Falling

Chapter Twenty-Two

YAY CHAPTER TWENTY TWO! :D

And just to let whoever is reading know, we're gonna be ending this story at chapter 27 and then there'll be an epilogue, hopefully all up by this week? (and because holidays are ending so I am sad.)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
(NIALL POV)

It was such a disastrous coincidence. I mean, I was just on my way to have my date with Liam and maybe visit Louis, because the poor guy hadn’t gotten his memory back yet, and Harry probably needed some support. But no, somehow, I had to run into Jordan who randomly flew here from California to look for me.

That part was alright, I mean, we sorted out some stuff, and I confirmed that he didn’t hate me or anything. It was nice to talk to him again, and know that we’d work out as friends. We were just walking and talking, and it was comfortable, until Liam turned up. I had totally forgotten that we were supposed to be on a date.

I mean, it was only because I met Jordan. It’s not that I care about Jordan more, but yeah. And somehow, while we were walking, we ended up at the place where Liam and I were supposed to meet. That was when things started becoming awkward. Liam introduced himself to Jordan, grinning happily, and he said that we were supposed to be on our date. I don’t blame him though; I was only because he doesn’t know who Jordan is, and so I took the liberty of introducing Jordan to him.

And Jordan just looked like he was going to cry or something but Liam didn’t seem to realize the tension and awkwardness of the situation. He was still smiling politely at Jordan, waiting for him to smile back or something. I know that Jordan still loves me, but now it just seems like well, I like Liam.

We just stood there for what seemed like ages in silence. After a while, Liam finally seemed to catch on and his face fell. No offence, he was really slow for someone who looked so smart… Jordan, on the other hand, smiled and said he had something on and had to leave.

When he left, I literally heaved a sigh of relief. I mean, I was like in the middle of all the awkwardness. I almost died. But just when I thought it was all over, I realized that I had to do some explaining to Liam. We began just walking randomly. Without thinking, I spoke.

“He was my ex, but I didn’t love him at all. I only got with him because I knew he liked me and I wanted to be loved by someone if I couldn’t get Louis. I know it was selfish of me but I didn’t think so much at that time. I moved to California with him because I wanted to get away from Louis, but when I was there with Jordan, I wasn’t happy and he could sense it, so I broke up with him. I didn’t want to hurt him anymore.

But who knew that it would hurt him even more if I broke up with him? He actually tried to kill himself, and he ended up getting into some mental hospital. During that time, being the total selfish bastard I am, I took the chance to leave California to come back here to be with Louis. So yeah, everything’s basically my fault.

I get if you hate me right now, for being such an asshole, and it’s okay if you do. Just tell me, I won’t mind.” Wow. That was long. I don’t even know if Liam caught all of it, because he was just staring at me. When I saw him staring, I looked away immediately because I felt so lousy for him. I didn’t think that I could look him in the eye again.

“Niall I-“ I interrupted him.

“Yeah I know you hate me now. I’m such a terrible person I don’t even deserve to be walking by your side right now. I’m sorry, I’ll just leave now. Sorry for wasting your ti-“

“Nia-“

“No, stop saying anything, I get it already. I’m leaving, just shush and let me walk away okay?”

As I walked away, I felt a strong hand grab my arm. I winced and turned around. Of course it had to be Liam. God, why couldn’t he just let me leave while I still had some dignity left? I don’t even know why I’m making such a huge fuss about this and about what I did to Jordan in the past, but it just makes me feel unworthy of Liam.

“Niall,” he grabbed both my shoulders and looked straight into my eye. I don’t know why, I just couldn’t bear to look at him, and I looked away. I’d look anywhere but at him right now.

“Niall, look at me!” He put both his hands on either sides of my face and turned my head so that I was facing him. I shut my eyes. “What?! Just let me go!”

“Niall, damn it, just listen to me! And open your eyes!” Liam was still grabbing onto my face, and I still refused to open my eyes and kept squirming under his strong hold. “No! Let go, what the hell Liam!” Ugh, what the hell, people were staring at us already, I was sure. Couldn’t he just let me go? It was so embarrassing! Like, seeing a random gay couple (although we weren’t I’m sure we looked like one right now) arguing in the middle of a crowded street.

