The Parallels (Larry Stylinson+Niall Horan)

Chapter 22

Eyrie

It had been two days since Christmas. I had a whole set of different events with my mum and dad. It felt forever since we last had family days like these. When I was little, my parents and I always used to have the whole weekend to ourselves. We would play games and come up with all sorts of various activities. With time, my dad’s business grew and he started to get busier than before and I started to have more school work and plans with my friends. Even though we stopped having family weekends, we always talked to each other and remained just as close.

I had barely talked to any of my friends since we last met. I called Liam and Zayn, though. Zayn did not pick up and the little interaction with Liam was not very convincing.

“Hey Liam.”

“Hi.”

“How was your sleepover with the guys?”

“It was alright.”

“Ooh. Is there any tea?”

“No.”

“Are you okay, Lima?”

“Yeah. Look, I gotta go. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay I-” The beeping sound of him disconnecting the phone interrupted my words. I looked at my phone, squinting my eyes. I was extremely puzzled. Was there something that had gone wrong between the boys? I did not know the answer to that and I decided to let it go. We were all supposed to go to a party on 31 December, anyway. My parents would not allow me under normal circumstances but, it was the first time that I had ever requested for something like this and Zayn promised to look after me.

I spent the rest of my day jammed up in my room, watching movies and reading the novel. By the time it was evening, I started to have a strong urge of wanting to meet everyone sooner than new year. The party was three days away and I did not want to wait that long. So, I rang Harry up.

“Hey, H.” I said.

“Hello, Eyrie. What’s up?” he replied.

“I wanted to ask you if you think we should all meet tomorrow.” I said, hesitantly because of how Zayn and Liam were acting. I had no idea if Harry was a part of whatever was going on, or not.

“I think it’s a good idea. Where would you want to meet, though?” he asked, sounding genuine.

“Oh, I’m gad you’re acting normal.” I said, relieved and not realising what I had just let go off.

“What do you mean normal?” he asked, confused.

“Uh...Oh um.... Nothing.” I quickly said. “Let’s meet at the cafe. Five in the evening?” I asked.

“Yeah sure. I’ll tell the boys.”

I pressed the red button on the screen of my phone and lied down on the bed, sighing. Even though I hadn’t done any significant physical activity today, it felt like a long day. I kept telling myself that I did not want to think about Liam or Zayn but the truth was, they had been on my mind all day. Zayn did not call me back or text me. Typically, I would have called him again but, the phone call with Liam told me that Zayn was purposely avoiding me.

I closed my eyes because my head was hurting. The ache was a light one but, I saw sleeping fit. I wanted to sleep the confusion off. I hoped that the time at the cafe would bring about some change in the boys’ behaviour. Harry sounded comparatively normal. I wondered if he knew what was going on or if he was just as in the dark as me.

******************

I had called and asked Lyv and Luisa to come over to the cafe. It was four and honestly, I was nervous and slightly scared. I was not sure about what to expect from the meeting. I had a bad feeling in my stomach. I just wished that at least, Niall and Harry would act alright. I slipped into a pair of ripped, white jeans and a light brown hoodie. It would take me about thirty minutes to reach the place. I was going to ride my bicycle today. My mother had finally allowed me to go alone, which was surprising, considering that the cafe was a little on the outer.