*Katie's POV*
Ding.
The elevator door dinged as we reached our floor. I had been out with Harry for most of the day, and to be completely honest, I actually enjoyed myself.
A lot.
It's kind of starting to scare me; how much I've grown to like Haz. He takes such good care of me, without me even hinting for him to. It's like his natural instinct; to protect the things he loves. Of course, he doesn't love me, not at all. But I don't think I would be wrong to say that he considered me as a friend. Which makes it hard for me, because I'm still unsure of my feelings for him.
I'm unsure about my feelings for anyone, for that matter.
They are all making it so hard for me; all of the boys, that is. I'm sure that they don't mean to, but I don't think they know how confusing it is for someone who just found out that their long term boyfriend had been cheating on them not only a month and a half ago to be getting so much male attention. It's like all of my emotions and feelings are jumbled up into one big clump, and I haven't figured out how to untangle it all. I need time to figure out which emotion goes to which boy.
"After you," Harry said with a smirk, snapping me back into reality. He motioned for me to walk through the elevator door before him, as he held it open with his other hand. I made my way out of the elevator and down the hall to our front doors.
"Thank you," I mumbled.
"So, did I keep my word?" Harry asked after a short pause.
"About what?" I questioned, confused.
"Did you have a good time?" he asked, a small smile playing on his bright red lips. My lips spread into a wide grin as I recalled him telling me that this morning.
"Yeah," I chuckled, "yeah, I did."
"Good," he grinned; lips spreading wide over his perfect teeth. He was so handsome. The way his face brightened up whenever he was happy. His eyes would always catch the light, making them gleam no matter how scarce the light was. He caught me admiring his glowing face before I had the chance to look away. "Are you gonna open the door?" he asked with a smug expression.
"Uh- yeah," I stuttered. I looked away quickly, my eyes making contact with my hands as I fumbled for the right set of keys. I must have been struggling for quiet some time, because the next thing I knew, a large pair of hands clasped themselves over my own.
"I got it," he smiled, pulling the jumble of keys out of my hands. He swiftly inserted the correct key into the keyhole, twisting the knob and pushing the door open. He motioned me ahead, following behind closely as he closed the door. "We're home!" he shouted into the huge flat.
"Katie!" I heard Lou shout as he dragged out my name. I could hear his voice travelling closer and closer until he finally appeared at the end of the entrance hallway. He was running towards me, and before a knew it, he had bent down and knocked my legs out from under me with his shoulder.
I collapsed, falling forward and conveniently over Louis' shoulder. He took this as an advantage and gripped me from behind the knees as they rested against his chest. My face was pressed against his back as he held me upside-down in a fireman hold.
"Louis!" I screeched is surprise, gripping my arms around his torso in an effort to keep myself from falling off of his shoulder. "Louis! Put me down!"
"Never!" he yelled, gripping me from behind the knees tighter as he started to run, laughing like a maniac.
"Louis stop! Please!" I shouted, scared out of my mind but laughing none the less. "Harry!" I yelled, lifting my head to see Harry following behind slowly as he laughed so hard I could see the vein in his neck popping out.
"Sorry Katie! This is just too funny to stop," he said, trying to catch his breath as he pulled out his phone and pointed it at me.
"Harry! Don't just stand there and take a picture! Help me!" I yelled in disbelief. Instead of helping me, he did the complete opposite.
"Louis! Look at the camera!" he shouted as he positioned his phone to take the shot.
"Harry! Are you serious?!" I shouted, trying to look up at him from my angle.
"Hold on, I'm tweeting this," he chuckled, typing away at his phone. I hung there, baffled.
"You guys are horrible!" I shouted as I started to pound my fists against Lou's back.
"That doesn't hurt!" Louis grinned smugly as he made his way to the living room, where Zayn and Liam were seated.
"What are you guys doing?" Liam asked, taking us in as he saw me draped over Louis shoulder, upside down.
"Liam, help me!" I pleaded, giving him puppy eyes. This would have definitely worked on Niall, but that wasn't the case with Liam.
"Wait, this opportunity is too good to pass up," he stated, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone, copying Harry's exact motions.
