The room was quiet, a bit too silent for anyone's liking. The sun had already set and there was an unnatural feeling of calmness in the air. Niall sighed, not at all feeling at ease with the darkness clouding his window. He could hear the clatters of utensils against each other as his family ate dinner downstairs. Maura had long given up on calling him down for dinner since he had locked himself up in the room for more an a week now.
His eyes moved towards the invitation card, frowning at the sparkly silver it was printed in. He could feel a fresh patch of tears welling up and his frown deepened. In one meeting, Zayn had turned his life upside down - making him go from an elite student to a cry baby. But the pain in his heart was too intense to be ignored. Niall had tried, so damn hard to keep the tears at bay. He had tried watching the funniest movies of all times and even googled about the funniest YouTubers but nothing worked. He couldn't calm his hurting heart down and he couldn't get Zayn out of his mind.
Zayn...just the thought of the name brought immense pain to him. He could remember clearly all the moments they had spent together, fighting, laughing, crying, confessing their feelings out. But the worst of it all was realizing that he was not the only one. There was someone else in Zayn's life, somebody he was supposed to marry and be together with, for life. There was no doubt that the Pakistani must have at least felt guilty about hurting him, which would explain the countless messages and the missed calls on his phone. Niall had to stop himself from calling back, saying he wanted to spend at least the few remaining days together, enjoy each other's company until Zayn would be off getting married to Keh-bitch.
Sighing loudly to himself, Niall prepared his bed. The night was young but he was still feeling tired and exhausted. Yawning to himself, the blonde pulled his sweater off his shoulder, shivering at the coldness before bringing the cover over his head. Just as he was about to close his eyes, the loud voice of his older brother calling his name, caught his attention, making him groan in distaste as he hurriedly reached for the discarded sweater. He brought it over his shoulder before getting out from the comfortable and warm bed. Groaning as his feet touched the cold floor, Niall quickly rushed outside the room, wanting his brother to just shut up with the yelling. It was giving him a much dreaded headache.
"What is it?" Niall hissed, glaring down at Greg who was smirking at him from the bottom of the steps. "Why are you yelling at such an odd hour? I already said I don't want to eat tonight -"
"Yeah, I know. The reason I called you down is because your friend is waiting for you and she looks like she's ready to explode," Greg chuckled, turning around to get back inside the dinning room , leaving a confused Niall to follow behind him. The blonde kept a sufficient distance between him and his older sibling. He cursed himself for not wearing slippers before rushing out of the warm room like this but once he entered the dinning room, he sighed in relief at the warm and cosy floor. The heater was on, making the room loose it's natural chill and settling it for a comfortable temperature. Niall ignored his mother who looked startled at his appearance and his father who looked angry and concerned. The blonde looked behind the familiar faces of his parents and frowned deeply when he noticed an angry Kendall sitting on the couch behind.
She seemed to notice his presence as the girl got up, walking fast until she was face to face with Niall. The blonde didn't even understand why his best friend was out so late, at his place for absolutely no reason. He had told all of his friends that he wasn't in the mood of attending school due to fever and cold, an obvious lie but Kylie seemed to buy it in an instant. Liam had pestered him a lot, even paying a visit despite the hostile way his parents behaved against the bulky brunette. Niall had quickly waved Liam off, saying that nothing was wrong and he was absolutely fine but just didn't feel up to attending classes. Maura had been a help in calling the school and getting Niall a leave for the entire week. He was going to be indebted to his mother for this good deed.
"What are you doing here Ken?" Niall asked quickly, dragging the girl by the upper arm until they were away from the curious eyes of his parents and the annoyed glare of his brother. He dragged her up the steps, until they were inside his room and closed the door. "Answer me," the blonde hissed, grabbing the chair by the study table and sitting on it as he kept a careful eye on the female.
"You need to tell me what the fuck you are doing? You have not been attending classes for a week now. You don't respond to our texts, half of the time my call goes to voice mail and I have to call you at least a dozen times to get you to pick up. Zayn has been worried sick about you because you don't even bother replying to him and Liam looks angry every time your topic is brought up. So tell me Niall, what the fuck is actually going on?" Her chest heaved up and down as she finished her rant, eyes glaring down at the blonde who looked surprised at her outburst. He didn't blame her though, understanding perfectly well why she was so concerned. He had never before skipped school for more than one day.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't think you would be this angry." Niall tried, a sympathetic smile filling his face. He couldn't believe that he had put his friends through so much just because he was heartbroken over the bad boy.
