less than lovers (h.s.)

eleven

I had too much pride—not to mention fear—to go back home, so I ended up spending the night at Niall's. If Harry knew where I was going, then he didn't question it, because I received no text from him asking where I was. Not that I'd expected him to reach out, after we'd fought, but...I was expecting him to reach out.

"It's not a big deal," Niall assured me the next morning when I was still stressing over how we had left things. "He'll get over it soon enough. I'm sure you two argue all the time, right?"

I stared at him blankly, wondering where he had gotten that impression from. "No," I said slowly. "We don't. I'm pretty sure last night was our first real fight."

Niall's eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell? Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie about that? Besides, what would we even have to fight over?"

"I don't know, but you're both pretty annoying, so I just assumed something would have come up over the years."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Very funny."

"Oh, I try."

"Niall, you're not helping!" I whined. "Not only does Harry pretty much have a girlfriend now, but he didn't even tell me about it, and—"

"For Christ's sake, Jonesy, we get it," Niall groaned as he shoved another spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth. "He didn't tell you about Hannah, top ten anime betrayals, yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm sure he was planning on it, before you just attacked him out of nowhere."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, frowning. "Whose side are you on?"

"I'm literally on no one's side," Niall said. "I thought I made that clear."

I ignored him. "He's never wanted to settle down all these years, and what, all of a sudden, Hannah's changed him? He barely even knows her."

Niall shrugged. "Love does crazy things to people." When he noticed the deadly glare on my face, he raised his hands up in mock defense. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Probably not the best time to make that joke."

I shook my head. "He's not in love with her. He can't be."

Niall raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Why not—you're so fucking annoying, did you know that?" I snapped. "You're the worst person to rant with. Ugh, I miss Liv." She'd gone home for the long weekend to visit her family, and I missed her more than ever. She would know exactly what to say to make me feel better, unlike Mr. Insensitive over here.

Niall's face lit up at the mention of my best friend. "Me too. How's she been?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fuck off."

"Can you and Harry just make up already, so I can send you back to him?" Niall asked. "I have no idea how he puts up with you."

"Well, when we do make up, I'm telling him that you made me sleep on the couch," I shot back at him.

"You know I have a bad back!"

"Oh, whatever." I sighed heavily before staring at my phone. "I should probably apologize to him, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, you should," Niall said. "But make sure not to confess your love for him while you're at it."

I scowled at him. "I told you that in confidence."

He pretended to look around his kitchen. "I'm sorry, is there someone else in here that I can't see?"

"Shut up. Besides, I'm not in love with him." I hated the fact that I was probably blushing right now—and Niall was eating it right up.