Chapter 31: It's Cool 'Cause We're Just Friends
*Jesse’s P.O.V.*
I sat in the kitchen with Liam, spinning around on the swivel stools absently once he had finished venting about Sydney. Not that I minded much; they were adorable. Niall strode into the room, making a bee line for the fridge.Shocker, I thought, smirking a bit to myself. “Hey Ni, how’s the whole Haley-Louis situation going?” I asked with genuine concern. (Okay, I admit, I also like staying up to date with the whole dramatic situation.) He turned to me, the bright artificial light making his sad blue eyes shine. It hurt me to see him like that; he was such a cute, innocent little boy. Well, most of the time at least.
“Well it hurts, not gonna lie,” he sighed, sitting next to Liam and taking a swig of orange juice straight from them carton. Liam rolled his eyes as the action, while I listened intently to what he had to say next. “But I forgive them. I mean I love both of them, and I get it. And I told them I forgive them, I must’ve told Haley just about a hundred times, yet she still doesn’t forgive herself.” He looked so defeated and lost, as if wracking his brain for some kind of solution to his problem. But then again, he probably was. “I don’t know what else to do to get her to not feel bad!” he exclaimed.
“Well there’s this beautiful thing called make up sex,” I joked with a mischievous smirk. He chuckled a bit, shaking his head at me.
“Trust me, I’ve tried,” he joked back, making me crack up. Liam gave him a pretend stern fatherly glare before chuckling to himself as well. Nialler smiled to himself a little more before it slowly faded. He sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks, exposing his dark roots. “But seriously, why can’t she just forgive herself?” he asked rhetorically.
“Because she’s Haley,” Liam answered. Yeah, that was pretty much a good enough answer. Niall smiled to himself again, seeming more lost in thought this time. I mentally swooned at the adorableness, knowing for a fact he was just falling even deeper in love with that girl. It made me want to do something, anything to help them.
“Okay, you, Halez, Lou, Julez and I are having a group therapy session in the living room,” I announced decisively. I was kind of acting on a whim, and I didn’t have even a whisper of a plan, but I decided to just wing it and see how that went. The hopeful look on Niall’s face made it all worth it.
“You really think that’ll help?” he asked, a tinge of doubtfulness in his voice. I placed my hand on my chest, acting offended.
“It physically hurts that you doubt me,” I answered playfully. “Besides, it couldn’t hurt.” Okay, that was a lie. A lot could probably go wrong with this, but they had to do something. I mean I knew Niall forgave both of them, and by the lack of smashing lamp sounds from upstairs I assumed Louis and Julia had made up, but Haley and Louis probably felt very awkward around each other. Not to mention Haley’s newfound depression and the death Julia was probably plotting for her.
“I guess you’re right…” he trailed off, clearly still considering it as he sloshed the juice around the carton.
“Perfect!” I exclaimed, not giving him a chance to back out. I popped up from my seat and smiled at him encouragingly. “I’ll go fetch the other attendants,” I excused myself, leaving Niam alone. I swear, if they weren’t so cute with their girlfriends I would ship those two so hard… Pushing my homosexual fantasies aside, I made my way up the stairs, deciding to retrieve Haley first. I knocked on her door, receiving no response. “Halez?” I called, stepping into the room.
“Just a second Jess, I’m in the bathroom!” she called back, her voice slightly muffled by the door. I sat down on her bed, clasping my hands together and waiting patiently as she washed her hands and such. She emerged, looking like a frantic fawn. Poor girl, she really is a wreck, I observed. She forced a smile onto her face though, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Hey there baby girl,” I greeted her, her head fitting under my chin. She wrapped her arms around my torso, and I couldn’t help but notice her shakiness.
“Hi,” she replied simply, her voice not giving anything away. Her voice she was good at masking. However, her body language gave her away entirely. I pulled away still keeping a hold on her shoulders as I looked her in the eyes. She clung onto my shirt for a split second before dropping her hands to her sides.
“We’re having a group therapy session in the living room,” I informed her. He big brown eyes, which had already been staring up into mine intently, enlarged like saucers. She began to shake her head, the curls coming off of her bun bouncing as she did so, but I basically dragged her out of the room.
“Jesse, I really don’t-“
“Whoops, guess I forgot to mention that attendance is mandatory,” I cut her off in what I hoped was a playful tone. “Now go join Niall downstairs while I get Louis and Julia,” I instructed gently, guiding her to the stairs. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and indignantly did as she was told. I smiled and whirled around, pleased to find that Louis and Julia were just coming out of a bedroom, giggling like little school children. “You two, therapy session, downstairs, now,” I instructed, assisting myself with multiple hand gestures. A shadow crossed through Louis’ bright eyes and the unease was quite clear on his face. Julia just looked uninterested, as if she could care less. Although, deep down, I knew it was all an act.
