"Katie?" Reece asked, shock written all over his face.
You've got to be kidding me, I thought with dread.
"Oh, you two know each other?" Alice asked, surprised. She still had her hand resting lightly on his arm, ready to introduce me to him. Little did she know that Reece and I went way, way back.
Before Reece could speak, I said, "Yeah, we actually met a few days ago on campus. What a coincidence."
I don't know why I did it, really. Why I'd just blatantly lied to the four other people in the room, but before I'd even registered in my mind what I wanted to say, I'd already said it. I just knew that I'd moved to London with the intent of starting a new life. I didn't want my past following me, and the only way that would be possible was for me to lie. To say that Reece was not a part of my past.
Still looking at me, Reece's expression changed from shock to confusion in a matter of seconds. I knew him well enough to know that by the way he was looking at me, he was wondering what the hell I was doing lying to all these people. I widened my eyes at him, warning him to not say anything more.
"Right, yeah, what a coincidence," Reece repeated unconvincingly, the confusion now evident in his voice as well as his expression. I pressed my lips together, watching him anxiously.
Please don't say anything stupid,I pleaded, hoping he'd just go with it.
"Small world, right?" he finally shrugged, relaxing into his usual confidence once again, and I let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Suddenly the air felt lighter, and a weight on my shoulders was lifted. No one seemed to take notice of the shift in energy that I felt in the room.
"What a treat!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight. "So then, you've officially met everyone worth knowing around here, Katie. Welcome to the family."
With the end of her speech, Alice pulled me into a hug as Rey called out from the couch, "We need a toast! We must toast to the newest family addition!"
"I agree! Dante, grab us some bread, would you?" Tristan called from beside her, earning him a slap on the arm.
"I'll go get us some drinks," I chuckled, wanting an excuse to leave the room so I could gather myself again.
Realizing that Reece was now my neighbour had felt like a punch in the gut. No matter how hard I tried to get away from my previous relationship, it kept finding its way back into my life. Hell, it even followed me half way across the world.
I made my way to the kitchen, grabbing a couple bottles of beer from the fridge and setting them down on the counter.
How could this be happening? I kept thinking, my hands shaking slightly. I rested them against the cold countertop, taking a deep breath.
Out of all the places, Reece had to be living in the flat right across from mine? Was my luck really that nonexistent?
"What the hell was that?!" Reece whispered accusingly from behind me. I whirled around to find him standing a few feet away, his arms crossed against his broad chest.
He looked mad.
"Just drop it, Reece," I dismissed, not wanting to get into it when the rest of our friends were right around the corner. I didn't want to risk them overhearing anything.
"What, so we're just going to act like we don't have any history together, then?" he questioned angrily. I stared back at him, my gaze steady as I tried to keep my face void of emotion. He raised an eyebrow when I didn't reply, and I knew he was not about to take silence as an answer.
I knew this Reece, and he wasn't going to back down so easily. Sighing, I crossed my arms to match his.
"I moved here to start a new life, Reece," I whispered back, my tone clipped. "I don't want my past following me around, and you're part of it. So you can either move back to Canada or stay here and pretend we never happened, okay?"
"I'm not going to lie to my friends, Katie," Reece explained, exasperated. "This is my life, too. I'm not going to lie."
"You sure didn't have any problem lying to me," I snapped back, knowing that bringing up his past mistakes would bother him. He clenched his jaw and I could tell I struck a nerve.
Oh well, I thought indifferently. He deserved that.
"Fine," he agreed unwillingly, and I tried to hid the triumphant smirk tugging at my lips.
"Thank you," I huffed, leaning back against the counter. Reece just kept watching me, before finally unfolding his arms and walking towards me. He stopped, his face a few inches from mine as he brought his hands up to rest on the counter on either side of me, trapping me in.
"Just remember that this is what you wanted, Katie," he whispered, close enough now that I could feel his breath against my cheek. "We're going to have to act like friends now, if you want to keep up this little secret. You'll have to act like you like me, so don't blow it."
Without waiting for me to answer, Reece reached around me to grab the beer bottles off the countertop and retreated back into the living room, as if nothing happened.
***
We were an hour or so into the movie and everyone was already drunk.
I didn't think tonight was going to be that kind of pizza and movies, but after we'd started the movie and no one payed any attention to it, I'd sort of gotten the idea of how the night was going to play out.
Tristan had a happily singing Rey in his lap, occasionally singing along when the choruses came around. Alice, on the other hand, had a bottle of tequila clasped tightly in one hand as she danced drunkenly around the living room in a tie dye snuggie and fluffy socks.
Reece, Dante and I sat watching them instead of the movie, and I'd eventually noticed that with every beer I'd finished, the less anxious Reece's presence made me feel.
