Black Mail

Cheating Myself

I pulled up to the fire station, putting in the car in park. Before Liam got out to grab his bag, he turned to me. Liam being a fire fighter sometimes did multiple day shifts, like Harry did for his paramedic's job. They would do three days on, everyday and night, and then three days off. Six days on. Six days off. Liam had to sleep in the station for the on day shifts.

"Niall, are you going to talk to him?" Liam paused, with his hand on the door handle.

"Liam, you know I have bigger-,"

"Yes, yes we all know. Merrie Pelew." He smiled jeeringly. "Don't let the boys burn down the house while I'm gone."

"Wouldn't dream of it honey!" I retorted.

Liam knocked my arm playfully. "I'll see you in three. By the time I get back, that boy better be moved in"

He hopped out of the car, grabbed his stuff from the trunk, and was off. I sighed heavily, clearly very, very torn.

*

"Niall, can I talk to you about something?" Louis was standing in my bedroom doorway, leaning on the doorpost.

I looked up from my old fairy sketches of Merrie, spiraled on my bed. I was looking at one of my favourites. It was Merrie, the fairy, standing with her flowing green woodland dress blowing about her, showing off just that extra amount of leg that was so enticing. Her brown soft wavy hair was ruffled by the wind. Her bright blue eyes as blue as the sea.

"Course Lou, what's going on?" I put down my pencil, pushing my drawings aside to make room for him. Closing the door behind him, he bounded over to my bed, and laid down on his stomach gently beside me.

"I don't want you to get angry at me." He started simply.

"Uh, okay."

"I know you have your hands full with work, and this incredible project your doing. I want you to know I really am proud of you. For the spider-man anime- which was awesome by the way- and for this new one coming. You've been drawing this since we were kids, it's so amazing to see it finally come to life." I smiled at him, touched. It was a real dream come true to watch this project come to life. "But at the same time, I want you to finally reach your 100th person. I've picked the perfect person, and I think your going to appreciate it." He pulled a folded up file from out of his back pocket that I hadn't noticed before.

"Lou-," it was unfortunate that he killed the moment with the file.

"I know what you're going to say. But understand that I have been looking for this persons file for a really long time, and I think it's only fitting for you to take on this project as your 100th person." He held it out to me, a gentle smile on his face. "And while you're at it, I need you to recruit Zayn. You've been avoiding it for a week."

I smirked evilly. I had been avoiding it, but I wasn't about to admit it.

"Fine." I snatched the file from Louis, automatically opening it up. The person that jumped back out at me made my stomach drop.

Merrie Pelew was staring back at me.

"Absolutely not." I shoved the file back at him.

"Niall." Louis cried desperately.

I shot off my bed.

"No! Don't you- How could... No, I will not. Not her. I will NOT do that to her." I rambled. Freaking out.

When we first started this little project we'd created, we had no rules except one. Under no circumstances could you get attached to the person you were blackmailing. You couldn't date them later, and once the sex tape was made, it couldn't be unmade. Once they became a number, they became forbidden. I'd had a thing for that girl since the first grade. I wasn't going to sacrifice that for a one night stand with a stupid video camera.

"What if I made you a deal?" Louis looked up at me from on his stomach, still on my bed.

I paced my room, fuming,

"What if I told you, you could take as long as you wanted to sleep with her. Date her for as long as you wanted. Get as close as you wanted, in a reasonable time frame-,"

"You just said as long as I wanted, and then changed it to 'reasonable time frame'." I snarled.

"Niall, isn't this girl what you've always wanted? This is your chance. And besides, I know you have to go and see her anyway. Isn't that a great excuse to start something?"

"This isn't real. You and I both know that. I don't want an excuse. Sleeping with her once isn't enough." I paced more feverishly, furious now.

"If you get Zayn on board I will let you date her for as long as you want." Louis was panicking.

"I knew this was about him. All any of you care about is him." I pointed at him accusingly.

"He's the angle we need to make ten times the amount of money."

"Is money everything to you?" I paused in my pacing, looking at him in shock.

"Isn't that why we started this?" Louis sat up onto his knees. "We need him Niall. I'm scared our names are going to start going around. We go by different names, but still, nothing google can't tell people what they want to know. He's like a secret weapon. I will let you date her. I'll let you sleep with her as many times as you want. I'll let you do whatever you want. I'll even let you stay with her after the sex tape, as long as you get me Zayn."

"You'll let me date her for real, for Zayn?" I choked on the words, praying deep down that it would be true.

"I'll let you do anything for Zayn."

I turned to face the wall. Hating this with every fibre of my being. I knew Louis was going to go back on his word the moment he got that tape. And yet this seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

"And what if I can't get with her." The cold truth, the real fear. What if getting Zayn turned out to be for nothing. I turned back to him, worry etched onto my face. What had we all gotten ourselves into?

Louis sighed, dropping the file on my bed. "You were always able to get her. You were just always too scared to try."

With that he stood up, walked pasted me, and out of my room. I yelled his name, calling him back. He didn't return. Instead Harry walked through my door. Closing it behind him.

"You started this." I jabbed my finger at him accusingly.

"Niall, listen to me." He grabbed my hands, yanking them down by my sides, and staring me in the eye. I tried to fight for release but he held fast. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I know this isn't the circumstances you wanted to date Merrie in, but I'm begging you to take this opportunity. The chance isn't going to come again. It's better to have a little than nothing right? Louis isn't going to keep his word. You know that. Once he gets that tape, the fun is over. For yourself. For all the sketches you've drawn. For all those naked sketches you still draw of her. Yes, I know about those." He smiled sheepishly at me. "Make those drawings a reality, even if it doesn't last."

"Why would he do this to me?" I gulped, the sting behind my eyes building.

"Zayn is the golden ticket Niall. I knew it the moment I saw him, and I know you did too. You just never wanted to admit it."

It was true. The moment I met him it was the first thing that popped into my head. I thought he'd be great at this, and that he'd bring us money- a lot of it. But at what price?

The price of cheating myself out of my biggest dream of all time.

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