Picture of Brooke.
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Breakfast the next morning was extremely awkward between us. Scarlett was really, really hungover, Franklin was grumpy and I was just tired. It was almost like I wished our parents would be back home so we wouldn't be forced to spend time together. Since mom gave Lisa permission to stay home until Sunday, we needed to make dinner and all that by ourselves for the first time in ages.
We never even mentioned last night. I guess Franklin was still in shock that Niall knows we're siblings after all this time. And I'm not even sure if Scarlett remembers anything. She just sat with her face in her palms during breakfast meanwhile Franklin was nibbling on his cereals. I was on my phone without saying anything the whole time. Eventually it buzzed in my hand. It was a text from Brooke who asked me if I wanted to go shopping later today.
I grabbed my bowl and placed it in the sink as I typed an answer.
"How long has he known?" Franklin suddenly asked me when I was about to leave the room. I turned around and looked at him. "Niall." He explained.
Scarlett's head snapped up when his name was mentioned.
"Since the charity gala." I simply said.
"Why did you tell him out of all people? You haven't even told your friends." He frowned. Scarlett looked between us, also with a frown on her face.
"It's a long story. Don't act like you care."
"I don't." He shrugged and looked down at his bowl. "It's just that Niall can't keep secrets."
"He's been keeping it for a while now, so..."
"Wow, he kept his mouth shut an entire week! Maybe you're right, no one will figure it out." Franklin sarcastically said.
"I trust him, okay? It's not like-"
"You shouldn't trust him." He interrupted, totally ignoring Scarlett's stare. "I've known him since he joined the team two years ago. I've seen what he does to girls and I'm not just gonna sit here and watch him destroy you."
"What are you gonna do about it? Tackle him, like you tackled Riley?"
"Who's Riley?" Scarlett asked and I glanced at her.
"Her ex."
"You've had a boyfriend?" She exclaimed and looked at me, before turning back to Franklin. "How come you knew about him and I didn't?"
"Because." He said and turned his attention back to me. "The thing is that you shouldn't get involved with Niall. You'll only end up getting hurt."
I'm already hurting on a daily basis
It's nothing new to me
"The thing is that he cares about me more than any of you." I said and looked between them. "Would you drive me around town late at night because I needed your help? Would you calm me down when I was having a panic attack? Would you be worried about me not getting home safe enough?"
He didn't answer. Neither did Scarlett.
"That's what I thought." I muttered and left the room.
I replied to Brooke's text, saying that I'd love to meet her up at the mall. I could really use some company today, even though I'm super tired.
"What do you think about this one?"
With half closed eyes I looked up at Brooke. She was standing in the dressing room with another dress hanging on her body. She had been trying on different dresses for the past 20 minutes, and to me, they all looked the same.
"It's cute." I mumbled, trying not to yawn.
"You've already said that." She sighed. "Every dress I've tried on has been "cute". I brought you out today because I needed some advice and thoughts, and "cute" doesn't make it easier."
"It's because every single one looks cute on you." I said.
"Thanks, but I still need something more than just cute. I wanna look good on my date with Caleb."
"Yeah, I get that." I said and looked at the dresses that hung next to her. "I liked the blue one. Try it on again."
"Finally." She smiled and closed the curtains to get changed. She talked to me in the meantime but I barely even listened. I was just exhausted from last night, from when we were looking for Scarlett. I wondered if Niall was upset at me for some reason. He never replied to the message I sent when I was about to go to sleep. Maybe he was already back home, sleeping too. I guess I will find out that on Monday at school.
Brooke pushed the curtains aside and showed me the blue dress again. I nodded and faintly smiled.
"I like it." I said.
"Me too. Should I buy it?"
I nodded, and for some reason her smile tuned out a bit.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"What? Nothing."
"You seem sad."
"Just tired. It was a long night."
"What did you do?"
Damn it
"I was... um... at the hospital with mom all night."
Brooke frowned.
"Why?"
