I'm fine, We're fine [boyxboy]

Twenty-Two p.1

Harry's POV

Little by little, I was going to try to piece together the things I had broken.

I went to Niall's place first. Out of all of my friends, he was the one who I felt was least affected by the things I'd done. He was friends with all of us, but close with none of us at the same time. If anyone, Niall probably talked to Liam the most because he was the one who introduced him and Zayn.

Finding his apartment was easy because I had gone there countless times for dinner and the odd football game. I couldn't see his car immediately in the lot, but I didn't dwell too much on it while I parked and made my way up the concrete stairs. When I was outside of the door, I knocked and I didn't have to wait long.

"Harry?" Niall looked more confused than anything when he opened the door. His eyes were a little pink and I knew I had woken him. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?"

Niall invited me in with a nod and stepped aside. His apartment was too warm when the door closed behind us. I made my way to the couch and he stopped by the kitchen. "Want a beer?" he called out.

"No. Trying to cut back some," I replied. I heard the fridge close and the smack of his feet on laminate before he was coming across the carpet. Niall sat on the other end of the couch. When he popped the top from the beer, it hissed.

"So what's up? Haven't seen you in a bit. I really didn't think you would come back around any of us, let alone me."

"I'm surprised I'm here, too. But after everything that's happened, I need to try and make amends with people. You're the only one who isn't very close to Louis and the only one whose opinion of me isn't completely soured."

Niall took a swig from the bottle. "I'm not very fond of you, I don't hate you either. You're right in saying that, Harry. I don't think it's right, what you did, but it doesn't really involve me. Louis is my friend, but he's grown and he made his own decisions. That makes me sound like a bastard, but I'm indifferent to most things. I keep to myself." Things were easier. The only reason he'd briefly stuck his nose into Zayn and Liam's business was because Liam insisted on meeting him.

That didn't make me feel better, but it was more than I hoped for. "I know what I did wasn't right and I'm trying everyday to fix that, Niall. I just need people to see that I'm trying to change for the better."

"Then you should show rather than tell. You can tell people you're going to change a hundred times a day but until they see it, your words are meaningless." Niall eyed me across the neck of the bottle when he took another drink. "And the main one you need to show is Louis. He's the one you've hurt. I can't speak for his family, but I can tell you right now that if you go to Liam and Zayn's, you need to be cautious. Be wary. Louis is like a little brother to Zayn and he isn't going to be so casual about this."

I already knew that but Niall telling me secured it in my mind and I knew things were going to get ugly with Zayn before they got better. "I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to Louis' parents next. Any advice for them?"

Niall laughed. "Wear a cup. Lottie probably has her nails done, so keep your face away from her. Louis' mom is still distraught, she'll probably just cry. And Louis' dad? He might kick your ass, he might shoot you. I don't know. I haven't been there since the day the deputy took Louis down to the station to identify you."

I took note of everything he said and stood before he was halfway through the beer. "I'm going to head there before I lose the balls to do it. I'll see you around, yeah?" Niall nodded and shook my hand without so much as a response. He was a man of few words and I let myself out while he went back to his room to resume the sleep I interrupted.