Wild Side [h.s au]

Chapter 37

"Believe me, I wish nothing more, but no. It's a regular brownie," I defend.

"So, when can we dig in? This whole David thing is making me nervous, and the best way to treat that nervousness is by eating," Alex says.

Long story short, the three of us have taken the cake to cool down in my flat, went back to our duties, and made sure Liam is too busy to touch it because the guy is capable of stuffing the whole thing in his mouth and swallowing it.

The three of us agreed to meet at my place to eat the cake and our worries and nervousness with it, so as soon as we gathered, Alex started to devour the cake like an animal, making Tori and I chase him away, leaving the two of us to finish it completely.  When there's only one piece of cake left on the plate, we lock eyes, staring at each other, neither of us moving for a few moments.

"You take it," I offer.

"Okay." Tori shrugs and grabs it, making me scowl at her.

"You were supposed to say "no you take it" and this was supposed to be one of those stupid couple fights we always laugh at when people have them," I explain.

"Oh." She stuffs the cake into her mouth, her cheeks puffy as she chews it for a few moments. "We're not a couple, though."

"Yeah. . ." I mumble, my mood suddenly dropping. "But it's fun to pretend. Let's pretend."

"Why should we pretend when we were in a relationship once, we know how it is." She shrugs, looking at me questioningly.

"Say we are in a relationship- hypothetically speaking, of course," I say. "I would tell you how nice it is to spend time with you without having another pointless fight."

She gives me a small smile, staying silent for a few moments. "And I would tell you I really love your cooking because you're amazing at it, despite that one time you almost killed us with that cheesecake."

"And I would tell you how much it pisses me off when you win almost every duel we have yet I love seeing your happy face when you do," I admit.

"And I would tell you how adorable you look when- well you always do, but especially when you're proud of something, your eyes light up and you have this smile. . ."

"And I would tell you how beautiful you look, especially when you yell at trainees for doing everything wrong or when you're frustrated to the point you just lie down on a mat and stay like that for half an hour." I smile widely.

"And I would tell you how soothing your voice is, and how much it's nice to hear it before going to sleep, especially when you start singing some made up lullaby for me." She lets out a chuckle.

Only now I notice we've scooted closer to each other on the couch, our faces so close if I just lean forward slightly, our noses would bump.

"And I would tell you how sorry I am for letting you go," I blurt out, both of us widening our eyes.

I glance at the door, hoping someone might burst in and interrupt the awkward moment like it usually happens, but no one does. Oh shit.

"Uuh I mean- uh, for letting you eat that final piece of cake." I clear my throat awkwardly, looking everywhere but at her.

"Yeah, that must've been very tragic. . . for you," she mumbles.

We sit in a silence for a while, my cheeks burning in embarrassment. Not only did I probably ruin the progress between us, but I also had no right to say that. It's all my fault we're in this mess, after all.

Tori suddenly takes my hand in hers, making me look up at her with widened eyes. "Louis maybe we-"

The door bursts open, revealing a panicked Liam, his face pale and eyes widened. It's so unlike him, his demeanour usually completely cool and careless. Unless there's a naked girl in front of him, of course.