"She needed help." I tried.
"With what?"
I looked away.
"Alright. You don't wanna talk about it, I get it. Meet me by the check outs."
10 minutes later we were sitting in a cosy little café. I paid for both of our orders because Brooke had spent all of her money on clothes. She, as usual, asked how I possibly could afford so many things without being broke once. I had bought a pair of black Vans and ripped skinny jeans from Topshop, so she thought it was weird that I could pay for both her drink and mine. We shared a chocolate cake and took a table for two. I knew she was curious on what I did "at the hospital", but thankfully she didn't brought it up again. She was texting Caleb once in a while since they were going out on a date tonight. Katelyn is out of town with her family, Josephine and Miles are celebrating their anniversary, Zara is babysitting her siblings, Casper are going to a movie night with his friends along with Lucas, Maddie is working late tonight and Riley isn't an option, which means that I have to stay home tonight. I bet Franklin is going to leave the house and Scarlett will stay in her room. Maybe I could crash the movie night Casper and Lucas is going to, because I don't really feel like being alone tonight.
"Are you going to Niall's party next weekend?" Brooke asked and put down her phone.
"I don't know. Are you?"
"Probably. The others are going, so..."
"And the entire school." I sighed. "You know I don't really like being around people."
"But you did great at his last party!" She encouraged me. "And this time all of us will be there to keep an eye on you."
"True..."
"It's going to be like Franklin Crawford's party all over again. Didn't you think his party was fun?"
"I'm sure Zara did since w-he has a pool." I said, trying not to show her how I nearly messed up.
"Yeah." She laughed and took a sip on her latte. "So, what's the deal with you and Niall? I haven't really had the time to ask you about him lately."
"You could have texted me or something." I said.
"You're right, I'm sorry. So what's up with you two?"
"Nothing." I frowned. "We're just locker neighbours."
"Oh come on, Olivia." She said and rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't disappear with him during his party if you were 'just locker neighbours'. Besides, you were kind of freaking out when you came back to the house and wanted to leave."
"Okay, we know each other, so what? He's a douchebag."
"No need to get offensive. I just asked what was going on between you guys."
"It's okay." I said and threw my cup into the nearest bin and got up from my chair. "I need to buy a new perfume, you coming?"
---
Monday morning. Everyone around me looked like they haven't slept all weekend. They were kind of dragging their feet behind themselves as they walked down the hallway. People were talking with their friends by the lockers, a couple were lazily snogging and one of the cheerleaders was sitting in the stairs, doing some last minute studying. I sneaked past her and went to my locker. I froze just when I got to the corner. Niall was by the lockers, talking to someone, about me. I pressed myself up against the wall to eavesdrop.
"...and that's why Scarlett said the things she said." I heard Niall say.
"It doesn't make any sense at all." The person answered.
"I know." Niall muttered and my ear caught the sound of a book slamming into the locker. "But the important part is that Scarlett was wasted. They're not siblings."
Someone from behind accidentally walked right into me, making me stumble forward so I came around the corner. Niall looked over his shoulder at the sound of my footsteps and did a double take when he saw it was me.
"Speaking of the devil. Eavesdrop much, Coleman?"
I pushed aside a strand of hair from my face and looked at him. The first thing I noticed was his red, button up shirt. He had fold up the sleeves so you could see parts of his tattoos and his normal quiff was messier than usual. It looked like he had just rolled out of bed and run a hand through it.
Then I saw that he was talking to two guys from the party Scarlett sneaked off to. I recognised them since they were surrounding the sofa set where we found her. One of them was Victor from my science class and the other guy was a junior.
I walked up to them and opened my locker, not saying anything. I shoved my bag into the locker and hung my jacket on the hook. One of my sleeves decided to be a bitch and reveal my wrists, but luckily the three guys were busy talking about some game that was on TV last night. At least they changed the subject.
