Guarded

||eighteen||

I walk into class on Tuesday morning. No sign of Niall yet.

Harry and Marie are giggling next to me and Liam and Emme keep kissing each other.

Ugh, couples. How can they be so happy? Haven't they gotten hurt yet? Or will it just hurt worse when it does end?

"Goodmorning, Cass," Emme greets when she finally notices me.

"Hey, Emme," I reply glumly.

"What's wrong, Cassidy?" Marie asks, playing with one of Harry's curls. Didn't they notice I was like this yesterday? Guess not.

"Nothing. I mean, well, Niall and I-" I get cut off by someone slamming their books down on the desk. Niall's here.

Emme and Marie look at me expectantly, like they're waiting for me to acknowledge my boyfriend. But I don't think it's the best idea to do that right now. He's probably still upset about what I said.

"Niall," Harry says in his deep British accent. "What's wrong, mate?"

Niall doesn't answer and continues scribbling in his notebook. Harry furrows his eyebrows at me. I shrug.

"Niall?" Liam pokes him. "C'mon, man, why are you so upset?"

Niall clenches his jaw and looks at me. I look back at him with wide, hopeful eyes, trying to telepathically say 'I'm sorry.'

"Oh, did you guys-" Liam starts, but then backs off when Niall shoots him a look.

-

I sit at a lunch table in the back of the cafeteria, alone. It's the exact table I sat at on my first day of school when Emme, Marie, and Niall invited me to sit with them.

Louis and Zayn see me and sit down next to me.

"Hey, babe," Louis says. I give him an odd look.

"He calls everyone babe. Don't worry," Zayn assures me.

I continue to pick at my salad without saying anything.

"Did you an Niall get in a fight?" Louis asks.

"Kinda," I reply in a small voice.

"What do you mean 'kinda?'" Louis furrows his brow.

"Well, I said something stupid and he said something in reply and then he left and we haven't talked since," I explain.

"What did you say?" Louis interrogates.

"I said something like I thought love was an awful thing and then he said he loved me, we'd never make my

dad's mistakes, and he'd never hurt me and I blurted out that you can't avoid the inevitable and he started saying all these things about how maybe I'm right and that it is inevitable and he said he loved me and he told me I can't live my life guarded and alone," I reply in one breath.

"Well, at least he still loves you," Zayn pipes up.

"We haven't talked since Saturday morning, guys," I point out. "I think he's gonna break up with me." My lips turn into a small frown.

Louis smacks my arm, not hard, but enough to leave a small red mark.

"Ow!" I exclaim. "What'd you do that for?"

"You're being an idiotic narcissist," Louis snaps. "He's not gonna break up with you. Prom is in like four days! He's been talking about how excited he is to take you for weeks! And if one small quarrel ruins that, then Niall is insane."

I gently smile at his comforting words said in a harsh tone. "Thanks, Lou."

He nods. "You're welcome."

-

"Mum?" I set down my things on the kitchen table and look around for any sight of my mother.

"In here," a faint voice calls from a room down the hall.

I run into the room, she's lying on the bed, snuggled in her covers, watching some reality TV show.

"Mum, how am I going to find a dress for prom? We don't have enough money and all the money that we do have is gonna go towards your medical expenses. I don't know what to do," I say, shaking my head.

"Why don't you wear my old prom dress? It's in the closet. Go look at it." My mum motions towards the closet door.

"Wasn't your prom in, like, the 80s?" I slightly giggle.

"Give it a chance, Cass." Mum shakes her head.

I walk into my mother's walk-in closet and search around.

"Look for a white, dress length bag," my mum calls from her place in her bed. I rummage through some things until I finally find it. I pull out the large, dust covered bag and open it.

It's a teal A-frame dress with a poofy skirt and a sweetheart neckline. The only downside are the large puff balls of sleeves.

"Mum, I can't go out wearing cotton candy on my arms," I say and chuckle at my own little joke.

"You can take those off real easy, sweetie. Just pull 'em," she says.

I pull off the sleeves and the dress instantly becomes ten times more beautiful. I let out a small gasp.

"Isn't it marvelous?" My mum asks, smiling.

"Yes, it is. I'm going to go try it on, okay?"

I put on the dress and show my mum. "Oh, you look beautiful!" She exclaims. I lean over and give her a small kiss.

"Thank you so much, mum. I love you."