, which I'm guessing is to cover up more bruises." My voice was harsh, but I wasn’t the only one with problems.

Niall put his head in his hands. "Shit." 

"What happened mate?" Liam moved to sit next to Niall, tucking his feet up underneath him and putting his arm on the back of the sofa behind Niall. 

"Nothing, nothing happened." 

"Well clearly something did happen," Louis backed up Liam and me.