Niall's POV
I really didn't want to go to school the next day and I was ashamed to admit that Harry was the reason why. I always told myself not to be the kind of person that felt overly upset because of a boy but I couldn't help it. I couldn't help but feel completely and totally crushed.
To be perfectly honest, I felt kind of pathetic about it. Harry and I weren't even together for fuck's sake. He was my pretend boyfriend, neither of us were supposed to have feelings for each other. Even if we did, that was no reason for me to cry over it like an over-emotional teenager.
I let out a frustrated groan, getting out of my bed and shaking away all of the thoughts about Harry. I didn't want to be upset about him and I wasn't going to let him bring me down like that. I just needed to make things return to normal. That meant getting ready for school without so much as thinking about Harry for even a second.
Having pushed back any potential thoughts of Harry, I was able to get ready in less time than usual. I blamed it on the fact that I didn't bother styling my hair, nor did I bother to change out of the sweatpants that I was already wearing.
I left the house straight after that, ignoring the comments that I received from my parents due to my less than attractive choice of clothing. For once, I couldn't care less about how people saw me.
~
"Hey, Niall," Louis said, leaning against the locker next to mine.
"Hey," I mumbled, pulling out my textbooks from my locker and slammed the metal door shut, not even fazed by the loud noise it made.
"I see that you're in a bad mood," he rolled his eyes.
"I'm not in a bad mood. I'm in a fantastic mood. Absolutely fucking brilliant," I replied, though the sarcasm seemed to make it obvious that I was in fact in a terrible mood.
Though it could be worse, at least I hadn't seen Harry in person yet. I didn't know how I would react once I did see his stupidly perfect face but for the sake of my sanity, I was glad it hadn't happened just yet.
Harry wasn't the only reason that I was in a bad mood. The blame also lay with the other students. Seeing as though I had 'broken up' with Harry; the most popular kid in school, in the middle of the school halls, it wasn't difficult for people to find out about it. People had been whispering and looking at me strangely all day. It was so much worse than the attention I had received when people found out about us in the first place.
"So there's no way to fix you and Harry then?" he asked, looking at me almost sympathetically. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but his eyes clouded with guilt as soon as he had said Harry's name. I couldn't say what emotion my own eyes displayed once his name was mentioned.
"It's impossible to fix something that never actually existed, Louis. Why do you ask, anyways?" I asked.
"Because...you've been sulking ever since you fell out with him," he admitted, seemingly not wanting to say this. "And I know that deep down you wish there was something between you two," he added with a shrug.
"Well, there isn't. He's an asshole and I'm an idiot for even thinking that something good was going to happen," I snapped, rolling my eyes. I wasn't particularly mad at Louis for what he had said, knowing that he was simply saying what he thought was true but I couldn't help but feel mad at myself for almost agreeing with him.
"Niall..." Louis said sympathetically, causing me to shake my head.
"I don't care but can we please not talk about him? I'd rather not think about it," I replied, my tone still incredibly bitter.
Louis opened his mouth, as if he wanted to continue talking about it but he thankfully said nothing more about Harry.
"Okay, fine. Let's go to class," he murmured, grabbing my arm and dragging me to class.
~
I hoped to go at least one day without seeing Harry at all but luck certainly wasn't on my side. The universe must hate me or something because right as I was leaving, there he was. He looked really damn pleased with himself, so in other words, nothing had changed.
For some unknown reason, he seemed so much better looking to me. Perhaps the reason was because I knew I couldn't go over and kiss him. People weren't lying when they said things were more desirable when you couldn't have them.
The only thing that was different now were the obvious red marks littered on his neck, the fucker didn't even bother to try and cover them. They obviously weren't left by me, so it was clear Harry had hooked up with someone else. It shouldn't have bothered me but it really did.
"I can't fucking believe you," I snapped, giving him a dirty look.
"Well, that's a first," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Are you seriously that much of a dick that you can't even go a day without hooking up with someone else?" I hissed.
"Why does it bother you? Are you jealous? Because remember, you broke up with me," he replied, the smirk on his face was getting even more annoying.
Unable to control myself, I reached up and slapped him, not even flinching at the loud noise it made. He was silent, his hand moving up to his face as he continued to give me that annoying smirk.
"I'm not jealous. As you said, I broke up with you. That means I don't want you, nor care about you doing anything with anyone else," I responded, giving him a blank look.