"Not you, too!" I wailed. I was starting to feel my eyes shut as the blood rushed to my head.
"Say cheese!" Liam exclaimed, chuckling to himself as he looked at his phone.
"Niall! Help me!" I yelled, wondering where he was. Why wasn't he here? Could he not hear all of my screaming? Suddenly, Niall appeared at the bottom of the staircase, frozen.
"What's this?" he asked, motioning in my direction.
"Niall, help!" I said, squirming in Lou's hold. A fit of laughter erupted from his mouth.
"Oh my God! This is hilarious!" he laughed, gasping for air. And, like the others, Niall pulled out his phone, ready to start a new world-wide trend on twitter. I wouldn't be surprised if 'potato sack Katie' was trending on twitter in the next two minutes.
"You're all horrible people!" I yelled, finally giving up my fight as I sagged against Louis, waiting for him to put me down.
"Except for me, though. Right?" a mellow voice said from above me.
I lifted my head again to spot none other than the gorgeous Zayn Malik. Without question, Zayn wrapped his arms under mine and around my back. I pulled my arms around his neck as he pulled me out of Louis' grasp.
"You guys need to stop torturing the poor girl," he tisked at the boys as he lead me over to the couch, where he was previously sitting.
"Thanks for actually helping me," I thanked him, rolling my eyes at the rest of the boys. "Unlike some people."
"Hey! How could I give up a moment like that without getting a picture of it first?!" Harry asked, still chuckling to himself as he looked back down at his phone.
"But did you have to tweet it?" I whined, looking over at the other four boys. "Now half the world has probably already seen it!"
"Yeah, but all of the fans love you! So stop worrying about them, they all think your wonderful," Niall rebutted.
"Yes! It's trending!" Liam yelled in excitement. He and Louis high-fived each other as I put my head in my hands.
"Ugh," I groaned in frustration. I felt two hands make their way to my shoulders, gently squeezing to relive the tension.
"Awe, don't be mad, Katie," Zayn said, "they were only poking fun."
"I know," I sighed. "Niall, can I at least have my phone back?" I asked, remembering that he had held on to my phone for the entire day. Suddenly, the whole room grew tense.
Something was wrong.
"Uh, Katie? We have to talk to you about something... Something important," Niall said hesitantly as he slowly walked up to me. I stood up from where I was sitting, feeling ridged all over my body.
"What's going on?" I asked, dreading the answer.
Something bad happened; I could feel it.
Had something happened to my family back at home? Is Jared okay? Oh, no! What if something had happened to Jared?!
All of the boys had gathered around me now, each one having a look of disturbance on their faces.
"Niall?" I asked desperately, looking up at his face with pleading eyes.
"Why don't you sit down first, yeah?" Niall suggested, taking my hand and sitting on the edge of the coffee table in front of me.
I took my seat on the very edge of the couch again, my spine so straight to a point where it was almost painful. Harry took a seat on the opposite side of me, while Zayn was still on the left. Liam and Louis were looking at me intently from where they sat on the other couch.
"Okay, I don't know how to tell you this without you getting upset, so I'm just going to say it..." Niall trailed off. I wrung my hands together in impatience.
"Niall, is my family okay?" I asked, my eyes tearing up. "Did something happen to Jared?" I could feel the tears brimming, but I willed them not to spill over. The boys hadn't seen me cry yet, and I didn't want that to happen any time soon. The only boy that had seen my tears was Niall, but he was different.
Niall was special.
"No, No! Katie, your family is fine! Jared is okay, nothing happened to either of them," Niall rushed out, sounding shocked at the conclusion I had came to. I let out a sigh of relief, taking in a steadying breath to bring myself back under control.
"Well then, it can't be that bad," I said with relief. Nothing could be worse than something bad happening to my family.
"You're right. It's not that bad... But it's not good news, either," Niall said with a look that I have never seen him wear before. It was a look of pure... hatred.
"Please just tell me what's going on?" I pleaded quietly. The boys were all looking at Niall nervously.
"Um, so... Reece called," he started. I looked up, shocked.
Shit! Niall knows about it now! All of the boys know! They weren't supposed to know! What do I say? Quick, Katie! Think of something!
