The Silence

12

POV: HARRY

I had a very pleasant time over the weekend. I watched a series with my mom that she really wanted to watch, I baked cookies, and in the evening I talked to Jasmine on the phone.

My mood has definitely improved and I no longer think about Louis. At least not as much as on Friday.

Now it's Monday again. The whole week all over again.

I'm sitting on a bench in the hall and talking to Jasper when I notice Niall out of the corner of my eye.

"I'll go say hello to Niall." I pat my friend on his shoulder and go towards the blonde boy.

"Hi Niall! How are you, mate?" I ask nicely.

When Horan hears my voice, he flinches slightly, as if I've interrupted his thinking about something important.

"Oh, Harry... Hi... Well, it could be better that's for sure." The Irish boy sighs.

"What happened?"

He looks around to make sure no one is listening. Every time he does this I know it's about Louis.

"Louis is all beat up again. When I asked him what happened, he said nothing, as usual. I don't know how to talk to him."

I can hear in Niall's voice how worried he is about his friend.

"I know it's none of your business and you probably don't care, but..." He looks into my eyes, puts his hand on my shoulder and speaks in a low voice. "...Fuck, I don't know why I'm asking you this..."

"What is it Niall?" I'm trying to encourage my friend to finish what he wanted to say.

He sighs. "I know there's something between you and Louis..."

When I hear the words leave Niall's mouth, my heart starts beating faster and my palms start to sweat.

"W-what? What are you talking about Niall? Me and Louis hate each other."

Even I know I don't sound convincing.

"Harry, I'm not stupid. The hickeys you had on your neck, the way Louis leaned into you in Spanish class and the way he acted... Plus, to be honest, I haven't seen Louis be like this in a long time. I know he doesn't show it, but believe me, I've known this guy for 10 years, so I notice even the slightest change." Niall smirks at me.

"So you know that me and Louis..."

"Fucked? Yeah I know." He chuckles.

I want to puke. I can't believe Niall knows. And if Niall knows, it means Zayn and Liam probably figured it out too.

"Oh God..."

I hear Niall cough to clear his throat. "So... If you see him, could you ask him what happened? Maybe he'll tell you the truth."

The problem is that Niall doesn't seem to understand that what happened between me and Louis was a one-time thing. We still hate each other. Well, i don't know... I mean... he definitely hates me... but I'm not sure if I hate him... I definitely don't like him but I also don't hate him... But let's pretend that I do because I definitely should and it will be easier to hate him than to like him. So there's no way he'd tell me the truth, in fact, there's no way I'd even talk to him.

"Niall... Me and Louis are not friends. He hates me." I scratch the back of my head.

He sighs. I can see how tired he is. "Just try. He will tell you... I know him..."