Because I Had You (One Direction)

Chapter Eleven

Niall's Pov

I sat beside Hailey and Maria, playing with the stirring straw that sat in my coffee. Hailey put her hand on my thigh when she took her seat and squeezed it. My gaze went from her hand, traveled up her arm and landed on her face. I could tell she wasn't liking the situation either. "We need to talk later," she mouthed before Liam cleared his throat. "So, as the boys and I have already learned earlier this morning... Julian and his band will be joining us for the rest of the tour to take over as one of the opening acts." I noticed Hailey frown even more than before. I couldn't imagine how she feels knowing she's going to be stuck dealing with her ex for the next few months. Maria shook her head, "No way. Julian of all people is joining the tour?" Julian smirked at her, "You better believe it, short stack. My dad pulled some strings, got an old college buddy of his at Modest to look at some of my band's work, and it just so happens they needed to fill in a space in the lineup quickly, so here I am." I was already irritated with this guy. What could Hailey have seen in him? Does she still see something in him? I frowned at the thought and stopped myself from thinking any further. She'll explain everything to me later, I hope, I thought to myself.

After breakfast, I took the first chance I could to steal Hailey away. "Hey, do you want to head back upstairs to pack up our bags and get ready to leave for the next town?" I asked her, earning a glare from Julian. "Yeah, sure," She nodded as she followed me to the elevator. I tried to close the elevator doors before anyone could get on, but failed when Liam stepped on. No one spoke for the first minute but as the silence grew thicker, Liam spoke up. "Is there something I should be aware of about this Julian guy?" He asked looking between Hailey and me. Hailey sighed. "He's an ex-boyfriend of mine. It ended pretty badly. What are the odds of him joining tour when Maria and I are tagging along." I wrapped my arm around her and squeezed reassuringly. "I'm sure we can find a way to limit interaction with him as much as possible if it will make you more comfortable," I suggested. "No, I don't want to make things more complicated for you guys. I can deal with him," She ran her hand through her hair and leaned into me. She rested her head on my shoulder, causing me to smile, but I immediately tried to hide it when I saw Liam smiling knowingly at me. The elevator doors open and Liam stepped off before turning to face Hailey and I. He looked between us, "Hailey, let any of us know if Julian makes you too uncomfortable and we'll do whatever we can do to help." I felt her nod as she wrapped her arm around my waist. "Thank you, guys. I'm glad you have my back."

We walked to our room holding each other and it started to make me feel down. I liked the way she fit in my arms. As soon as we got to our room, I pulled away from her and plopped down on one of the beds. "So," I started, not sure what to say. "So.." she continued, as she sat at the desk in the corner of the room. "What exactly is going on? What's the deal with Julian?" I asked, wanting answers. "As you know, he is my ex. We broke up sometime after I moved back to Atlanta because I found out he was cheating on me the entire time I was living in California. I guess it was partially my fault for expecting him to stay loyal while I was across the United States from him. Visiting often wasn't enough. I still hold a grudge, though, because he should've broke it off instead of sneaking around behind my back and cheating on me." She huffed as if the events were replaying in her head. "Anyways, he was one of the very few serious relationships I've had and it kind of took a toll me afterwards. Poor Maria had to deal with me and I still feel bad about it today, but it made me realize how amazing of a friend she is. I'm honestly surprised she hasn't tried to kick his ass yet.."

I took in all the information I just heard and ran a hand through my hair as I thought. "Do you still have any sort of feelings for him?" She immediately shook her head. "Hell no. Once someone cheats on me, it's almost impossible for me to like them again." I nodded and licked my lips, "Well, thanks for clearing that up for me. I was really confused this morning, but I wanted to give you some space and let you tell me whenever you were ready. Although, during our meeting, I starting getting a little worried." "Worried?" She asked, moving closer by sitting next to me on the bed. "Yes, worried. I didn't know what the history between you and Julian was, but I was being told he was going to be joining the tour and the first thought that crossed my mind was "I hope this doesn't make things problematic with Hailey."" She smiled and rested her hand on my shoulder, " You're so great.." She paused as if she was debating whether or not to say something. She opted not to and pecked me on the cheek. "Come on. Let's get packed so we can be ready to leave." I sighed to myself as I watched her start gathering things and eventually did the same.