I got up on my tiptoes to reach the top shelf where my math book was lying. In the corner of my eye I could see Niall glancing at me, while listening to what Victor was talking about. Then he leaned closer to me, grabbed my book and gave it to me before returning to the conversation. The junior guy looked at me, and it made me a bit uncomfortable. He was leaning against the wall, chewing gum and resting his eyes on my body. I awkwardly pulled out my phone to pretend I was texting someone.
"Shit, what time is it?" Victor suddenly asked.
The bell went off right when Niall was about to answer him. Victor grabbed onto the junior kid and quickly forced him down the hallway. Niall turned his body towards me.
"Told you I would fix it." He proudly said and crossed his arms while leaning his shoulder against his locker.
"What did you tell them?"
"Does it matter?" He said with a small frown.
"Um, yeah?" I said and slid my phone down my pocket again.
"I told them you and Scarlett were close friends, so close that you call each other sister." He shrugged. "Isn't that what girls usually do with their best friends? Pretend to be sisters or something?"
"Guys call their friends "bro" all the time." I said with a small chuckle. "And thanks for doing that on Friday, by the way."
"Doing what?"
"You know." I rolled my eyes as a smirk appeared on his lips.
"No, I don't know what you're talking about." He teased, slightly playing with his lip ring.
"Don't make me say it." I groaned and leaned my forehead against the wall.
"I'm gonna make you say it."
I sighed deeply and glared at him.
"Thanks for kissing me so I would calm down."
"My pleasure." He smirked.
"So what's with the fancy clothes?" I asked and slammed my locker door shut.
"Do I need a reason to dress nice?"
He started walking down the hallway, with his math book under his arm.
"No, I just... your current look doesn't really match your image." I said and quickly followed him.
"And what's my image, exactly?" He asked and looked down at me as I walked next to him towards the classroom.
"You know, the bad boy image. The mysterious guy with tattoos and piercings who get caught by the police once in a while."
"Don't forget the womanizer part." He grinned.
I rolled my eyes.
"It's kind of disgusting that you see yourself as that."
"Well it's true, isn't it? It's not like I haven't heard the rumours about me."
"There wouldn't be a rumour if you just stick to one girl."
I stopped outside the door and turned to him. He grabbed his math book from under his arm and gave me a smug smile.
"But that wouldn't match my image, now would it?" He said, pinched my cheek and entered the classroom.
---
The week went by rather quick and Saturday arrived. I was inside the bathroom at Katelyn's sister's flat, squeezed in between Brooke and Maddie in front of the mirror. We were all getting ready to go to Niall's party. The guys were getting ready at Riley's house meanwhile we were here, so we said we'd meet them at the place Niall had rent. Maddie was putting on some lipstick, Brooke was curling her hair and I was putting on my earrings. I was wearing a dark blue lace dress with long sleeves, and Josephine had done my hair into a messy ponytail with braids on the sides. The girls were impressed with how I looked and I actually felt good about myself for once.
Zara, Josephine and Katelyn were out in the lounge room, listening to loud music, but I could still hear their laughter. When I was done, I left the bathroom and went to the lounge room. Zara were dancing, as usual, and Josephine and Katelyn were having a laughing conversation in the couch. I joined them and Katelyn offered me a drink, which I kindly denied. Josephine placed her hand on my knee and looked at me.
"Miles has some really cute friends. Do you want me to introduce you to one of them?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Oh, come on Liv!" Katelyn complained. "Can't you just like, hook up with a bunch of guys tonight and ignore them for the rest of your life? It's super funny, trust me."
"Yeah I'm sure you've done it a few times." Josephine teased her.
"A few?" I laughed.
"Oh shut up!" Katelyn said and tried keeping her laugh away, but failed.
"Anyways, should I ask Miles? His friends will attend the party tonight." Josephine asked.
"It's okay. I'm not interested." I smiled.
"You should hook up with someone really hot." Katelyn continued. "Like Franklin or Austin... or why not the birthday boy himself? I bet he wouldn't say no to some action tonight."
