Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

-          Niall’s POV -

 

 Day 31:

I stared at Liam; trying to figure out what the hell was going through his head. I had no clue. He’d practically buried his face into his food and was gulping it down. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him eat. There was something so attractive about it. Maybe it was the way that he stuck his tongue out before he took a bite.

Just imagine what that would feel like against-

This isn’t the time god damn it.

I had to find out why he was blushing because of that text and if I had any chance of finding out, Harry and Louis’ new relationship development was my way in.

“You seem to be very accepting of Louis being in love with Harry...” I started. He jumped and looked up at me from his pasta. He had sauce all over his face and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He furrowed his eyebrows and gave me a confused look:

“...why wouldn’t I be? It doesn’t matter if a person is male or female... you don’t choose who you fall in love with.” He murmured; another dazzling smile growing on his face. I felt a stabbing pain in the back of my throat.

He sounds like he’s speaking from experience...

I took a sip of my water to try to get rid of the pain.

“...So you’ve been in love before then..?” I asked; taking another sip of water and glancing up as I drank. I was trying to hide my nervousness. I think it worked. He pulled another dazzling smile, but this one was different from the others. It started from the corner of his mouth and spread across his entire face; making his eyes crinkle up the way that they sometimes did, and making his cute little button nose perk up. He looked up at me as his eyes softened. I’d never seen him smile like that before. My heart ached.

“Once or twice.” He smirked back at me.

Stab.

“O-Oh... anyone I know..?” I asked. I didn’t want to hear the answer.

“Yep, you definitely know them.” He smirked back.

Stab.

“...are you still in love with them now..?” I asked; almost a whisper. He looked down at his food and started twirling some pasta around his fork. He didn’t look up at me as he spoke:

“More than ever.” He murmured.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

I pulled a fake smile and stood up; glancing towards the balcony. I needed air. Now.

“I’m gonna go check out the courtyard.” I said before turning and walking out through the double doors to our left. As soon as I rounded the corner I clutched a hand to my chest. It hurt so badly. I winced and took a deep breath; trying to dull the pain. It didn’t work.

I leant against the railing and looked down the courtyard below. The whole area was bustling with people. There was a band playing a mix between club songs and slow dancing music and there were countless couples on the dance floor. The courtyard was surrounded by paper lanterns of all different shapes and colours. There were lights strung up in every tree and above every table. I noticed a male couple dancing together slowly in time with the music. One guy hand his hands on the other’s waist as he swayed his hips back and forth. They danced just like I had with Amy. I was kind of surprised that they weren't trying to hide anything. This side of town wasn’t the most accepting of places. But the more I looked, the more I realised that there were lots of same sex couples. I smirked.

Trust Louis to find us a restaurant with its own gay night club.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Liam lean against the railing next to me. He smiled wistfully as he looked over the courtyard.

“...you alright?” He asked, his voice catching at the end.

Crap, I must have been gone longer than I’d realised.

I looked back down at the gay couple that were still in their own world. I smiled.

“Yeah... just thinking...” I murmured. “This place has a great atmosphere.” I glanced back at Liam and my heart stopped. His face was inches from mine.

When did he get so close..?

“Care to dance?” He asked smoothly; another dazzling smile growing across his face. It took every ounce of strength in my body to refuse.

He’s only kidding after all.

I plastered a fake smile on my face and shook my head.

“Maybe next time.” I smiled back.

I pulled back from the rail and slowly walked back inside and sat down at our table again. Liam sat down across from me and finished off his pasta. I’d already finished mine so I was trying not to stare at him as he ate. He glanced up at me and smiled that same dazzling smile one more time before leaning forward across the table.

“Come here.” He said softly as he reached out towards my face. I started to lean forward; unable to stop myself. He reached up and wiped his finger down the side of my cheek. I went crazy at his touch. He pulled his hand away and I saw that he’d wiped some cabonara from my cheek. He brought his finger to his mouth and licked it slowly; glancing up at me as he did it.

Holy shit.

I turned bright red and wiped my cheek where he’d touched it.

“All gone.” He smirked back at me. I bit my lip and stared back at him. It took all that I had to stop myself from tackling him to the ground then and there.

“...you ready to leave?” I asked softly, glancing down at our now empty plates. He smiled back at me and started to stand up; grabbing his coat off of his chair. He pulled out his wallet and threw a fifty down onto the table.

“This one’s on me.” He smirked. I stood up and we headed towards the door. The waiter from before caught up to us just before we got to the door and whispered something in Liam’s ear before going to hand him a piece of paper. Liam was about to take it when I grabbed his hand and ran.

