"Fans try to kiss us all the time, Taylor. Liam would never voluntarily do anything to hurt you." Niall said. He sat next to me on the couch in the living room while all the other boys were out. Liam hasn't come home yet, I was actually glad about that. "He didn't pull away, Niall. What he figures out that he likes her more than me. He's one of the most famous boys in the world; he could have any girl he wants." I replied, hugging my knees. "Knowing Liam, he would have thought it would be too mean for him to pull away and tell her to go away." Niall said. The corners of his mouth twisted into a small smile. I smiled back; not because I was happy, but because Niall always knew what to say. Niall put his hand on my knee, "Besides, something was bound to happen like this. He can't control it, like you said, he's one of the most famous boys in the world." Niall added. I nodded. That still didn't get Liam off the hook but I wasn't as sad as I was when I bawled the entire ride home. I honestly felt bad for Niall; guys hate when girls cry and I was a mess. "Thanks Niall." I wrapped my arms around his neck. A horan hug could make anything better.
My phone buzzed repeatedly on the couch next to me. I looked over at it then at Niall. "You answer it." I spoke quickly before he could protest. I handed him the phone. He answered it and held it to his ear. "Look Liam, you have a lot of explaining to do, and you better talk fast." Niall spoke into the phone. I've never heard him say anything in an angry tone, it was a different side of him that he didn't flash around too often. "She doesn't want to speak." Niall looked at me sympathetically. A tear snuck its way down my cheek, followed by a few more. "Liam, she isn't too happy with you. She saw the kiss." I looked down as I twisted my fingers. I could only imagine Liam's face as he talked to Liam, stranded at the mall and broken-hearted. My stomach flipped and my heart jumped to my throat. I started shaking. Liam's big puppy eyes filling with tears. The image made me want to forgive him and hug him and tell him I wasn't mad. Then the thought of the kiss made me glad he was upset. If he even was upset. He may be just fine. He could be just asking Niall for a ride home.
I rose to my feet and ran into "my" bedroom at the boys house. I fell onto the bed and curled up in a ball underneath the covers. I couldn't hold back the tears that kept coming. Footsteps crept over to my bed and drew back the covers. "He'll be here soon." Niall said sadly. He looked down at me before sitting on the edge of the bed. "How is he getting here?" I asked. Niall smiled weakly, "He phoned Paul." I nodded. Niall leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Do you want to talk to him? We can leave if you don't want to." He asked. I shook my head. "I wanna talk to him." I took in a breath as my voice broke. "But if it doesn't go well, can you drive me somewhere else?" Niall nodded and left with a small smile. A knock on the front door sounded as I heard it slowly open. "You told me yesterday that you love her. What happened?" I heard Niall ask down stairs. "I do love her. I was caught by surprise. Where is she? I need to talk to her." Liam sounded like he had been crying. I only cried harder at the thought of him being depressed. "I'll get her." Niall replied. Footsteps came up the stairs and into my room. "He wants to talk to you." Niall whispered warily. It sounded more like a question than a statement; like a final, 'you can back out now if you want.' I nodded and got out of my bed. Niall rested his arm around my shoulder comfortingly. I took in a deep breath and tried to figure out what to say. I didn't want to give in quickly but I knew I'd fall apart if he was crying.
I could see Liam sitting in a chair, facing the other way. He snapped his head back to look at us. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were bright red. He had cried; hard. "Taylor, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't want to kiss her! She caught me by surprise!" His voice cracked and sounded high and sad. "Yeah..." I hadn't exactly worked out what to say yet. I should've known I would have to talk to him about this sooner or later; I would have preferred later rather than sooner. "Taylor, please believe me." He begged. Tears started to streak his face again. "I almost lost you after our first date. I lost you while I was on tour, I can't lose you again now. I didn't even know you when we met but I knew I had to stay with you because I knew I didn't want to lose you." He tried to grab my hand but I slowly pulled it away. His mouth fell open a little and he dropped his head. "You don't believe me." He whispered. A tear fell down Niall's cheek and splashed on the floor. He looked down at the spot while we talked. "I love you, I really do." He added. "Liam, when Niall and I walked away, I looked back and you still hadn't pulled away from her kiss. You stood there. You didn't do anything to stop it." I said quickly, trying to stay strong. "I was in shock, I know I should have reacted quicker, I know it, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." Liam looked like he was shaking, his whole face had gone bright pink. It was the most pitiful thing I've seen and it was even worse to not be able to tell him it was ok and to let him know I still loved him. "Please don't leave me." He uttered slowly, trying to take my hand once more.