"PURPLE RAIN, PURPLE RAIN," Rey sang passionately, clutching at her heart as she gave it her all. Tristan watched her with amusement, not daring to interrupt her performance of her "all time favourite song of all time ever", as she had announced before starting.
"Sing it, Rey!" Alice encouraged her as she sank to her knees, her fingers moving quickly along the tequila bottle as she pretended to play it like a guitar.
"You girls are wild," I laughed loudly, watching my roommates have what looked to be the time of their lives. If this was a preview to what living with these people was going to be like, I had no complaints. They knew how to have a good time.
"This is just their warm up," Tristan laughed, taking a swing of his beer. "Wait 'til they perform Thriller. They have the whole choreography down to a T."
Feeling my phone vibrate, I pulled my gaze away from Tristan and down to see that Niall had texted me. It was the second time that day that the simple act of seeing his name pop up on my phone had caused my heart to flutter, and I tried to push the unwelcome feeling away.
Niall: Can I call you?
I read and reread the text, staring at the screen for a while before someone calling my name brought me back to my surroundings.
"Katie," Dante called again, dropping down on the couch next to me.
"What's up?" I asked, turning my phone off quickly.
"Are you down for a little adventure?" he asked, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. He looked like he had a secret he couldn't wait to tell me. "I have something I want to show you."
I hesitated, thinking about Niall's text I'd just read, before getting up and pushing my phone back into my pocket.
"Lead the way," I replied, earning me a wide grin from Dante as he stood up and gave me his hand. I paused, glancing down at it before deciding against taking it. "Let me just grab my keys," I added, giving myself an excuse to occupy my hands.
It seemed like he got the message, though, as he rubbed the back of his neck before shoving his hands back into his pockets. But as I took my keys off the key hook by the door he seemed to recover his confidence, pulling the door open and waiting for me to exit first.
Dante lead me across the hall to the emergency staircase of the building and starting climbing the floors. One, two, three floors up, and we were faced with a steel door that had a sign on it reading 'DO NOT ENTER. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'.
I glanced over at Dante unsure, only to find him smiling back mischievously.
"Is this illegal?" I asked stupidly, causing Dante to let out a chuckle as he shook his head.
"Not unless we get caught," he replied playfully, pushing the heavy door open so that we were met with a gust of cold night air. I stepped through the door quickly and heard it close shut after Dante had followed behind. "Come on."
Dante made his way over to the edge of the rooftop where we were met with a low, concrete wall fixed with steel guardrails. He leaned against the rail and stretched out his arms to the city below us.
"Welcome home," he said quietly, turning to face me. I looked out at the city below us, watching as a group of people coming back from the club stumbled their way down the sidewalk.
This was different from the view at the boys' flat.
From their penthouse, everything down below seemed so small and insignificant. But here, the lights below illuminated the city and I could see far across the roads. There was a park I hadn't seen before, just a few blocks away, and what looked like a small lake just a bit further. And although it was past midnight, the city still seemed to be buzzing with activity.
This place was magnificent.
"Thanks," I replied, finally meeting his eyes once more. "It's amazing up here."
"I know," Dante agreed with a fond smile, "I only discovered this place a few weeks ago, but I've been coming up here a lot since."
"I can see why," I commented, looking back out over the city. A cool breeze washed over us, causing goosebumps to cover my arms as I shivered. In my drunken haze, I'd forgotten to grab a sweater and instead had left the flat in a flimsy teeshirt.
"Here," Dante said, pulling his jumper over his head and holding it out to me. "It gets pretty cold up here."
"What about you?" I asked as I pulled the jumper on. I felt bad for taking it, but I could tell he had pride. Guys like him wouldn't take no for an answer after offering their help.
"I'll be okay," he shrugged, but I saw goosebumps appear on his arms as he shoved his hands into his pockets. I smiled at that, but didn't speak on it.
Like I said, I thought fondly. Pride.
"So, how are you liking London?" he asked. His jumper was warm, and smelled like him.
"It's great," I replied, trying to think of something to say that didn't involve me mentioning spending my entire duration here with the most popular boy band in the world. "The weather's shit, though."
Dante laughed loudly, "Yeah, it can definitely be a bit grim, especially in the winter."
We'd stayed up there for two hours, just talking.
Talking to Dante was nice; he was a really sweet guy and seemed like a genuine person. He was one of those people that made you feel like you were the only person in the room just by the way he looked at you. He's the type of guy to go on walks at night because he likes looking at the stars, but is also down to party with you until your feet hurt from dancing so much and your stomach hurts from laughing until you can't breath.
Talking with Dante was nice, but as I pulled out my phone to check the time and saw that Niall's text was still unanswered, the feeling of guilt flooded through me. It was 1:22 a.m. Niall had either long forgotten about calling me or was waiting up until I answered. I had to find out which.
