Is It So Wrong? ~ A COMPLETED One Direction Fanfiction ~ EDITING

4 - Welcome to Hell

*Liam's POV* 

I was so embarrassed about my shirt being inside out, I practically ran into the bathroom at school. "I can't believe I put my shirt on inside out," I repeat to no one in particular.

"Oh hush. Will you please just hurry up and fix it so we can get to class?" Niall asks, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Fine," I huff. I double-check to ensure that we're the only ones in the loo before stripping my shirt off and then stand here, shirtless, trying to fix it.

Before I've finished untangling my shirt, another boy walks in. I don't bother looking up to see who it is; I have every intention of ignoring the newcomer. That is, until he speaks.

"Oh look, it's the gay couple. What, did I just walk in on you cleaning up? I can leave if you need me to."

My head snaps up to look at the boy who just said these things. "What's your problem?" I ask. I know I shouldn't get worked up over this, but I had thought the gay jokes were over and done with.

"I have no problem, actually. I just think it's a bit early in the day for sexual activity, don't you?"

What the heck? "Leave," I say in my most authoritative voice.

"Woah there. You don't get to tell me what to do, Payne," the boy tells me.

"Yeah, and you don't have a right to call me things like gay, so I think it's fair for me to want you gone."

I realize that Niall hasn't said anything yet, so I glance over to make sure he's okay. His face is red and he looks to be somewhere between crying and punching someone. At this moment, seeing him in this state, I reach my breaking point.

"Oh look, Horan's blushing. How cu--"

I wasn't entirely expecting myself to do what I just did, but I did it. I just punched a kid in the face. I just punched a kid so hard his nose is bleeding. I'm going to be in so much shit later, but it's not like I could just stand there and watch my best mate hurting without doing something, could I? I smile at that thought. Best mate. Niall Horan is officially my best mate.

I realize what it is I've just done and cringe in pain; my wrist isn't 100% healed yet and I just punched someone in the face. I sit down against the wall, still shirtless, clutching my right wrist in my left hand. Niall walks towards me, picking up my shirt from where I apparently dropped it. He sits next to me with a look of concern on his face.

"You okay?" Niall asks.

I nod and notice that the pain is ebbing away again. I smile at my best mate, but then find myself grimacing over his shoulder. "Shit."

"What is it?"

"Look behind you," I whisper.

Niall turns and sees what it is that has me worried. The other kid (I really need to learn his name) is still standing there, tissue to his nose, glaring at us. Or, to be more exact, me.

"You're going to pay for this, you know," he hisses. "I will make you both rue the days that you were born before I give up."

I'm torn between laughing and crying now. What have I done? Well for starters, I just punched one of the most popular kids in school. In the face. If I remember right, he's the one that started all of this by laughing at me on the day of my accident. Which means he does have friends who will join him in this.

I stop thinking for long enough to see that Niall has paled. That's when the rest of what was said sinks in. "...*both* rue the *days*..."? They're going to be doing this to Niall, too, and it's all my fault that he's going to be tortured alongside me.

"I'm sorry," I mumble.

"W-what?" Niall asks, his voice trembling.

"I'm sorry," I say, just a little louder this time.

"Oh. It's okay," Niall tells me, but I know it isn't. I may have just made our lives hell all because of a few gay jokes. I don't know why these stupid jokes bother me. I mean it's not like they're true, are they? I guess it's just because I don't see why homosexuality is so wrong...

I hear the first bell ring, warning us to hurry up. I look down and see that I haven't put my shirt back on yet. "Oh, shi--oot." I mentally have to stop myself from swearing in this school, which sucks.

Niall picks up his stuff and turns to face the door. "Come on, I don't wanna be late," he calls back to me.

I hurriedly slip my shirt on (the right way this time) and grab my stuff, too. "I'm right behind you," I say. I follow him to class where we sit and attempt to listen to the teacher.

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*Niall's POV*

I can't believe that just happened. I mean, I've never been popular, exactly, but that was just ridiculous. I'm sitting in class, thinking about the fact that Liam just punched a kid in the face. But it's not that; that kid was actually bullying us, technically. I haven't experienced much of that recently, so it's nerve-wracking that it's happening now.

I look over at Liam and see that he's listening attentively to the teacher. I can't help but smile. Liam punched someone in the face for me. He was protecting me. He actually cares about me, I think to myself. I almost smack myself. Why does it matter that he cares about me?

I decide to think about the fact that my brother, Greg, has finally set me up on a date with someone for tomorrow night. He says she's very nice. Apparently she's the younger sister of one of Greg's best mates. She's supposed to be about my age. I wonder what she looks like...

I try thinking about what the girl looks like, but I can't come up with a mental image of her. I finally give up and actually try paying attention to Mr. McCready. "We will be starting a new assignment on Monday. I will be putting you into the groups of three or four," is all I hear him say before the bell rings. "Class is dismissed."

I bolt up from my chair and am ready to go to my next class (I never did unpack my stuff), but I turn to see that Liam is still packing up his notes and such. "Here," he says, holding out a piece of paper to me. I quirk an eyebrow at it out of curiousity. "It's today's notes. I saw you weren't taking them, so I made an extra copy," he tells me with a smile.

Maybe he's trying to make up for earlier or something. Whatever, at least I got the notes. "Thanks," I say. I start feeling awkward, so I decide it's time to go to my next class. "I'll see you at lunch. Bye!"

"Yeah, see you then."

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*Liam's POV*

That was weird. I just watched Niall practically run out of the room after our first class. He's been acting really out of it ever since the incident this morning, which worries me. What if it's my fault he's acting this way?

I hurry myself off to my next class and try to focus, but my thoughts keep overwhelming me. How am I gonna fix this? What if Niall starts hating me because of this? Why does it hurt so damn much when I think about the possibility of losing Niall's friendship? How am I going to explain this to my parents? I need to hurry up and turn 16 so I can go back to the one place that made me feel at home.

Thinking about that last bit kind of shocks me. As much as I wish for that every day, I don't usually think about it. I mean, it was only a few months ago that I went there last and they told me not to come back for another two years. I'm less than halfway there, and the wait is just getting harder to deal with. I'm done being just the kid who plays basketball or the kid who runs track really well or the kid who actually got training to learn how to fight, but only because I was bullied growing up. I want to be someone new to the world, but someone that has been a part of me in secret for years.