“Okay,” Louis agreed, taking Julia’s hand and following me down the stairs. Lord, you can practically feel the awkward, I joked mentally. We reached the bottom of the staircase to find Haley in a ball in Niall’s arms, him whispering into her ear. As soon as they heard us however, their heads immediately turned in our direction. Haley gnawed on her lip, looking as if she had seen a ghost. My eyes trailed over to Julia, who had a look in her eyes as cold as the tundra. The sat down on the couch adjacent to the loveseat Naley was occupying as I took a set in the arm chair. They all looked around awkwardly for a bit, Julia staring down Haley, Louis twiddling his thumbs and trying so obviously not to look at Haley, Haley’s gaze flickering to everyone surrounding her nervously, and Niall staring at me expectantly. I let the silence sink in, acting as if it was for dramatic effect even though the truth of the matter was that I really wasn’t sure how to start.
“So,” I started, keeping my composure, “Louis, Haley, I assumed you’ve already explained yourselves?” I asked, thinking that might be a good way to start. Louis nodded, but Haley and Julia’s stares finally met.
“Well, I explained myself to Niall…” Haley trailed off, averting her eyes from Julia’s intense stare. It was actually kind of funny how scared she looked; I mean it’s not like Julia could actually do anything to her.
“Yeah, you do have some explaining to do,” Julia agreed indifferently. It was kind of amazing how piercing a lack of emotion could be. All eyes were on Haley, and it wasn’t hard to tell she wasn’t very comfortable with that. Niall hugged her a little closer to his own body in support, but she didn’t respond much. I assumed she was lost in thought, searching for an explanation she probably didn’t have.
“Well I don’t know how to explain it,” she replied finally, almost whimpering. “It just kind of, I don’t know… happened?” She phrased it as more of a question, her voice so low and shameful it could barely be heard. She looked down to such a degree it looked like she was caving in on herself. I put myself in her shoes, and it then occurred to me that I wouldn’t be surprised if that was what she was trying to do. I glanced over at Julia, who was clearly dissatisfied with this answer.
“How did it ‘just happen’?” she asked, her pitch rising. “Tell me Haley, how do you just accidentally cheat on your boyfriend and betray your best friend?” It was clear Julia was just making Haley the weaker one in the situation. Haley never did seem like the ‘strong fighter’ type, whereas Julez kind of did. But, I guess you learn something new every day. Because in response to Julia’s victorious tone, thinking she had already proved Haley wrong, Haley whipped her head towards Julia, a sudden glare on her face. I was surprised at her fierceness, but I was even further shocked by what came out of her mouth.
“Do you really want to hear all of the details about how your boyfriend kissed me?” she shot back, the words “your boyfriend kissed me” lingering in the air. “Do you really want to hear about how close we are?” she taunted, obviously using her close bond with Louis to her full advantage.
Wow. That was really harsh for Haley. I had been expecting her to beg for forgiveness, maybe even add some tears and use those puppy dog eyes to her own advantage, at least just stay silent. But that reaction was not expected. I looked around, and the stunned, speechless expressions on Louis and Niall’s faces made it clear that they were just as taken aback as I was. I couldn’t tell with Julia, but then again I never really could quite tell with Julia.
Julia just pursed her lips, not saying anything, if she was wounded in any way she sure did a good job of masking it. When she didn’t say anything, Haley went on. “Okay!” she continued in an obviously deviously perky voice. “Well, I was upset. So I went to Louis, because Niall was probably sick of me and Louis always makes me feel better. We’re just that close.” I had to envy Haley’s ability to strike a chord with Julia, make sure she didn’t hurt Niall’s feelings, and stay humble all in just two sentences. Realizing where this was going, I smirked, sitting back and enjoying the show. This wasn’t exactly how I had expected the session to go, but it was quite entertaining to watch. “So I vented and we hugged it out, like close friends do.” There it was again, her strategy of getting in Julia’s head while indirectly assuring Niall that she and Louis were simply very close friends. “I went to go kiss him on the cheek at the same time he went to kiss me on the cheek, and we ended up accidentally kissing. Then, I guess we were just a little bit curious, and tried again. We instantly felt guilty and told you guys the truth,” Haley explained, her voice transitioning smoothly from stinging with vengeance to singing with innocence.
“But you only told Niall right away, not me!” Julia exclaimed, her blue eyes flaring.
“Louis was just about to tell you,” Haley continued, a strange sense of serenity in her voice, “but you refused to listen for a while. Then when you finally heard the story, you forgave him because you came to understand. You were glad to have Louis back, but you were still mad. So you took it out on me.” I was honestly astonished by her analysis. I slowly began clapping, shaking my head in playful wonderment.
