(written by butterfliess)
- Liam's POV -
I couldn't sleep that night. An unnerving feeling was settled in my gut from the moment we walked into the bar, and it wouldn't go away, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I didn't even know why or what was making me so nervous. Something just didn't feel right. With Niall.
He fell asleep on the couch with Atlas curled up with him, although the poor little puppy was pushed off abruptly and spent the rest of the night in my lap. Niall... He was tossing and turning restlessly, and his facial expressions concerned me. It was like he was having a nightmare, but I couldn't wake him up from it. Like it was a nightmare come to life...
I could only pray - no matter the dream - that wasn't the case.
---
"Weeeeeeeedding plans! The best man is here to helppp!" Louis called, bursting in through the door. Niall's mum looked at him, then to my mum, then to me. I just shrugged and laughed. Lou took a seat next to me at the table. "Where's Niall?"
"Oh, he's out with Zayn. He wanted to help but I told him that he just needed to wind down a little bit, so they went out just to kinda roam. And I made sure Zayn went with him because... Well... Duh. Niall always needs someone watching after him." I chuckled.
"That's true..." He laughed with me. "Okay, so what's going on? What did I miss?"
"Well, as far as setup goes, we've got this little blueprint here - there's gonna be chairs all around here for the guests," I said, hovering a pencil over where we'd sketched in rows of chairs. "It's gonna take place at night, and... Here... This place. There's a lot of trees around there, and they curve in, so that's perfect. In the middle of trees on each side is where the chairs are, to be exact. And then we're gonna have lights strung up all around the place, around the chairs... It'll be magical. And then the little arch here, there's gonna be flowers and lights on it, and yeah."
"Sounds very magical. How are we doing with the guest lists?"
"Haven't started them. It's still gonna be a while, Lou, until the wedding."
"Well..." He sighed. "I don't care. Let's get on it. And speaking of guests, can I talk to you? Privately?"
I nodded and he led me into a different room. He played with his thumbs, staring at the ground, before looking up and coming right out with it. "I was wondering if you could invite Harry... I know how much of a dick he's been to you and Niall, but... I am kind of... With him, and I'd really appreciate it if he got to come. I mean, actually, even if he got invited he probably wouldn't come, but I know on the inside it'd mean a lot to him and then maybe you guys could be friends again. But of course, I understand if you don't want to invite him. It makes perfect sense if you don't, and I respect that, so... I am willingly admitting that if you don't want to, he will not be there."
He kept rambling until I grabbed both his shoulders and silenced him. "I'll think about it, Lou. But yeah, you gotta remember what he did to Niall. I don't think I'll... Ever... Be able to forgive him. And if I can't, Niall surely won't be able to."
"Okay. I understand fully." He grinned.
"Thanks. Let's get back to the planning."
---
It was late when Niall got home and he stumbled in, drunk. Oh god. He ripped his coat off and - despite knowing I hated it when he didn't hang up his coat - looked me straight in the eyes and dropped it onto the floor. "Niall, are you drunk?" I decided to ask him just because.
"Nooo." He said, his speech slurred. He nearly fell onto his face while taking off his shoes and instead of effortlessly slipping them off, he had to take them off with his hands and nearly smacked his face into the wall too. "I'm.... Nooo... D-drunk."
"Niall, babe, you're clearly very drunk. And you're really late home; I was worried. Come sit down, I'll make you some... I dunno, do you want some toast?"
He stumbled over and flopped onto the couch. His voice muffled, face buried into the couch and blankets, he yelled, "Yeahhhh! I loove toast. F-french toast, Li!"
"Yes, Niall, french toast." I laughed. "I'll be right back."
When I finished the toast, he was on the floor, wrapped up in the blankets. The coffee table was pushed up against the wall and he was writhing on the floor in the blankets like a fish out of water. When he saw me he yelled, "Hey! I'm a butterfloo!"
"A butterfloo?" I sighed, giggling. "It's a butterfly."
"Noo... I'm a butterfloo... Duhh."
I shook my head. Oh, Niall... "Niall! French toast!"
He ripped the blankets off him and took the plate from my hands, sitting down criss-cross on the couch and finishing it in no more than two minutes. He put the plate on the floor and lay down, head on my chest. Within no time he fell asleep on me. Despite my arm being asleep, I didn't move a muscle.
I couldn't wait for our wedding. Soon - or I guess not really soon - he would really be mine. It'd be wonderful... But Niall... I didn't know how he felt about it.
