Simon's Secret (One Direction FanFiction)

Chapter 23

Harry's POV

  "Alex! Harry!" Niall greeted when we walked into his hotel room. He held Sugar in one hand and a can of cat food in the other. He stood up from his seat in front of the television and started over to us, setting the can on a counter on his way.

  "Hey Ni," Alex replied, a little bit less enthusiastically. "We have to tell you something." Niall nodded, a look of concern crossing his face. We all sat down on the couch and Alex and I faced Niall. He handed Alex the kitten, which she took and hugged tightly. I laughed lightly, and then Niall asked what we had to say to him.

  When we sat down, I noticed that Alex looked very nervous. She obviously wasn't prepared for the news about Niall liking her, and much less prepared to tell him that her and I had broken up. I grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at me, and didn't let go of my hand.

  I started, "Well, um, I'm sure you've noticed all the crazy stuff going on lately. Not just between Alex and I, but everyone else... By the way, thanks for soring things out. She wouldn't even talking to me if it weren't for you." Niall scoffed, nodding.

  Alex raised an eyebrow at us, and I realized that she didn't know about the texting that had gone on between Niall and I. I had assumed that he showed her, but I guess not.

  "Anyways," Alex continued, sounding curious, "last night when we did talk, we decided to end our relationship. Just... for the better of everything." Niall's eyes wide. He glanced down to our still intertwined hands and a confused look came over him.

  "Yeah, we're still pretty tight," I explained. "It's not like we got in this big argument or anything..." Both Alex and Niall rolled their eyes. I laughed, shaking my head. For a second, I studied them both, smiling at each other. And for the first I felt really, truly good about ending our relationship. She liked him a lot, and I had been holding her back.

  It had been so hard to talk to Alex last night, though. She was so upset that it made me cry. She agreed to not being together anymore, however, and that was what made it bearable. It was a mutual agreement, really. Now, as I watched her and Niall, I understood why she had agreed. And I was happy for her. 

  I lied, "You know what, I'm starving. I'm going to go run and grab some food. You guys can just chill out here, and I'll be right back."

  "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Niall offered. I shook my head, assuring him that I would be fine. He shrugged and let me go. I smiled to myself as I walked out of the hotel room. 

  No, I wasn't actually hungry. Sure, I would go get food. The real reason I had left, though, was so that Alex and Niall could be alone.

***

Niall's POV

  At first, I actually didn't believe Alex and Harry. They couldn't be broken up, right? But as they explained that they were still good friends, I realized that they were telling the truth. They would have to get back together... right?

  Maybe it was actually final. Maybe they had really broken up for good, and would really be only good friends. It was hard to believe, but extremely possible. I had to admit, I was somewhat happy about their split. I felt awful thinking that, especially since I was so close to both of them, but it was true.

  "Al," I said after Harry had left, "Are you really okay with this? I know you liked him a lot, and he liked you very much." She nodded genuinely at me. I was hoping for an explanation of how it had happened, but if she didn't want to give one I wasn't going to pressure her.