One. || h.s.

Twenty Nine.

"I don't know, I've just been being there for her like I wasn't before I guess," I shrug.

My anger is disappearing and being replaced by hopelessness. I set down my half empty glass and close up the bottle of rum, slouching back into the arm chair. I shouldn't really be drinking anyways, I only wanted it when I was imagining pounding Zayn's head in.

I can feel it in my system, everything is blurred around the edges and my emotions are at one extreme, in this case utterly and completely hopeless. My mind is fuzzy and Niall's voice sounds further than it did before. The only thing that is clear to me at all is that I need to make Skylar love me again.

"That's a start, mate. That's important to her," he tells me as if I didn't already know. I know her much better than he or anyone else does. "Why not try not only being there for her, but doing more for her too. Show her that you care without saying anything."

"Good, because I'm not saying anything, she'll only pull away if I say something too soon."

"You'll have too eventually, Harry."

I just hope the day actually comes where I get to tell her how I feel. The time I will tell her is when she stops all this back and forth and ends up deciding to stay with me rather than push me away.

"Are you trying to help me?" I ask, straightening up and looking him in his clear eyes.

"If I wasn't going to help you then I wouldn't be giving you advice would I?" He smirks, a small laugh escaping him.

"I thought you were against us being together. You were the one constantly pushing her to give me up when things got bad, why the change of heart?" I wonder and Niall's smirk turns into a smile, his eyes softening.

"I care about her, she's my oldest friend but you're my friend too. I've had a change of heart because you have too. You're a new person Harry, and I know you two really loved each other once. I wouldn't ever want to keep her from true love unless it was hurting her, and it was before. This time, I have faith in you. The only problem is that Skylar will take a lot to convince."

"Do you think she still loves me?" The question leaves my lips before I have time to think about it. I don't recognize my voice; I sound so desperate like I'm hanging on to one last thread. That's what I feel like right now.

Niall thinks about this a minute, scratching his chin and straightening up. His eyes move to the floor, his eyebrows furrowing before he looks back up at me again, his eyes thoughtful and soft.

"I think... I think somehow she does, but she is scared to admit it to herself. You did a lot of damage three years ago and that won't be easy to fix," he says gravely.

"I know," I mumble, picking up the glass again and finishing off what was left.

I hate myself for being the douche that I was, for putting her though fire and hell. She never deserved any of it but I knew she loved me and I thought she would never leave me because of that. I loved her more than anything, I still do, but I was too much of a pretentious idiot and was always feeling too sorry for myself to really show her I cared. I never changed for her even when I knew I needed too. I figured things would work themselves out, and in a way I guess they did when she left me and moved across the country.

I have a chance to fix it all now, right here in front of me is a golden opportunity but like Niall said, it won't be easy. I'm willing to do anything to have her back, to have her be mine, I just don't know how to do it or what to do.

"It would be easier if Zayn just left her alone," I snarl, thinking out loud.

"Hey, all is fair in love and war," Niall smirks, resting his hands behind his head.