Reaching the End of the Rainbow // Narry AU

Chapter Eleven

"So what's this that I hear about you and Harry breaking up?" Liam asks as he sits down at the lunch table. It had been a day since Harry and I had the incident in the hall, and since then I haven't seen him. Not that I was looking for him, anyway.

"We were never dating to begin with," I mumbled as I took a bite of my ham and cheese sandwich.

"That's such a lie! Anyone could tell that you two liked each other just by looking at the both of you." Liam replied.

"Just because two people like each other doesn't mean they're dating. I-"

"So you do like him!" Louis suddenly jumps into our conversation and I shot him a glare.

"No, I was trying to say-"

"Stop. You already said it. You like Harry!" Louis said. A grin similar to the Cheshire cat's was on his face and I rolled my eyes. I heard Zayn chuckle and I turned my gaze to him. "I figured you would be on my side, Zayn, not laughing along with these two jerks." I said, gesturing towards Louis and Liam.

"Poor Niall just can't accept that he finally likes someone who's worth dating," Louis teased.

I groaned and hid my face in my hands, and I could hear the slap of a high five behind my back. Louis and Liam were always joking together, usually leaving me and Zayn to laugh. "Why haven't you two started dating yet, hmm?" I suddenly asked.

I watched as the grin disappeared from Louis' face. "What?" He asked confusedly.

"You and Liam. You two are always joking around with each other, so why aren't you dating?" I could hear Zayn cough to cover up a laugh as Liam's face now had a red tint.

"Hey, that's not funny," Louis replied.

The atmosphere at the table had changed, leading me to believe that I must have done something wrong. I didn't reply because I felt bad for ruining the fun at our table, and I took a few bites of my sandwich so I wouldn't have to speak.

The table was now stuck in an awkward silence, and I looked across the table at Zayn, who was gazing at something behind us. He saw me looking at him and he nodded his head, motioning that I should look behind me.

"Looks like your boyfriend is coming." He said.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I denied once again. I quickly turned around to glance at Harry, who was across the cafeteria. The smirk that was usually on his face had disappeared, and his green eyes were no longer sparkling with mischief. Before he could turn to see me watching him, I quickly turned back around in my seat.

"He's not looking over here or anything, is he?" I asked. Nervousness began to pool into the pit of my stomach. My courage from the day before had long since disappeared, and I wouldn't be able to make Harry go away if he came to our table.

"I don't think so. It looks like he's sitting by himself." Zayn replied. Louis and Liam had now turned around to watch him, and I panicked.

"Don't make it obvious that you're looking at him, please! It might make him come over here and then-"

"Niall, chill out. He's not coming over here and he can't see us looking. Do you really not want to talk to him that badly?" Louis asked. I simply nodded my head in reply. The nervousness that had pooled in my stomach had ruled out any thought of finishing my lunch, and I was no longer hungry. I simply took sips of the water that I had gotten with my meal and listened as a conversation once again sprouted between my friends.

Soon enough, the bell rang, forcing my group of friends to separate as we went our ways to our classes. When I entered my chemistry class with my book in my hands, I quickly averted my gaze away from where Harry sat when I noticed he was already in the room. I wasn't ready for him to be back so soon. Why couldn't he skip this class for a while and let me have some time to sort myself out? The familiar feeling of being nervous now bubbled in my chest as I made my way to my seat, feeling Harry's gaze on me.