"Why are you so obsessed with Franklin, anyway?" I asked her, trying to draw the attention away from me as much as possible.
"He's one of the hottest guys at school." She shrugged. "I wonder if Samuel is going to be there." She giggled and leaned back in the couch, sipping on her drink.
"Samuel? As in our history teacher?" Josephine asked laughing.
"Um, yeah?" Katelyn said and raised her eyebrows. "He's fucking gorgeous!"
"But why on earth would he show up at a high school party?" I asked.
"Rumour has it that he's a close friend of Niall's." She shrugged.
"So you're saying th-"
"We're ready!" Brooke called out, interrupting me.
Maddie went to turn off the music and she grabbed onto Zara and forced her towards the hall. Katelyn got up from the couch, leaving her drink on the table and headed towards her sister's bedroom to tell her we were leaving. The reason we stayed at her sister's flat was because we could walk from here to the place where Niall's party was going to be held. And because Katelyn wanted some alcohol and she knew her sister had some.
We met up with Casper, Riley, Lucas and Miles outside the club. All 10 of us entered the building together and I was overwhelmed with loud music as soon as we stepped inside. There were literally people everywhere. Everyone was dancing, laughing, screaming, drinking and pushing each other. We lost Zara pretty quickly. She took Casper with her as she disappeared into the crowd. None of us were surprised that she found her way to the dance floor within a minute. Miles and Josephine went to greet Miles' childhood friends and Riley went to see if he could find drinks to us. I stayed by Lucas' side as Brooke started talking with Caleb. Their date last weekend turned out great and I think they're going to start dating even more. It's just a matter of time. Katelyn and Maddie started dancing on the spot and Lucas and I just watched them. Thank god I have Lucas here. He's just as awkward as me.
When Riley came back with a couple of bottles, Katelyn took off. She saw an old ex and dragged Maddie with her as they left me alone with my own ex and Lucas.
"Here." Riley said and handed me a bottle of cider. He gave Lucas a bottle of beer and took a sip of his own. I sipped on my drink and looked around me. The place was dark but I could clearly see all the familiar faces of people from school. There was a stage in the other end of the room, where a band was setting up their stuff to play later tonight. At the moment, a DJ was keeping the music going. Everyone seemed to have great time, but I couldn't completely enjoy myself.
I looked back to Riley and Lucas, who were having a conversation about sports cars. I wasn't interested in participate since I don't really like cars, or sports. All I wanted was actually to leave.
"Looking good, Crawford." A familiar voice mumbled in my ear.
I spun around and faced a smirking Niall. My eyes rolled quickly down his body. He was wearing black skinny jeans (as usual), a white t-shirt with some kind of grey shirt over it, which he left undone with the buttons. He had black sneakers on his feet and a beer in his hand. His hair was in a quiff and to be fair, he looked really hot.
"Don't you dare call me that." I warned him.
"Whatcha gonna do about it?" He said with a smug smile. "Be careful what you say. You don't want to make the birthday boy upset, do you?"
I rolled my eyes and his eyes rolled down my body.
"At least one of my wishes came true."
"And what was that?" I asked.
He smirked and placed his arm around my shoulders, turning me around towards Riley and Lucas. He leaned down a bit and smelled my neck for a second.
"Remember that I wanted to see you wearing a skirt?" He mumbled.
I froze as his hot breath collided with my cold skin. He greeted Lucas, but just stared at Riley even though he tried to wish Niall a happy birthday.
Why doesn't he move his arm?
The three of them started talking about a new movie that's coming out in the cinema next week. I didn't really listen, but I guess it was a comedy or something.
"By the way..." Niall mumbled, turning his gaze down towards me, meanwhile Riley and Lucas continued talking about the movie. "That dress of yours is driving me insane."
I could feel my heart beating faster but tried not to show it. The corner of Niall's lips went up into a half smile as I sipped on my drink.
Niall removed his arm, gave Riley once last unreadable look before disappearing into the ocean of people who were here for him.
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