Be Good To Me - N.H.

18

Two weeks passed and I hadn't spoken to Niall or Liz despite their best efforts. I hadn't heard from Harry the last couple of days so I assumed he had given up. Liz came by a couple of times and Stacy handled it, stepping outside with her to talk privately and tell her I didn't want to see her. Niall showed up at my building as I was leaving for work and coming home from work for the first two days, but after telling him he was starting to act like Chad, he backed off, resorting to text messages. Stacy told me they were both reaching out to her, worried about me. I told her to let them know I would talk to them when I felt ready, although I had no intentions of doing that any time soon.

One day after work I arrived back to my building and was surprised to see Harry waiting for me on the couch. I gave Stacy a look and she responded with "He did some heavy convincing."I sighed and rolled my eyes as she muttered something about giving us privacy and went to her room.

"What are you doing here, Harry?"

"I know you're really angry at all of us, and I don't blame you, but you need to know that we never intended to hurt you."

"Look--" I started, but he stopped me.

"No. Let me say this, then you can kick me out. Niall loves you. I know he told you that a couple of weeks ago. You may not believe it right now, but it's true. Just give him a chance to explain everything, and if you still hate him afterwards, at least you know the truth."

My eyes narrowed at him, clenching my jaw until I finally rolled my eyes and looked away.

"Please, Jules. He's going crazy."

There was a long silence as ours eyes met again and I contemplated his words. Honestly, I missed Niall. It had been hard having no contact with him. I miss Liz, too. I guess this way, at least I would get answers. I don't think they could hurt me any more than they already have.

"Fine." I muttered. "I'll talk to him."

Harry let out a breath of relief and the smallest hint of a satisfied smile crossed his face before disappearing. "Thank you."

He stood up without another word and headed towards the door. He turned back to look at me one last time before stepping out. "Julie?"

I looked over at him from where I was standing in the living room area.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

I nodded, watching him leave.

Stacy came out of her room a few minutes later. "So...when are you going to talk to him?"

"I thought you were giving us privacy?" I smirked.

"It's not my fault the walls are so thin." She shrugged. "Well?"

"I don't know what the point would be, but I don't know, soon, I guess." I sighed.

"Do you still care about Niall?" Stacy asked.

I pondered quietly for a moment before responding. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"I think that's a good enough reason. Maybe you can fix things." She suggested.

"That's doubtful." I retorted quickly.

"Well, either way, at least you can get some closure."

~*~

The next day after work, I headed straight to Niall's house. I didn't call or text him, no one knew I was on my way. It was hardly planned for even me, but I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

 A bundle of nerves with my stomach in knots, I knocked on his front door. I heard footsteps approaching, and when he pulled the door open, to say he looked shocked would be an understatement.