Chapter 9 ~ Fake Couple
**Louis' POV**
I walked through the hallway with quick and firm steps. What the hell? Since when was Liam gay? And since when was he hitting on Harry? Every word Harry had just said went through my mind as I walked by students whose gazes followed me curiously.
Then it hit me. That time in the cafeteria when Liam was staring at Harry and Niall's table... Had he been staring at Harry then? Just because they were together?
I bit down on my bottom lip frustratingly. Why did this even bother me? Why did it bother me that Harry had a boyfriend, who in fact was my best friend? Why did it feel like my heart had burst when Harry said the words 'I already have a boyfriend'?
As soon as I spotted Liam at his locker, I forgot all my previous thoughts and only focused on one thing. I had to find out what he had to say about all this. "Liam!" I yelled, a little too loud.
He was having a deep conversation with his newfound friend, Niall, it seemed, but when he heard my voice, he snapped his head up to meet my gaze. A frown instantly formed between his eyebrows.
I stomped over to them, and just as I was about to start yelling at Liam, Niall's phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket and read what the screen said. I decided not to care about him, and turned to Liam again.
"Since when the fuck are you and Harry Styles together?" I snapped at him.
I could see that both Liam and Niall stiffened at the same time. Liam was staring at me with wide, confused eyes, while Niall was looking at his phone in concentration. A second later, Niall shoved his phone in his pocket again and turned to whisper something in Liam's ear.
I couldn't hear what he said, and that got me even more frustrated. I was about to yell at Liam again when his face suddenly softened, and Niall pulled away from him.
"Oh, that. Well, we've been together for what is it now, Niall? Two weeks?" he said, raising his eyebrows at the blonde guy.
Niall nodded, turning to me. "Yeah, that's right."
I felt my eyes widen in shock. He didn't deny it. So, that meant he was actually together with Harry? What?
I stomped my foot angrily before storming away from them. I had no idea what was happening to me, but I sure didn't like it.
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**Liam's POV**
Louis ran off with an angry look on his face. I turned to Niall and raised my eyebrows in confusion. "Why did I have to say that?"
He bit his bottom lip, fishing his phone from his pocket again. "Harry texted me and said it was very necessary. He practically begged me to tell Louis that you guys were together," he shrugged, showing me the text.
Once I had read it, a frown formed between my eyebrows. Why was it so necessary for Harry to tell Louis we were together? What had even happened between the two of them?
Right then, Harry walked by with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. I took a step forward, pulling him with me to Niall. "Harry, please explain why I just had to tell Louis that I'm dating you," I demanded, looking into his eyes.
He looked scared as if he was afraid I was going to hurt him. "I... I didn't mean to. I'm s-sorry," he stuttered out.
Niall placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Harry. Just calm down and tell us what happened."
Harry looked at Niall for a few seconds before nodding his head. "Louis and I were just talking to each other when he suddenly pinned me to the wall. He uh, he got so close, and I panicked. I told him that he had to back off because I already had a boyfriend. He demanded to know who it was, and I just blurted out your name, Liam. I'm so, so sorry. I'll tell him the truth. Just please... don't hate me," he pleaded, looking at me desperately.
I could feel myself relaxing now that I knew the reason behind it all. "It's okay, Harry. I don't hate you. It all just came as a shock," I reassured him, smiling slightly.
Harry sighed of relief. "Thank you. I promise I'll tell him the truth when I see him again."
I bit my bottom lip. Would it actually be a good idea to tell Louis the truth? I mean, Louis was head over hills for Harry - everyone could see it but himself. He needed to realize his feelings for him, and what would be better than a little help from something called jealousy?
I smirked to myself as I started shaking my head. "No, don't say anything to him."
I could feel Niall tense up beside me, and it wasn't hard to tell that Harry did the same thing. "What?" they echoed in unison.
I wrapped an arm around Niall's waist and squeezed his hip. "Well, if it's okay with Niall, of course," I said, kissing the top of his head.
Niall blushed, looking down at the floor while biting his bottom lip sheepishly. Harry frowned at me. "I still have no idea what you're talking about."
I rolled my eyes, smiling slightly at him. "I want to make Louis jealous, Harry. He obviously likes you, but he won't admit it to himself."
His eyes widened in shock. "Louis likes me? B-but.. how? I thought..." he trailed off, his mouth hanging open.
"Whatever you thought, you were wrong. He's looking at you as if you are his world, Harry. He can't take his eyes off you, for crying out loud. I'm sure he likes you," I told him.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was speechless, just looking at me in utter shock. Niall decided to break the silence. "Harry likes him too, I've seen it," he said with a frown on his face as if it had hit him right now. "He would never have let Louis talk to him earlier if he didn't. He's been hurting him for years now. And I mean, no one is willing to talk to their bully if they don't mean something to them."
"I... I don't like him," Harry attempted, but it wasn't even worth it. It was obvious that both Louis and Harry had a thing for each other.
"Wait for a second," Niall said, turning to Harry. "I'm not sure I'm okay with this. I have always told myself to protect you from him because he's always been so mean to you. I can't just forget that," he frowned.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, my gaze finding Harry who was staring at his shoes. "Niall, you can't protect Harry throughout his whole life. He needs to make his own decisions, and if he wants to be with Louis and he believes that he won't hurt him, then you can't stop him even if you want to," I shrugged.
