I Cannot Hide This Even Though I Try ~ A COMPLETED One Direction Fanfic

8 - So Wrong

"Somehow I was always under the impression that you and Li were really open about your feelings, but I know Liam would do anything in his power to protect you, so I understand him trying to seem cool about it all. I just don't understand, I guess... Wait, did you just say you dated a girl before dating Liam?" Louis asks, proving to me that my assumption was correct.

"I honestly just don't know. I thought Liam was a lot more open before, but recently he has hardy even acknowledged me. I'm worried..." I trail off. "I mean, Liam has just seemed a bit off since his trip to Florida with Dani, so I'm guessing something happened there and he just isn't ready to talk about it yet."

Louis grimaces, not saying anything at first. "You didn't answer my other question," he reminds me after a few moments have passed.

"About Sara? Yeah, I dated her for about 3 months or so before breaking it off because I realized I liked her for only two reasons. First off, she was incredibly similar to Liam; I'm talking so similar you would think they were identical twins rather than fraternal cousins. And secondly, I was too scared to admit to myself that I wasn't and won't ever be even remotely straight, which was only enhanced by the fact that I was struggling with feelings for my seemingly straight best male friend at the time. Plus, that same male friend and I were being bullied at school because our peers thought we were gay. I ended things with Sara because I realized I couldn't keep lying to myself and I knew it was unfair for me to drag things out any longer."

"So, wait, who was your best friend?" Louis asks, confusion written all over his face.

"Liam. Liam lived in Mullingar for about 6 months in our second last year of school."

"And you said Sara is his cousin?"

I roll my eyes at the older boy, nodding to answer his question. "She had already been living there, apparently, but I went to an all-boys school, so I didn't meet her until Greg introduced me to her," I explain. "Greg was friends with Sara's older brother, if you're wondering," I quickly add.

"So, let me get this straight… You dated Liam's cousin, Sara, because you were too scared to admit to yourself that you liked Liam? And you think that makes it fair to you to have to watch Liam pretend to date Danielle all the time?

I slowly nod while mumbling a quiet, "Yeah."

"You're a moron," Louis states, reaching over and smacking the side of my head.

"Hey! What was that for?" I cry out.

"You need to start caring about yourself a little more. You need to speak up, act out, do something to show Liam that it is not okay for him to fake-date Danielle. You need to stand up to management, Nialler," Louis rants, not actually answering my question.

I huff a little before realizing that Louis is being one hundred percent serious. I roll my eyes again before getting up and walking towards the kitchen. "I don't want to cause problems for the band by acting out against management. You saw how angry they were today when I admitted to liking someone on live television. I didn't even say if it was a boy or a girl, but it was enough for management to freak out at me! What makes you think it would be a good idea for me to try and stand up to management?"

I hear Louis' footsteps behind me, following me to my kitchen. "I don't know, Ni. Maybe because I have only just started to feel your pain and think you deserve better? Maybe because I have to see how miserable you look when Liam is with Danielle? I don't fucking know. All I do know is that you need to stand up to management before things get any more out of control," he explains, his tone growing harsher by the second.

I turn to face Louis and see that his face has become flushed from anger. "No," I say, not specifying why I'm saying it.

"No?" Louis raises an eyebrow at me, frowning.