“Oh my fucking god Niall will you stop squirming?! I’m trying to tell you that I love you!”

And then I stopped squirming, and I opened my eyes in shock. And suddenly I found myself staring into a pair of brown eyes. Liam’s hands were still on either side of my face but he released his hold slightly. I know we were in the middle of a busy street, and everyone was actually staring at us, but it was like none of that existed. All I saw was Liam and all he saw was me.

We were both standing there, frozen. Maybe we were afraid to move because we didn’t want to break this amazing and sacred trance we were in. To be honest, I kind of like just standing there like that, just him and I. But well, someone had to say something.

“Y-you… You w-what?” I was still in shock. Liam just said he loved me…

“I said… Oh come on, I know you heard me…” Liam was sort of like whining as he dropped his arms to his side. My cheeks felt somewhat cold without his hands there… I pouted slightly. I wanted them to be there again. It felt so right.

“I didn’t. You were too soft. What did you say?” I asked mischievously. It was fun messing around with him. I know this was a really huge mood swing for me, but the fact that Liam just said that he loved me was really overwhelming, and I had to fight to keep a smile from forming on my face.

“Oh god Niall, I know you heard me!” Liam made a frustrated noise at the end and covered his face with his hands. That only served to make me have to fight harder to stop smiling. I forced myself to keep a straight face.

“I didn’t hear you! I already said that! Ugh!” I yelled and walked away, grinning silently to myself. I knew Liam would definitely call out to me, and so I kept walking. But after a few seconds he still didn’t call out to me. I couldn’t help it, so I turned around.

“Liam? Leeeeeee-yummmmm?! ” He was missing. Oh god, where did he go? All of a sudden I felt quite scared and alone. Could I really have pissed him off? Maybe he didn’t like getting played. Well, I had only known him for a few days, so I couldn’t be sure if he would be upset with me or not. I was quite frightened and somewhat guilty, and I took out my phone from my pocket, ready to send him a text.

Suddenly I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. Oh my god, why was there a pervert in broad daylight?! How could they just randomly strike, especially in the middle of a street?! Obviously I started squirming again. I was ready to scream out like I’d never screamed before but the pervert spoke.

“I said, I love you, can you hear me now?” The low and husky voice whispered dangerously close to my ear. I could feel his warm breath tickling my ear. Oh god, Liam was just killing me. I spun around and again I found myself staring into his eyes. They were so perfect I couldn’t even stand it. Ugh.

“So did you hear me?” Liam asked again, grinning, and I grinned too. “Yes you fool!” I wound my arms around him and pulled him close to me. I rested my head on his chest and breathed in his scent. It felt so safe to be in his arms like this. Like nothing could ever come between us, and like nothing could ever harm me again. It was as though with him by my side, I could fight aliens and monsters but I still wouldn’t die.

“So… Does it uh... Mean that we’re together now…?” Liam asked kind of stupidly. It was so obvious that we were together already! I broke out of the hug and looked him in the eye. He seemed kind of worried and hopeful. Did he really think that there was a chance I’d say no?

“No Liam, we aren’t. We’re just random friends saying we love each other in the middle of the streets!” I teased and he laughed. He was so silly and almost child-like; and he was mine now.

Honestly, I felt really happy that I had someone now. When I couldn’t have Louis, I went for Jordan, but I ended up hurting him instead, and we broke up. At that time, I was ready to do anything to find someone who loved me, and I thought that it was impossible, because I tried getting with Louis but we didn’t work out. Now, I found someone who loved me back, and it was the most amazing feeling on earth. Liam made me feel like the happiest person in the world, really.

“By the way, Liam, I love you too.”

We stood there, just looking at each other, and suddenly my phone rang. I groaned and answered it while Liam chuckled.

 “Hello?”

“Niall, it’s Harry.”

(HARRY POV)

“Niall, it’s Harry. Louis, he got his memory back!” I practically shouted into the receiver, grinning madly as Louis chuckled. I just couldn’t believe that Louis finally got his memory back!

 I was smiling so hard I bet my jaw would break! I was sitting on the hospital bed with Louis, and we were snuggling under his blanket. I missed this. We haven’t done that in almost three weeks, and it made me get butterflies in my stomach like when I asked him out.