Niall turned to me, looking desperate. "But things can go so incredibly wrong, Liam! Louis is probably going to hurt him one way or another and treat him like utter shit," he huffed.
My eyes widened at his assumption. "No, Niall. Louis' not really like that. He really cares about the people he loves, and I'm sure he would never do that to Harry if he just realizes he likes him."
It wasn't until then Harry decided to interfere. "Guys, you don't even know if I want to be together with him. And, Niall's right. He has been treating me like shit, and I have told myself that I'm never going to like him in any kind of way. He's hit me, he's harassed me, he's called me worthless, and he has made me feel like I'm not worth living. I can't just forget that, and for all we know, Liam could be wrong. What if Louis doesn't have feelings for me and we are going to fake date for nothing?"
Niall nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Harry's right, Liam. Why do you want them to be together so badly anyway?" He wondered.
I pulled my eyebrows together because I knew the answer. Louis had never had feelings for anyone before, and now that he finally did, I wanted him to get the one he fancied if the person liked him back, that was. "He's never liked anyone before, and now that he does, I just thought it was a great opportunity for him to settle down," I shrugged. "And, if he doesn't react to us being a couple, then we'll know that he doesn't have feelings for you," I continued, smiling gently at Harry.
The curly-haired boy's eyes went from me to Niall, who was biting his fingernail. "Niall, are you okay with this? Me and Liam being a fake couple, I mean?" He mumbled, fiddling with his fingers nervously.
Niall looked at him for a while before nodding his head. "As long as it's only to figure out what Louis' feeling for you and not because you like him, then yeah. It's okay," he smiled softly.
Harry chuckled. "Of course, Ni. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you," he smiled.
"Thank you, Haz, but how did you know I had feelings for Liam? I never told you," he frowned, leaning his head on my shoulder.
I pulled him closer to me by the hold I still had on his hip. Harry smiled sweetly at us. "I could tell," he laughed, causing both my and Niall's cheeks to flush. "On another note, I'm heading to Science. You coming with me?"
I nodded my head, letting go of Niall - much to his dismay, but I had to pretend that I was together with Harry. So instead, I grabbed Harry's hand and entwined our fingers, sending Niall a sad look. He tried to smile back at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. I knew he wouldn't like this idea, but I did it for Louis, and for Harry because I knew he would thank me in the end.
Together, all three of us walked to Science, unaware of how Louis was going to react to all this.
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**Harry's POV**
We walked through the hallway towards the classroom. Liam was holding my hand while Niall was walking a little bit behind us with his gaze glued to the floor.
I felt so bad for doing this to him. I knew he had feelings for Liam. It wasn't hard to tell by the way his eyes lightened up every time he looked at him. I just had to go make the biggest mistake by telling Louis that Liam was my boyfriend so he had to suffer from it. God, I really hated myself.
I knew I could have disagreed with this, though, but I was curious. Did Louis really like me? And if he did, what was I going to do with that fact? Ignore him?
Alright, first off, I needed to find out if he really did have feelings for me, then I could focus on the consequences that would follow.
We stepped into the classroom, and I didn't even look up when I walked over to sit down in an empty seat by the windows. Liam sat down beside me, pulling his chair as close to mine as possible. He wrapped an arm around my waist and started drawing small patterns on my hip.
Niall had sat down at the desk in front of us and was now watching us closely. I shot him a sad smile, knowing that this really hurt him.
Right then, the door swung open, and a second later, Louis was walking in with Zayn by his side. I could feel myself tense in my seat, and I shuffled closer to Liam, wanting nothing more than to just disappear. Louis' jaw was clenched, and I was sure that the look on his face could kill. His gaze was searching for something in the classroom, and when he found what he was looking for, the muscles in his face hardened.
What scared me was that what he was looking at was me, me and Liam. I shuffled even closer to Liam, and he tightened his hold on me. I didn't care that I had practically never talked to Liam before this day because all I could think about was the threatening look on Louis' face, and Liam was the closest person to me right now.
Zayn noticed Louis' sudden anger, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. Somehow, he succeeded because Louis let out a huff and plopped down in an empty seat at the back of the classroom.
I sighed of relief, reminding myself to thank Zayn for that later... although I probably wasn't since I had never spoken to him before. I loosened the hold I had on Liam but stayed close to him. His arm was still resting around my waist loosely, which made me feel a little safer.
Throughout the lesson, I could feel eyes burning holes in the back of my head, and I knew exactly who those eyes belonged to. I didn't dare to turn my head to look at Louis, though. What if he was angry? What if he was going to be glaring at me again?
Then it hit me. Why was Louis even angry in the first place?
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Chapter 9! I know it's been a while since I updated, but this story has been on 'on hold'. It isn't anymore, but I can't promise you that I will update as often as I used to since I'm currently writing the sequel to Forbidden Love.
I want to thank all of you that still are reading this story <3 I'm so sorry for my slow updates, but please bear with me :)
Pauline .xx