Pain is Just a Simple Compromise (One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter 6: Oh Dear Lord

"Oh my Christ..." I sit here, unsure of what to say. Oh crap.

"Oh God... I'm so sorry, Harry." Zayn jumps up off of the bed and strides over to Harry. "Oh, man, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay." Harry takes a deep breath and places his hands on Zayn's tense shoulders, all the while completely avoiding my eyes. "I was coming in to tell her anyway."

"Oh, man, I'm such a bad friend..." Zayn dips his head in shame, and I feel awful.

"No, you're not. I forgive you. Like I said, I was about to tell her anyway."

"Um, 'her' is still in the room, y'know?" I slide off of the bed and stand in front of Zayn. "Don't worry about it." I hug him and quietly tell him he should leave. He nods, squeezes me one last time, claps Harry on the back and leaves. I lie on the bed on my front and bury my head, whispering "what am I going to do?"

"Well," Harry says, and I feel the bed dip next to me, "you have 3 choices. Tell me you love me, tell me you don't, or..."

"Or what?" I say dubiously, sitting up and looking at him. The shine of hope in his eyes stuns me.

"Kiss me and go from there." Harry smiles cheekily, and then leans in and presses his soft lips to mine. Unfortunately, I go with my instinct and kiss him back. His hands slip round my waist and he pushes me back onto the bed. I slide my hands up his chest and grip his shoulders like I never want to let go. Wait, WHAT? WHAT AM I DOING?

"Harry, no, we can't...." I murmur against his lips. He ignores me and deepens the kiss, exploring my mouth with his tongue. "Harry, no!" I say more firmly, and I push him off of me. I slide out from underneath him and sit next to him.

"Jordan, I'm so sorry. I should never have ended it. I..." I put my hands over his mouth, afraid of the next two words.

"Don't. Please, just don't." I shake my head furiously. He takes my hands from his mouth and laces his fingers with mine.

"I love you, JJ. No, scratch that; I'm in love with you. I have been since we were 11, and it took me so long to tell you. Then we were together, and things got tough, and I panicked. I made a bad choice, but I know now that I really do love you." His blue-green eyes sparkle with emotion, and I take a deep breath.

"I love you too, Harry." I kiss him lightly on the lips.

"So..."

"Harry, shush. I do love you... but it's not enough. We can't do this; look what happened last time! You were right; we are better off as friends." I pull my hands from his and turn away.

"JJ..." He stops. "It's Louis, isn't it? You love him, don't you?"

"What?" I whip round and face him. "Don't you dare; do NOT make this into something that it's not. This isn't about him, it's about us."

"What do you mean, "don't make this something it's not"?" He stands up and looks down at me angrily. "I love you, you love me, and you still don't wanna be with me! It's got to be something else!"

"Yeah, maybe I just don't wanna waste my energy on loving you when it's just going to fall apart again!" I jump up.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic! We're in love! Isn't that enough for you?" He reaches for me, but I step back.

"Don't take the piss! I'm not being melodramatic! I just don't think it'll work!" I shove his shoulder.

"Don't shove me! And that's hardly an excuse! I love you! Don't you get it? Aren't you listening?"