"Uh... He did?" was my genius response. Niall raised his eyebrow, obviously not believing me.
I sighed.
"He's been calling me for the past three days or so. And texting me. I never answered him or responded to any of his texts, but he won't give up. He keeps saying he wants me back. It's just annoying, really," I sighed, dropping my head in my hands. Harry's hand squeezed my shoulder in reassurance.
"Katie, when you were sleeping this morning, he called you again. I answered the phone and tried to tell him to stop calling you. He told me that..." Niall trailed off.
"What? He told you what?" I asked desperately.
Please. Please don't be what I think it is.
"He told me that he got accepted into ICL. He's coming to London, Katie," Niall said with apologetic eyes.
I felt like I had been punched.
"What?!" my voice cracked, showing my wavering resolve. I looked at all of the boys for something to tell me that this was a joke. They all had solemn looks plastered of their faces.
"He's convinced that he will win you over again. I told him that there was no way in hell that that was happening, but he kept insisting. I'm so sorry, Katie," Niall said, looking at me with a helpless expression.
"What the hell? Why can't he just leave me alone?" I exclaimed in anger, covering my face with my hands. "Has he not put me through enough of his shit already? Does he think I deserve this?" I questioned, demanding answers. I hastily wiped the angry tears from my cheeks with my palms. Harry pulled me into his side, rubbing his hand up and down my arm.
"Get her some water," I heard Niall say to one of the boys.
"I got it," Louis said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.
"I'm fine," I said breathlessly, the disbelief still coursing through me.
"He's not worth your time, Katie," Harry mumbled, still rubbing my arm in an attempt to calm me down. "Just breathe. Everything will work out fine."
"Here you go, love," Louis' voice rung from in front of me. I opened my eyes to see Lou kneeing in front of me, one hand on my knee while the other was holding a glass of water out for me. I straightened up from Harry's hold, reaching for the glass that Louis offered.
"Thanks, Lou," I mumbled, taking a big gulp of water.
"You're gonna be fine, okay? We'll kick his ass for you if you want us to," Louis smirked, trying to get me to smile. I dragged in a shaky breath before giving him a small smile.
"I might have to take you up on that offer," I mused, taking another gulp of water. Lou chuckled, squeezing my knee.
"Ah, there's the Katie I know! Now, turn that frown upside down," he said, pinching my cheeks and pulling them upward, causing my mouth to curve in the same direction. "There you go! Sadness doesn't suit your pretty little face, now does it boys?" he asked, looking around at the boys. They all shook their heads, smiling down at me.
"You deserve to be happy, okay?" Niall said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear as he spoke. "Don't let him ruin that."
"I'll try," I nodded, giving him that much. I already knew that Reece coming to London would definitely change things, most likely for the worst.
"Alright, so who's up for some FIFA?" Louis exclaimed, bringing us back to present day. "Katie? You think you can still beat me?" he said, raising his eyebrows playfully. He already knew the answer.
Nobody beat me at FIFA.
"Maybe later, Lou," I said, getting up from the couch and making my way to the kitchen; glass of water in hand.
"I'm up for it," I heard Liam say.
"Winner versus me!" Haz yelled, earning a chuckle from the rest of the boys. I sighed, placing my cup in the sink as I rested my hands on the edge of the counter. What was I going to do? Reece was coming to London. To my University. He was coming back into my life whether I liked it or not. The only problem was: what if I fall for him again? I mean, he made me fall for him before, so who says he can't do it again?
And that terrifies me.
It's not something that I wanted, but then again, that's what I said before we started dating. Who would have known that we would last three whole years? Maybe even more, if he hadn't cheated on me. And now he's coming here; coming to try to win me back, while I'm still a mess of emotions. I shook my head, looking down at the glass in the sink.
What have I gotten myself into?
Suddenly, a pair of strong arms made their way around my waist, pulling me into a broad chest.
"I'm sorry," Niall whispers as he leans his chin on my shoulder. "I didn't know how else to tell you."
"It's okay, Niall. Better to find out this way than any other," I said quietly.
"You know I hate seeing you upset, right?" he questions, tightening his arms around me. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I stayed silent, looking down at his hands resting on my sides.
