We're Okay

Chapter 3

Liam

 

After the party, Harry ordered Niall to take Liam back to his dad’s. Liam was still a little peeved about that, and in the end he’d ended up takingNiall back to Harry’s dad’s, because Niall had a lot to drink, and the other boy had to lean on Liam the whole way.

Thankfully for them, Harry’s dad had been out on a date with Yvette. It must have been a long date, too, because he and Niall didn’t stumble into the house until way after midnight, and they still weren’t back.

Harry still wasn’t back by the time Liam put Niall in the guest bedroom, either. That was where Liam had planned to sleep, but on his way out of the room he grabbed his bag and brought it to Harry’s room. He’d sleep in there instead. It wouldn’t be the first time the two of them had slept in the same bed and, most likely, it wouldn’t be the last.

Harry’s room had a window that faced the left, and he looked out it, trying to see down to Louis’ house. There were a few lights still on, and what parts of the lawn that were illuminated were covered in trash. Liam had wanted to stay and help. It wasn’t fair that Louis was stuck cleaning up the place himself, not when there had been so many people there.

Harry had forced him to leave, though, and then he’d ducked into the bathroom. Liam had no idea what he was doing, but he was worried. Anxious. He almost got up and went back over there, just to make sure things were okay.

On their way out the door -- he and Niall were two of the last to leave-- they’d past by that boy with the dark hair and eyes. Zayn, his name was. He was the one who’d sold Harry the weed. And it wasn’t that Liam blamed him for Harry getting in trouble, because Liam was well aware that that was Harry’s own bad decision making, but he couldn’t help having a bit of resentment towards the boy anyways.

Liam had seen him more than once that night, making out with random girls, tossing back drinks, smoking -- both cigarettes and weed-- and just doing whatever he wanted. It was like he didn’t have a care in the world, and Liam resented that, because it wasn’t fair. Wasn’t fair that one person got to do everything, got to have fun and live, without any consequences.

Twice, he’d looked back at Liam, but both times Niall had been right there, and he’d just grabbed Liam’s arm and carted him off before Zayn could approach them.

“Trust me,” Niall had told him after he first pulled Liam away from the group that had consisted of Harry, Louis and Zayn. “That’s one person you don’t want to be messing with. Some people don’t deserve their bad reputations, but Zayn Malik’s is all deserved.”

Liam had just blinked at him in confusion. “Okay, but I don’t get what that has to do with me.”

Niall had given him a look then, one that was filled with fondness that Liam didn’t think he’d earned yet from the other boy. “You’re kind of oblivious to things like this, aren’t you?”

Liam had frowned at him, at the time, and even now, he didn’t fully understand what Niall meant.

“Look,” Niall pulled him into the kitchen and poured himself a drink while he spoke. “Last year, right, I went to a party like this with my old friends,” Niall started, and Liam had wondered when the other boy started referring to his group ‘old friends’ as apposed to just ‘friends’. “And my friend Cally, you know her? Pretty girl, red hair? Anyways, that one, Zayn, hit on her all night. And Cally’s not exactly a saint, I won’t lie, but he did a number on her. Spent the night with her, and then the next day called her Carrie and didn’t call her back. Then, a few months later, they met at another party, and at this point Cally had convinced herself that it was all an accident, so she hooked up with him again. And then, when she mentioned their past, he apparently told her that he’d never met her before in his life, and that if he had, she must not of been memorable.”