Stuck With Me {A Niall Horan / Harry Styles Fan Fiction}

Chapter 23

HARRY'S POV

I wake up the next morning, groggy and upset. Just last night I remembered telling Mary I loved her while I was drunk out of my mind. And today we were going to Kansas City. Which meant I had a long flight ahead of me. I quickly shower and dress, leaving plenty of time to pack.

As I grab my suitcase from underneath the bed, I hear soft knocking on my door. When I open it, I see Mary standing there. "Hey," I smile, trying to hide the fact that my heart was beating fast. "Come on in. I'm just packing." I keep my voice calm and casual, distancing myself from her.

Mary gives me a small smile, her eyes flitting up to mine, but quickly retreating back down to her shoes. "Hey, Harry. I just wanted to talk to you," she says, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, okay," I say, knowing where this is going. "Go right ahead."

She looks up at me. "Last night you told me you loved me."

I nod my head. . .laughing at myself. "Yeah. . ." I whisper. "That was a mistake. I was drunk, and I'm sorry."

"No, no it's okay! I know you were out of it, and I know you didn't mean it." I smile at Mary. She pats my leg and stands up. "That's really all I had to say," she chuckles awkwardly. "See you later," She says, walking out of the room. She pauses before leaving. "We're okay, right?" Mary whispers. I give her a half-smile and nod. Mary returns my smile and slips out, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Only when I'm sure that Mary's gone, do I whisper, "I did mean it. But I can't ever tell you because you love Niall. It would ruin everything."

~

I sit on my bed for a while, just staring at the door and contemplating. Finally Paul comes in and urges me to grab my suitcase and head downstairs to the limo. Crap. I hadn't packed yet. I grab a handful of my clothes and shove them into my suitcase, packing everything tightly.

I look around, which I guess was silly, because no one would be in my room anyway, and open my nightstand. I smile, picking up the photo of Mary when she was 9 months along with Logan. This was my favorite picture of her. She was glowing, proud and happy. The edges of the picture were worn from late nights of me holding this picture. Lately I'd not been able to get to sleep without holding it. My smile drops when I realize how creepy I was being, so I shove it into the very back of the drawer and forget about it. I would get it later.

I hear a light knock on my door a few minutes later and turn around to see Liam standing there. "Hey mate, you ready to go?" He asks. I merely nod my head in answer, zipping up my suitcase. I prop the case on the side of the bed and pull out the handle, rolling the suitcase out the door. I look around once and close the door.

The flight was spent mostly either sleeping, eating, or tweeting. In other words, boring. Finally, we reach our destination in Kansas City. After retrieving our baggage, we pile into the van, headed for the hotel. I'm stuck sitting neck to Mary and Logan in the backseat. We're on either side of Logan, and I can't help but grin and watch as Mary looks lovingly at Logan as her tiny fist grasps her finger.

I can't help but think, What if I had gotten Mary pregnant, not Niall. Would things be different? Would we be together? I look up and stare at the back of Cate's head. What if I hadn't have said the wrong name? Would I be happy?

All of these were big questions that I wasn't prepared to answer. So I sit in silence for the duration of the trip, staring out the window thoughtlessly.

"Okay, boys, we're here!" Paul half-yells, and I open my eyes, not realizing I'd fallen asleep. Mary is staring at me with an amused look on her face.

"What?" I ask, returning her lopsided grin. She leans in close to me and my breath catches. I force myself to return her stare. Then she reaches one hand into her pocket, pulling out a tissue. A tissue?

"You've..." she whispers, pausing. "got some drool on your face," she finishes wiping my chin. I blush, looking away.

"Sorry, I--I've just been sleeping, so I've..." I stutter, trailing off. Mary lets out a small laugh.

"No, it's okay. It was cute." We stare at each other for what seems like forever. "We'd better go," Mary says, breaking the moment. She points to where the rest of the boys are standing, watching us with mild curiosity. I blush again, jumping out of the van and grabbing my bags, rushing ahead to catch up with the boys and leaving Mary behind.

"So what was that about?" Niall asks. We've trailed behind the others and are now alone.

"What?" I ask innocently, not returning Niall's gaze. Niall just scoffs.

"C'mon, you know what I mean? What was that with Mary? It seems like you two had a... moment back there." Niall's brow furrows.

I shrug. "It was nothing. Trust me. She just told me I had some drool on my face." I chuckle as if to demonstrate how silly it was. Niall's brow only furrows deeper.

"Okay...it's just....I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but she's mine, okay? You heard we were back together?"

I look at Niall in shock. "Mate, don't you trust me? I would never mess with Mary, especially because you're dating her! Who do you think I am, Josh?" I say, trying to make a joke. But neither of us thought it was very funny.

Niall shrugs. "Just...please be careful? Control yourself around her. I don't want to lose her again, our family is finally together again."

I nod, and watch as Niall walks slower, letting Mary catch up to us. I walk a little faster, then, so they could be alone. And I can't help but think, If Niall hadn't have told me to back off, would I have made a move on Mary?

MARY'S POV

"Hey, Niall," I say, nudging my boyfriend as he falls into step with me. He smiles at me and puts one arm on the small of my back, pulling me closer.

"Hey," he returns, giving me his golden smile. It slowly fades away, though, as he turns to look at me, a troubled look in his eyes. "Um, can I ask you something?"

I look at him, searching his face for any indication of what he was about to say. "Yeah. Of course."

Niall runs a hand through his hair nervously and sighs, an indication that what he's about to say is serious. "Uh, well, you don't....um... happen to have....feelings for Harry, do you?"

"Niall! I can't believe you would even think that. You know that I love you. You're the father of my child." Niall remains quiet. "Niall?"

"Please answer my question," is all he says, his voice cold, his eyes not looking at me.

"Niall..." I whisper. "Please..." I didn't want to lie to him, but at the same time, I didn't want to lose what we had.

He gives me a tight smile. "Okay. I thought so." He walks away from me, joining the boys ahead.

"Niall!" I yell, causing him to turn towards me. "What's your deal?" As soon as the words come out of my mouth, I know I've said the wrong thing. Niall stops walking and looks me dead in the eye. The boys were staring, but at that moment, I didn't care.

"What's my deal? Mary, what's your deal?" Tears are in his eyes. "All I've done is stand by your side for a year as you drifted from Harry to me, because I loved you. But this is getting out of hand, Mary. You need to choose. Because I'm done waiting for you. I'm done." By now tears are running down Niall's face as he walks off, and I'm left alone standing there, humiliation flooding my face as the boys stare at me.

I fall to the ground sobbing, wondering what the hell was wrong with me.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

second-to-last chapter :P sorry guys! it'll be good, i hope. soooo sorry i haven't posted in like a year! but to be honest, i'm pretty much over 1D. I mean I still love them and they're fucking sexy, but my heart's just not into it anymore. I'll still finish this story, though, so look forward to the ending...eventually.

eternally yours,

Hannah