Niall's POV
I narrow my eyes and stare at Hunter. His scars and evil smile make me want to punch the guy. He stole Tara's purse and now he's stolen her heart. But this time, I wasn't there to get it back for her.
Hunter is dangerous. He's a thief that only looks out for himself.
"Tara," I say softly. Hunter looks at me along with everyone else. "Can I talk to you?"
Tara nods her head, and I turn to find a secluded spot so we can talk in private.
Tara's POV
I follow Niall away from our group and down the row a little while. Niall keeps walking until we get to a bumper car track. He sits down on a picnic bench so I sit across from him. The look on his face is so hard and serious that I get a little scared. I've never seen Niall mad before and I had planned on not being around when he does.
"What's up, Niall?" I say in the best happy voice I can muster right now. Seriously, I was just sexually assaulted and then Hunter shows up. I'm not in the mood to be genuinely happy.
"Why are you dating him?" Niall asks. Talk about blunt, I think, rolling my eyes.
"Look, Hunter is a great guy," I start on my usual speech about Hunter. "Really, he loves me and I love him."
"How can you say that? He's the one who stole your purse."
"Yeah, but he was in a tough position. It was either that or starve," I retort. This time, it's Niall's turn to roll his eyes.
"Oh, please! You believe that crap?" Niall asks exasperated.
"What do you mean?" I ask, my voice slowly rising.
"I mean, Hunter is playing you. He's a rich guy who likes to mess with girls' hearts and have sex with them. Hunter isn't the great guy you like to tell us. And I have a feeling you already know that," Niall yells. I'm shocked that Niall said that. I'm also a little hurt.
"You don't know anything about him," I growl. Niall throws his head back dramatically.
"And you do?" He asks sourly. I nod my head and cross my arms. "Okay, what's his parents' names? Where did he go to primary school? How many siblings does he have? How did he end up "homeless" and "in a bad position"?" Niall asks, putting air quotes around homeless and in a bad position. I frown as I realize I don't know the answers to any of those questions. I slump down and think. Hunter never talks about those things. I've asked, but he always says he likes talking about me more. I never once thought twice about it.
"Exactly," Niall says, leaning back and smiling at his win. I roll my eyes and glare at him.
"And do you know the answers to those questions about Liv?" I ask. "Because, believe it or not, she's not the perfect girl you want to believe."
Niall shakes his head.
"No. This is not about me. This is about how stupid you are to be dating a thief!"
"And you're dating a bitch plus thief!" I counter louder than I wanted. Niall knits his eyebrows together in confusion.
"What has Liv ever stolen?"
I'm about to tell him she stole my bracelet but I stop myself.
"I thought you were my friend," I say, tears forming in my eyes as I stand up and stare down at the one person I thought I could count on. "You know what, you are just like Josie. One minute you're my friend, the next you're calling me stupid and hating on my boyfriend. If I were a dumb girl, I'd say you're jealous."
I have a flashback to Josie and I's fight. This seems all too familiar.
"Wow. I'm done here. What good are friends if all they do is stab you in the back?" I ask, turning around and walking away. Year fall down my face, but I wipe them away once I see my friends - that is if they're not gonna hate on Hunter - standing at the bean bag toss.
Louis' POV
Tara comes back, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. I can tell she's pissed right now. I look around for Jack and Kelly when I remember them saying they were going to look for some food. I try thinking of a way to get her to smile when I remember the caricature Harry, Zayn, and I got. I walk over to Harry and take it from him. Tara is talking to Hunter about something. I walk up to them and smile.
"Hey, T! Check this out," I say, showing her the caricature. Tara smiles as she looks at us. Caricature Louis is crossing his eyes and holding up two thumbs up. Harry's caricature self is sticking his tongue out and giving the peace sign to someone. Caricature Zayn is smiling and squinting his eyes whilst sticking bunny ears behind Harry. The whole picture is insane but perfect.
"It's cool," Tara says. I look at her and can tell that she looks less mad. That's good news. Niall comes up behind me and walks over to Liam. I watch as he whispers something in his ear and Liam's smiling face falls to a frown. Liam nods his head and pats his back. Niall pulls out his phone and dials a number. He starts talking and then hangs up.
"Hunter, let's go check out the tea cup ride," Tara says, eyeing Niall. Hunter smirks and grabs her hand.
"'Kay, babe. Let's go," Hunter says. I glare at him when he says "babe".
Liam's POV
Niall comes up to me and whispers in my ear that he's gonna go back to the flat. I try to argue but I look at his tired expression and tell him to go back and take a bath or something. Niall nods and walks away. I hear him talk to Paul and then hang up.
I look over at Harry and Zayn and see them divide up some tickets. Jack and Kelly are, I guess, still getting food. I look over at Louis and see him watch Tara and Hunter. Something about Hunter makes me uneasy. He's just got that weird aura that makes me nauseous. I catch Louis' eye and motion for him to come over to me. Louis nods his head and leaves right as Tara and Hunter walk in the opposite direction.
"Niall is going back to the flat," I say once Louis is in front of me.
"Yeah, well, Tara and Hunter are going off on their own. I think they said the tea cup ride," Louis says sadly.
"That's okay. I'm sure Hunter is a decent lad," I say, attempting to reassure the both of us.
"But Tara deserves better than a 'decent lad'," Louis shoots back. I agree with him on that. Tara deserves the best lad out there. And, honestly, I believe the best lad for her is Niall. But, of course, they are both dating someone else for everyone else's benefit. Niall is pleasing the fans and management whilst Tara claims she's protecting us from Hunter's anger.
They both have good intentions but they are both missing each other. Tara and Niall are so perfect for each other it hurts me to see them with other people.
"We need to get them together," Louis says. I nods my head in agreement.
"And I know the perfect way."
A/N:
Heylo! This chapter is a mix of a filler and a lead-up but whatever. I don't really have much to say about anything. Go pre-order Made In the A.M. ASAP!
Anyway, if you like my story, please comment, vote, and/or follow me! Love ya!