"I'm sorry," I apologized.
"Don't," he said quickly, shaking his head. "Don't say that. This has nothing to do with you. If that asshole could have just stayed where he was instead of following you to London, you wouldn't be in this mess. He's just so-"
"Niall," I interrupted, putting a hand on top of his. "It's okay. I'll figure it out."
"He's not coming anywhere near you, I promise. I'll hire you a body guard if that's what it takes, but I'm not letting him come back into your life. He doesn't deserve someone as good as you." Niall vowed.
He was an amazing person.
"Niall, that's not possible. I have to talk to him; fix the air between us. I need to tell him that it's not gonna work out again, or else he won't leave me alone," I sighed.
"Then I'll come with you," he stated sternly. There would be no questioning whenever Niall spoke like this.
"Niall, you can't-" I started, turning around. He gripped my arms with his big hands, holding me still in front of him.
"I'm not letting him hurt you again, Katie. Do you understand that?" he asked, fire burning underneath the icy blue of his Sapphire eyes.
"I'm so done with this, Niall," I whimpered, frustrated beyond belief. He pulled me to his chest, tucking his head into the crook of my neck.
"I know, Katie. I know," he sighed, rubbing my back. "It's hard right now, but I promise you, it will get better."
We must have stayed like that for what felt like hours before Niall spoke again.
"Do you want to go back to the living room, now?" He murmured, his fingers twirling the ends of my hair.
"Okay," I agreed, pulling away from his chest. "Is my make-up smudged?" I asked him, looking at my mascara-covered fingertips. He gave a small smile, bringing his hands up and cupping my face, while he swiped his thumbs under my eyes.
"Not any more," he smiled as he pulled his hands back. "C'mon," he said, taking my hand in his as he led us back into the living room. The boys looked at us for only a fraction of a second before snapping their eyes back to the television screen.
"Who's winning?" I asked with a smile as Niall tugged on my hand, leading me towards the far couch that wasn't occupied. I saw Harry's eyes flick down to our joined hands, before looking away again with a displeased expression.
Huh, strange.
"Lou is," Zayn laughed, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"Of course he is," I laughed. Niall sat down first, before pulling me down onto his lap and wrapping his arms around my waist. The feelings that blossomed from his touch onto my skin were strange. I was actually enjoying the feeling of Niall giving me so much of his attention. I enjoyed the feeling of being loved by him. It was starting to scare me.
I think I'm starting to have feelings for Niall.
But what if he doesn't feel the same way? I thought with dread. What if he gets weirded out if I tell him about these feelings. We"ve been friends since the day I was born. We know each other too well. It wouldn't work out.
Would it?
"I verse the winner of the next match," I stated, tracing around Niall's long fingers that rested against my stomach.
"Which will be me," Louis insisted cockily.
"Hey! You never know, I might win!" Harry yelled, earning a loud laugh from Lou.
"Keep dreaming, mate," Louis replied, all of his attention focused on the game once again.
This would be great to tweet about, I thought, reaching for my pocket to pull out my phone, only to realize that Niall still had it. I turned around so that I was facing him.
"Can I have my phone back now?" I asked, watching him as his eyes travelled across each of the features of my face. My eyes, my nose, my cheeks, until finally stopping at my mouth. My breath caught in my throat as I realized what he was thinking - or should I say, what I hope he was thinking.
Was he going to kiss me?!
Wait! No, wait, stop! I'm not ready! I still don't know what to feel about this; us. I can't do this! Not here, not now. Katie, stop this now before things get ruined between the two of you. You cannot like Niall like that. He would never like you the same way. It will never work out.
"Niall?" I repeated, making his eyes snap back to my green ones as he fished his hand into his pocket quickly, pulling out my phone.
"Uh- yeah. Here," he stuttered, handing me my phone. "Just... please don't talk to him. Not until you see him in person and we can work this out, okay?" I sighed.
"Niall, I have to text him back, at least to tell him to stop texting me. I'm getting sick of seeing his name on my phone twenty-four-seven," I admitted quietly, so that the other boys wouldn't hear our little conversation. Not that that would be a problem; they were cheering like they were at the stadium of a real life FIFA game.
