[Harry]
After quite some time, Louis finally got out of the men's bathroom and ate his food, even if he stayed quiet the whole night with his phone in his hand. Well, I couldn't say anything about it, though, because I did the exact same thing, except that I didn't have my phone. Instead, I was staring down at my half-eaten chicken with rice, waiting for the time to pass quickly so we could go home.
There was no question that mum and Troy were concerned about the two of us, even more now after the scene they had witnessed. They kept sending worrying glances between the two of us but didn't say anything, something I was happy about. The evening had definitely not gone as they first planned, and it seemed like they had accepted that and dropped the mission of bringing me and Louis closer together. Well, at least for now.
As for Gemma, she had this guilty look on her face throughout the entire dinner. She was aware that she was the cause of the fight between me and Louis, something she probably wasn't very proud of. Obviously, she hadn't thought through what she was going to say before she did, and well, this was the outcome of it. Louis and I didn't so much as look at each other for the rest of the evening thanks to what happened.
Although I wanted to be mad at Gemma for revealing that she knew of Louis and I's friendship, I couldn't help but feel as if it had been a good thing in the end. Not that I liked the fight Louis and I had, but it at least got me thinking again. I was finally one step closer to finding out what made him abandon me two years ago.
And that was what kept me up that night. My mind was spinning with different scenarios of what possibly could've made Louis leave, or what I did to make him leave, more specifically. But I couldn't come up with anything. The only thing I could think of was that Liam and I had started becoming friends at the time and that he was jealous of him, but that couldn't be it, right? Why would he even be jealous of Liam? It wasn't like he actually enjoyed me as a friend so much that he would get jealous of me being friends with other people, would he?
With those thoughts on my mind, I eventually fell into a very light sleep. I woke up at least five times, Louis' words still repeating in my head.
"What did you ever do to me, huh? If you actually had a brain or some shit in your head, you would know. You would know how fucking awful I felt at the time, how much I just needed someone, but of course you didn't. You were too busy with your own shit."
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When I walked into school the next day, I was feeling rather down. My head hung low as I dragged my feet against the floor, my backpack thrown over my shoulder lazily, as if I couldn't care less about anything. It was quite unusual for me not to be excited when I walked through these hallways in the morning. I was usually a person who enjoyed school and going to all of my lessons. Hell, I usually even liked the atmosphere in here.
However, that was not the case today. After everything that had taken place last evening, I couldn't even so much as bring a smile on my face. Louis hadn't even bothered to throw me his infamous glares at breakfast this morning. He had just sat there, staring at nothing, literally. His eyes were blank, no spark in them whatsoever.
To be honest, I didn't really know why I was feeling so down. I mean, why should the fight between me and Louis affect me this much? None of our previous ones had done before, so I didn't know what was so special about this one. Maybe it was because this fight had to do with our friendship two years ago? No matter what, this was not how I usually acted after a fight between the two of us, and that was a fact.
Eventually, I arrived at my locker to find my best friend standing there as usual, although he wasn't wearing that wide grin on his face today. Apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling down this morning. "Morning, Liam," I greeted with a grimace as I put in my combination and opened my locker to get rid of my backpack and jacket.
"Hey," was the only thing he said, which made me more curious about what had happened to make him this sad.
I sneaked a glance at him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem very happy. Did something happen?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to upset him in case someone near him had died or something. Who knows, it could be anything.
A small, weak smile formed on his lips as he shook his head. "Nothing important. I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, you know?" He tried to joke, but not even a little kid would laugh at him, I was sure of it.
"Ha ha, very funny, Li. Now, tell me what really happened," I demanded, grabbing my Math books and closing my locker to face him.
Before he could open his mouth, though, a tap on my shoulder interrupted him. He stared at the person behind me weirdly, as if he had no idea why they would be there. Frowning, I turned around only to be met with a sight that made my eyes widen. No wonder Liam thought it was weird that he out of all people was here, trying to get my attention. "Niall?" I asked in confusion, raising my eyebrows at him. "What are you--"
The blonde-haired guy held up a hand with a grimace on his face, signaling me to keep my mouth shut. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior at the party Friday night. What I did was just uncalled for and I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I just... gosh, I'm so sorry," he said, running a hand through his blonde locks nervously with a pink blush tinting his cheeks.
