fighting love » l.s.

thirty six - between a rock and a hard place

"Niall, stop! You're gonna get us kicked out," Liam hissed, unable to keep the amused grin from his face. Niall was building an intricate sculpture out of cereal boxes, the fluorescent lights of the grocery store seeming to Liam like the harsh lights of an interrogation room. He was fully convinced they were going to get arrested.

"Live a little, Liam. It's Saturday night! We're having fun!" Niall replied, laughing loudly.

Liam shook his head, standing a few paces away from Niall so he could pretend he didn't know the blonde-haired boy if anyone else came down that aisle. "I swear, I can't take you anywhere."

He turned away from Niall, walking a few paces down the aisle to look at an interesting-looking kind of cereal. Any distance from his five-year-old friend was a bonus. "Hey, Ni, have you ever had --"

"Liam! Look!"

Liam glanced back toward Niall, confused by his friend's urgent tone. He didn't see anything -- except for Niall's embarrassing creation, of course. "Mate, what are you talking about?"

Niall had jumped up from his crouching position on the ground. He motioned for Liam to follow and jogged away, stopping at the end of the aisle to glance around the end down the next one.

"What, are we suddenly in a spy movie?" Liam asked, amused by the situation. With his long strides, he quickly caught up to his friend, stopping directly behind the Irish boy.

"Liam, seriously," Niall hissed. "Look!"

Liam leaned around the corner of the aisle, following Niall's lead. And his heart dropped.

"Is that Louis . . . with Eleanor?" Niall asked, his voice expressing the disbelief that Liam felt.

Even with just a view of the couple's backs, Liam knew. "Yep. That's definitely them."

"We have to call Harry," Niall said immediately.

Liam already had his phone out, his fingers fumbling to find Harry's contact name. He pressed the phone to his ear, the ringing sound buzzing loudly, each ring raising Liam's already-high levels of discomfort.

Finally, Harry picked up. "Hey, Li, what's up?" the boy said, his voice cheerful as ever.

"Harry, there's something I have to tell you," Liam replied, not knowing how to break this news to Harry. There was no way he could tell Harry this without hurting him. Again.

"What's going on?"

"Niall and I are at a store getting snacks and we saw Louis. And --"

Harry interrupted him, probably assuming Liam was done talking. "Oh. Yeah, he told me he's having a movie night at home. He's probably doing the same thing as you two!"

"No, Harry. Listen. Louis is here with Eleanor." Silence filled Liam's ear, and his chest clenched with guilt. Every second that Harry didn't say something raised Liam's blood pressure a notch. "Harry? Are you still there?"

"I'm here," Harry replied. His voice was quiet now. He sounded defeated.

When Liam didn't speak for a moment, Niall reached over and snatched the phone. Liam glared at him. "Harry, mate, we're really sorry. We didn't want to tell you, but we knew we had to tell you, and now --" Niall rambled.

"Ni, it's okay. It's not your fault," Harry assured him quickly. "I'm gonna call Louis. Right now, actually, because there's just no way he's getting away with this one."

"Good for you, mate," Niall said. Harry ended the call, and Niall passed on the information to Liam, who nodded his approval. The two friends glanced back at Louis and Eleanor, who still seemed to be captivated by the store's dessert selection. "What do we do?" Niall asked.

"I have no idea," Liam replied. "My gut is telling me to beat Louis's ass in the middle of this store, but my brain is telling me that might not be the best idea."

At that very moment, Eleanor turned away from Louis and walked down a side aisle, leaving him alone. The boys got a clear view of her face as she walked, confirming their suspicions.

"On second thought, my brain is telling me to kick his ass, too."

Before Niall could even try to convince Liam to be reasonable, the boy was walking quickly through the store, closing the distance between them and their "friend." As soon as Louis was within his reach, Liam grabbed his arm firmly and whirled him around. Shock crossed Louis's face, and his mouth dropped open, presumably in preparation to explain the situation they had caught him in.

Before he could speak, Liam had grasped two fistfuls of Louis's jacket, lifting him up onto his toes. He leaned in close, his face inches from Louis's face. Niall stood behind, useless -- he wasn't going to stop Liam or join in, so all he could do was watch.

"If it wasn't for years and years of friendship, Louis Tomlinson, I would be beating you to a bloody pulp right now. No hesitation, no regrets. I see right through you, mate, don't doubt that for a second. But I'm letting you have yet another pass. This is your last warning. Next time you hurt our friend Harry, you're done," Liam growled, drawing out his words slowly and seriously to hammer in his point. "And I think you know me well enough to know how much I mean that."

Liam gave Louis one more pointed stare before he dropped the shocked boy back onto his feet and stalked out of the store, Niall hurrying close behind.