This.

Things were a little awkward between me and Niall following our last blow up. We still bickered, but it was halfhearted. Most of them time we were just together, not looking at each other and not talking.

I hated this more than I hated Niall insulting me. I missed hearing his angry voice. I missed that look in his eyes when the rage completely consumed him. Most of all, I hated that I didn’t know what to say to him anymore.

Niall had been coming with me when I go around and talk at schools in London. Since he started coming around with me, there has been a lot more interest. It bothered me that the only reason people care is because of Niall, but as long as people were aware, I decided I couldn’t really complain.

He seemed to like it quite a bit too. It’s not like he would ever tell me that, but I could tell by the way he smiled when he went spoke to the students. At least he got something from the contract. The media seemed to like him a lot more lately, too. Which I suppose was a good thing.

We were closing in on the third month our agreement. Niall had been out of town for most of the month, so I didn’t have to talk to him much. It was nice to have a break from the horrible awkward “dates” were forced to go on every week.

My phone buzzing on my desk pulled me out of my thoughts. I saw Liam’s name on the caller ID. I gave a little smile and picked up. “Hey, Liam. How’s it going?”

“Fine. I just wanted to give you a call and let you know that we got home today. I doubt Niall told you.” Liam said. We had become pretty good friends over the months. Since he was such good friends with Niall, he was a great person to talk to when I got fed up.

“You’re right. He didn’t tell me.” I sighed, Liam was a better at this than Niall was.

“He probably forgot.”

No he didn’t. He just chose not to tell me. Probably to avoid going out with me as long as possible. “You don’t have to make us excuses for him Liam. It really isn’t that big of a deal.”

“Okay. You wanna hang out tonight? I think Niall was going over to Lou’s to play video games. You won’t have to see him.” He asked casually.

I really liked hanging out with Liam. He was like a big brother to me. “Yeah sure. I’ll come by after work.”

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

I took a cab over to Liam and Niall’s place after work. Niall hadn’t called me so I didn’t have to go out with him tonight. I was really glad, because I was looking forward to a night with Liam.

“Right on time!” Liam smiled at me when I opened the door. He pulled me in by my arm and shut the door behind me. “The food just got here.” He explained as he led me to the kitchen.

The smell of curry filled my nostrils. “Indian food! This is my favorite!” I told him as I dug into one of the bags and pulled out a container.

“I know.” Liam said softly, looking at me for longer than necessary. His intense gaze made my cheeks color and my stomach tie into knots. I cleared my throat to dismiss the awkward air that had filled the room.

I grabbed a fork and started eating, not bothering to grab a plate. Liam did the same and we just stood the kitchen, passing around the containers and talking. He told me about their latest trip and what they did. It sounded like fun, and I tried to stay engaged in the conversation.

But I couldn’t help but wonder what Niall thought. I wondered if he had a good time too or if he thought it was boring. I wanted to ask Liam about him, but I got the feeling he wouldn’t take too kindly to the question.

“Want to watch television?” Liam asked as he threw out the containers from our finished meal. I shrugged. It didn’t matter what we did at this point. I was perfectly happy from the delicious food I had just gorged myself on.

I followed Liam into the living room and sat down next to him. We settled into a comfortable silence. My feet were thrown across his lap and he was tracing patterns absent-mindedly into my shins. The door to the flat unlocked and we looked up to see Niall coming in. When he saw Liam and me on the couch, he narrowed his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” He asked me while glaring at Liam.

“Hanging out with Liam. Is that a problem?” I retorted, already irritated.

“I don’t fucking care. I’m not your boyfriend, thank god.” He tossed his keys onto a table by the door and slipped off his shoes.

“As far as the whole world is concerned, you are.” I reminded him in a teasing tone.

“Don’t remind me.” He started to leave the room, but turned around, as he was about to disappear into the kitchen. “Oh, and keep your hands to yourself, Liam. Don’t want to go make a slut out of such a lovely girl.” The sarcasm dripping from the words was hard to miss.

“Niall, come on, mate. Don’t say that.” Liam told his friend, trying to keep his voice even.

“What? To keep your hands off? I thought that went without saying but you obviously need a reminder.” He held his hands up, motioning to our position on the couch. I removed my feet from Liam’s lap and sat upright, placing my hands in my lap.

“No. You don’t need to go around insinuating that she’s a slut. That’s not cool.” Liam said, looking at me as he spoke.

Even thought there was a considerable distance between us, I saw Niall’s eyes darken. I’ve known Niall long enough to know what that meant. He wanted a fight and I didn’t have the stomach to watch it. I stood up before Niall could say anything.

“Guys, its fine. I don’t want to cause problems, I’ll just take off.” I made my way over to the door and picked up my bag and coat. I opened the door and looked back at the two again. They were both watching me but I knew I hadn’t resolved the tension by leaving.

I couldn’t help but be irritated. I mean I get why Niall was telling Liam to back off. It would look really bad if we got to comfortable around each other. But we were just hanging out, its not like we’re shagging. Maybe if Niall weren’t so insufferable all the time I wouldn’t hang out with Liam. Niall is so dumb sometimes.

