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

13 - Confusion Arises

I turn to look at the redhead with one eyebrow raised. I chuckle to myself when I see her literally bouncing up and down in her seat. “Calm down there, love. If you bounce any higher you’ll hit your head on the ceiling fan,” I tease.

All I get in return is an eye roll, and then the girl reaches out and snatches the controller away from me. “The show is starting,” she says, pressing the ‘A’ button.

I start to sit down, but then decide to turn down the lights first. Once the lights are dimmed, I scan the room for the perfect seat, and then proceed to plop down into my favourite reclining chair. I look at the screen as the episode finishes loading, surprised by the sudden noise.

“This looks like a war movie,” I mutter, leaning to my right so that the girls can hear me. 

“It isn’t, I swear,” Rayne whispers back. 

A second later, a man jolts up in bed and I realize that his character must have been dreaming. Unfortunately, I know nothing about the original Sherlock Holmes character because I never read the books, so I’m confused by what is happening on the screen. I wait a minute in hopes of understanding why the man is having nightmares, but then see that he must be a war veteran. Suddenly, the man pulls out a laptop and opens up a page titled The personal blog of Dr. John H. Watson.

“I thought this show was about Sherlock Holmes?” I mumble aloud.

“John Watson is the narrator of the novels,” Rayne grumbles, pausing the show. “He’s kind of like Sherlock’s sidekick.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Rayne sighs. “How about you just try to pay attention to the show, so maybe you’ll start to understand.”

“I still can’t believe you’ve only really read that one book,” Morgan retorts. “But I guess it makes sense then that you wouldn’t know a thing about the Sherlock Holmes novels.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Can we just get on with the show?” I whine.

Within minutes of the show starting up again, I find myself hooked. Oh man, it’s nice to be able to relax and watch some telly with friends… 

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*Liam’s POV*

I’m sitting, staring at a picture on the wall in my room. It’s from my days in Mullingar, back before Niall and I had started dating. It’s just a photo of us goofing around one winter afternoon, not long before I moved away. We had been having a snowball fight in his backyard, but then his mother had called us in for some hot cocoa.

The picture was taken while we were sitting in the livingroom of his mother’s house, watching a movie and drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows. Our cheeks were still rosy from being out in the cold, but also from laughing at each other. Neither of us is look at the camera because neither of us knew that Maura had come in and snapped a photo until after the fact.

I was shocked, at first, when Niall came back from his parents’ house with a package for me. It was just after our first Christmas as a band and we had all gone to our own homes to be with family. I opened the package with all due haste (mostly because Niall was nagging me about it) and began to tear up when looking at the framed photograph of us from a few years prior.

Looking over it now, I see the joy on both of our faces as we joked around with each other. We were both over the moon about being together again after the months we’d spent not talking to each other. Niall and I, in the picture, are curled up together under a blanket. Niall is leaning his head against my shoulder, looking up at me as I look down at him, both of us grinning from ear to ear.

Thinking back on it now, I can’t say exactly what movie we were watching or how we had managed to become all cuddly without feeling awkward. All that really matters about it is that we were perfectly happy at that point in time, and now I’m sitting here wishing we could go back to that. Of course, I’d rather skip out on the months that followed, but I still want to go back to a time when we could be that happy together without even trying.

I wipe a stray tear from my cheek and turn away from the photograph. I swivel around and gingerly put my feet on the floor beside my bed. I stand up and walk out of my bedroom and into the small study, and then take a seat behind the desk in there. I open a drawer and take out a notebook and pen, where I start writing down the words I need to say. 

“I was so stupid for letting you go

But I know you’re still the one

You might have moved on

But boy you should know

That I know you’re still the one

I know it’s sayin’ too much

But I will never give up

I was so stupid for letting you go

But I know you’re still the one.”**

I rip the page out of my notebook and crumple it up, not wanting to read them again. I know I haven’t technically let Niall go, but part of me feels like if I don’t act soon, he might take it that way. As scared as I am about committing my future to Niall, I don’t want to lose the chance to have that.

I jump up out of my chair and stride towards the door, grabbing my keys from the hook on the wall. I don’t bother grabbing a coat because I figure I won’t be leaving the building, which is one of the many benefits of living in the same apartment building as my four best guy friends.

I leave my flat, lock the door, and head towards the stairs. It’s only one flight up to the floor I’m looking for, plus I like to get exercise when I can.

I hurry up the stairs and down the short hallway until I reach the right door. I knock rapidly a few times before the door swings open to reveal a curly-haired boy.

“Harry, I need your help,” I plead the boy.

“About time,” I think I hear him mumble under his breath. “What do you need help with?”

“I need help fixing things with Niall,” I admit.

“BOOBEAR, LIAM IS HERE!” Harry shouts into the depths of his and Louis’ shared flat.

Mere seconds later, the lad in question jogs into sight. “Finally,” he breathes out, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me toward one of the couches in their livingroom.

“Were you two expecting me or something?” I question my friends.

“Not actually,” Harry begins, running a hand through his shaggy curls.

“We were just planning to go to you if you didn’t come to us,” Louis finishes his boyfriend’s statement.

“So, you were already planning to help me fix things with Niall,” I mutter, not bothering to make it a question.

“Basically, yes. Now sit. We have lots of things to talk about,” Louis commands, practically pushing me onto the sofa.

“And lots of questions,” Harry adds. “Starting with this one: why have you been avoiding Nialler lately?”

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**These lyrics do not belong to me. They are from the song Still the One by One Direction from their new album, Take Me Home. I do not own them and do not intend to infringe any copyright by using them.