So guess what Niall did? He ignored me. It was like we hadn't even met. That whole week he didn't say a word to me; not in art, not at lunch, not about basketball on Friday.
Wednesday morning, however, I tried rearranging my locker before the bell rung. Random papers were littered at the bottom, and my backpack didn't really have any room. A few of my books fell out into the hallway, and I groaned, already having my hands full. I put down what I hand, catching a glimpse of the time, and then turned back around to grab what I had dropped.
I looked to see who had grabbed my things, raising my eyes only to find Chloe. Her hair was in perfect blonde curls, per the norm, and she wore a blue patterned dress. Honestly, she looked as good as she normally would, but I couldn't have been more glad to see her.
"Chloe," I breathed out, furrowing my eyebrows. She had no reason to be apologizing to me, at least, not one I could see. Chloe was stubborn when it came to her opinion.
"Hi," she blinked, looking as confused as I was. "Here." She handed me the random things that had fallen on the floor, and I stuffed them in my backpack, quick to hear what she had to say.
"What's up?" I wondered, holding my books and binders in my arms. She played with her fingers, and I could really tell she was nervous. She was my best friend.
"I-" She stopped and glanced behind me, just barely shaking her head. "I'll tell you later." She walked off and the bell rang. I sighed, looking to see where she had been looking behind me. My eyes met Harry's right before he turned and walked away as well.
.
After school that day, I found Chloe once more, determined to get her to spill; whatever she needed to say was something I felt like I needed to hear.
I caught up to her as she strutted out of school with Harry on her arm, walking at her pace until she noticed me.
"Mel!" she exclaimed, quite surprised. I flashed her a small smile as Harry stopped and left us to talk. "I mean, Melanie," she corrected herself. I sighed, wishing everything could be the way it once was.
"So, you needed to tell me something earlier," I spoke dubiously. She nodded, looking down and away from me.
"Look, Mel," she sighed, locking her eyes with mine. "I was really stupid. I let a boy come in between you and me, and I feel terrible. Harry was the one who convinced me to do this," she smiled lightly. I felt warm and overly happy, glad she realized that what she had done was wrong.
"I was blinded, and I'm sorry," she said, opening her arms for a hug. I hesitated for only about three seconds before hugging her, glad that something in my life was normal again. She said her goodbyes to both Harry and me, telling me that we needed to hang out sometime soon.
"You'll have to tell me how things with Niall are going," she winked, whispering close to me. I felt my cheeks burn as she walked off to her bus.
I turned to Harry, and he smiled, adjusting his backpack strap.
"Thank you," I said, walking up so I was closer to him. He shrugged.
"It was the right thing to do, I thought. She told me what had happened and how bad she felt, so I nagged her until she finally did something about it," he explained. I reached over and hugged him, feeling so grateful for his kindness and concern for me.
"Thank you," I sighed into his shoulder once more. "I can't tell you how much it means." He pulled away, sighing quickly. I reminded myself of the time I was wasting and how my mom would be waiting and how he had somewhere to be as well.
"You have to now," I blurted out. He furrowed his eyebrows, glancing behind me.
"What?" I sighed quickly.
"Niall. All this time you've been spending with Chloe has only pushed you farther from him. He needs you as much as I need her," I said urgently. "But don't tell him I told you that," I added with a smile. He blinked.
"When you told me about that before, I didn't think much of it," he said, looking at his feet. "Now I kind of get what he's feeling."
"Then you should fix it," I choked out, remembering how upset Niall had been. I felt a pang in my heart, realizing that I kind of missed him.
Harry nodded, meeting my eyes once more.
"I'll get back to you on that." He beamed at me, giving me a reassuring wink before running off to catch a ride home.
My eyes followed after him, my feet eventually kicking in as well.
I couldn't help the smile that came to my lips so naturally. I knew that I needed to be thankful for my happiness and push away the dark thoughts of tomorrow, but the metaphorical clouds hanging over my head had much more trouble than abit of rain to give.
.
.
That following Monday, I saw Niall stealing glances at me, turning away and smiling whenever I caught him. He never approached me to explain what was up until the bell rung that afternoon.
I quietly walked down the hallway by myself, thinking about the time Chloe and I were going to spend later that day. Smiling at the few teachers that passed me on their way out, I descended the stairs and went out the door.
The crowds of students started dispersing as the buses pulled up as I scanned the crowd for Chloe, the mass of bodies still a good distance away.
I saw Niall break from his group of friends, hurrying towards me. My heart unexpectedly started pounding, anxiety hitting me like a brick.
We haven't talked in a week, my mind scrambled, also trying to find a way to avoid his conversation. I continued walking like I hadn't seen him, searching desperately for Chloe. I spotted her just as he got within speaking distance.
"Melanie," he said, smiling at me. I glanced at him, walking past him.
"I was just about to-" I began, trying to get him to let me go. He stopped me mid-sentence by grabbing my hand, causing me to turn back around to look at me. He beamed at me once before pulling me into a hug. It felt like he kept trying to pull me even closer, but that wasn't really possible.
"Niall," I said in a strangled-like voice. "Everyone is looking at us." Pairs of eyes evaluated and judged his actions, causing me to be even more anxious.
He let go of me, alleviating some of that worry.
"I don't care," he spoke, looking utterly handsome in that moment, smiling at me like nothing could go wrong. I felt my lips curving into a smile, and then I couldn't help it.
"And why are you so happy?" I asked, breathing in his radiating warmth.
"Harry apologized this morning, and it's just been a really good week," he sighed, backing away from me the correct distance.
A really good week without me, I thought before I could stop myself. My smile slipped a little. He obviously didn't need me to be happy, and I should have known that, but I would be lying if I told you it didn't hurt a little. Or a lot.
"That's great," I spoke, looking down to hide the emotions threatening to come through.
"How's tomorrow?" he asked, leaving me a little confused but at the same time hopeful. "Basketball," he clarified. I immediately perked up, excited.
"Yeah! Of course," I shrugged, playing it off like I wasn't that excited about it.
"I would say tonight, but Harry's coming over," he said, smiling widely once again. I felt my mind relax.
Everything's back to normal, I said to myself, pleased with the universe in that moment.
"Chloe's coming over tonight, too," I spoke, feeling slightly out of place saying something to him; he was usually the one to talk. Niall smiled nonetheless.
"S'always good to get your friends back, yeah?" he smiled, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
I nodded, smiling and pushing some of my hair behind my ear. I was really glad to have him back, too.
My mind celebrated lightheartedly as he walked off, leaving me satisfied with my view of the future.
But that was the calm before the storm.
.
.
hi guys. i bet none of you are even here anymore. when was the last time i updated? yeah. nearly a month ago
ugh i'm terrible
dedication to hxrany because her books are life. you really need to read them! love you babe
tell me what you thought cuz i get virtually no feedback on this xD
i love you guys! see you soon, hopefully
Mel x