"Then why are you acting like this, sweetheart?" he questioned, causing me to clench my fists. He really was pushing it.
"Because you're making our 'relationship' unrealistic. No one's going to believe anything about us if you go fuck the first person you see," I narrowed my eyes, becoming ever more frustrated.
"We'll let you believe that for now, Niall. But we both know that you hope it's you next time," he smirked, not even fazed at my attempt of hurting him.
"The only thing I hope, is that you didn't pass whatever disease you carry onto that poor person you were with," I snapped, turning around.
Harry didn't reply, which either meant he was tired of arguing, or he was mad. I honestly didn't care. It was easy for me to walk away and forget every second Harry and I spent together, whether it be sexually or not. They didn't matter to me any longer.
Okay, so maybe I was lying. Maybe I liked Harry too much to forget him. I mean, I liked the nice side of Harry. Though the side of him that I had just seen simply reminded me that he was always going to be a prick, particularly to me.
These feelings can't last, that was something I was sure of. I was willing to do pretty much anything in order to stop thinking of Harry in that way.
Harry couldn't mean anything to me any longer.
~
"So you don't like him anymore?" Louis asked, laying back on my bed and giving me a questioning look.
"Well when you say it like that, it sounds like a kid that's had a crush for a week," I defended.
"But do you still like him?" he pressed on, causing me to let out a loud groan.
"Honestly? Yes. I can't stop thinking about him and I fucking hate it," I sighed.
"Look, Ni, if I knew that this was going to happen, I wouldn't have forced you to get closer to him," Louis looked at me apologetically.
"For once, it isn't your fault. I was the one that asked him to fake date me, so it's technically my fault."
"Do you have any idea about what you're going to do?" he asked.
"Not a fucking clue," I breathed out, closing my eyes for a brief second. "I just wish I could do something to form an attraction to someone else. Someone that isn't a fucking dick."
"Real feelings don't exactly fade straight away. Give it time," he said reassuringly.
"Of all people, it just had to be him," I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "I could have gotten feelings for anyone else but no, I just had to fall for some asshole that has to fuck anyone that asks him to."
"Look, things will be okay eventually. If he's being a dick to intentionally offend you then he never deserved to have you in the first place," he told me, his voice oddly soft. There it was, my overprotective best friend. This was a side of Louis I rarely ever saw but there would always be times when Louis would try to fuss over my sadness.
"I know. Honestly, Louis. I'll be okay. In a few days I'm going to have forgotten this had ever happened," I smiled halfheartedly.
"I'm sure you will. Listen, I have to go now, I left my Chemistry homework to the last minute again. Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm just going to lay here and attempt to fix my confusing life," I shrugged.
"The best thing for you to do is to move on. If you and Harry were supposed to be together, it will happen but I don't think it's a good idea for you to cry over him," he sighed.
"I wasn't going to cry over him," I defended myself, blushing lightly.
"Don't lie to me," Louis smiled at me softly.
"You're an arse," I rolled my eyes.
"Love you, Niall," he grinned.
"I love you too, you piece of shit," I responded, smiling at him once more before he left the room.
~
"Are you okay?" Jade asked me as we walked past the large houses in the neighbourhood.
"Fine. Just a little annoyed," I replied, Jade giving me a knowing look. I had of course filled her in on everything, seeing as I really didn't want her to bring up Harry and unintentionally trigger me into feeling upset again.
"It'll be alright," she assured me.
"I know," I sighed. Everyone kept telling me that. I just couldn't wait for it to actually be true because as things were right then, they were far from alright.
"Oh, before I forget. I got this from Perrie," I passed her the piece of paper with Perrie's phone number.
"Do I have to contact her?" she asked me. If I knew her well enough, I could tell that she was incredibly nervous as she stared down at the folded sheet of paper in her hand.
"Well, no. You don't have to do anything but I think you should. Just try and hang out with her. Trust me, it'll be a lot easier for you to sort out your feelings if you speak to her," I told her.
"I know, it's just-- I'm fucking scared. I've never...you know. Liked someone. Not in the way I feel now. And especially not another girl."
"She's not going to judge. She seems pretty into you as well," I assured her.
"I guess," she let out, offering me a grateful smile.
At least one of us might have a happy relationship.