My Brother's Boyfriend ✓

Nine

I decided to call Nick to fill him in. I told him how I went home early and that if Toby asks, I had to go home immediately because our mum's cousin Susan died and mum is devastated by it.

He was understandably confused, but told me that, if Toby asked, he'd relay the same message for me. By the time that call ended, mum was actually calling me for dinner.

We sat together and barely ate a thing. Emotions were too high. She just found out her sweet, kind, shy, precious baby boy was being hit by his boyfriend while having his heart continually broken by his brother's boyfriend.

It's understandable that she didn't have much of an appetite. Or I.

We talked about pretty much everything but the elephant in the room. Neither of us wanted to mention Toby or Harry or Nick. She didn't ask a single thing about any one of them. Blessedly.

Come Wednesday morning, I'd had a few long phone calls with Zayn about the situation.

By Wednesday afternoon, he was arriving on a train to Holmes Chapel. He came all this way just to see me.

I walked to the station to bring him back to my house, after a tearful reunion between the two of us, and he hugged mum immediately. Mum loves Zayn and now she's finally getting to meet him.

We spent all of Wednesday evening on the roof outside of my room just talking and crying and spending time together. He's more a brother to me than my own brother is now a days, but sometimes that's just how it is.

Now, Thursday mid-morning, Zayn is dragging me into town. Last night as we were talking, I made a comment about wanting to be different from Nick somehow, and not just personality wise. We both have brown hair, blue eyes, the same face, and everything else, but I mean...I feel like I'm forever going to be in his shadow.

Thus giving Zayn what he describes as a brilliant idea.

Walking into the salon, I immediately want to turn around and run for the hills.

"Zayn, I can't do this," I say as I stop walking and tug on his arm.

"Niall, yes you can. You need to do something for yourself for once, and this is going to be so much fun. I remember the first time I dyed my hair I was kind of freaked out, but then I liked it."

"Then why don't you still have it dyed?" I ask pointedly.

"Because it grew out and I just didn't redo it. Come on, Niall, enough about me or anyone else. It's time to do this for you. You said so yourself that you want to separate yourself from Nick, and this is perfect! Okay?"

"Ugh, fine. But, if it looks awful, I'm shaving your head!" I threaten and he gasps, his hands flying defensively to his hair.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," I say, just as fiercely.

"Alright, if it looks awful, I will help you shave my head. Deal?" He says and sticks his hand out. I take his hand in mine, shake it, and sit down in the chair.

Not too much time later, I am a blond. What the absolute fuck. The moment I turn around in the chair to look at myself, I look so much different.

But...I honestly look amazing? Or is that conceited to say?

"Oh my God Niall it looks way better than I imagined it would!" Zayn exclaims loudly, drawing attention from some of the other clients in the salon.

"Z, hush it, would ya? Let's just get out of here," I say, growing incredibly shy under the stares I'm getting from others. I've never styled my hair before, it's always just laid flat. But the stylist dyed it and then styled it up and it looks really good and I feel like a totally different person, but other people are looking at me and it makes me want to bury myself.