I just shook my head, feeling a little awkward about the whole situation. I could still remember the way he had tried to make me dance with him and also the way he had tried to seduce me. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but he had been drunk after all, so I shouldn't blame him. Many people did weird things when they were intoxicated.
Liam's eyes stared at the side of my face now, a curious glint glistening in them. "Eh..." I trailed off uncertainly. "Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean anything, so relax. I'm not going to tell anyone, by the way," I promised, giving him a timid smile.
He furrowed his eyebrows together but didn't say anything, which I found a little weird. However, I didn't question it but just waited for him to finally open his mouth. "Cool. Thank you for understanding," he muttered before turning on his heel and walking away from us.
For a moment, I just stood there, following his figure until it disappeared around the corner. What the hell was that? And why would he even apologize in the first place? I mean, I thought it was obvious he didn't know what he was doing that night, and that he had just acted on the alcohol. It even surprised me that he remembered he had actually flirted with me, judging by his actions that evening. It all just really confused me, making me want to push it aside and think about something else instead. It was just too much for me to handle.
Thankfully, the bell snapped me out of my thoughts, and also saved me from being questioned by Liam about what had just happened. Though, I knew he would probably ask me about it as soon as he got the chance to, so it only helped me for the time being. But, at least that was something.
Together, Liam and I made our way to the Math classroom and joined the students who had already arrived there. The bell had rung, yes, but there were still quite a few people who weren't here yet, one of them being a certain feathery haired boy who lived in my house. I sat down in my seat, dropping my books on the desk in front of me as I waited for the class to start.
Liam surprisingly didn't interrogate me about the Niall thing the first thing he did. Instead, he kept his eyes on the door, as if he was waiting for someone to walk through it. I didn't say anything. I was just happy he didn't bring anything up because I didn't want to explain what had happened at the party with Niall. He was drunk anyway, so it didn't really matter, right?
Mr. Storm was just about to open his mouth and begin the lesson when the door was pushed open. My eyes snapped up at the sound, only to find Louis entering the room with his arm wrapped around Eleanor's waist. They seemed rather deep in conversation, something Mr. Storm found annoying since they had arrived after the bell had rung, and had interrupted him when he was about to start the class. He cleared his throat, making the couple turn to him once they had sat down at a desk in the back.
"Yes, Mr. Storm?" Louis asked with mock politeness.
The teacher opened his mouth again, but just like last time, he was interrupted by the classroom door slamming shut. In walked none other than Zayn and that blonde girl he had been hanging with lately. My gaze flicked to Liam who was now resting his chin against his forearms that were lazily placed on the desk in front of him. To say he looked happy would have been a definite lie. He looked about ready to start crying his eyes out.
"That's it!" Mr. Storm snapped, banging his fist against the surface of his desk. "I'm sick and tired of you four always arriving late to my classes. It doesn't even help that I give you detention every single day, you still refuse to listen to me. I mean, come on! How difficult can it be to just get here on time?"
The classroom fell dead silent after his mini-tantrum. Through the corner of my eye, I could even see Louis staring at the teacher with widened eyes, which was not likely at all. He usually played everything off as a joke and never took things seriously. Maybe this would finally make him realize that he did act like an asshole sometimes.
To everyone's surprise, Eleanor was the first one to speak up. "We're sorry, Mr. Storm. We'll start behaving, we promise," she apologized with a dark blush on her cheeks.
He wouldn't have any of it, though, and to be completely honest, I had never seen him more upset in my life. Sure, Mr. Storm was usually quite strict, but I had never seen him snap like this before. "I believe it when I see it," he snorted, flicking his gaze between the four students with a disapproving look. "For now, you'll get away with detention, but if this behavior of yours repeats again, I would suggest you not even attend my lessons. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir," Eleanor and the blonde girl muttered while Zayn and Louis still just stared at the man blankly.
