Niam One Shots

Charming (pt II)

~A/N: Hi! Part one of this was written in first person but sshhhh. I hope you like how this one turned out. I have my last exam tomorrow, which means I'm going to update 'Timeless' :) ~

Liam and Niall were watching a movie. It was Liam's favourite: Toy Story. However embarrassed he was to admit it, he had loved the film ever since he watched it as a young boy. Niall was sceptical when it came to watching it, as (being in Liam's company), he had seen it countless times.

"Do we really have to watch it again?"

"Not if you don't want to." Liam pouted, directing his mahogany eyes down at the floor.

"Ugh, fine." Niall dropped and Liam's bed and smiled at an excited Liam, who was now grinning excitedly as he placed the disk in the DVD player.

It was about halfway through the film when Niall had to go home.

He lifted his chest off Liam's bed, and sat up.

"Don't go." There was Liam's pout again.

"I'm sorry, I have to. We have that maths test tomorrow, and if I don't revise, my mum's gonna go ape-shít."

Niall followed Liam to the door of his bedroom before halting. "Liam...thank you."

The brunette boy flipped around with a confused expression. "Thank me for what?"

"Accepting me. An-And being friends with me. I know it probably sounds stupid, and it's only been a month but...Well I'm sure you know I was never great at the whole friendship thing, so thank you. I really appreciate it, and you're great."

One day left. There was one day left of Liam's dare. He could back out, of course. But that would bring the consequence of Louis and Harry teasing him endlessly about being a 'wimp'.

But Liam wasn't. No matter the circumstances, he though of Niall as his friend now, and the last thing he wanted to was hurt him.

But in a race of friends you've known your whole life and someone you met a month ago, who wins?

"I think you're great too." Liam smiled at the blond boy, now stepping closer to him.

He wasn't lying. Liam was beginning to realise that after a few weeks, his feelings for Niall had changed, and not in a bad way. He only denied them for the dare.

"In fact, I think you're amazing. I guess I regret not becoming friends with you earlier." He moved towards Niall, their faces inches apart.

And within a second, Liam's lips were sealed on Niall's.

The kiss was all Niall could have dreamed of. The warm of comfort of Liam's lips perfectly locked on his made him soften up in the boy's touch.

However for Liam, this moment was bitter-sweet. His skin was alight, his lips tingling with a welcome sensation. But his mind was aching. Aching from the fact that his emotions were in a welter.

A loud bang of the front door made the boys jump apart.

"Oi! Liam! You have a day left of the dare! You better have gotten Niall-" Louis stopped before the door frame of Liam's room. "Shít."

Niall's pale face crumpled.

"No. No, Niall, it's not like that, I swear-"

"How could you?! Here I was thinking you were actually my friend, but I was just a stupid dare to you?! If course, how could I not see past it. How could you, Liam Payne, want to be friends with someone like me-"

"Niall, at first it was, I swear it's different now, I just became friends with you an realised-"

"Shut up! Just shut the bloody hell up! I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses, just leave me the hell alone!"

Liam ended that day crying himself into sleep.

Liam attempted to mend his relationship with Niall for the next few days, but to no avail. He tried everything: talking, texts, calls. Though nothing seemed to break through Niall's walls.

But what Liam was oblivious of was that Niall's walls had already crashed down. Multiple times. This is why Niall shied away from friendship, from contact with others all together. Too many times had been used by someone who didn't care. After a few times, it was too much. After a few times, he stopped trusting everyone around him. So he settled on being by himself, that way he would be safe, alone in the corner, with nobody to harm him but himself. So he ended up being a pariah. Not associating himself with many other people, only a scarce conversation with a select few classmates.

The following two weeks were empty of interaction between Liam and Niall. No eye contact, because Niall was always looking down. No words exchanged, because Niall refused them. The only things shared between them were heart-broken emotions and common salty tears.

***

It was a chilly autumn's afternoon when Liam confronted Niall.

"Niall."

He didn't look up from the ground.

"Niall, please just listen. I don't mind if you don't want to look at me, but please, just listen. Everything I did since we met, it was real. I swear it. And at first, I thought that I could go about the dare and make you fall for me. But then-then I started to talking to you, and liking you. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you, believe me. So that...that kiss? It meant more than you think. You can't imagine the pain in my heart-"

"The pain in your heart?" Niall's head snapped up as he replied in an undertone.

"Niall-"

"The pain in you heart?! Liam, I've stayed bottled up for years in fear of being hurt!" The blonde boy was crying now, crystal tears seeping through his yes. "Can you at least consider what I could have felt like?"

"Niall, I...I never knew that's why.."

"Oh, you think I was alone all the time because I wanted to be? It's because I'm sick and tired of being a footnote in someone else's happiness, only to be stabbed in the back."

"I'm sorry."

"I've heard that before too many times."

"Niall, look at me, please."

A weak spot in Niall's heart gave up, his head tilted to look into Liam's eyes.

"I am so so sorry. For everything that I ever did to make you upset. But I'm not sorry for becoming friends with you, and I'm not sorry for the kiss. I know that you probably hate me now, and take as long as you like. But please, come back. To me, to us." A tear ran freely through Liam's cheek, catching at his lip.

The blonde boy kissed the saltiness away.