"I'm not angry. I'm concerned and I have a hunch that you're looking like this - mess - because of a certain douche in our school." Kendall smiled, flopping back down on the bed with her jacket still wrapped around her. "Remember the days when I used to be in your room almost everyday?" She whispered softly, staring at the familiar ceiling. Almost everything in Niall's room was the same as she had last seen. After the incident, she had stopped coming to Niall's house simply because it brought forth too many memories.
"You know, you're here after what - 1 year? 2 years?" Niall wondered out loud, walking towards the bed and plopping down next to his best friend. He had honestly missed this. Having Kendall all up his personal space while they made fun of the losers at school. It wasn't the best way to hang out together but it was still their favorite time of the day. "I'm sorry." Niall whispered suddenly.
"You need to let it go. What he did was not known to either of us. I've already forgotten it and it's about time you forget it as well." Kendall whispered lightly, turning on her side so she could see Niall. She smiled at the boy, their years of friendship and love visible between them. If she was straight, she would have definitely dated the blonde. He was probably the most caring and amazing person she had ever met. So selfless and so forgiving.
"I'll try. I can't promise though. What Jason did to you -"
"What he did is in the past. He got the punishment for it and now I have perfectly stable life. I have a gorgeous girlfriend, I get good grades in my classes and my parents have accepted me. I have the most amazing friends in the world. What more can I ask for?" Kendall grinned.
"I know I know but I just can't stop thinking that if I hadn't introduced you to him, if I had been a bit more careful about his intentions, things might have been different." Niall sighed, "you wouldn't have to get raped and the entire fiasco with the court cases would not have taken place. You wasted an entire year because of my mistake." The blonde groaned, eyes welling up as he remembered the look of disappointment on his parent's face when he had told the court that it was because of him that Jason Monroe came to know about Kendall Jenner. It was because he was careless enough to not keep an eye on watch he was spiking her drink with, that such a ruckus had happened. It was all his fault that she had to take up therapy, framing her life back together because getting your virginity stolen like that, is probably the cruelest thing ever. "I'm sorry, Ken. I'm so fucking sorry." He could feel warm arms wrapping around his neck, bringing him closer to another heated body. It didn't calm him down but instead, made him cry harder.
"It's okay baby. It's been years to that. I don't blame you, I don't blame anyone for what happened and you need to understand that. If I hated you, I would have stopped talking to you ages okay but look, I'm still here, in your house, lying in your bed and treating this place like it's my home." Kendall chuckled.
"It is your home. Don't ever think that it isn't," Niall scoffed, wiping his tears away. He blinked back the fresh batch that was just forming, not daring to show his vulnerable side to Kendall. She had seen enough and he wasn't a fan of crying too much especially since that's all he had been doing for the past week.
"You know what I mean. But I'm not here to talk about the past," Kendall raised an eyebrow, creating a sufficient distance between herself and Niall so she could stare at the blonde's face, "I'm here to talk about your relationship with Zayn and why you are avoiding him."
"I don't want to talk about it." Niall whispered, praying that she would let it go but one thing he had learnt about his best friend was that she was quite persistent.
"You're going to talk or I'm going to stay here all night, all day, skipping school with you till you tell me what's going on. You can't just disappear from school and think that I'm not gonna be worried about you. Now, stop being a baby and tell me what's going on." She practically whined at the end.
"He's getting married," Niall whispered lowly, aware that the intense quietness of the room and their close proximity would make his softest of words audible to Kendall.
"What?"
"I said, he's getting married." He practically whimpered, watching his best friend's expression change from one of determination and smugness to one of confusion and concern. He didn't blame her for the rapid change in facial expressions. Anybody who would get to know of this news, aware of Zayn's previous relationship with Niall, was guaranteed to act in the same manner.
"With Kehlani? But they're still in high school!"
"They're both eighteen and honestly, he can marry whoever the fuck he wants. I don't care anymore," Niall grumbled.
"If you don't even care then why are you skipping your classes? Why are you avoiding his phone calls? Why are you not hanging out with your friends? And from what Maura told me earlier, you aren't even eating properly. Dammit Niall, I know I told you to give yourself the chance to fall in love and experience it but I never told you to starve yourself over a boy!" The female rolled her eyes, getting up from the bed and standing right in front of the blonde. "If he is willing to get married off to a girl he doesn't even love and if he's going to just give you up like that, without even putting up a fight, then trust me honey, such a boy is not worth your time."