It wasn't until the end of the lesson that the two guys looked completely composed, and I had to say that was very unlike them. They usually brushed things like these off as if they couldn't care less about it. But then again, Mr. Storm had never snapped this way at them before, so hopefully, they had finally realized that they should actually start listening to him. Their behavior pissed me off sometimes too, and it disappointed me that I was one of very few people who could see it.
Once the bell rang, I gathered my stuff and exited the classroom with Liam in toe. I walked with rather quick strides, not wanting to risk bumping into Louis and Eleanor. After the way he had treated me this morning, I was quite sure he wouldn't confront me at least, but I just didn't want to see what he would do if it were to happen. I didn't know what would be the worst; him giving me a rude remark or him just ignoring me. Both of the options seemed just as bad.
Liam followed me all the way to my locker, where I stopped to exchange my Maths books with my English ones. He was still being quiet, which reminded me that he never explained the reason why he was acting weird this morning. "So, are you going to tell me why you're awfully quiet today?" I asked him, making him snap his head up.
His eyes narrowed. "If you tell me why Niall Horan walked up to you this morning and apologized for something that happened at the party," he said, and I gulped. Shit. I was going to have to tell him after all.
"Alright, fine. Let's take it on the way to your locker."
He nodded curtly, and with that, I slammed my locker shut, and we started walking in the direction of his locker. It was silent at first, none of us wanting to take the initiative and start explaining. Eventually, though, I gave in and let out a defeated sigh. "Okay, so at the party when I went to get you and Ed new drinks, Niall spilled his drink on me. There was nothing special about it. He just seemed unusually nice, you know? I thought it was because he was drunk, and I guess that turned out to be it since he then went a little over the limit by stroking my arm and whispering in my ear in an attempt to seduce me. That was pretty much it, and I guess he just wanted to apologize for his actions earlier," I shrugged, although it still didn't make sense to me. Why would he apologize when it didn't mean anything? It was all just a drunken mistake, something to just look past and forget about. Well, at least it was to me.
Liam seemed deep in thought, as if he was trying to put something together in his head. "Has he done anything else to you lately?" He asked thoughtfully.
I shook my head, but then remembered that he had saved me from getting injured on the bus a few days ago and also met my gaze at the football game. Furthermore, I had noticed that he wasn't being his usual self at lunch when he was with his friends, but I doubted that had anything to do with this. "Well, he kind of saved me from falling on the bus one day and also caught my gaze at the football game. I don't know if that counts as something, though. Why?"
Liam's lips formed a small smile. "I don't know about you, but to me it sounds like someone's got a crush, especially judging by the way he reacted earlier when you said you knew that he didn't mean anything when he touched you at the party. Niall definitely fancies you," he smirked.
My mouth turned into the shape of an 'o', and I started shaking my head vigorously. "No, no. There's no way. I.... He hates me, Liam. You know he does! Haven't you witnessed when he's made fun of me all those times? He doesn't like me, Liam. You've got it all wrong."
"Actually, now that I think about it. He's been quite distant lately, hasn't he? He's not even paying attention to what his friends talk about at lunch anymore, and that's definitely saying something. He's so got a crush on you, mate," he said smugly, probably proud that he had put the puzzle pieces together all by himself.
"Whatever," I said, shaking my head. "Even if he does, the feelings are not reciprocated. I mean, how am I supposed to like someone who's never done anything but give me rude remarks? If he actually wants my attention, he should at least try a little better. That's why I have a hard time believing you, Li. I still don't think you're right."
He rolled his eyes. "Believe me, I am right, and you should give him a chance. If he tries to get closer to you, that is. I mean, he's definitely far from the ugliest guy at this school," he joked, giving me a teasing nudge in the side.
"Shut up," I muttered, and for some reason, an image of a familiar feathery-haired guy popped into my head, making me want to slap myself. I did not just think of my stepbrother, okay?
By now, we had arrived at Liam's locker a long time ago, yet he hadn't moved to open it. "So, now on to you," I said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Why the sad look on your face today?"
He let out a sigh and shut his locker with a slam. Right at that moment, Zayn walked by with the blonde girl, smiling at something she had just said. However, when they passed us, he looked up and gave Liam a glare that seemed to hold feelings that without a doubt meant something had happened between the two of them.