They were such guys.
"This may sound weird, but I'm happy to hear that," Niall said with a smug smirk on his lips as he pulled me tighter into his side.
"Me too," I said. "I think I'm finally starting to get over him. I'm just scared of what will happen when he comes back into my life."
"He doesn't have to," Niall said without hesitation. "Just say the word and he's gone; out of your life."
"Niall, you can't say that. As much of a douche bag that he is, it's still his life too. This is his future; if he wants to go the this University too, than there's nothing to do about that. I just have to make it clear that I want nothing to do with him any more." I said, finishing my rant. There was so much going on in my life now. Too many thoughts, too many feelings, just too much of anything. "Ugh," I groaned, leaning my head back on the couch. "My brain hurts." I mumbled, closing my eyes. I heard Niall chuckle from beside me. I peaked one eye open, giving him a blank, questioning look.
"Why are you so perfect?" he suddenly asked.
Both of my eyes were now open.
"I'm not," I muttered, not knowing how else to respond.
"Yeah, you kind of are," he smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear again. That was the second time he did that today. "Even when it comes to that fucking ass of an ex-boyfriend, you still think of what's best for him. And with our fans. You're always so nice to our fans. I never see you angry about them following us around or asking for pictures. Admit it, you're perfect."
"I'm not," I said again, but this time there was a hint of a smile on my lips. "It's just called being a good person."
"Well, you're perfect to me," he confessed, looking into my eyes once more. I could see some sort of passion burning behind those hypnotizing blue orbs of his.
"You're biased," I whispered, noticing how close our faces were.
"Maybe," he agreed with a cheeky smile. "Or maybe you're the biased one."
"No! No no no! I hate this game!" Liam suddenly burst out, throwing his controller at Harry who caught it with ease. I jumped at his sudden out burst, earning a chuckle from Niall.
"Shut up," I muttered, shoving him in the shoulder playfully. His only response was to pull me tighter against him.
"I told you I would win," Louis boasted, a triumphant grin on his face.
"My turn!" Harry yelled, shoving Liam off of the foot console that he was sitting on and onto the floor as he took his spot.
"No need to be rude," Liam muttered under his breath, although we all heard him.
"Awe, it's okay, Liam," I cooed with a teasing smile. "Maybe next time, yeah?"
"Maybe," he huffed, crossing his arms as he dropped back onto the couch.
"I'm versing Katie after you, Lou," Niall called from behind me. I could feel his chest vibrating against my back as he spoke.
"Does nobody have faith in my FIFA skills?!" Harry yelled with bewilderment. We all just laughed, entertained with his outrage towards the game. I leaned my head back against Niall's shoulder, deciding to rest up before it was my turn to play.
"You tired?" Niall asked quietly, running his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes, a trace of a smile on my lips as I shook my head no. Was it weird that Niall knew me better than I knew myself? He knew that the smallest things that made me happy; whether it was my favourite Starbucks drink, right down to which side I liked to sleep on at night. Niall was the best friend anyone could ever ask for.
I was just glad that he was mine.
Bonjour!
Hello everybody! If you are one of those people who always read my author's notes, then I love you. Thank you so much for being amazing friends! You guys have got this story to 5,000,000+ reads! That's INSANE! When I first started this story, I thought it would be amazing to get 1,000 reads, and now look at how far we've come! So once again, thank you! This is absolutely amazing! Secondly, thank you all for the awesome tattoo ideas from last chapter! It gave me many ideas! I also saw that many of you were craving some cute Natie moments, so hopefully you got your fill in this chapter! I'm starting to loving writing the cute scenes with Niall and Katie, they are so cute together! *wink wink* But what do you guys think? Should Katie and Niall get together already? Or are you rooting for Katie and Harry? Or maybe even Katie and Zayn? LET ME KNOW WHO YOU'RE ROOTING FOR! Haha anyways, thank you guys for being patient in between updates, I really do appreciate it! Ashton has also enjoyed all of your kind words, which is a great feeling for me! Well, that's it for me! Stay safe!
~ Skylar xx
P.S. Do you guys think I should include Liam, Louis and Zayn's girlfriends in the story?