When she says she loves you, tell her you love her too.
(It's required that you listen to the acoustic version of Tell Her You Love Her by Echosmith during this chapter. It's on the side if you're on the computer or on the top if you're on mobile.)
Band rehearsal had gone great that night, better than most, actually.
The five of them had gone through a bunch of new songs and were wrapping everything up when Ashton said a sentence that literally stopped Niall in his tracks.
"So is your girlfriend gonna come pick you up, Lucas?"
They were dating. Casper and Luke were dating. They were a thing, an item, a couple.
What Niall felt as he saw Luke smile at the ground and reply "Yeah," wasn't heartache. It wasn't even heartbreak.
It was heart shattering.
The girl from the park wasn't his anymore. And she never really was to begin with.
***
Niall spent the last minutes of practice in a trance.
He didn't know how to speak and he had to focus to make himself breathe.
He'd seen the way Casper looked at Luke and the way he looked at her. But he didn't think there was anything going on. At least, not anything either one of them would really pursue.
"Hey, mate, I don't mean to kick you out, but...can you go home?" Calum laughed a bit as he showed Niall the door. They'd had rehearsal at his house tonight. Niall couldn't remember why.
"So-sorry. See you later,"
Niall walked out onto Calum' front porch and saw Luke leaning up against one of the wooden pillars, playing around with his phone.
He knew he shouldn't speak up. This wasn't any of his buisness. But he had to. This was Casper, a girl who loved to dance ballet and had a dad who treated her like shit and still managed to laugh like there was hope in her story.
***
"So...so you're going out with Casper now, huh?"
"Yeah. She's pretty great. And hot." He laughs lightly.
"Luke?"
"What?"
Niall needed to know Luke was going to take care of Casper. He needed to make sure Luke knew how incredible she was. He knew she didn't belong to him, but they shared one incredible night together. And he knew exactly what she was.
"She's like the stars in the sky, and you need to help her shine. Be there for her, okay? Can you promise me that?"
Casper deserved a fairytale. She deserved a happy ending. Luke wasn't known for making those happen.
Luke looked at Niall like he was insane. Maybe he was. "Horan, you act like I'm gonna murder her or something. I can handle a relationship."
Niall wanted to laugh at that. Luke had never had a real relationship before. He was that guy that was all about one-night stands. But there was nothing more he could say.
This was happening and it was out of his control.
"I know, I know. I just...goodnight, Luke."
"Bye."
Casper pulled down Calum's street and parked in front of his house. She rolled the window down and waved.
"Hey, Niall."
Niall waved back while screaming I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS in his mind. Casper, as always, didn't hear.
Luke kept walking towards Casper.
Niall couldn't let this go unsaid. He didn't even care if Casper heard. He pulled his arm behind his head and pulled at his hair.
"Wait, one more thing?"
Luke turned back around, slightly annoyed.
"Just...when she says you she loves you, tell her you love her too."
He nodded. "Will do."
Niall watched Luke get in the passenger side of the car, lean over, and give Casper a quick peck on the cheek. He watched Casper blush ever so slightly, smile, and start the ignition. And he watched, with blurry eyes, as the girl he was hopelessly in love with drove off with a guy who was only known for breaking hearts.
***
IM' RYING I HTE MYSLROF WHY DI I DO YOTHIS
DON'T AHTE ME OFR MAKING HHIS SHORT
***
i wrote this back in july. it's okay if you're crying because i'm crying too.
niall basically just gave casper away even though he loves her and he didn't even need to give her away because she was never really his to begin with but he felt like she was because of that one night at the park i just
poor niall
also shoutout to echosmith for being actual cool kids. they're a great, talented group of siblings. and sydney thinks i'm awesome, so there's that.
see you whenever i get the urge to update next.