"You don't know anything," Niall scoffed, getting a bit defensive at the way Kendall was talking.
"I know what you've told me and if he can fuck with your feelings like that, then as your best friend, I have the full rights to hate him and curse him." Kendall grinned. "Now, straighten up and scoot over. It looks like I'll be sleeping over after all." Niall blinked, staring hard as he watched Kendall take her jacket off, throwing it carelessly on the chair before getting rid of her boots . She helped herself to his wardrobe, getting a pair of loose sweatpants out and quickly changing out of her jeans, doing it all in front of the blonde.
"Have you no shame? You're changing clothes in front of a growing boy." Niall huffed, biting down his lips to keep himself from laughing.
"Try touching me and Cara will have your balls." Kendall laughed, "Plus you're obviously and I'm obviously taken so what does it matter? It's just jeans." She huffed, walking towards the bed and making herself comfortable under the sheets. She pulled the duvet on top of her, covering her chest and even the half of her face with it before sighing in content.
"Did you tell your parents that you will be spending the night here?" Niall asked, adjusting the pillows so his side was as comfortable and fluffy as it was before.
"I'll text them right away." Kendall clicked her tongue, getting her phone out from the pocket of the sweatpants and within a few minutes, she was grinning widely and making herself comfortable once again on his bed. Niall rolled his eyes at her antics.
"What did they say?"
"They said yes of course." The girl grinned, eyes shut and waiting for sleep to take over her senses. The walk to Niall's place in a chilly winter night had already worn her down. "Now pet, close the lights and close your eyes, go off to sleep because I've got to wake up early tomorrow."
"What for?" Niall asked, hiding under the covers, his voice a bit muffled.
"I have make a plan to wreck a wedding."
....
"Let's try out something else. This one doesn't do enough justice to your handsome looks," Zayn rolled his eyes at his brother's sarcastic remark. He quickly took the blazer off, tossing it on the floor before loosening the tie. It had been two whole hours since he had been trying all kinds of suits but Louis always had one or the other complain. Either the fitting wasn't up to the mark or the color was outrageously old fashioned or the latest one - it didn't do enough justice to Zayn's beauty. Honestly though, he was getting tired of changing clothes so many times for an event he didn't even want to make an appearance at. "I think black and white is a bit too ordinary. Shall we try some other colors? Say red? Or purple?"
"As long as you don't make me look like an idiot, I'm fine with whichever color you pick," the tanned man sighed, reaching for his phone that was carelessly placed on the table. They had been in the shop for hours and he was certain that by this time, even the employees were getting annoyed with their presence but like always, they can't possibly tell them to get their asses out for just one reason: Danielle owned the shop. Zayn didn't understand whether he should be grateful to Louis's partner or whether he should hate her. She was certainly much better than Kehlani though.
Turning his attention back to his phone, Zayn quickly searched for his boyfriend's name, sighing when he noticed that once again, none of his calls and messages had been answered. Yet, he dialed the number once again in the hopes of at least getting some response. He had a fair idea why Niall was acting like this and in all honesty, Zayn hated himself more than anything else for letting it all get so far. He felt worthless, pathetic that he couldn't come up with something, some arrangement to get him out of this forced marriage. He wished he was like his brother; Louis always had a way out of things. Like with his marriage with Danielle - he had carefully befriended the girl, making certain that they didn't fall in love no matter what. He went out with her just for the sake of their parents assurance, to make them believe that there was love between their relationship and that's yet. Behind closed doors, Danielle had the right to do whatever and whoever she pleased and the same applied to Louis.
He shook his head, bringing himself out of the train of thought he had been caught in when the girl's voice telling him that his call wasn't answered came to his ears. After calling Niall up a couple more times, Zayn gave up, placing the phone down and sighing loudly.
"Now what's the matter? Your precious little boy toy didn't respond once again?" Louis chuckled, catching his brother's distressed state.
"He's not my boy toy. He's my boyfriend," Zayn snapped, getting up from the comfortable chair and snatching the piece of suit Louis was holding up by the hanger. "This one looks good." He commented, the brown color was a shade darker than his eyes and it was simple yet elegant. He quickly went inside the dressing room, changing out of the white shirt before wearing the black one and then proceeded to put the coat on. Once satisfied with the fitting and the overall results, he stared at the mirror placed in the big room, smiling to himself but that smile was quickly wiped from his face when he remembered that he was marrying for the sake of his father's empire and not out of love.
