Twinning

Chapter 13

Cheer practice is finally over and I couldn't stop thinking about Harry this whole time. I walk out of the locker room, just barely avoiding Alyssa, and Harry's already waiting for me. Just seeing him brings forth so many mixed emotions, but I just smile at him and we walk out to the parking lot. To my surprise, other than the blinding sun, I also see Niall's blond hair and, unmistakably, Louis and Zayn. I stop in my tracks for a second to watch what's going on. These three people should not be left alone together. I watch as Louis pushes Niall forward a bit, effortlessly.

"Aw c'mon blondie. Ya know ya missed me." Zayn slings his arm around Niall's shoulder and then just pushes Niall to the ground. I clench my teeth as Niall tries to stand up again. I begin walking forward but Harry catches up to me and grabs my arm.

"Jen, stay out of this." I stare up at Harry in disbelief,

"No, forget it. They can't do this to Niall." I pull free of Harry's grasp but he grabs my wrist again. "STOP! LET ME GO!" I scream and then pull free and run towards Niall.

"What the hell is going on here?!" I scream and stare down at Niall on the ground. Louis had just kicked him in the gut and now he's gasping for air. I then look up at Louis, anger boiling up inside of me. "You promised. And so did you, Zayn." Lou begins laughing again but I just glare at him,

"Jen, it's no big deal."

"Oh really?" I gesture down to Niall, "this is no big deal? What if you were the one on the ground gasping for air?" He stops laughing, but he smirks again. "You make me sick, Louis." I kneel beside Niall and his blue eyes stare up at me, fearful.

"J-Jen?" His voice is weak. I've been hit in the gut before, it ain't fun lemme tell you that.

"Niall, I'm so sorry they did this to you." He rolls his eyes and finally gains enough energy to sit up,

"It's no big deal," He's holding his stomach, wincing.

"Hell yeah it's a big deal. No one should ever treat you this way." He shakes his head and I stare up at Zayn.

"I can't believe you, Zayn you even apologized to him." Zayn hides a smirk and I stand up and help Niall up as well. "You two better stay away from him." I say through clenched teeth, but I feel tears stinging my eyes. Shit, I don't wanna cry in front of everyone. My eyes begin watering more and more until a single tear slides down my cheek. I immediately wipe it away, but everyone notices. I see Lou's expression soften into a caring look,

"Aw, don't cry. I'm so sorry..." I really hate showing emotion in front of people, but I can't help myself. How can people be so cruel to each other?

"C'mere, Jennifer. I'm alright, I promise." Niall smiles at me and pulls me in for a hug. He wraps his arms around me weakly, he's obviously still sore but I nuzzle my face in his chest, anyway. I hear his uneven breathing but I hug him tighter. Everyone's silent for a while and I finally pull away from Niall. I dart looks at Louis and Zayn before I then turn to Harry. His eyes search mine for something other than the pain I'm in,

"You two better leave." Harry warns Louis and Zayn. The two of them exchange looks and then look back at me.

"Yeah, okay. Bye Jen." Lou tries to smile at me but I just glare back. Lou unlocks his car and slicks back his hair before he steps inside, "c'mon Zayn." He yells and Zayn takes one more breath before he steps in the car and they speed off.

"You sure you're okay?" Niall sighs,

"Yeah, I'll have a bruise, but nothing new. Really, I'm fine." I gulp again and wipe a tear away before it falls down my cheek,

Harry's voice speaks up behind me, "I can't believe them. I'm disgusted." Niall gives us a sad smile and I have to look away. I shouldn't be crying. I really shouldn't, but I am.

"I'm fine. I promise, Jen." I sigh and nod.

"Why don't you fight back?" Harry asks, confusion in his voice. Niall stops for a second before answering,

"I've tried that once, it just turns out worse." This makes me sick to my stomach to hear him say.

"Let's get you home, Jen." I nod and hug Niall goodbye. I step into Harry's car and stare out the window, watching Niall cautiously walk to his car and get inside. "You okay?" Harry asks, awkwardly.

"Yeah. I think so." I answer, monotone. He studies me carefully before speaking again,

"I uh.. I never knew they were like that.."

"I didn't either." I respond. There's a long silence but I think Harry knows that I'm not in the mood to talk. That's something I've always loved about Harry, he knows how I feel and how to react to it. It's amazing. We turn onto my street before Harry finally speaks up again, "when I got home yesterday, Marcel was still out."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrows and turn in my seat to look at him.

"He snuck in the house at two in the morning."

"Where was he all night?" Harry shakes his head,

"I have no idea."

"He picked Alyssa up, took her to school this morning, remember? Alyssa told me," Harry shakes his head,

"Damn. What has he been doing? Do you think he was with Alyssa last night?"

"It's a possibility." I shrug. Just the thought of Alyssa and Marcel together makes me sick.

"I'll talk to him tonight I guess." We pull in front of my house and I sigh,

"Can you drive me to school tomorrow? I left my car there." He nods,

"Of course. No problem." I smile slightly and grab the strap to my backpack.

"Goodbye Harry, thanks for everything." And I step out of the car and walk into the house.