"It's getting late," I finally said after I'd shoved my phone back into my pocket. "I should probably go back."
"I'll walk you," Dante said, leading us back to the rooftop door. We headed down the flights of stairs and walked back to our opposite doors.
"Oh, before I forget," I started after I pushed my door open slightly. I had shrugged one arm of the jumper off before Dante reached over to stop me.
"Keep it," he said with a small smile, "you can give it back to me another time."
His eyes lingered on my face after he spoke, and suddenly I felt very self conscious. I could feel the tips on my ears burning as I watched him study my face. Neither of us said anything, but the silence didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. It was when he leaned forward slightly that I felt panic rush through me.
Is he going to kiss me?
"Have a goodnight, neighbour," he said softly, the playful smirk from before tugging at his lips again. "I'll see you around."
"Goodnight," I barely breathed, my breath caught in my throat. Not waiting for him to pull away, I pushed my door open and backed into the flat, quickly closing it behind me.
"Holy shit," I breathed, leaning back against the door. That man was something else.
"Did you get laid?" Rey asked from the couch, causing me to jump. Although the room was dark, I could hear her smile in her voice.
"You scared me," I mumbled, ignoring her question as I pressed a hand to my chest. "Why aren't you in bed?"
"Wanted to make sure you got back okay," she replied simply, and it warmed my heart a little. It reminded me of how Paisley, my best friend back home, would always text me to make sure I got home okay. "Alice is already asleep."
"You should get some sleep, too," I replied. "Thanks for waiting up for me."
"It's what flatmates are for," she yawned, getting up from the couch and wrapping her thick knitted blanket around her shoulders. "Goodnight, bitch," she said affectionately, causing me to giggle.
"Goodnight," I chuckled, making my way to my room. I shut the door quietly before pulling off my jeans and climbing into my bed. As I settled in, I couldn't help but notice how empty it felt without Niall beside me, sharing in his warmth. I really did miss him.
Dialing his number, I put the phone to my ear, hoping that for some reason he'd still be awake. He picked up on the second ring.
"Hey," Niall greeted, the sound of relief filling his voice. An involuntary smile stretched across my lips as I heard him speak.
"Hey," I replied. "Sorry for calling so late."
"Don't worry about it," he assured me, and I could tell he meant it. "Listen, I wanted to tell you something."
"What is it?" I asked, my stomach dropping slightly. Anytime someone said they wanted to talk, it never turned out too great.
"There's been a change in the tour schedule," he explained, his voice holding a tone of disappointment. "We're leaving a week early."
"When is that?" I questioned, even though I already knew the answer.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," I repeated after a long silence. I'd originally hoped that I would be able to say goodbye to him in person before he set off on tour, but I didn't see how that could happen now.
"Yeah," Niall sighed over the phone.
"I can't see you off, then, can I?" I asked, the sadness evident in my voice.
"No, there's no time," Niall explained solemnly. "We leave early in the morning, Management has some people escorting us to make sure we don't make any stops on the way."
"Come over now," I suggested immediately. Sure, it was almost 2 in the morning, and the boys' flat was 40 minutes away, but if Niall wanted to come over I wouldn't stop him. "You can stay the night."
"We shouldn't," he replied with disapproval, and I felt somewhat hurt. He must have taken my silence as a hint, because he continued, "I mean, saying goodbye to you once was hard enough as it is. I don't think I have it in me to do it a second time."
"Yeah," I agreed, even though I didn't want to, but I'd say anything to make Niall feel better about this. None of this was his fault, it was stupid Management getting in the way of our happiness. "Okay, then I won't say goodbye again. Or, tell you that I'll miss you, or anything like that. I'll just say see you later."
"Okay," Niall replied roughly.
"So, see you later," I said, and even though I'd just said I wouldn't tell him goodbye again, it sure felt like I was.
"I love you," he said softly, causing my heart to ache like it had back at the flat when I'd kissed him for the last time.
"Don't do that," I breathed, shaking my head even though he couldn't see me. "Don't make this any harder."
"You're my best friend," he explained, and I could picture him smiling the way he always did before pulling me into his arms. "I'll always love you."
"Niall..." I trailed helplessly, wanting to respond but the words were caught in my throat.
"See you later, Katie."
Taking that as his final goodbye, Niall hung up, leaving me alone in my empty room, sitting in my empty bed, with the unspoken I'll always love you, too still lingering on my lips.
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Hiya!!!!
Hopefully you guys are enjoying how this story is unfolding. Please remember to vote and comment! Your comments especially are what motivate me to keep the updates coming! Let me know what you think :)
Thanks again for reading, and stay safe!
~ Skylar xx