Six Girls, Five Guys, One Summer (One Direction)

Chapter 17: Liam Learns The Truth

A/N Hello everyone! Happy Friday! How was your week? I hope it was good. Have you had your spring break yet? Ours just started today, so I get next week off and the Monday after it.

Anyway, I've been working on this chapter all week, and I hope you all enjoy it!

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Liam's POV

I watched Courtney run away and sighed quietly. Braeden looked as if he was going to run after her, but I stopped him. "No. She told you to go, so you might want to listen to her," I said, standing up.

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it, Buzz Cut?" Braeden retorted. Lizzie snickered at his comeback, while I just rolled my eyes.

I didn't even answer his question. "Just go," I said, not wanting to even talk to him anymore. How could he even be so rude to Courtney? I turned and walked to her front door, opening it up and walking inside. I heard the sound of music blaring from Courtney's room upstairs. It was now pretty obvious where she was now.

I slowly climbed the stairs and walked toward her room, searching my head for something to say when I got there. When I arrived, I gently rapped on the door. "Courtney?" I asked through the door, hoping she would answer. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just fine," she said, a little too quickly. She was lying, and it was pretty obvious, considering it was missing her normal excitement.

"Courtney, please," I pleaded, opening the door up a tiny crack. "Can I come in, please?"

I heard a brief silence before I got a response. "Sure, Liam," she said, as the music she was listening to turned off.

I opened the door wider and stepped inside, only to find Courtney laying face down on her bed, a pink iPod lying next to her. I walked over to her bed and took a seat next to her, feeling horrible to see such a happy, excited girl feeling like that.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I asked again, gently laying my hand on her shoulder. She squirmed a bit, and I quickly removed my hand. "Sorry," I apologized.

"It's nothing," she said quietly. "Everything's just fine."

"Then why did you run off into your room, playing Kelly Clarkson music, and lay face down on your bed?" I inquired. "Courtney, all I want to do is help you."

"That's what Braeden said," I heard Courtney mumble.

I now was really concerned for her, but, I was curious too. But, I chose not to pry, and didn't ask. "Courtney, you know that I can tell everything's not okay. Please, just tell me that you're alright, and mean it, and I'll leave you alone."

Courtney sighed, and sat up. "Liam, you have to promise you won't tell anyone. I haven't even told the girls yet, so you'll be the only one who knows. Promise you won't tell?" She asked. Her eyes were locked with mine, and her expression was one of hope, yet hinting at fear.

"I wouldn't tell your secret, Courtney," I assured her, placing my hand on top of hers. "Especially if you really want to keep it a secret, I won't tell."

Courtney took a breath, and began talking. "Last year, Braeden asked me out. Obviously, I said yes, because I kind of liked him, just like half of the girls at school." I nodded, listening to what she was saying.

She continued with, "For a while, everything was going great. But, then I started thinking. We really hadn't been spending a lot of time together, so I thought it was going to end up as more of a mutual breakup. I tried talking to him about it, but he instead made it a reason to stay together. Again, I was fine with it, but I had no idea what was coming next." She looked down at the ground, seeming as if she was probably trying to stay strong.