PERIPHERY | NH |

NINETEEN

Niall

"So.. You and Hunter?"

Whipping my head up from my computer, I swear to god I almost gave myself whiplash in order to lock eyes with Zeke.

Rubbing the back of my neck I try to cover my shock with a fake cough. "What are you talking about?"

"Hello, I'm not blind." Rolling his eyes, he rests his elbows on his knees. "You both are googly eyed for each other even when you think nobody is looking."

Panic seems to course through my body in slow motion.

Does everyone know?

"We are just friends, Zeke." The lie coming off my tongue leaves behind a bitter taste, something I want to take back as soon as I say it.

"You know I saw you both at Benson's, right? While everyone was looking at you guys too, I think they were all too drunk to notice what was actually going on." Scrolling through his phone, I can't help but laugh at his relaxed nature. "You know that I'm the only one here that wasn't drunk, so nobody here but me would remember and the only one who stayed late enough."

He was right.

While some of the others had come out for Parker's birthday, Zeke was the only one who stayed later — meaning he's the only one who saw my jealousy take over and probably the one who saw us kiss in the middle of the dance floor.

Blowing out a breath, I look over to see Hunter working on her computer, large headphones over her ears as she looks content in her own little world doing what she loves to do.

"Yeah, yeah.. Okay. There's something going on but it's not something we are trying to announce to the whole world. We want to keep it private, between us." I know that out of everyone Zeke is the one I can trust the most.

Leaning back into the oversized armchair, a smirk pulls across his face as he looks at me. "I knew it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been head over heels for her since you first saw her. Truly it was only a matter of time." Crossing his arms, he looks at me.

Again, he was right.

I knew that as soon as she came in that room I was a goner, something that I didn't really fight the idea of anymore.

I'm glad that we finally decided to bend the rules, to make them our own and stop living in between the tension and electrically charged air and finally act on the impulses that seemed to fuel both of us.

"Yeah well.. Can you blame me?"

Looking over at her again, I let my eyes travel over the slopes and curves of her face — even letting my gaze trail over her body. Everything about her captivated me. From her soft hair and beautiful face all the way down to her quick wit and hidden secrets that I was dying to chip away at and learn if she would let me.

Shaking his head side to side, I smile when Zeke leans forward to pat my leg. "No, no I don't. But you hurt her and I'll break your fucking neck, do you understand me?"

Rolling my eyes as he stands up, I attempt to pour all of my attention into the emails that are sitting in my inbox.

We've decided to release a single in the next couple of weeks and with that means I've got to make sure all of my ducks are in a row when it comes to where we are going when it comes to doing press, who is going, and where we are staying.

Sending an email to confirm the dates for San Francisco with Will, I can feel a set of eyes on me and I don't even have to look up to know they belong to the woman I hate saying goodbye to every time she leaves my house.