Forbidden

"What the hell was that all about?" I heard Liam ask from downstairs. I could practically see Louis shrugging as he answered.
"Don't ask me, maybe you should talk to your sister instead of telling her she can walk home." he said, more than a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.
"Why would you drive her home?" Liam asked, the volume of his voice raising as he went on. "I wanted to spend one hour with her interrupted, but you just had to go off with her. You know what I told you about that anyway!" Liam shouted, getting angrier by the second.
What had he said about that? Had they been speaking about me?

"Well unlike you, I wasn't going to let her fall to pieces in front of the whole restaurant. I acted how you, as her brother, should have acted." Louis said, and I heard the sofa moving, as if he'd stood up suddenly.
"Don't tell me how to be a brother, you have no idea what's going on! And you sure as hell don't think of her as a sister!" Liam shouted, even louder this time and I heard some muttering as if the boys were trying to calm him down.
"You know what? I'm not going to bother. You're acting like a dick." Louis told him and I heard a door slam before someone came stomping up the stairs.

My door swung open to reveal a furious looking Liam. "What the hell was that?" he asked, looking at me as I sat in my bed, dressed in pyjamas.
"You tell me." I said simply. "You can't force me to spend time with you, nor can you force me to talk to you when you're acting like an idiot." I told him, watching as he turned red in anger.
"You're my sister, why the hell won't you tell me what's wrong?" he asked, walking further into my room as he spoke before stopping suddenly in the middle.

"Because, Liam, it's got fuck all to do with you! You can't disappear on tour for months and then come back and expect everything to be normal. Especially when you act like a complete arse hole for no fucking reason!" I shouted, ignoring the fact that we weren't the only ones in the house.
"Oh so now you're angry because I'm successful?" he asked and I sighed angrily.
"It's not about you being successful, Liam, I don't give a shit. In fact, I'm happy for you. So don't come in here and make it about you. This is about me being upset and not ready to talk." I shouted and he walked, or rather stomped out, angrily.

An hour or two later, I was still unable to get to sleep. I was afraid that I'd been too harsh on Liam, who, despite acting like an absolute prick, really did have my best intentions at heart. Knowing that I probably wouldn't get to sleep without help, I walked downstairs, making my way into the kitchen where I knew there was some chamomile tea.
I turned the kettle on, waiting for it to boil as I popped a teabag into my favorite mug. Suddenly there were footsteps by the door and I looked up to find Louis Tomlinson staring at me.

"Hey" he said softly, bowing his head to look at the floor.
"Hi." I whispered, although I was sure that no one would hear us anyway.
"Listen, thank you for not telling Liam anything earlier. I mean, you've probably guessed what happened from what he said in the restaurant." I told him awkwardly.
"It's not really my job to do that." He said and I smiled thankfully.

"Well I heard him having a go at you, so I apologize on both of our behalves." I told him with a small smile.
"You don't need to apologise for him. I probably would have reacted the same way about my sister, although I understand that you don't need to tell him everything that goes on." He admitted.

"I want to though. I mean, we used to be so close, and I'd tell him anything. But since The X Factor, I barely see him and now I'm just scared he'll judge me for how stupid I've been" I confessed.
"Liam would never judge you, and I find it hard to believe you could be stupid." Louis smiled and I hung my head.

"But I have been. I've been so ridiculously stupid. I'm one of those girls that I used to make fun of, or feel sorry for." I told him and he walked forward to hug me.
"You're one of the smartest girls I know. Everybody can be stupid sometimes. Even me, if you can believe that." he murmured and I laughed softly.

"I can actually." I told him and he joined in with me.
"Oh god. You know what the worst thing is?" I asked with a sigh and he shook his head slowly.
"I was willing to take him back. He told me that he'd cheated on me and I barely even cared, I was just scared of losing him." I told Louis, trying to stop myself crying again. I'd cried way too much for one night.

"He doesn't deserve you." Louis told me and I smiled sadly, still wrapped in his arms.
"That's what people who end up alone say." I teased him and he let go of me, pretending to be offended.
"Are you saying I'll be forever alone?" he asked, asked dramatically and I laughed.
"Maybe, maybe not." I told him playfully.

"I'll have you know I have a girlfriend" he said, waving his arms around as my heart plummeted. How typical that the only guy in the world I felt like talking to had a girlfriend...

"So why are you downstairs?" I asked him, keen to change the subject as quickly as possible.
"I heard you walking around and I was bored." he told me. "What about you?" he asked and I looked round at the kettle which had boiled a while ago.

"Couldn't sleep, so I decided to make some tea." I told him, pouring the hot water into the mug and stirring it around. "But I need to go to bed now." I told him once I'd spooned the teabag out and dumped it in the bin.
"Night." he told me softly, and I felt him watching me as I walked away.

The next day I woke up late, walking downstairs to find Niall and Harry sitting on my sofa together, switching between watching TV, texting and tweeting people.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked them, sitting down beside Harry and watching as he put his laptop down on the floor.
"Your Mum's gone to visit your grandma for the weekend, Liam's gone out shopping with Zayn and Louis has gone to lunch with Eleanor." he said and I felt slightly sick. Did he have to spend all his time with her?

"So Niall and I have decided that we're doing something with you today." Harry announced.
"We can go to lunch, or shopping, or lunch" Niall suggested happily, a hungry look gracing his boyish features.

"That's boring, let's go to the cinema!" Harry shouted. I was about to object to their suggestions when they began sending me pleading looks, complete with puppy eyes and pouts.
"Okay." I said, finally giving in as they jumped around happily. "I feel like I'm babysitting." I muttered once Harry pushed Niall onto the floor and ordered me to join the bundle.

Half an hour later we were in Harry's car on the way to the nearest cinema whilst Niall wondered aloud which sweets he was going to buy.
"Obviously popcorn, and chocolates a given, but I don't know if I want something chewy or soft, sweet or sour." he wondered, and I looked round from my position in the passenger seat to find him scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh dear god. Niall I will buy your sweets for you if you stop talking!" I exclaimed.
"Fine, what drink though?" he asked cheekily and I groaned into my hands as Harry looked round at me and laughed.
"Eyes on the road!" I screeched, and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, have you even passed your driving test yet?" he asked.
"Yes!" I said indignantly. "I just can't drive at the moment because of a minor incident." I said quietly and both of the boys began to laugh at me.
"What did you do?" Niall asked with a laugh, showcasing his crooked teeth.

"I drove into a tree. Technically, I'm still allowed to drive, I just can't because my car's been written off. It's being replaced next week anyway." I told them as they howled with laughter.
"It isn't funny, it was the best car ever and it's ruined." I told them.
"It is funny." Niall said quietly and I glared at him. "Don't make me come back there." I warned him as his eyes widened fearfully.

"Oh please, she'd only roll around in the back with Louis!" said Harry flippantly and I whipped my head around.
"What did you just say?" I asked him quickly, aware of the alarmed look on my face. How did he know anything?