“And I thought I was the peace making therapist here,” I remarked with a smirk. Haley just smiled smugly, though it somehow managed to come off as bashful at the same time. “So can you four just make up and shoo the awkward away now?” I requested. “It’s starting to get to me.” The four of them laughed humorlessly, but after a moment of hesitation, Julia nodded. Haley hug tackled her like a little kid, as if she hadn’t just totally bitched her out.
“Alright, get off of me,” Julia ordered with a smile, going back to her old self. I smiled as the girls took their places at their men’s sides, clapping my hands together.
“Well, my work here is done,” I stated, smiling at the finally somewhat happy couples before making my way up the stairs.
*Haley’s P.O.V.*
I felt kind of bad about bitching at Julia, but she had been pissing me off and in my mind that it a valid excuse to snap. Okay, it’s not actually okay, but whatever. “So can you four just make up and shoo the awkward away now?” Jesse requested. “It’s starting to get to me.” We all chuckled in response, but I couldn’t hear the amusement in it. I was still staring at Julia, whose face softened a bit at Jesse’s request. Well that’s uncharacteristic. Then, surprising me even more, she nodded. At first I was suspicious she was plotting something, but I threw that thought aside and jumped on her, deciding I didn’t want to lose my best friend over something stupid. She let out a short, breathy laugh before ordering me off of her. I smiled and went back to Niall’s embrace, Julia retreating into Louis’ arms. Julez and I smiled at each other, peace finally settling over us. “Well, my work here is done,” Jesse sighed as he clapped his hands together, clearly pleased with his work. I smiled in amusement as he left, heading up to his room.
Well, I guess I had one more relationship to mend. Bracing myself, I forced my gaze into those all too familiar ocean blue eyes, only to find that they were already on me. I hated that my heart was pounding like thunder in my chest. I wanted to rip it out. He granted me a half smile, which I returned. “Oh, just hug, you idiots,” and Irish accent came from behind me. I barely had time to even consider the command before I was shoved into Louis’ embrace. I stumbled and he caught me, and I smiled stupidly as I looked up at his smirking face. After a moment of soul connecting eye contact that was completely platonic, we just smiled and wrapped each other, quite violently, in each other’s arms. I buried my face in his neck, happy to have my best friend back.
But, of course, sweet moments can’t last forever. For all of a sudden, the floor fell from beneath my feet and my body was swung over Louis’ shoulder. “Louis!” I screeched, clutching his shirt for dear life. “Put me down!” I squealed, basically whining.
“Nope!” Louis replied, now running around the room, still carrying me. I kicked him and cursed at him, but he still didn’t put me down.
“Hey, that’s my captive, Tomlinson!” Niall joked as Julia giggled.
“Yeah, so put me down!” I demanded once again.
“Okay,” Louis agreed. A wave of relief soothed me before I realized that something was wrong. Why would he agree to let me go so easily…? I barely had time to wonder before I was laid on the floor, Louis looming over me with an evil grin on his face. Realization dawned on me.
“Don’t you da-” I was cut off by my own laughter as he began tickling me. Automatically, my limbs began flailing, my hands struggling to pry his off of my sides. Eventually I succeeded, holding them up in the air by his wrists. I caught my breath, glaring at him even though I was still slightly chuckling. Usually I would’ve been pissed off by his amused, smug grin, but I was just too damn happy that things were going back to normal. He finally got up, offering me his hand. “Fuck you,” I muttered with a smile as I accepted his offer.
“Fuck you too,” he replied with a playful smirk. I noticed the Julia and Niall had migrated into the kitchen, and Louis must have noticed when he saw me looking over his shoulder. “Shall we?” he asked. I nodded, but as he began turning I took him by the elbow and swung him around, giving him one last squeeze. I pulled away, smiling giddily. He smiled back down at me, causing a warm fuzzy feeling to arise in my stomach. It was nothing like the heart pounding tension I had experienced earlier; it was the familiar sensation of knowing I had the best friend in the entire world.
“We shall,” I agreed, linking my arm through his.
A/N***
Yayyy, everyone is happy!
So yeah, Haley kinda bitched out right there. I don't blame you if you hate her right now, lol idk bro I just wanted to put that smiley there...
Okay, so I have an announcement to make. It's kinda sad and bittersweet, but it doesn't necessarily have to be.
There are only a few chapters left.
I know, I know, tear tear. I'm gonna like cry, but oh well.
I'm really gonna miss this...
BUT TILL THEN ENJOYYYYYYY AND KEEP COMMENTING AND VOTING AND ILY AND... yeah :D.
Haha, take care,
Z. ♥