“Oh my god, Harry, oh my god, I’m on my way here! Bye, talk later!” Niall cried. Before he came, I had to spend some quality time with Louis.

I looked at him. Oh god, even if he was dressed in this hideous hospital gown he still looked perfectly gorgeous. “Hi,” I breathed out quietly. Somehow when I was with Louis, he just made me calm down a lot and I always wanted to be just perfect like he was so that I’d be able to match up to him.

“Hi Haz,” Louis smiled that smile that always made my heart flutter. I missed him so much, and I didn’t even realize it until now. “Oh god Boo, I missed you so much, I honestly did, and you wouldn’t even know it. It hurt so bad when I found out that you couldn’t remember me. I-”

“Haz, stop it, don’t talk about that anymore, I remember everything perfectly now okay?” Louis sighed and ran his fingers through my hair. I nodded. He was right, I should stop mentioning that because it’s over and everything’s fine now.

I smiled and sat up straight so that our heads were at the same level. “Haz, I love your singing, did I mention? Who knew you could sing so well?” Louis smirked. “I used to be in the school choir you know, Lou? Of course I’m good at singing” I smirked back, proud of those days when I used to get the important parts to sing.

“Well then, aren’t I lucky for getting a boyfriend who can sing? Maybe he can sing me some lullabies or something when I can’t sleep,” Louis joked playfully and grinned. I laughed. Louis was back. The playful, bantering Louis was finally back, and I was glad, no doubt. The weeks without him were just so dull and bleak.

“I guess you are. I don’t just sing for anyone, you know.”

“Well then, sing me something now. I’m not anyone.”

“There was a time,
I was everything and nothing all in one.
When you found me,
I was feeling like a cloud across the sun.

I need to tell you
how you light up every second of the day.
But in the moonlight,
you just shine like a beacon on the bay”

I stopped before the chorus, because I felt like the verse applied to how I felt about him more. Louis looked like he was going to cry there and then. “Lou, are you okay? What’s wrong?” I asked, worried that he was in pain or something. But he just shook his head and smiled, his eyes brimming with tears.

“God I love you so much, Harry,” he whispered, taking my hand in his and looking me in the eye. I couldn’t remember the last time I got lost in his beautiful blue eyes. Cheesy as it sounded, his eyes were amazing, and I had never seen anything like them.

“I love you too Lou.”

And we just looked at each other quietly, taking in how the other looked. We’ve had lots of these moments, and I still enjoyed them so much. Because any moment with Louis was worth it, and I’d never grow old of them.

Subconsciously I began to lean forward, closing the gap between our faces. I rested my forehead against his for a while, and I smiled at him. As I gently pressed my lips to his, Louis’ eyes fluttered shut. It was only the second time we had done this, and I wasn’t going to rush it and ruin everything.

My heart was thumping wildly in my chest, and I wonder if he could hear that in this silence. Louis slowly put his arms around my neck and pulled me closer. But the both of us weren’t ready to take things further, so we just remained like that for what seemed like eternity comfortably. How I wish that things would be like this forever.

Maybe we’d grow old and just live life to the fullest. Together. At the thought of growing old with Louis, I smiled into the kiss. This moment was perfect, and I never wanted it to end. But Louis pulled away and I pouted slightly. He chuckled.

“Niall’s coming soon. I can hear him outside.” Oh right. Niall, I forgot about him. Jesus, I was too into that moment to care about or listen to anything else. But thank goodness Louis heard i. It’d be awkward if Niall walked in on us kissing. I quickly got off the bed and plopped myself down on the chair beside it, just in time before Niall burst in.

“Lou! Harry! Hello! Oh my god, I can’t believe you finally remember! When Harry called me, I literally started jumping around and I ran here with Liam! Oh right! Liam! This is Liam, and that’s Harry and Louis!” Niall was rambling at the top of his lungs and he wasn’t even halfway through the room yet.

Louis and I laughed. “Hi Liam,” Louis greeted and winked at Niall, who was still grinning. But after he saw Louis wink, he frowned and stuck out a tongue at Louis. Liam was just standing at the door and he waved awkwardly, unsure whether he should come in or not.

