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

15 - Thompson (Part 2)

Zayn nearly falls out of his chair in surprise, but manages to catch himself. I stifle my laughter, but none of the others seem to be able to hold it in. I look around the table and see that everyone is, indeed, already there: Liam, Danielle, Morgan, Rayne, and Harry on one side; Louis, Harry, Abby, and Zayn on the other.

Wait, why are there two Harrys? I question as I down each side of the table again. I quickly realize that the first ‘Harry’ is actually a girl with dark, curly hair and that the real Harry is sitting between Louis and Abby. I chuckle to myself and take the empty seat that is beside Zayn and across from Liam.

“What’s so funny?” Liam asks, turning his attention away from the group’s conversation. He tilts his head a little and I can’t help but think that he looks like an owl or something.

“Well, I looked around the table and saw two Harrys, but then I realized that one of them is just a girl with similar hair,” I explain.

Liam sniggers and sneaks a glance between Harry and the girl. “I see what you mean,” he utters.

“Who is she, by the way?” I inquire.

“That’s Mikayla. She’s a friend of Morgan and Rayne’s that we ran into earlier,” my boyfriend clarifies. “By the way, since when did you start hanging out with those two without me?”

“I dunno. Since when did you start hanging out with random fans that you met in an airport?” I retort, starting to become defensive.

“They’re the same people that you met once before inviting to your flat, Ni. At least I didn’t show them where we live.”

“Sorry, you’re right. Instead you got us in trouble with management by deciding that we should give them a tour of the city,” I snap.

“And you agreed to it, so you have no right to say anything about that,” Liam argues. I watch as he closes his eyes and runs his fingers through his hair, something he only does when he’s nervous or frustrated.

“Sorry, Li. I really shouldn’t have snapped at you like that,” I mumble, not sure that my voice is loud enough for him to hear me. When he says nothing in return, I look away. I glance at the others that are sitting around the table and see that they’re all caught up in their own little conversations: Louis and Rayne are debating which generation of Pokémon is the greatest; Morgan is talking animatedly to Danielle, telling the latter something about horses; Harry is texting someone (probably Ed); and finally, Zayn is telling Abby a lame joke, making her laugh.

Somebody’s missing, I realize as I scan the table one more time. “Liam, the other Har-I mean, Mikayla? Yeah, Mikayla is gone,” I whisper, leaning across the table.

“Niall, she probably just went to the ladies’ room,” Liam grumbles, rolling his eyes at me.

“Oh, right…” I breathe a sigh of relief, leaning back in my chair. The next thing I know, I’m on the ground and the others are pretty much cackling at my situation.

Liam rushes around the table and kneels down beside me. “Are you alright, Nialler?” he queries, a worried expression in his eyes.

I’m so surprised by the fact that he’s actually being caring that I forget to speak for a moment. I blink a few times to make sure my eyes aren’t deceiving me, then start laughing. “I’m fine, Li. I just leaned back a bit too far, I guess,” I tell the boy.

“Oh, good,” Liam breathes. He reaches down and wraps an arm around my shoulders, which I take advantage of by wrapping my arms around him, too. He continues to hold me as he lifts me off of the ground. He lets go once he’s sure that I am firmly on solid ground, picks the chair up, and places it so that I can take my seat again. “There, all better.”

“Thank you, Li,” I murmur quietly, for his ears alone. The others have gone back to their conversations by then.

“You’re welcome, Nialler,” he croons. To my surprise, he pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly for a brief moment. “And I’m sorry about that little spat we had before; I was just a little surprised when I found out that you had been hanging out with the girls the other day.”

“It’s alright, LiLi; I should have told you,” I reply.

“No, Niall, I shouldn’t have gotten upset with you; you have every right to hang out with your friends without telling me,” Liam repeats, still holding me close.

I don’t know what else to say, so I just hug Liam back for a moment longer. “We should really sit down before someone outside of our group notices that we’ve been hugging way too long to just be friends,” I whisper in my boyfriend’s ear before pulling away. I suddenly feel very cold, but I ignore the feeling and sit back down.

Well, that was weird, I reflect. I grin to myself when I realize that Liam and I just had an actual conversation, he was legitimately worried about me, and he seemed just as reluctant as I did to let go. Maybe things are finally starting to go back to normal…