Casey, I love you (Niall Horan)

Chapter 5

Liam was a guy with an avoiding look, he only got along with a few people and he was convinced that he only needed Casey to survive in school. Until he met this girl.

Liam was sure that he and Casey were just friends so he decided to ask her for some advice on how to conquer a girl. And her, like the good friend she was, did everything she could to help him. She even pretended to be a delicate and fragile girl so Liam seemed strong and brave. But after a while, Liam took the role too seriously and started humiliating Casey publicly, making him look like "the bad guy". Eventually, all that acting caught the girl's attention and they quickly started a serious relationship, which ended his friendship with Casey.

She was sick of his mistreatment and threatened to tell everybody the truth if he did not come round. He disagreed and their friendship was over.

A month later, Liam's girlfriend cheated on him with a guy named Brad.

He ended up alone, with no one to turn to. People at school did not go near him, they gave him judging looks, talked, and created rumors behind his back.

Weeks after ending things with Katty, fighting with Casey, and be the school's centre of attention, he committed suicide. Nobody knew why he did it; it could've been the struggles he was going through at that time or it could've been something that was already tormenting him.

To Casey, it seemed like slowly agonizing. She had lost her only best friend and he hadn't even had the decency to leave a note or something to say goodbye. At least, that was what she and everybody else thought... a house can keep many secrets.

-I remember that time we stole the Christmas cookies. You were so euphoric you couldn't stop laughing and we got caught. You never were a good thief- Casey had cleaned her tears and she was chatting alone in front of Liam's grave.

In the cemetery, his face wasn't so unpleasant as it was in school, that place made her be cautious and brought her bad memories about the bad times her friend went through. On the other hand, the cemetery was comforting and quiet, plus nobody dared to interrupt her peace.

-By the way, there is a guy...- Casey suppressed a smile at the thought of Niall's ocean eyes. If Liam was still alive he would get along with Niall even though it wasn't a guarantee that he wouldn't be jealous. Since little children, Liam showed a certain kind of dependence towards Casey-. You two would be great friends, I'm sure of that. He is blond and taller than me, and he is very charming. You would approve of him.

The wind made the air cold and Casey's short hair move. She pushed her bangs away and looked at the inscription on the tombstone:

"You will always be in our hearts".

That was the inscription his mother had wanted but Casey didn't like it and on the day of the funeral, they argued and never talked again. At that moment, she began her transition to a bad girl, in Liam's memory.

Below, with a black marker, there were other words that read:

"Forever you will live".

According to Casey, that seemed more appropriate.

To her, when somebody "was" in someone's heart, it meant they were gone. She felt Liam was still there, but not in her heart. He was wandering around free and without any worries. She liked that thought best than having her friend trapped. For that reason, three years ago, she wrote against his family's will those words on his stone.

-His name is Niall. He has a weird accent but I like it, it makes him look different. He also has three friends: one of them has curly hair, like you when you didn't comb yours. He's Harry. Another one is brunette and very handsome, but don't get it wrong, I'm just saying. He's Zayn. And the other one is a guy named Louis, he saved me from Dylan once so I have to like him -it felt good to say all that. In school she had to control herself to not go and hug Niall, she had a façade to take care of. Nevertheless, she could say everything to Liam, it was like having a diary with the advantage that no one was going to read it.