Silence And Sound

Chapter 23.

Niall's POV:

"You went out with Alex?!" Liam gasped when I told him about my weekend.

"Yes. And it was a horrible mistake" I said.

"Why would anyone go out with that monster? She's frightening as fuck and she has slept with everyone! What is wrong with you?!" 

"I don't know.. I thought she was different I guess" I said. I didn't even try to defend her. I was too tired of her shit to do anything about it. She would never defend me, that's for sure, so what's the point in trying? 

"If you want a ginger, you should meet my neighbour Hannah! She's super nice and way hotter than Alex!" Liam said. I just nodded. I didn't want "another ginger". I wanted that one ginger. But she hated me. And she had rejected me more than one time that night. I needed to stop chasing her. It would never work out. 

"Yeah Hannah is hot man" Harry agreed. They both started talking about her boobs and her legs. I just looked around in the cafeteria to see if Alex was around. I couldn't see her anywhere. Which was weird, because she was in class this morning. I gave up and looked back at Liam and Harry. 

"I'll invite her over one day while you're there, and then you can meet" Liam said.

"What? Who?"

"Hannah! C'mon Niall, get your mind off Alex for a moment!" he sighed. 

"I'm back in a moment" I said and left the table. I had to get some fresh air. Away from them and their talk about Hannah. When I got outside I sat down on a bench. The same bench as Alex and I had been sitting on last week when we kissed. It had been so simple. Just us, alone. Kissing.

"Hey Niall"

My thoughts suddenly got interrupted. I looked up and saw Debby. She looked really happy. I moved my bag so she could sit down next to me.

"What's up?" I asked. 

"It's about Alex" she said. I felt my stomach tighten.

"Has something happened to her?!" I asked, and Debby laughed at me.

"No, don't worry. I just need the two of you to talk! Can't you see how easy it would be if you just admitted that you like each other and became a couple" 

"That's what I thought. But she doesn't want a relationship with me, and she made it pretty clear that it's never going to happen" I mumbled.

"She's lying to herself and to you. She keeps saying that she doesn't like you, but it's not true! I haven't seen her this way before. After you came along she has changed so much! I hated her before, and she hated me. But in the last couple of months we have become so much closer. She's like my best friend now"

"That's great for you. But that still doesn't mean she likes me..." I pointed out.

"Why don't you get it?! You make her a better person! And I think she's good for you too! Just get together already!" Debby groaned. I laughed a little at her attempt to clear all this out. 

"Debby it's very nice of you to try, okay? But Alex will never be my girlfriend. I think she has to get her own life together before she starts getting involved with anyone else" I said and stood up. I grabbed my bag and said goodbye to Debby.

"Please meet me after school at Alex' place" she yelled after me.

"Okay" I said and walked back inside just as the bell rang. I went directly to class and sat down with Liam and Harry. They were still talking about that girl Hannah and her body. 

"You can meet her today if you want" Liam said.

"No I have other plans" I said and looked around. Still no Alex.

Alex' POV:

I sat on my bed when the doorbell rang. It was probably just Debby. She had promised to come over after school. I had left before lunch because I didn't feel good. And it was another great excuse to avoid Niall. I ran downstairs and opened the door.

"Niall?" 

Why was he standing outside my door?! With Debby. I didn't know what to say, I just let them in. Debby walked straight to my living room, followed by Niall.

"Why is he here?" I asked and pointed to Niall. He was just looking at the floor, saying nothing.

"I forced him" Debby said. Oh.

"I'm sick of watching this! You keep fighting about all these small things and you never clear things out! Now get your shit together and talk to each other!" Debby said. 

"I'm not the one not talking" I said.

"Oh right. You have really tried talking to me today! And that apology you gave me, it reallly cleared things up. No that's right, you never gave me one!" Niall said. Why was he suddenly like this? He was the one calling me a slut. God I wanted to punch him!

"Me?! Why should I apologize to you?! You were the one fucking someone else! You were the one calling me a slut! You're the one acting like everything is fine! If someone owes an apology, it's you!" I yelled. Now Niall was standing up too.

"First of all: I DID NOT FUCK DEBBY! And I already said sorry for calling you a slut! I was mad, so I just said random shit! You of all people should now how much shit people say when they're angry! And when have I acted like everything is fine?! I'm going crazy knowing that you hate me!"  he said.

"I don't hate you! I'm just fucking mad at you because you can't take a No, and you keep acting like a bitch!" 

"See, now you're talking! I knew I was doing the right thing by putting you together!" Debby said from behind me. I rolled my eyes at her and looked back at Niall.

"Why is it you can offend me all you want, but I can't say anything bad to you?!" Niall asked.

"Because that's a part of who I am! And you said you liked me exactly the way I am, remember?!"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can talk shit to me whenever you want!" 

"You don't care about me anyway. Just get out of my house and find someone else" I mumbled. Niall looked confused at me. His expression had softened and he stepped closer to me.

"I do care Alex! I have never cared this much about someone! I don't want to care but I do. I can't get you out of my head! I'm sorry for calling you a slut. And I did mean everything I told you in the park" he said. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to be mad at him, but at the same time I just wanted peace. I wanted to be able to talk to him like I used to. I just looked at his feet. This was getting awkward. 

"Oh well, I think I'm gonna leave now. You two have fun" Debby suddenly said and left us alone. Now I was really lost. Now I didn't even have her to help me.

"Debby really wants us to figure things out, huh?" I said. 

"Yeah. I'm happy that she does" Niall said. 

"Me too"

"I'm really thankful that she forced us to talk" he said and stepped even closer to me. And suddenly he put his arms around me. I couldn't resist, so I put my arms around his neck and held him tighter. I owed Debby big time for this. 

"I'm sorry for everything. I promise I'll change. We can make this work" I whispered.

"As long as you don't change too much" Niall whispered into my hair.

(A/N: I'm so so so so so so so sorry for not updating in a really long time! I just needed a break from everything and my thoughts are on so many things atm, so it's hard to focus on writing. And I feel bad for not even giving you a longer chapter as an apology.. But I have school tomorrow so I have to sleep early. I don't know when I'm gonna update again, but it will definitely be in this week! I hope you can forgive me for not updating sooner. And tysm for 16k+ reads btw! I love you all so much! Please keep commenting and voting)