Haven • H.S.

26. Fury

Haven- 26

"...there are certain people you just keep comin' back to. and she is right in front of you..."

Harry.

Kane and I strolled on wobbly, loose legs back to campus somewhere around midnight, listening to the now still-paced city around us. My insides felt tremendously lighter from the two beers I'd allowed myself back at the bar, and the freedom of simply exploring the grounds of Boston rather than watching out for cars or pedestrians alike was soothing.

When the block and a half walk was over with, Kane and I entered campus, yielding ourselves in the direction of our shared dorm. The night was even colder now than it'd been when we first started out and I rubbed my hands together, blowing air into them in an attempt to get warm, wondering silently if Ella was staying warm in bed and wishing I was there too.

When we were nearing the glass doors to Building F, I spotted a familiar shadow in the huddled corner of my building. And normally I'd pay no mind to who ever cared to stay out late enough, smoking a blunt or getting wasted with their friends, but I stopped walking at the sight of this one. He looked too familiar and he wasn't alone. Kane stopped alongside me, watching me with red, confused eyes. He'd drank more than I had and he was ready to pass out. I waved him off with a whisper, "Go. I'll be up in a minute." He was more than happy to comply but I made sure his exit route was as silent and as stealthy as possible as to not disturb the shadows only a few feet away. When he was safely up the stairs, I turned back.

They were lit up only slightly by the lamp on the side of my building, and their backs were to me, sitting on the ledge of the sidewalk. The spot they'd taken position in was the one area renowned on campus for being hidden from bystanders. Almost every building had one and on late nights like these, students liked to use them for their little reverie from the onlooking eye. The corner they'd fitted themselves in was keeping them from seeing me fully. From the angle I was at, I was aware of their visible breaths, whether created by smoke or the cool night I wasn't sure. The guy on left captured my attention-- the one who looked so much like someone I knew.

And then it hit me. The rifled blonde hair of my best mate reflected off the light, giving away his identity immediately. Niall.

The reason Niall was out late didn't really matter to me, but the man next to him did. And in the next moment, fury crawled across my back and had a choke hold on my neck, effectively blinding me from any other reasoning.

Louis.

In the last few weeks I'd come to the conclusion that I'd been drifting away from Niall. Maybe not only in our friendship, but in our connection as brothers too. We were brothers, much like my own blood brother, and he knew everything there was was to know about me. Hell, he knew just how much Louis had once dictated my life. He knew, also, just how much he ruined it.

And as much as I tried to justify the sight of them together on a cold October night, sharing a conversation or two, I couldn't. Because friends didn't do that to one another. Not in my book. As far as I was concerned, Niall had cut ties alongside me when it came to Louis Tomlinson, and the vision of them acting as old friends settles about as well with me as vegetables do a fat kid.

Why, though? That's all I really wanted to know. Was there a damn good reason to betray me? No matter how distant we'd gotten lately, I still thought there was that same invisible tie of loyalty that'd always been there. No matter how uncomfortable I felt with the silent knowledge that Niall had feelings for my girl, I still believed there was a level of trust I could confide in. And no matter what, I still thought I could come to him with anything.