Can I see you?
The text had come through exactly three hours, twelve minutes, and thirty-seven seconds ago as Liam sat on his mothers couch with the tv on low. He'd thought of nothing else since and has been doing nothing but staring down at his phone.
It was a new number but it didn't matter because Liam knew; knew it was from him.
Can I see you?
Liam snorted, horrified to notice it was a wet snort and that he was crying. It was so typically Niall to beckon and expect for Liam to come running. And it was so typically Liam that he'd drop it all and do just that.
No
He sends because he can't keep doing this, can't continue to get his heart broken. It's been months since he last heard from Niall and Liam has no idea why Niall made him all these empty promises, give his heart hope only to then suddenly stop communicating with him, leaving Liam crushed like always. He had just started to come to terms with the idea of him and Niall never getting their happy ending. He can't deal with any of this right now.
"Everything okay love?" Liam hears his mother ask
"I'm fine" Liam says, giving her a small smile.
"That's hard to believe when you've got tears running down your cheek" Karen says, putting her cup of tea down on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Liam, pulling him into her arms.
"Everything just hurts" Liam says, feeling embarrassed at the sob that escapes his mouth.
"I know love, but it'll start to hurt less eventually" Karen says, wiping Liam's tears away. "That man is not worth it if all he does is make you cry"
"My heart disagrees" Liam says "no matter how much he hurts me it doesn't make my heart want him any less, I hate it"
Karen doesn't say anything just holds on to her son tighter, she doesn't know who this man that holds her sons heart is but when Liam eventually tells her, she'll have some words for him.
They stay like that for a while until Liam has stopped crying and has fallen a sleep on Karen's shoulder. She gently laid him down on the couch before picking up her now cold tea and beginning her walk to the kitchen.
**
It's taken Niall over three months, but He's finally at peace with himself, at terms with the choices he'd made and the consequences of his actions. He knew Liam was going to say no to his text he didn't expect him to say okay to seeing him again, if he was Liam he would've had the same answer. He knows he has hurt Liam massively by ignoring him and cutting communication off these few months but he wanted to clear his head to make sure that going into a proper relationship with Liam was the right thing to do, to ensure himself that he wasn't going to hurt Liam again the way he has been these past few years. He wants to treat Liam right this time he just hopes Liam will let him and that it's not too late.
He takes a deep breath before he rings the door bell. The doorbell rings, once, twice. Then he hears Liam yelling inside, says he'll get it, and Niall's heart starts going into overdrive. Feels like he's about to jump right out of his skin.
The door opens, and Liam's smile is wiped from his face as soon as he sees him. Is replaced by a look of pure shock, instead.
"Liam!" he hears Karen yell from somewhere within the house. "Who is it?"
Niall waves at him, smiles softly.
"It's Niall" Liam yells back
"Well tell him I said hi" she yells
"She says hi" Liam says flatly
Niall let's out a small laugh "Yeah, I heard"
It gets awkwardly silent after that, both of them not knowing what to say to each other.
"Can we talk?" Niall asks
"That's what we're doing right now isn't it?" Liam says, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Li" Niall breathed out softly, almost reverently and Liam hated the way he wanted to reach for him already.
"How are you?" Niall asked after a while of awkward silence.
"No." Liam spat and Niall recoiled at the venom in his voice, almost surprised by it. "We are not doing this, Niall. We are not pretending like we're strangers just meeting or we're friends. What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Can you just let me in, so we talk properly?" Niall gave a sigh like Liam was the one that was being a pain in the ass.
"Fine" Liam says, leaving the door open and making his way upstairs to his childhood room, Niall following behind.
"Things haven't changed a bit in here" Niall says in awe looking around the room. Liam and him made so many memories in this room as teens.
"No - I'm not doing this Niall. We're not doing this again. What do you want?"
"I - I just wanted to talk to you." Niall says softly, dropping his gaze from Liam's . "I - just well, I miss you, so much"
Liam hated that he wanted to smile at that, hated that no matter what Niall could still make his broken heart flutter.
"Yeah - well, it doesn't seem like you have. Are you only just trying to fix things just so we can hit the sheets?" Liam hissed icily.
Niall winced. "You know thats not true"
"Do I?" Liam arched an eyebrow. Because the truth was, he didn't really know anything when it came to Niall. Everything he'd thought about their relationship had proved to be wrong.
"I know you're still hurt, by everything I've put you through and I know it's been some time since we last saw each other but I love you still"
"No - fuck you. You don't get to do this to me." Liam felt himself losing it, voice going high and a bit hysterical. "You don't get to shatter my heart and kick me to the kerb with no explanation. No, I'm not doing this again. I won't - I won't give you everything only for you to throw it all away again."
"Liam, I - " Niall reached for him with a startled look on his face. Like this wasn't expected, like this was a surprise that Liam was broken and it was Niall's fault. "Please," he was begging and it was everything Liam had ever wanted, "Please I lov-"
"What is wrong with you?" Liam seethed, "Are you mentally fucked in the head? Do you get off constantly breaking my heart? because it's starting to feel like you fucking do"
"Could you wait? We need to talk this out, let me explain myself"
"No." Liam seethed ignoring how his arm felt on fire from Niall's touch. "I'm so fucking done with this"
Liam wrenched out of Niall's grip as he turned to walk out his room, walk away from Niall. He was a fool to reopen old wounds. This thing between them nearly destroys him every time and Niall dropping him without an explanation had hit him hard. He just - Liam couldn't do it anymore.
He thought Niall had finally gotten the point but Liam was wrong because just as Liam's hand closed around the door handle and pulled it open an inch, it was being slammed shut and in the next second Liam's back was against the door and Niall was licking into his mouth like he still owned it.