"What do you think?" Zayn muttered, walking outside the room and twirling a little to show Louis the fitting of the pants and the entire outfit.
"Hmm, it looks great on you and even tough it's not exactly the wedding type but fuck it, it's not like you want to get married anyways." Louis chuckled, reaching for his wallet and bringing out his platinum card. He handed it over to the sales girl who seemed to be quite content with watching Zayn change clothes after clothes and looking equally amazing in all of them. "We'll have this one, please. There are a few adjustments that have to be made though."
"Definitely sir. I would need you to write down the address where it has to be delivered and your phone number please." The girl blushed, her eyes casually glancing at Zayn before landing back at Louis. They were both definitely the most handsome customers the shop had ever seen and even though, they had that aura of arrogance around them, yet they were still damn easy on the eyes.
"Sure." Louis shrugged casually, shooing the girl away with a casual wave of his hand. "You know, when I got married I wasn't half as bitter as you are right now." He mused, taking Zayn's phone from the table and chuckling at the wallpaper. "And I didn't know you were such a sap." It was a picture of Niall and Zayn, holding one another and smiling widely for the camera. He had to admit, they looked strangely well together.
"Stop going through my stuff." Zayn sighed, snatching his phone away from Louis's grip. "And I'm not bitter, I'm just angry that dad would go as far as marrying me off despite the countless times I've told him that I don't like Kehlani. I hate the sight of her face and that old man has already booked tickets for our honeymoon. Hell, I'll be damned if I get to spend even a minute alone in her presence."
"You can get a divorce or get different apartments to live in. You don't have to be involved in each other's lives ya know?"
"Kehlani is not Danielle. She wants us to be something. She fucking threatened Niall to keep away from me. The girl is a maniac," Zayn huffed, typing a quick text to Niall to pick his goddamn phone up. "I can't believe he's still ignoring me."
"After what you've got him involved in, I don't blame him for ignoring you."
"I know I know but I love him Louis. I can't believe dad is making me marry a girl when I'm in love with someone else." Zayn frowned, watching the girl bring the bill forth towards Louis to fill the information up and sign it up. Once they were done, the duo walked out of the shop.
"If you love him that much, then don't get married." Louis huffed, smirking at his confused little brother.
"What do you mean?"
"Does the idea of running away with your boy toy sound appealing to you?" The smirk on Louis's face widened.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. We have one week to plan the entire thing out." The brunette chuckled. "I'm going to help you runaway."
AN/ Just the epilogue left and then it's over. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS STORY HAS REACHED IT'S END. IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING JOURNEY SO FAR, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN THE MOST FABULOUS READERS AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR CHOOSING THIS BOOK TO READ! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND I'M SO GRATEFUL TO YOU GUYS!
There are so many works of mine that I've halfway given up on. There's Lights, Camera & Sex and What my boyfriend doesn't know. I'm so clueless about these two stories lmao. I literally feel like I'm writing complete crap at times -_-
I HAD A DATE TODAY BTW. IT WENT AMAZING! THE GUY LOOKS A LITTLE BIT LIKE ZAYN MALIK. JUST THE STUBBLE AND THE JAWLINE. BUT I DON'T EXACTLY LIKE HIM LIKE THAT. I MEAN, I LOOK AT HIM AS MORE OF A FRIEND THAN ANYTHING ELSE. I SERIOUSLY DON'T WANT TO DATE ANYONE BECAUSE I FIND IT ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS. HE'S AN AMAZING GUY AND ALL BUT I JUST DON'T SEE MYSELF WITH HIM. UGH, I HATE DATING NICE GUYS. I'M MORE OF THE KIND OF GET MYSELF INVOLVED WITH GIANT ASSHOLES AND THEN WHINE AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THEM LMAO. -_-
APART FROM THIS:
THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?
THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION OF KENDALL AND NIALL'S PAST?
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH KENDALL'S PLAN TO WRECK ZAYN'S WEDDING?
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT NIALL IGNORING ZAYN ?
THOUGHTS ON LOUIS'S PLAN TO HELP ZIALL RUNAWAY?
IS EVERYTHING GOING TO WORK OUT IN FAVOR OF ZIALL OR IS THERE SO MORE DRAMA TO HAPPEN?
NEXT UPDATE TOMORROW :D
90+ VOTES ????