Light On {Niam Love Story}

Twenty-One.

A/N: Ah, we're hitting the twenties. So...whoa. This chapter was a bit hard to write for me, but I hope that you guys like it all the same. I've been sick lately, and my family has been moving, so it's been a bit of a mess up until this point. There's a picture of me in the sidebar, because some people said they wanted a closer look at my face (LOL WHAT DID THEY GET THEMSELVES INTO). The dedication for this is PrincessNiam because she's so supportive and I love her to death. I'm sorry for not uploading a lot on this story, but I've been trying to work on my others as well. The song for this chapter is Stay by Mayday Parade. There are a lot of flashbacks in this, so, enjoy the fluff that, well, is fluffy. Hope you all enjoy.x

"I said please understand, I've been drinking again - and all I do is hope."

Liam's biting on his fingers, nibbling on the skin as he anxiously waits for Niall to pick up his phone - but, he doesn't. Liam only hears the ringing sound, and it's starting to make him nervous. He's shaking, breathing hard, hoping for the best yet expecting the worst.

Niall doesn't answer, and Liam doesn't think practically. He panics, grabs his keys from the nightstand, and rushes out to his car.

As he's driving, he has one hand raised to his mouth, chewing on his nails. Only one of his hands rests on the steering wheel, and he's not exactly sure how fast he's going as he's stuck behind a semi-truck driver who's going too slow for his liking.

He keeps calling Niall as he drives, and he keeps getting no answer. His body is shaken, in a slight panic, and he can't really recall the last time he was so nervous.

~-~-~

It's Harry's seventeenth birthday, and they're celebrating at a small club in Cheshire that they have rented out for the night.

Dancing bodies crowd the room, alcohol bottles are opened all over the tables. None of the lads are drinking much, not even Niall or Zayn, and the room is starting to feel stuffy. Niall's tired, wants to go home, but he stays put - leaning against a counter, a Sprite in his hand, watching everyone dance and socialize. He sees Harry and Louis dancing, nearly grinding against each other, and he smirks at their childish behaviors. Back then, they didn't mind what others thought. Back then, Harry and Zayn weren't in love, and it didn't matter if they fooled around or not.

He saw Zayn then, chatting with a girl who had to be at least a year or two younger. She had long hair and brooding eyes, she stared at Zayn as if he were some form of a male model. At the time, Niall had been unsure about his sexuality, but he knew that he found Zayn to be insanely attractive. He stared at the two of them, smiling, as he realized that they seemed to be happy in each other's company.

Someone was next to him, and Niall turned to face Liam, who was smiling at him. "Are you watching them?"

Niall shrugged, "Yeah. They're happy."

Liam smiled, a smile that Niall didn't know held pain that he didn't know possible. He didn't know how jealous Liam was - he didn't know that Liam wasn't happy.

"I wish I could be in love, like him," Liam said, breathing out through his nose. Niall bit his lip, rubbing the skin between his teeth, not knowing what to say. He had never been in love. "Like, really in love. Not just with, like, a regular girlfriend or whatever. I mean, like, so in love that they're you're reason for getting out of bed in the morning, you know?"