The first thing I did when I woke the next morning was grab my phone and call Dani. She picked up after a few rings, her voice groggy. “Who is it?” she slurred.
“It’s Liam. I’m so sorry I never came over, Dani! But I found him.”
She didn’t seem too surprised. “I knew you would, Li, you’ll always find your way to Niall.”
The way she said it made me think she wasn’t just talking about finding him when he was lost. It was as if she was suggesting I would find my way back into his arms, but there was no way she would be suggesting such a thing. She was my girlfriend. I was probably just being paranoid.
“You there?” her voice sounded a bit more awake.
“Yeah, just spaced for a few seconds. I called because even though I found him, I messed it up again and I think it’s because of you!”
I heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line, and I frowned and rolled my eyes. “No, that came out wrong. I think he still loves me, Dani,” I whispered.
“Look, Liam, we both know you can’t get over someone that quickly. If you’re honest with yourself, I bet you’re not even over him yet, so how can you expect Niall to move on from the one he truly loved?”
“Danielle, look, I’m with you now,” I tried to interrupt her, but she kept going as if I hadn’t spoken.
“You broke him, Liam. I know you’re trying to forget and you’re trying to pretend like everything is just fine, but you broke your best friend’s heart. No, you shattered it. He’s not going to come running back that easily, and he’s not going to want to be just friends.
It’s not going to be easy to earn his trust, Liam, and if you ever want to hold him again then I suggest you start by doing everything you can to make him realize you do care. Show him you’re not the guy he thinks you are, and maybe then he’ll come home to you.”
My mouth dropped open. “How can you say that? You knew I came to you for help moving on! I don’t want him back, Danielle; I just want him to come back to the band! I never said anything about that. I love you Dani, and I’m your boyfriend!”
She let out a frustrated groan. “I love you, Liam, you know I do. But I took a step back for a minute, and you know what I realized? You don’t love me as much as you love him, and you never will. It won’t matter how much you convince yourself and try to convince the rest of us, but you will always love him deep inside. It’s like you two were meant for each other, and there’s absolutely nothing I could or would do to split apart the bond you share. I just can’t, Liam! I love you too much to see you sad. If you love something, let it go…” she trailed off, noticing that the rest of the quote didn’t apply in her case.
“Fine. If you’re going to be like this, then we’re better off apart. I can’t believe you’re trying to tell me that I made a mistake getting over him, when you were the one to offer your help in the first place! We’re through, and this is something I know I’m not going to regret later. Goodbye, Danielle.”
I slammed my hand down on my phone, successfully ending the call but also managing to toss the object across the room. My body fell back on the pillows, not caring about the possibly ruined device.
Danielle and I were done. I couldn’t believe that after all this time, after she’d promised not to give up on me and to help me move forward with my messed-up life, she was letting go. I’d just always assumed that she would be there to help, and now that I knew I couldn’t go to her I felt so alone.
There was nobody I could trust myself to talk to. Louis and Harry were still in their own worlds, which revolved around each other. Zayn was upset about what he could tell I was hiding from him. I would never talk to management about a problem like this, and my family was unavailable.
I remembered the girl I’d met while I was away and shot off the bed, scouring the floor until my eyes were set on my phone. Grabbing it, I scrolled through anxiously, pressing the green button next to her name. Calling Cameron.
“Hello, this is Cameron, how can I be of assistance?”
The voice sounded off, but I ignored it and smiled in relief. “Hey, it’s me. Well, it’s Liam. I-“
“Just playing! I’m not available right now, and I’m obviously doing something much more important than listening to you, so leave me a message and I might listen to it later. Ciao!” Beep.
Yet another person who I couldn’t talk to. I knew that was just her voicemail recording and not Cameron talking, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt by her words. I obviously wasn’t important enough to listen to.
Only one person remained. It was someone who I would never have hesitated to go to before, but everything had changed now. I was terrified that he wouldn’t even give me a chance to explain, to finally let him hear my thoughts. I was afraid of the reaction we would have to seeing each other again, and I was afraid of another rejection.
Most of all, I was afraid that I had lost him.
Gathering my courage, I slipped on some trainers and plucked my keys from where my phone had been sitting overnight, writing a quick note to tell the other boys that I would be out for a bit and to please not go looking for me.
Before I knew it, I was walking down the road where the bakery I’d last seen him was located, hoping he would happen to pass by. I walked back and forth for hours before deciding that it was not an effective way of locating my blond friend.