My gaze turned back to see Liam's reaction, and it didn't surprise me when he looked down at his shoes with a sad expression on his face. Yeah, something had definitely happened between them.
When Zayn and the girl were out of sight, I looked at him expectantly. "It has to do with Zayn, doesn't it?"
He let out a defeated sigh and looked up at me with a weak smile. "Yeah..." He trailed off hesitantly. I had waited so long to know what his thoughts on Zayn were, ever since he had started throwing these glances his way a few weeks ago. It could be anything from lo-- "We kissed at the party," he admitted at last, making my eyes widen in surprise.
"What?!"
He chuckled dryly. "Yeah... and I kind of... possibly have feelings for him?" he continued, staring back down at his shoes again.
I looked at him in shock, not knowing why I didn't already know of this. We were best friends. I thought we told each other these sorts of things? "And you haven't told me before because...?"
"Because I was embarrassed, okay? I know he's already got a girlfriend and it's so weird to have a crush on someone who's obviously unavailable and to top that off, way out of your league. I mean, have you seen him? He looks like some sort of Greek god for goodness' sake!" He let out in frustration, his cheeks heating up by the second.
I chuckled, giving him a smile as he shook his head, running a hand through his brown hair. "He's not out of your league, mate. Believe me. You two would actually make a pretty hot couple," I admitted truthfully. I had never really thought about the two of them together before, but when I pictured them in my head now, I realized they would actually look great together.
"Ha, yeah, as if."
Rolling my eyes, I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Well, you said you two kissed at the party, right? Tell me more about it. I want to know everything."
He glanced at me, nodding his head after a few seconds. "Okay, so I don't really remember much from that night seeing as it was my first time being drunk, but I would be a fool not to remember kissing Zayn. Anyway, it was after you had gone home, and Ed and I had gone to the living room to dance. He was there, on the dance floor, and I guess he was just as intoxicated as me because we started grinding on each other, and then one thing led to another, and yeah..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.
I gave him a thoughtful look, tugging at my bottom lip with my thumb and forefinger. "So, you're telling me you and Zayn kissed when he is already in a relationship with someone else?"
He nodded slowly. "I guess?"
"Well, to me it seems like he doesn't like his girlfriend as much as he makes it look like he does. I mean, if I were in a relationship with someone, I would not go and grind on someone else just like that. Sure, he was drunk, but since he obviously remembers kissing you, judging by the look he just gave you, he can't have been that wasted. I think he knew what he was doing, but that he doesn't want to admit it to himself that he has feelings for you," I concluded. It wasn't until the words escaped my mouth that I realized how true they were. It actually sounded very realistic.
Liam had his eyebrows pulled in a frown. "So, what do you reckon I do? I can't just go up to him and tell him to dump his girlfriend and be with me instead, no matter how much I'd like to do that. He would never look my way again. Plus, I would embarrass the hell out of myself."
I rolled my eyes. "Obviously not. You should tease him, make him flustered, and frustrated that he doesn't have you. Make him realize that he's better off with you than with that girl he is with at the moment," I suggested.
He contemplated it for a second. "But, what if he doesn't have feelings for me? Then what? I go and humiliate myself in front of one of the most popular guys at this school? I don't know about you, but I want to be able to go to school in the future without having to hide from everyone."
"Don't be so dramatic. At least you'll know whether he reciprocates your feelings or not. Isn't that worth it?"
He bit his bottom lip, looking at me for a long time before he let out a groan. "Fine, I'll do it. But if it turns out I've done everything just to humiliate myself, I'm blaming you, okay? You'll probably have to bring me my homework home from school as well," he threatened, making me chuckle.
"Alright."
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Alright alright alright. This chapter was sooooo boring, I'm aware. No Larry is a boring chapter. But, Narry and Ziam, eh? No? Okay...
More Larry is coming up, though, I promise. I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I last updated by the way, but I'm very busy these days and I seriously don't have time to write anymore. School and volleyball are taking up so much time, so please don't be mad at me for updating late sometimes :/
Pauline .xx