CHAPTER 34
Claire's point of view
"Uhm... Hi, i'm Liam," he says after a few seconds of awkwardness. He moves slowly towards me, reaching out his hand. I take it carefully, shaking it as he looks at me with a small smile.
"Nice to see you again mate," he turns to Niall. Both Niall and I haven't moved since we realized he saw us.
Can i have one kiss without anyone walking in on it?
"Sorry for interrupting," he says with a sly smile.
"Claire, I'm sorry, I totally forgot I invited him over," Niall ignores him, shaking his head. He looks at me with apologetic eyes. I'm unable to respond, I just stand there with a slightly open mouth, looking like an idiot.
"I can leave," Liam offers, putting his hands up in the air like he's being held at gunpoint.
"N-no," I stutter, feeling terribly rude.
The painful silence that follows makes me clench my eyes together, taking a deep breath.
"I'm Claire," I say, shaking his hand once more. He nods with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you," he chuckles.
I couldn't have imagined a worse way to meet him. He definitely knows that me and Harry are involved, and now he sees Niall kissing me. Him and Niall exchanges a little small talk, me standing awkwardly next to him. Liam just came home from England yesterday.
"So... Anyone up for lunch?" Liam asks.
•
•
I didn't think about the swarm of paparazzi that would surround us. I'm not used to this kind of chaos. With each step i take, i hear a new question being screamed at me. This whole thing is bigger than i thought, there are over 50 people here, even reporters.
"Claire! What do you think about Harry facing legal charges!"
"Who do you think sent in the photo to TMZ?!"
"Where is Harry? Are you two still together?!"
I shade my eyes with my palm, walking into the restaurant. This is the first time paparazzi have wanted to take photos of me. And i hate it.
When we all sit down at the table, i then realize where we are. We're at the exact same restaurant Louis took me and Harry out for the first time. When i first felt Harry's touch. Granted Louis was sitting right ahead of us, it felt nice.
I don't really know what i think of Liam yet. He stayed pretty quiet on the ride over here. But i want to make a good second impression, since the first one didn't go so well.
After we order, Niall gets up and goes to the bathroom, leaving me and Liam alone. He rests his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together.
"So, Claire, you're really making your way around the group," he throws at me, taking me by surprise.
I feel my face redden and bob my head down in embarrassment. I can't imagine what he must think of me.
"Hey, i'm just making jokes, don't take it so seriously" he laughs.
"I just wanna make sure that you know what you're doing," he says, shifting into a more serious tone.
"Y'know... Niall loves easily," he says worriedly.
To be honest, i don't know what i'm doing. I keep falling back into this way of thinking. I left Harry a complete drunken mess because I needed some time away from him, not because i ended it. And now with these last couple of days with Niall... I've never been more confused about my feelings.
With each passing hour away from him, I grow more distant from the whole Harry situation. Thinking I was absolutely crazy to dive head first into something so serious. We decided we were going to move into together after a couple of weeks of knowing each other. I never even stopped to think about that when i was with him. He made it all seem so simple, and reasonable. And maybe it was. But now...
"Believe me Liam, the last thing i want to do is hurt Niall," i say, appreciating Liam being forward. I haven't gotten a lot of that this last month. It somehow makes it easy to be completely open about the situation.
"So tell me, what happened?" He leans forward. He must be referring to what happened to make me leave Harry and end up kissing Niall.
"D'you remember the photo that leaked a couple of weeks ago?" i ask, and he rolls his eyes. Of course he does.
"Harry sent it in," the words fall out of me, leaving me wondering how i'm so comfortable telling him this. But from what i have heard about him from the other guys, he's trustworthy.
"Really?" His eyes widen and his eyebrows raise.
"And you didn't know?" he asks, and i shake my head.
"I just needed a break, and i didn't go to Louis because... Well, we had a falling out, so i went to Niall," i continue my story, watching him listen intently.
"Harry sent it in because Niall has had a thing for me for these last few weeks, and when i went to Niall one thing led to another..." i say, feeling like such a bitch.
"I'm sorry, i must be coming off as a such a tramp," i look down, shaking my head at myself.
"You're confused, i get it. But don't use that as an excuse to cheat on someone," he tells me, and i suddenly feel a blow of guilt to my stomach. I cheated on Harry.
I never told Harry that we were done, or anything similar. I said i needed time and lightly suggested that i needed a break from us. But does that give me the liberty to kiss someone else?
"Y-you're right," i shrug, finally taking a second look on what happened ever since i left Harry.
Niall arrives back from the toilet, sitting down next to me.
"What are you guys talking about?" he asks as the waiter arrives with our drinks. Liam smiles at me.
"Nothin'."
•
The next day the three of us hang out at Niall's before Liam leaves around 10 PM. I really needed that, god knows I needed a drama-free day.
"So what do you think about Liam?" Niall asks me, as he refills the bowl with popcorn.
"He's really nice, yeah," i nod at him, taking a handful of popcorn, shoving it in my mouth. He looks at me for a few seconds, before shifting into an awkward expression.
"Claire, could we talk about what happened when Liam came over?" he asks, and my heart freezes for a second. He's talking about the kiss.
"I am so sorry if i was out of line," he turns towards me, getting up close. He is sorry? I'm the one who should be apologizing.
"What? No, Niall, please don't apologize." I see the regret in his eyes. Seeing him feeling anything but good is painful. His frown slowly turns into a small smile.
"Claire, i said i didn't want to be with you while you were confused about your feelings, and i don't mean to rush you, but are you anywhere near a... conclusion?" He asks me straight up, and i feel a small panic, searching an answer. Just as i'm about to respond, i see the screen on my phone light up. I talks on the table, so i pick it up to read the text.
Louis: *Harry's manager just called. They wanted me to ask you if you have heard from him, no one else has for the last 48 hours*
A/N: Heyyy sup i just ate a whole entire pizza by myself
Did you like this chapter????:) so sorry that its short
btw its getting kinda exciting now... can't wait for the next chapter, see you all then xx
- Thea