Love is Bitter the Second Time Around [Ziall Trilogy]

Chapter Seven: Second Nature

** Wednesday **

Third day of the week, and first period class is dragging ass. "Well, if it's dragging ass, then why don't you help with the skit." Selena said to me. It was like she read my mind- oh wait, maybe I said that out loud.

"Come on you guys. You can't just sit here the whole time. I don't want to fail this class before the semester's over." Selena lectured, slapping Justin on the back. "Hey!" he shouted. "Get yourselves together." she slapped me. "And you! Wake up!" she hit Niall, who suddenly sat straight up, wondering what was happening, then slowly went back to his original position. Niall's been really quiet these two days, but I didn't want to bother him. I was still waiting for his answer.

"Fine." I groaned, and looked over at what she was writing. "What do you have so far?" I asked. She handed me a packet, then some other copies to Niall and Justin. I skimmed along the lines, and saw each of our dialogues. I read it over and over again, but didn't understand it. "What is this even about?" I asked waving the papers in the air. "It's our skit! I worked really hard on it." she said frowning.

"Well, we don't know what it's about though." Justin said, and Selena rolled her eyes. "This story is about Abraham Lincoln during the inauguration; it's not real, but she said we could do anything. Niall plays the role of Abraham Lincoln. Justin as Joshua Speed, Zayn as David Derickson, and me as Mary Todd Lincoln." Selena said. I had no idea what she just said. Before we could ask some more questions, the bell rang. "Great. Now we only have one more day to prepare for this. You guys better memorize your lines." she threatened.

You know what, I don't even want to do this. It sounds so retarded. Without another word, I tossed the script into my backpack and walked to my next class with Niall. It was the awkward silence that made me feel uncomfortable. I feel like if I talked, I might say something wrong; so I decided to not say anything at all.

Next period, was another drag. In fact, the rest of the day was. The bad thing about my schedule is that I had every single class with Niall. I mean, I didn't hate it; I was happy it was like that, until we uhh......... yeah you get the point.

"Zayn." Niall said. Was I dreaming? Niall was finally talking to me again? "Y-yeah, Niall?" I stuttered. My heart was racing; did Niall finally make his decision? Oh man, I waited forever for this day to come. I waited for him to talk again; in my mind, I was expecting him to say something like, 'Zayn, I made up my mind; I'm giving you another chance.' or an 'I love you' would be good enough. I already prepared for what I was going to say.

"Zayn, I have to tell you something." he said. This is it; the next words coming out of his mouth are going to be... "Zayn, stop walking so fast, your shoes are untied." he said; but a rush of words came out of my mouth before I even knew what he said, "I love you too, Niall-" Oh what. I took another step and tripped falling face flat. "Oh my god. Zayn, are you okay?" Niall said kneeling next to me. I rubbed my forehead, and turned towards Niall.

Our faces were barely touching now and his blue eyes were completely visible. They appeared bluer than before, like the sky when it's not cloudy. I swear, being able to see his eyes like this was like once in a blue moon now. I could never really take the time to see them ever since. Without thinking, my eyes closed and I leaned forward to kiss him, but for some reason when I did, my lips would never seem to reach his.

"Uhh, Zayn?" Niall asked, and my eyes opened to see someone's knees in my face. God, I'm so embarrassed I could die right now. A hand reached down in front of me to help me up. I took it and came face to face with Niall again. How I wished our lips could meet once more.

My hand was suddenly grabbed by another and I was pulled. I was being pulled by Niall. "Zayn, we're going to be late for class!" he shouted with our fingers still entwined. Maybe it was the running that made my heart beat fast or the fear of being late, but I think it was the fact that Niall was holding my hand.

Just as we rushed into our last period class, the bell rang. We made it, but I wasn't completely relieved. Our hands were no longer connected anymore. The loss of his touch made me feel incomplete. I knew I was thinking too much and giving myself fake hope; I only want Niall back with me. Is that too much to ask for? "Zayn, please take a seat." Mr. Miller told me, and I shuffled to my seat next to Niall, who didn't even look at me.

"Alright, class. Pop quiz. Take out a sheet of paper." Mr. Miller said. Crap. Pop quiz and I didn't even start reading the book yet. Could this day get any worse. Our teacher handed out a piece of paper with the questions on it. When it got to me, I skimmed through it, and gasped. Shit. How am I going to do this? As soon as everyone received a quiz, they began writing, while I sat there.

I guess I have to cheat my way out of this, and my eyes began wandering over to Niall's desk. With my awesome skills, I managed to copy most of the answers. "Times up. Pass your papers forward." the teacher said.

By the end of the period, the bell rang and I was free at last. Just two more days of school and- "Zayn and Niall, please see me after class." Mr. Miller said right before I walked out. I gulped and took a deep breath, then turned around. His face looked a little irritated. Niall walked towards him first and then followed by me.

"Yes, Mr. Miller?" Niall asked innocently. When Mr. Miller saw him, his facial expression softened. "Niall, I know you're a good kid, but cheating in my class is intolerable." he said glancing at both of us. Okay, maybe my skills weren't so awesome. "Is there something you have to say?" Mr. Miller said to Niall. Did he think Niall was cheating?

Niall shook his head. Oh no, he was taking the blame for this. "I am very disappointed in you Niall. I want you to stay after school on friday to serve detention." he said. "But, I have to go to the winter concert." Niall stated. "You should've thought about the consequences." Mr. Miller told him and turned to me. "As for you Zayn, learn from this mistake. You both can go now." he told us. This was not happening. I couldn't let Niall be blamed for this; it was all my fault. "Wait. Niall didn't cheat. It was me." I blurted.

"I don't care who was cheating or not. It's too late now." he said packing his things and left the room. I stood there with Niall. In his eyes, I could see tears begin to form. "Niall I-" I said, and he took off before I could finish. I ran after him. "Niall, wait!" I shouted. He stopped and crouched down. By the time I caught up to him, he was crying out loud.

"I'm sorry Niall." I mumbled. "It's too late now." he sobbed. "Just leave me alone." he asked. My heart broke into a thousand pieces when I heard that. I wanted to cry right now, too. "Niall. I'm sorry." I repeated. What else could I say to him? "J-just go." he mumbled. "No. I don't want to leave." I declared. After I said that, he stood up facing me with wet cheeks and watery eyes.

"You." he said. "I fucking hate you. Get out of my life!" His voice slurred. That line, just shattered me completely now. "Ni-" I started, but he cut me off. "Don't say my name." he grumbled, and walked away. Dammit. I just had to cheat. If I knew this would happen, getting a zero would've been better than losing Niall.

** Thursday **

No one talked today in our group. Niall didn't want anything to do with me anymore. "Okay, guys. Let's start rehearsing." Selena suggested, but no one responded. "Okay... well did you guys at least memorize your lines?" she asked. Still, no response. "Oh my god, you guys. This is impossible!" she groaned in frustration. "You guys better get your acts together. Tomorrow is the presentation, and if we fail..." her voice trailed off. "Just. Please don't." she ended, but under her breath, I could almost hear her say,

'We are so dead.'