I Would {A Harry Styles and Niall Horan Fan-Fic} (Completed!)

Chapter 18

The next morning I went out to brunch with Liam.

“How’s everything going, Lisa?” Liam asked softly as our waiter swooped away with our menus. We had just ordered – me a Greek omelet, Liam with just toast and coffee – and we were sitting at a booth by the window. The sun shined through, blinding me where I sat, and I inched a little to the left so that I could get away from the rays.

I shrugged as I took a sip of my coffee – black, since I found it appropriate to pair my coffee with my mood. It tasted bitter, exactly how I felt towards love these days.

“It’s a lot worse than it looks,” I said, my voice sour.

Liam tried to smile, but it fell flat. He sighed and patted my hand respectively.

“Things always get better,” he said reassuringly. “No matter how dire the circumstances may be.”

I smiled as best I could, but like Liam’s smile, it fell flat.

A couple walked by our booth. They were slightly younger than us, maybe seventeen or eighteen, but seemed very much in love, and they made my grimace.

“Do you want to talk to me?” asked Liam, drawing me back to our conversation. I turned back to him and weighed the options.

After Adrian’s confession, I knew that I was not going to talk to him anymore. Even though he had offered to help, it just wasn’t going to be the same anymore. I figured I needed a new personal therapist who was slightly involved with my life to help me sort through my problems. Also, Liam wasn’t halfway across the world, and could be called upon during immediate problems.

“Yes, I do,” I said firmly, looking at Liam straight on. He didn’t look away, just kept my intense gaze and nodded.

“Things are getting more complicated,” I said, glancing at the couple. They were sitting next to each other in a booth, cuddling. It put a bitter taste in my mouth, and I looked away.

“Adrian confessed his love for me last night,” I deadpanned, placing my head in my hands. It gave me a headache even thinking about that.

I expected Liam to gasp or groan, but instead he nodded sympathetically.

“Oh, that’s hard,” he said, patting my shoulder.

I glared at him, unsure if it was sarcasm or not.

“You think?” I asked, my voice like a cutting knife. Again, Liam barely blinked.

“Yes, you’re probably taking it quite hard, aren’t you?” he asked.

“It just adds to the mix with Harry and Niall…people need to stop liking me. I need to be mean. I need to be a bitch more often,” I said.

Liam shrugged.

“I think it’s better if you’re nice to people than mean. After all, it wouldn’t look good for your image, would it?”

“This entire love square wouldn’t look good for my image either, Liam,” I shot back. At that moment, our waiter returned with our food. My omelet looked good, but Liam’s toast looked bland and healthy at the same time.

We took a moment to salt and fix our food before taking the first bite. We judged the quality of our meal before returning to conversation.

“I mean, I love Adrian like a brother, not like that. He’s just a friend to me,” I said after taking a few bites of my omelet. “I wish I could reciprocate the feelings, but I just can’t.”

Liam processed what I said, chewing his food slowly and carefully before swallowing and continuing.

“Well,” he said. “He can’t make you love him. You can’t force yourself to love him back. That’s just how love works.”