“Come in here, Liam!” Niall yelled, and I couldn’t help but laugh again. Niall was so crazy, and it was great that he’d finally found someone right for him. Actually I didn’t know if that was Niall’s boyfriend, but it was kind of obvious. The way Niall’s eyes lit up when he looked at Liam, the way they shone with adoration. Even the blind could tell that Niall loved him.

So for the next twenty minutes, we sat down in the ward, just talking and getting to know each other better. But obviously, most of the time we were listening to Niall ramble on and on about how he met Liam or how Louis and I were the “most perfect couple” ever.

 And whenever Niall spoke or smiled and laughed, Liam would look at him in the same way as well. Those two were definitely in love; there was no doubt about that. Liam looked like a great guy.

We were still talking and laughing when the doctor, the same one as the other day, came in, saying that he had to perform checks on Louis. But this time, we no longer had to go outside while he did this. We shuffled to a corner of the room, and I was secretly praying that everything would be fine and that Louis wasn’t having any side effects or whatever rubbish like that.

The entire time the doctor was performing the checks, Louis had his eyes locked with mine, and he smiled knowingly, like he knew what I was hoping for. Maybe he was telling me that he’d be fine and he was wishing for the same thing as I was.

“Harry, I’m glad Louis has gotten his memory back,” he spoke and smiled at me, before directing his gaze to Louis. “You're so lucky, Louis. When you were unconscious or were trying to get your memory back, Harry was here the entire time, by your side.” Louis smiled not to the doctor but to me. Our eyes were still locked.

“I know.”

“Well, Louis, I have good news for you. You can be discharged anytime. You’re fine, but if your head continues to hurt you have to come back to the hospital. When would you like to be discharged?” he asked. What a stupid question, I already knew what the answer was going to be. Did he have to ask?

“Now, right now!” Louis yelled and sat up on his bed. The doctor chuckled and nodded. “I’ll get the paperwork done. Harry, would you come with me please?” I nodded and took another glance at Louis before leaving the room.

When I was back, Louis was already packing because Niall was there by his side to help him, while poor Liam was just standing in the corner, not knowing what to do. But obviously, he was watching Niall’s every move like his life depended on it. Liam and Niall was a great couple, honestly.

When Louis was done packing, Niall asked if we wanted to have dinner together, and Louis politely declined, saying that he missed his home and would rather go home to get a good shower and sleep. I knew he only said that because he wanted Niall and Liam to have fun together on a date. But I also knew that all Louis really wanted to do was to go home and have some quality time with me. I did too.

“Harry, would you like to try some of my homemade pasta? I swear it’s delicious and you’ll never forget it!”

“Louis, you just got discharged, shouldn’t I be the one cooking?”

“Yeah but can you? What if we die eating what you cooked?”

I feigned an offended look and widened my mouth into an O shape. “Die eating what I cooked?! More like what you cooked! How dare you insult my culinary skills, Tomlinson?”

Louis snorted. “Why can’t I insult them? It’s not like they’re amazing right, Styles?” He smirked, but ended up breaking out into giggles. We continued to joke around like this until we got back to hi- our apartment. It continued, but we weren’t talking about our cooking skills anymore. Our conversation had evolved into something totally different. We ended up talking about how green cars were the most hideous things that ever existed. I don’t remember how it got there though.

And in the end, we had Chinese takeout because we couldn’t decide who to cook. Honestly, I didn’t think that Louis couldn’t cook. I just didn’t want him to injure himself again. He had barely recovered from his injuries yet.

We sat down on the couch, that very couch on which we shared a special moment before the accident. It felt like ages since we’d sat on it, but it had only been two weeks and a little more. We sat there, eating our noodles and I suggested we watch a movie. And inevitably, we had to argue about that too. Louis wanted to watch Grease but I wanted to watch The Lion King and he teased me for my childish taste. After a little pouting and “pleaseeeeeee” I finally got my way.

We snuggled on the couch after our dinner watching The Lion King. Halfway through, Louis fell asleep as his head leant on my shoulder. I looked down at him. He had a little smile on his face and that instantly made me smile. Just by looking at him could make my heart race and make me feel butterflies in my stomach.

He was so perfect and he didn’t even know it. I caressed his hair with my hand and he stirred a little. “Harry…” He mumbled. I didn’t know whether he was sleep talking or awake, so I just pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Night Lou.”