Pretty Boy

Chapter 14

Liam

He really had missed his best friend, he realised as he watched Charlie fall back onto the bed with a groan, "Man, how do you always win?"

Liam chuckled, "Skills"

Charlie threw him a sarcastic glance, "Yeah is that why your football team always wins?"

Liam hand drew to his chest as he feigned offense, "You take that back"

"Nope", Charlie easily said, as he popped up from the bed and adjusted his hoodie, "I gotta head home, I've got too many assignments to finish"

"Yeah, I feel you", Liam nodded, "This was fun, it's been a while"

"I'll see you at school?", Charlie asked as he reached for the door and Liam followed, "Yeah, see ya"

He waited until he heard the sound of Charlie's car leaving the driveway, and he walked back into his room, dropping down on the bed, face first.

His head hurt. He really needed to control his screen time; it was getting out of hand.

He popped an eye open as he reached for his phone, realising he hadn't texted Harley back in hours. Shit

He cursed as he scrolled through Harley's messages, the texts ranging from heyy watchu doing to sorry I'm bothering you.

He did not want to Harley to feel like he was a burden or like he was overstepping. Liam enjoyed the random texts he got from Harley, they made his day better and reminded him there was a person out there who cared about him enough to text him throughout the day, even if it was just silly memes or random emojis. He didn't want Harley to stop just because of some asshole from his past.

He felt a wave of guilt.

Declan wasn't just some asshole; Harley had trusted him and he had broken that trust. It wasn't easy to get over something like that, especially when it had affected Harley that much. They had all seen how he had been after the break up, stuck inside a shell and barely opening up. He had gotten better; his family had been there for him through it all but Liam also knew Harley still doubted sometimes.

He waited as he dialled Harley's number.

It rang until Liam had almost given up, but before he could end the call, Harley picked up with a hesitant, "Hey"

Liam heart clenched at the muted sound. He sounded unsure.

"You—", Liam said softly, "You okay?"

He heard Harley let out a small huff, "Yeah."

"Sorry, got a bit carried away with Charlie", Liam told him, leaning back against his bed, reaching for an unfolded shirt so he could put it away, "I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Yeah, I know", he replied, "Sorry for spamming"

Liam shook his head although he knew Harley wouldn't be able to see it, "No don't be sorry, I like your texts. A lot"

"But it's too much sometimes"

"Harls, no, it's never too much. I mean it"

"Sorry", Harley said again.

Liam shook his fondly, softening his voice, "Baby, can we talk about this? Why you feel the need to apologize for something that doesn't need apologizing for?"

Harley stayed silent for so long Liam thought he had ended the call but then Harley's timid voice came through, "It's just, with Declan, I never knew what he was thinking"

"How so?", Liam asked, confused.

"Sometimes he would like me being clingy", Harley explained, "He liked the attention I guess, but only when it was convenient for him", his voice dropped to a low whisper, "But other times, he would use it against me, call me clingy, use it as an insult"

Liam waited for him to continue.

"I felt bad, Liam", he said, exhaling, "I felt wrong. Like I was a burden. Like I was being too annoying, when all I wanted was to spend time with him"

"He was your boyfriend, Harls", Liam told him, eyes squeezing shut, "Of course you wanted to spend time with him"

"It was always too much for him", Harley continued, "He would ignore me for days and when I would ask him about it, he would make me feel guilty for being too overbearing"

"If I had fucking known", Liam snarled, "Fuck, Harley I'm sorry we couldn't help"

Harley let out a dry laugh, "I didn't know I needed help, Li, I thought he was right, I thought I was just too clingy"

"You're never too clingy", Liam said firmly, "Never. Not for me, not for your family"

"The doubts hit me again sometimes", Harley admitted, "I do okay for a while but then something small like this happens and it has me spiralling back"

"It'll take time to fix it, Harley", he said, "It's getting better every day, right?"

"Yeah"

"We're here to help you through the doubt"

Harley chuckled suddenly and Liam couldn't help but smile, "What?"

"It's shocking how mature you are for a 17-year-old"

His smile died away, "Circumstances, I guess"

"Will you tell me about it?", Harley asked him, "Your parents?"

Liam felt coldness flush through him at the mention of his parents. He never thought he would open up about it to someone, he had always been too ashamed of it. The guilt and helplessness that came with that particular topic was something he wasn't ready to face, even if it was with Harley.

"I can't right now", he admitted, voice low, "I can't talk about it"

"Hey, hey, hey", Harley soothed, the tone of his voice pulling Liam away from the edge, "I understand. Someday yeah? We'll work on it"

Liam found himself smiling, "Yeah someday. Now tell me something"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, anything"

Harley is quiet for a while, his breathing the only indication that he was in the call, and then he spoke.

"I read a new book"

"Nerd", the word slipped out before he could contain himself, "Sorry, habit"

Harley barked a laugh, "Okay, Liam"

"Tell me about it", Liam urged, relaxing, "What's it about?"

"You've heard of Seven Husbands, right? You know, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo?"

"Oh yeah", Liam nodded, "It's pretty popular, isn't it?"

"It is", Harley said, "It's about an actress who opens up about her life. It's basically the embodiment of "Not everything you see in Hollywood is real" It's a pretty beautiful book"

Liam grinned slightly, "Did it make you cry?"

He could almost hear Harley's eye roll, "Actually, no, it was beautiful in a way I clutched the book to my chest for a while after I read it and stared the ceiling"

Liam felt his heart melt at the statement, dammit how cute was that? Harley finding something so wonderful it took him some time to even process it.

"That's wonderful, Harls", he said, "Damn, I'm glad you read it"

"Uh huh", Harley said, "What about you, what have you been doing?"

"I played FIFA with your brother", Liam replied, "Did homework. Man, I'm so tired of studying the same old shit every day, how are people good at this", his eyes crinkled in amusement, "Shit you're one of those people"

"I'm not that smart", Harley said, sounding modest, "It's fun"

"Wow", Liam called out, "That's exactly what a smart person would say"

"You're such a flatterer"

"Shut up, you love it"

"I guess I do"

"Simp"

"Asshole"

That's chapter 14 whoo hoooo, have fun reading it. Hugs and kisses