This.

Niall called for the fourth time today. I ignored him again. I figured he was either going to continue to yell at me for hitting him last night, or start a whole new issue. Not being in the mood for it today, I chose the best solution.

I felt pretty bad about slapping him. It was not my proudest moment. In fact, I was mortified that I did it. He deserved it, but I shouldn’t have done it. On top of that, I felt awful for snapping at Liam. It wasn’t his place to get involved. I wasn’t mad at him, I was mad a Niall.

My stomach was clenched in knots as I picked up to make a call I knew I had to make. As I listen to the dial tone, I prayed that he wouldn’t answer. Maybe I could have a nice chat with his voicemail?

Of course not. “Hello?” The voice answered timidly.

“Liam.” I said lamely. I was suddenly at a loss for words.

“Marj, I’m so sorry. I should have done something. I didn’t realize it would hurt you so much. If I had known I would have-“ He started. He sounded absolutely miserable as he sputtered quickly at me. It made me feel like shit.

“No. Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. I was just in freak out mode. I’m the one who’s sorry.” I ran my hand through my hair, not sure what to say next.

“It’s alright. I know how Niall gets to you. I don’t hold it against you.” I could hear his faint smile thought the phone.

“Thanks. You’ve been really great over the past few months, Liam. I really love that we’re friends.” There was an extended pause from his end of the line.

“Yeah. Friends. Right. I like being friends with you too.” He said sounding confused. It confused me. Maybe something distracted him.

“So we’re good?” I asked, just to clarify.

“We’re good.” He confirmed.

“Great. Want to hang out later then? You can come over. We’ll get food and watch reality television. I know how much you love that trash.” I teased him. I was glad that things weren’t too weird between us. I don’t think I could endure Niall without Liam.

“Okay. Later tonight then.” His voice went away and I could hear him having a faint conversation with someone on the other side of the phone. “I have to go. I’ll text you before I come over.” He told me then hung up before I could reply.

“Bye.” I said to myself, and then rolled my eyes. There was a tap on the door to my office then my assistant, Amy, poked her head in.

“Niall is here to see you. He says it’s important. He looks really upset.” She looked nervous. I knew she could sense there was something wrong. I got up and followed her back to her desk where Niall was standing, waiting for her to come back.

“Now isn’t a good time, Niall. I have a lot of work to do.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Amy’s eyes flicked to Niall, watching for his response.

“You won’t answer your phone. What the hell was I supposed to do?” He asked, throwing his hands into the air.

Amy’s eyes returned to me. She was enjoying this a little too much. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.” I told him, narrowing my eyes at him.

Amy looked back to Niall. He finally registered her presence. He gave her a look that made her turn bright red and shrink back into her desk. “Too bad.” He took my elbow in a gentle but firm grip and lead me to my office.

I yanked my arm away but went into the office without protest. “If you’re here to blow up at me, I really don’t want to hear it.” I said to him. I flinched when he opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry.” I nearly chocked on my spit when he said that. He could tell I was caught off guard, and he shifted uncomfortably.

“You what?” I said dumbly. I wasn’t quite sure if I heard him correctly.

“I’m sorry.” He said again, a little slower.

I had not expected anything along these lines when I thought about talking to him. We always just let it all go, never apologizing. That was a main characteristic of our entire relationship. “Uh-okay.” I sputtered, still astonished.

“Why are you so surprised?” He probed defensively.

“You’ve never said anything so nice before. I’m just confused.” I admitted, sitting down in my desk. Niall looked around the office uncomfortable for a second, and then took a seat in a chair across from me.

“Well I made an error in judgment. I know that if it were to get out that I “cheated,” he lifted his fingers into air quotations, “on you, it would look pretty bad for the both of us. So I’m sorry about last night. I went too far.”

Of course he was apologizing about almost ruining the public image. He still didn’t give a shit about me. “Well. Thanks then.” I told him with a shrug.

“Okay.” I think he expected me to say something more. But until he understood the real reason why him sleeping with someone else pissed me off, I’m not apologizing for anything. He got up and wiped his palms on his pants. “I’ll uh-see you soon.”

He paused for a moment, looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. “Yeah. See you later.” I said dismissively, turning my attention back to my computer. I kept my eyes trained on the screen until I heard the door click shut.

When he was finally gone, I buried my head in my hands and let out a frustrated scream. I hated that I had a crush on him. It was totally pointless.



I got him a little later that I expected. Things got a little crazy. I always loved coming home after a long day. My flat was so cozy and perfect on days like these. Once I changed out of my work clothes, I ordered Chinese food. Liam better get here soon or he won’t get any.

I settled onto the couch with a warm blanket and waited for the food and for Liam. A few minutes later, there was a knock. I smiled and jumped up to open the door. When I pulled it open, there stood Liam with a small smile on his face.

“Hi.” I greeted him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a tight hug. He tenses for a second then relaxed and returned the hug. I felt his chest move under my cheek as he took a deep breath.

“What was that for?” He asked when we pulled apart.

“For being you.” I told him with a smile and a pat on the arm. He rolled his eyes and gave me a playful shove.

“That was really cheesy.” He told me with a chuckle. I shrugged and lead him back to the couch. While we were settling in, I invited him under the blanket with me. He scooted closer a little hesitantly. But it turned out to be really comfortable, so I hope he wasn’t too freaked out by the closeness.

We were silent. Occasionally Liam let out a laugh at what was happening on the TV. It was a nice night. There was no pressure from out jobs, from Niall, or the media. It was just two people hanging out.

I let out a scream of delight when the food came. I was starving at waiting for the past forty minutes was killing me. I paid the man then came back to the couch. “No forks?” Liam asked nervously.

“You can figure out chopsticks!” I said with a laugh then held them out for him. He got a look of disgust as he took them from me.

“I might starve.” He complained as he tried to pull some noodles out, failing quite miserably.

I laughed at the sight. His face was pulled into a look of intense concentration. “You look like an idiot.” I giggled, almost dropping my own container.

“I feel like an idiot!” He replied, and then cursed at the noodles slipped out once more.

“Here. Like this.” I reached out and grabbed his hand that was holding the chopsticks. It organized his fingers into the proper placements, and helped him test them out. He remained totally silent throughout the whole exchange.

“You okay?” I asked him, still holding his hand in mine. He stared at me seriously. There was a peculiar intensity in his eyes that made me very uneasy. I was unable to tear away from his gaze though. He had lovely eyes.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. Before I even had time to contemplate the situation, his lips were on mine. There were soft and plump, just liked they looked. His kiss filled me with a nice warm feeling. My mind was so fogged by this moment, I found myself kissing him back.

And…liking it?