Songs for this chapter:
Chocolate- The 1975
Secrets- One Republic
"I think I'm going to head out." Zayn said yawning, as the movie ended. I looked around the room, stifling a yawn myself. Harry had already fallen asleep on the armchair, Liam was shrugging on his jacket, and Louis was mindlessly flipping through the channels on the TV.
I looked over at Beth, sitting next to me. She somehow still looked wide awake. "Ready to go?" I asked, nudging her arm. Beth nodded and got up, hugging all the boys goodbye, even a still sleeping Harry, then pulling on her boots.
I said my goodbyes to the boys as well and started out. "You tired?" Beth asked, when we got to the car.
I was a little tired, honestly. It was around one in the morning. But I had a feeling Beth had asked because she still wanted to hang out, which was something I would definitely sacrifice sleep for. "Nope, not really. What about you?" I answered, looking over to her as I put the car into drive and pulled away from the curb.
Beth shook her head, "Me neither. You want to hang out still?" She asked, scrolling through my phone which was hooked up to the car stereo.
"Yeah, we can go back to my place, if you want." I answered, smiling over at her in the passenger seat.
"Yeah that coo..." Beth trailed off before finishing her sentence. "I'm still your background?" She asked with a giggle, as she turned my phone so I could see my lock screen.
Of course she was still my background. I wasn't going to lose that bet. Plus, I enjoyed seeing Beth's silly fish face when I turned on my phone. I was actually surprised Monica hadn't seen it yet and started grilling me about it. I did tell her about Beth, but just barely. I'd only mentioned her name and that I had hung out with her with the guys. "Of course you are," I finally answered, "You didn't think I was going to give up that easily, did you?"
Beth started laughing and pulled her phone out of the pocket in her hoodie. She pressed the home button, making the lock screen light up. Sure enough, I was her lock screen still too. I shook my head, wondering if she really wanted to win this bet, or if she liked my face or something. God, in this moment I just realized how great it is that mind reading is not a real thing. Beth would think I am so weird.
"I'm not giving up yet either, Horan." She said confidently, cocking her eyebrow.
That just made me laugh even more. "That's cute" I said. Where did that come from? I didn't actually mean to say that. Maybe she won't think anything of it.
"What's cute?" She asked, her brow furrowing. Seriously, are all her facial expressions adorable? Probably.
"Just you..." I trailed off, as a smile and blush made its way onto her face, "thinking you'd actually win." I finished with a sly smile.
Instead of responding, she just hit my arm. She didn't hurt me, but I did get the feeling that this girl could hold her own. She was something else.
Soon, we were pulling up to my house. I killed the engine, and hopped out of the car, rushing to get inside, out of the cold winter air. Beth was close behind me, and when we made it inside, I noticed she was shivering. "You know, you should really wear a coat. It's freezing out there." I said waggling my finger at her.
Beth pushed my hand out of her face, and made a superman dive onto my couch. "I don't really like coats. They're bulky and uncomfortable." She said into the cushions.
I walked over and took a seat near where her head was resting on the couch. "Beth!" I called, poking her cheek. She just grumbled, so I continued to poke her. "Uh oh, it someone tired?" I asked in a baby voice.
Beth sat up glaring at me, "I'm not tired, you're just annoying" she said, narrowing her eyes.
I put my hand to my heart feigning pain, "Beth, you just broke my heart." Neither of us could keep a straight face through my awful acting, so it ended with both of us cracking up, and Beth rolling off the couch. "Here, take my hand" I told her, offering a hand to help her up.
Beth grabbed my hand, but instead of getting up, she pulled me down with her. I landed with a thud, half on top of her and half on the floor next to her. "Get off me, fatty!" Beth yelled from underneath of me.
"Rude!" I said, rolling fully onto her, "Just for that, I'm not getting off." I told her, defiantly.
Beth's eyes narrowed, then she tried a different approach, softening her features into a puppy dog face. Dammit. I can't resist that face. "Please, Nialler?" She asked in a honeyed tone. God, she was good.
"Alright, truce." I sighed, rolling off her hesitantly, "Although you are pretty comfy." I said, winking.
At that, she smacked me, and pushed off of the floor, taking a seat back on the couch. I followed her lead, taking a spot next to her.
I clutched my sides, which hurt from laughing so hard. Beth was actually awful at telling jokes, they were about as funny as the ones Harry came up with, but the way she said them, like they were the funniest thing that's ever been said was enough to push me into hysterics. "Please, do not pursue a career in stand up comedy." I said, once I caught my breath.
"Hey!" Beth exclaimed between laughs. That's another thing, she could hardly get the joke out before bursting into laugher at her own cheesy punch lines. "By the looks of it, you find me hilarious."
"Yeah, sure." I said, brushing of her logic. "So Beth," I started, once we both sobered enough, the laughter out of our systems.
"Yeah?" Beth asked, looking up at me.
"About earlier..." I trailed off. I felt awkward bringing it up, but she said she would listen if I wanted her to, and I did. "Can I talk to you about it?" I asked, even though I knew she was going to say yes.
"Of course, Niall." She said, putting her hand over mine in a comforting gesture.
"Well, it's Monica." I said, searching her face.
"Oh." She said, looking down. I ignored the tenseness that suddenly took over her.
"It's just. I don't know if I love her the same anymore." I started, looking down at my feet. Beth started rubbing small circles in my hand with her thumb. "I just don't feel how you're supposed to when you love someone. Like, I don't get butterflies when I think of her, or I don't feel any kind of spark when we're together. It just like, we're friends. I guess the passion I felt when I used to be with her is just gone. She's always gone, and you know what? I don't even really miss her that much. Like, I forget about it. I just don't want to be in a relationship like that, you know? But, then again, we've been together so long, I don't just want to throw that away because we're having a rough patch. It just that, I want to be with someone who makes my heart beat fast, and who makes me feel a spark when I kiss them, and who I want to be with all the time and miss like crazy when I'm not. Does that even exist? Or is it just something you see in movies?" I stopped, taking a breath.
"It exists." Beth said in a small voice. "Niall, I've only been in a couple serious relationships, but I know that love like that exists. I've seen it, my parents.." she said, trailing off. I wanted to know what she was going to say after that, but she continued, changing the subject. "Just, don't lose hope okay. It's out there. Just promise me something, Niall." She said looking up at me. "Promise that if you meet someone who makes you feel like that, don't let them get away, alright?" She asked, looking into my eyes.
"I promise." I wondered, what was behind her request, but I promised anyway, not wanting to make her upset with a million questions.
"I'm tired" Beth said, yawning. "Can I just crash here? I don't really feel like driving home."
"You mean riding home, considering I would have to drive you."
"Details." She shrugged it off, curling up on the couch.
"Yeah, that's fine. I didn't feel like driving you anyway." I said sticking my tongue out at her. I grabbed a blanket off the end of the couch and pulled it over her. "Hey Beth?" I asked, unsure if I wanted to open this can of worms.
"Hmm?" she responded, peering up at me.
"Well, if it's going to make you upset you don't have to talk about it, but I was wondering what you were talking about earlier. When you mentioned your parents." I said, awkwardly, tiptoeing around the question.
Beth stayed silent, taking in my question. "Alright Niall," She took a deep breath, "I'm going to tell you everything."