Not Good Enough (James McVey/Connor Ball - Jonnor) (1/2)

Chapter 12 - Secret Relationship

Brad's POV:

Someone knocks on the door loudly and I roll my eyes 'alright, I'm coming'. I open the door to see Tristan holding shopping bags and a baseball bat. 'I found this in our bush around the side' Tristan holds up the bat. 'What did you find in the bush?' Lauren enters and I step aside and she sees the bat. 'Strange, there's a mysterious hand print in the kitchen too' Lauren crosses her arms. 'For some reason, I don't think this is Joe or Deans doing' I sigh and cross my arms. 'Is Connor ok?' Tristan asks and I nod 'his bedroom door is closed, I'm not sure if it is now'. 

Tristan steps inside and places the bat down on the kitchen table 'where is the hand print?'. Lauren points to where the hand print is and Tristan walks over to it. Lauren crosses her arms 'the person must've made a quick escape through the back door and threw the baseball bat as they were running'. I nod and so does Tristan 'we need to talk to Joe and Dean first and make sure it wasn't one of them'. Tristan and Lauren both nod in agreement. 

Connor's POV:

James stands up and holds out a hand to help me up, as I accept his offer and hold his hand I stand up and my side aches in pain again. My face twitches and James looks at me confused. 'I just stood on my heel funny then' I awkwardly laugh and James smiles 'shall we head down then?'. I smile and nod. 'I don't think we should tell the others yet though' I say messing with my fingers and James slings his arms around my waist and smiles 'we will tell them when were both ready, ok?'. I smile and nod 'thank you'. 

As James opens the door, I hold his hand and he turns back at me and smiles 'James, can I ask you a question?'. He smiles and closes the door 'yeah, whats up Con?'. I look at the floor awkwardly 'why did you want to date me?'. James smiles and lifts my chin up so that our eyes meet 'because I love everything you do and I love you. I love the way you smile, laugh, play the bass and many other things. I love the way that you are all shy and nervous when we meet new people and I love the way that you always hug people back, you are one of the sweetest and most kind people I have ever met and I have fallen in love with you'. I smile and feel tears start to form in my eyes 'how did you know that I would kiss you back?'. James smiles 'because I've seen the way that you look at me and how close we are'. I smile and a tear slides down my cheek 'this is the nicest that anyone has ever been to me'. James kisses my forehead and I lean into his chest as he hugs me 'I'll always love you Con and i want to protect you and keep you safe'. I look back up at James and smile 'thank you soo much' James smiles. 

A knock at the door surprises us and I look at the door awkwardly and James smiles 'I'll get it'. I nod and quickly wipe my teary eyes until I feel they are dry. I hear Luisa's voice 'when are you 2 coming down?'. James laughs 'we were just about to come down'. Luisa laughs 'sure you were'. James shakes his head and I turn around just in time and see Luisa wink at both of us. 'Why did you wink?' I awkwardly laugh. 'Ok, I was eavesdropping. I'm sorry'. James rolls his eyes and I smile 'please dont tell anyone' I plead. Luisa sighs 'ok, I promise I wont'. I smile 'thank you'. James holds out his hand and I hold his hand until we reach the bottom of the stairs when we let go. 

'So, how did the talk with Joe and Dean go?' Brad asks and I put on a smile 'it went great thanks'. Brad smiles, but he raises an eyebrow as if he can tell that I was partly lying. Brad mouths 'we'll talk later' and I nod. 'Connor, come here a second please' Lauren asks and I do as I'm told. As I enter the kitchen, Lauren smiles 'have you seen this hand print before?'. I look to where she is pointing and see a hand print. That must be from the guy who attacked me. 'No, I haven't sorry' I lie. Lauren nods and smiles 'I'll ask Joe and Dean if it was one of them'. I smile and nod. 

As I enter the front room, Tristan approaches me and asks 'do you think Brad and Lauren are a good couple?'. I look at him confused 'couple? Since when have they been dating?'. Tristan laughs 'Joe asked if they could date for publicity and I think they have actually fallen in love'. I smile 'I thought they were just great friends, also I think they would make a great couple too as they are a good team'. Tristan nods and smiles 'good, I thought it was just me that thought they would haha'. I laugh with Tristan and James approaches 'hey guys, what you laughing at?'. I smile 'were just gossiping about Brad and Lauren'. James smiles 'about them dating?'. I look at James shocked too 'you knew too? Why am I the last to know?' I laugh and Tristan rolls his eyes 'we didnt want to disturb you from your time alone thats why'. I awkwardly smile 'oh, thanks'. The conversation goes awkwardly quiet until the door knocks.

My heart race picks up and I start praying that its not the guy again. As Luisa approaches the door, she opens it and smiles 'hey Joe, hey Dean'. I take a deep breath and exhale silently. Joe and Dean walk around and start to say their hellos and asking everyone how they are. When Joe approaches me, he smiles and asks 'how are you?'. I put on a fake smile 'I'm ok thanks'. Joe smiles 'do the boys know yet?'. I nod silently and Joe smiles 'that's good, sorry if I sounded a little harsh earlier I just don't want you guys all getting hate'. I swallow deeply and smile the best I can 'that's ok'. Joe smiles and heads off to say hello to Lauren. I sigh and sit down, it feels like I'm the reason why the boys get hate sometimes. 

James' POV:

I laugh after the joke that Tristan has just told me, as I stop laughing I look over to see Con sitting on a chair, looking at his feet. It breaks my heart to see him sad like this. I wish I knew what was wrong with him. I think I need to have a private talk with him and try and find out whats wrong as the more I see him like this, the more it is breaking my heart. Tristan rubs my shoulder 'its ok James, its breaking all our hearts seeing him like this'. I turn to him and smile as good as I can 'I-I need to tell you something privately if thats ok?'. Tristan smiles and nods.

Me and Tristan head out into the back garden and Tristan looks at me confused 'whats wrong?'. I sigh 'promise you wont tell anyone, not even Brad or Joe or anyone?'. Tristan nods 'I promise'. 'Promise you won't judge me or Con either?'. Tristan smirks 'I promise, I can see what you are going to tell me'. I look at him and smiles 'what am I going to say then?'. Tristan smiles 'you my friend are dating Connor Ball'. I smile and nod 'I am'. 

Brad's POV:

I look around the kitchen and see Lauren, Luisa, Joe and Dean nattering away, and I see James and Tristan in the garden talking away. But I see no Connor, I look over at Lauren and whisper 'I'm just going to see where Con is'. Lauren looks at me and nods understanding why. 

I head into the living room and I see Connor sitting down with his head in his hands. 'Connor?' I ask worried and he looks up at me with red eyes. 'Whats wrong?' I ask sitting next to him. He starts to rock back and forth slowly and I pull him into a hug 'its alright, just let it out'. Connor starts to cry even more and I ask 'whats wrong?'. He starts mumbling to himself and I bend in and listen to him. I hear him say 'why am I like this?'. 'Like what?' I ask confused. He sits up and looks at me with even redder eyes and asks me 'Brad, why am I gay?'.