Is it bad that I found Niall’s possessiveness unbelievably sexy?



It’d been a couple days since the awkward confrontation with the guys. I had been avoiding talking to both of them. I didn’t was Liam’s sympathy and I sure as hell didn’t want Niall’s crap. But his manager’s not so friendly reminder that we had to go out sometime is what had me calling Niall.

It was a Friday night and I was by myself in my flat. The clock said it was around midnight, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see if he available. Knowing him, he had probably snuck off to a bar, which was against the rules for him. I was surprised when the phone picked up after a couple rings.

“Hello?” A confused voice said. It didn’t sound like Niall. It was a girl and she sounded very drunk.

“Uh…Niall?” I asked since my mind when totally blank. Obviously, I knew what was going on, but I couldn’t really process it at the moment.

The girl giggled. “No! I’m Cara! Who is this?”

“Where’s Niall?” I snapped at her, ignoring her question.

“He went to the kitchen to get some water. I think he’s really worn out! Would you like me to take a message? I’m sure he call you back when we’re finished.” That caused her to giggle harder and my blood to boil. I hung up the phone and flew out of the apartment in a blind rage.

I really hoped they were at his place because I wanted nothing more to humiliate both of them. The cab ride to his building was probably the longest of my life. I was so angry I could barely see straight.

I got to the door of their flat and started pounding on it furiously. I heard the locks unclicking but I didn’t stop until the door opened, revealing a startled looking Liam.

“Marjorie! What are you doing here? I don’t think that-“ I held up my hand, telling him to stop talking.

“Is he here?” I asked, not in the mood for him to try and reason with me.

“Uh…yeah. But you shouldn’t-“ He started again but I shoved passed him and stormed to Niall’s bedroom. This was the first time I would actually see the room itself. All I’ve ever seen of it is Niall disappearing into it and slamming to door.
I threw the door open and flicked on the lights. The movement going on in the bed stopped immediately. A tiny brunette that was on top of him whirled around and screamed when she saw me. She grabbed the sheets and pulled them around her body and leaped off the bed.

“Get out!” I barked at her.

“Marjorie! What the hell are you doing?!” Niall shouted, holing his own sheet around his naked bottom half. He sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed, looking at the ground. I assumed he was looking for his underwear.

I ignored his outburst and kept glaring at the brunette. It was taking her an eternity to slip back into her clothes without revealing anything. “Now!” I shouted again, pointing at the door. She walked quickly out of the room, pulling her dress over her body as she did so.

Once she was out of the room I turned around so I could close the door again. Liam was now standing in the doorway, looking very alarmed. I pointed at him angrily. “I do not want to hear it, Liam.” I told him then slammed the door in his face.

I whirled back around to face Niall who was now in his underwear. He looked pissed. His face was flushed red and his eyes were fiery. He was close enough that I was able to do what I had been dreaming about for months.

I lifted my hand and slapped him as hard as I could in the face. The sound of skin hitting skin echoed throughout the room. He held his cheek and looked astonished at me for a moment. Then his face grew hard again.

“You bitch! What the hell is your problem!?” He yelled. His fists were now clenched at his sides. I could tell he wanted to hit me back… thank god he refrained.

“My problem? Are you serious?” I yelled, lifting a hand to hit him again. He was ready this time and he caught my fist in his firm grip.

“Yes, your problem! What are you doing barging into my flat well after midnight and hitting me?” He tightened his hold on my hand. I winced but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that it hurt.

“You get mad at me and Liam for hanging out and then you go and shag random girls days later? That is the most misogynistic, hypocritical, thickheaded thing I have ever heard. Where do you come off telling me who I can hang out with and then turn around and do this to me?”

“Liam is different. He’s my fucking roommate. You can’t seriously think it would be okay to jump in bed with him! I didn’t even cheat on you! We aren’t together. You’re overreacting!”

“I’m not shagging Liam, you twat! Overreacting? Are you stupid? I told you not to make a fool of me. I refuse to be humiliated by you like that. I don’t care whom you are attracted to.” He dropped by hand and looked away. I grabbed his chin and yanked his head roughly to look at me again. “But for the next three months, you will be faithful. Do not make a jackass out of yourself again, Niall. That’s what got you stuck with me in the first place.”

He yanked his chin out of my grasp and stepped away. “Get out.” He said firmly to me. His fingers reached up to brush the cheek I had slapped. It was pretty red and I felt pretty good about it.

I stormed out of him and shoved past Liam for the second time that night. “Marjorie! Stop for just a second.” He pleaded as I headed back to the door.

“Save it. You are just as big as an asshole as Niall. You were in the flat while he was doing it! Did you even try and stop him?” I asked. Liam’s face fell and his shoved his hands into his pockets. “That’s what I thought.” At that, I closed the door behind me. I didn’t slam it, I figured I’d done enough of that.

Thankfully, I was able to hold back my tears until I got to the elevator. When the doors closed, I allowed a painful sob to escape. I feel so ridiculous that it hurt so much to see Niall in bed with someone else. He would never understand how much it truly hurt to see him look at every other girl in the world but me.