Take Me Back

6 - Niall

Things between Jenna and I were tense for a few days after what happened with Grayson, but now we were back to normal. Today, a few of my mates were coming over to hang out.

"Remember, petal, the boys are gonna be here soon, so no walking around in your underwear". I smirked at her and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Fine, but you boys better behave. I spent all of yesterday stress cleaning".

"I noticed. You dusted the same picture frame for ten minutes". Jenna stuck her tongue out at me and disappeared into her bedroom. I heard rambunctious voices and multiple knocks, so I knew they were here.

"Oi Oi!" Louis walked in and gave me a hug. Zayn and Liam followed, both giving me a handshake. Harry was the last to enter, embracing me. I hadn't seen him in the longest, because he moved back to Los Angeles for a few years.

"How have you been, Nialler?" He gave me a cheeky grin.

"Great, Hazza. Never been better, actually. Another one of my good friends reconnected with me, so..." I was cut off by a strong accent coming from the hallway.

"Nialler, why's there a bra in your laundry? Been getting quite the action, eh?" Louis inquired. Jenna walked out with red cheeks and snatched it from his hands.

"That would be mine". She nodded to the group and went back to her room to put it away. Liam cocked an eyebrow at me, but I shook my head. She came back out a moment later, and I wrapped her into a headlock and messed up her hair. I released her and smiled at the boys.

"This is Jenna, my best friend since diapers. She lives here with me".  Jenna smiled and waved to them all. "Jenna, this is Harry, Liam, Zayn, and Louis". He gave her a sheepish smile, hoping all was forgiven. "We were in sort of a garage band together in college. Never went anywhere, but One Direction was pretty hot stuff there".

"Cool. Nice to meet all of you!". 

"You too. Now that I think about it, Niall used to talk about you quite a bit", Harry said.

"Yeah, most of it was along the lines of how much he missed you and had a huge crush on you", Louis added. I punched him in the arm, indicating he shouldn't have said that.

"No I didn't. I never said one thing about a crush. Never". I blurted out.

"Uh huh. You know you love me, Blondie".

"Blondie? He used to be blonde? Oh, I've got to see this". She lit up like a Christmas tree, whipping out her phone and showing pictures to a curious Zayn. 

"Oh my god, dude, that's horrible". Louis pretended to puke. I smirked and pulled out my camera roll.

"Don't make me bring up that picture. God, that thing still haunts my nightmares". We all bursted into laughter. Jenna raised her eyebrows.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but can I see?" I nodded in between giggles and turned the phone towards her. Her eyes widened and she joined in our fit.

Later, we were sitting on the couch, watching Netflix. Jenna was sitting between Louis and I. He kept stealing looks at her, which made her blush. At around midnight, we were falling asleep, so they decided to head out. Once all the other boys left, Louis pulled me aside.

"Hey, is Jenna single? I'd like to ask her out, but I don't want it to be awkward if she has a boyfriend or something". A panic rushed through me as I struggled to answer him.

"Uh, no, she's in a relationship", I lied. I couldn't lose two friends by having them get together. He nodded sadly, walking away.

"Lucky lad, eh?" I smiled slightly and waved goodbye. After I shut the door behind him, I crawled into bed with a feeling of guilt in my stomach. I wasn't a liar, but I would do anything to keep her by my side.