I was trudging my way home, a frown on my face and tears welling in my eyes, when I heard a little gasp from behind me. I quickly swiveled to see the boy in question frozen, about to cross the road behind me.
“Niall,” I breathed, a whisper of a smile appearing.
Why was Demi Lovato standing beside him?
The boy had been waiting for an update from his partner in planning since their call the night before. He couldn’t believe his good fortune; it must’ve been the luck of the leprechauns.
He had kissed Liam again. The boy he loved so much had actually kissed him back, not pushed him away or yelled or shouted. It was almost too good to be true, like a miracle.
Liam’s words had been so harsh, reminding him that he was now technically with Danielle and Niall had no chance with him. But Niall knew something that Liam didn’t.
Danielle wasn’t really with him. She was in love with him, but she knew he wanted Niall so she had offered to help get them back together. It was more difficult than they had originally thought, but Dani told him Liam was slowly coming around to the idea that he did care about Niall, even if he thought it was only as a close friend.
That was good enough for him, at least for now. Knowing that he was cared about made his heart jump and his eyes glow. He was happier than he’d been anytime in the last few weeks, and it was all because of a certain brown-haired, chocolate-eyed Wolverhampton boy.
Niall decided he would check his phone one last time before he went for some fresh air. He had been living in a small flat he rented for a short while with Josh, but the other boy had moved out. Niall always felt like the walls were closing in on him, and he felt so intensely lonely.
He made his way to a nearby park. He hadn’t returned to the bakery since he’d seen Liam there. There was a girl he thought he recognized sitting silently on a bench, and as he drew nearer he recognized a phone and earpieces and knew she was listening to something.
“Hello,” he introduced himself cautiously, tapping the girl on the shoulder. Why did that blond and pink streaked hair look so- “Demi!” he shouted, happy to see his American friend.
Though there had been rumors that the two were together, they were really only friends. Demi was the first person Niall had been honest with about his and Liam’s relationship.
“Niall!” she grinned. “How’s Liam?”
That was the wrong question. Niall’s happiness immediately deflated, as if he’d been hit with a ton of bricks. “Erm, not so well,” he mumbled.
“Come here.” Niall jumped into her open embrace, letting out a few stray tears. “What’s happened, cutie?”
He didn’t even tell her to quit calling him ‘cutie’. He wasn’t in the mood. Wiping a salty tear away, he told Demi about their split.
“It sounds like he loves you but thinks you’re better without him,” she commented thoughtfully.
“That’s what Danielle says,” Niall sniffed. “But if he loved me, why would he think I wouldn’t love him just as much, if not more?”
She tilted her head. “Maybe he’s just afraid to hurt you. You should show him what he’s missing.” An evil glint entered her eye.
“Just what are you proposing I do?” Niall asked timidly.
“Why don’t I be for you what Danielle was for Liam? Except this time, Liam won’t know it’s fake.”
“I don’t know, Demi. What if pretending to be with you makes him lose hope for me? What if it pushes him the wrong way? It could ruin everything I’ve been working to rebuild.” Niall was hesitant to accept her idea along with Danielle’s plan.
“If that happens then we can tell him the truth, and he’ll come running back to you. I promise you, this will work like a charm. He’ll be back in your arms in no time. Speaking of which, look who’s over there,” she giggled, pointing to the sidewalk at the edge of the park.
It was a distant figure, but they could tell it was Liam. What was he doing anywhere near there? Was it possible that he was looking for Niall? Just then his phone buzzed, and he let go of Demi to pull it out.
Danielle had texted to say that she and Liam were no longer together, and she’d made him upset and he was probably going to come looking for Niall. She told him not to do anything stupid since this could be his chance.
He looked up only to find Demi halfway across the park. No! He couldn’t let her go through with this new idea. If Liam thought Niall was taken and couldn’t help him then they would likely go right back to the beginning!
As Niall caught up to Demi, he groaned in frustration. “You can’t do this right now! Don’t say anything. Let me handle this.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I thought we just agreed to make him jealous. Are you having second thoughts? It’s okay, I’ll tell him if it’s bothering you.” Her feet moved faster toward the boy at the side of the road.
“No, Demi! You don’t understand; Dani just texted me and-“
She glanced at him as he once more fell into step with her stride. “But Dani’s not here, now is she? I promise, everything will be okay.”
Niall was about to tell her exactly why they couldn’t hurt Liam at the moment when a weak voice rang out. Speak of the devil.
This was not the time to make a mistake. Why did Liam have to catch him then, of all times?