 

-          Liam’s POV –

 

Day 31:

I pulled my hand away from Niall’s cheek and slowly licked the cabonara off of my finger. Niall blushed a deep red and wiped his cheek.

“All gone.” I smirked, not breaking my gaze away from his. Niall bit his lip as he stared back at me. I clenched my fist under the table to stop myself from trying to make out with him then and there.

“...you ready to leave?” He asked softly, almost a whisper.

Thank god. I can’t hold out much longer.

I stood up and grabbed my coat from the back of my chair. I got my wallet out and threw a fifty onto the table before turning to face Niall.

“This one’s on me.” I smirked; trying to act cool or something. Niall stood up and we started heading towards the door. The waiter ran up to us before we got there though and leaned in close to my ear:

“Give me a call when you’re sick of your boyfriend going through your messages.” He whispered; pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and trying to hand it to me. I was about to take it out of habit but Niall grabbed my hand instead and yanked me away and outside into the street. He didn’t stop there. We ran all the way down the main road with him in the lead until we got to the side streets. He stopped and let go of my hand. We were both out of breath.

“Sorry.” He breathed; glancing up at me. “But I wasn’t gonna let that creep get to you like Amy got to me.” He smirked.

I thought back to what the guy had said; ‘going through your messages.’

It took me a second to realise what he’d meant. I felt the blood drain from my face.

Niall must have read that message when I dropped my phone. My eyes bulged and my face went bright red again.

Oh shit.

You’re screwed now. There’s no way he wouldn’t figure you out after reading that.

Shut up! Shut Up! You’re lying!

I shot a sideways glance at Niall to see that he was staring back at me confusedly.

Does he know..?

My heart skipped a beat.

“...You alright Liam?” He asked worriedly. I tried to see if he was acting differently but I had no clue. Everything he’d done since I’d realised that I was in love with him had seemed like flirting to me.

But that’s just my heart’s wishful thinking. We’ve probably been the same as always... right?

“Ye-Yeah...” I managed to get out. He was about to say something else but he was interrupted by a huge strike of thunder. We looked up to see millions of raindrops start to fall on us at once. It was bucketing down within seconds. We’d been walking down a street that was full of local businesses; local supermarkets, fruit stores, florists etc. There was no one else around though at this time of night. We ran for cover as lightning struck.

We took shelter under the ledge of a nearby doorstep. It was so cramped that our bodies were pushed up against each other. Niall looked up at me and his face was inches from mine. My heart started to pound. I watched as a drop of water ran down his face, stopping when it reached his lips. He licked it away and bit his lip; staring back up at me. I almost broke.

Surely he couldn’t have figured me out if he’s acting this defenceless around me...

I blushed and quickly avoided his gaze by staring out into the rain. It took all that I had to control myself. I could feel his warm breath on my neck. I felt his weight against me and I froze. I looked down to see Niall’s head resting against my chest. My heart started to race even harder as he slowly raised a hand up to my chest and grabbed onto my shirt. He slipped his other hand inside my jacket and around my waist; pulling me into him.

Holy fuck.

“You...you okay?” I stammered softly, almost a whisper. He squeezed my shirt and hugged me tighter. My heart sped up even more.

I’m at the edge of my limit.

“...I’m cold.” He breathed as he closed his eyes and snuggled his face into my chest. I couldn’t resist. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. I blushed as I felt his warm body push up against mine. I felt him smile against my shirt and I pulled him even closer.

We were both drenched from the rain and I could feel the water from his hair soaking into my shirt. I closed my eyes and breathed him in. We stood there like that for ages. It was like we were in our own world and nothing could ruin it. Lightning struck again and I felt him tense. I lowered my head and rested it on top of his. He grabbed my shirt even tighter and let out a murmur. I snapped. I slowly moved one of my hands down his back and around his waist.

Go lower.

Oh crap, not now. Please not now.

Why not? He can’t escape. Do it.

I could feel my hand starting to move.

Shit, stop it!

I refused to let Him ruin this.

My hand stopped centimetres above Niall’s ass. I barely managed to pull away from him. I had to step out into the rain to cool off. I looked up at the sky. It wasn’t going to let up anytime soon.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” I said with a smile as I held my hand out to Niall. He stared back at me for a second before grabbing it and holding it tight. We ran for three blocks in the rain, hand in hand. I snuck a sideways glance at him and saw that he was doing the same. I averted my eyes and blushed. When we got home, he let go of my hand as we entered the front door and I had to stop myself from reaching out to him and taking it back.

 Looking back now,I wish we could have stayed like that forever.