(Written by MrsNiallHoran :3)
-- Niall's POV --
"Hi, Mum." I said softly as I opened the door, letting her into Zayn's house. I invited her over to talk, and now that she's this supportive, great mother, of course she was up for it. We sat down at his kitchen table, as he was out getting groceries right now, and she frowned.
"Where's your engagement ring, sweetie?"
I glanced down at my bare left hand, and I felt my lower lip tremble a bit, before I unexpectedly just broke down, bursting into tears. Before I knew it, my mum was holding me tightly, and I was in sobs. It took a while for me to calm down, and when I finally did, we were re-seated at the table.
"Did Liam break off the engagement or something?" she asked, and I shook my head, still in tears, feeling so guilty for what I did.
"N-No... I... I-I did."
"What? Why on Earth would you do that?"
"I was j-just... Z-Zayn was talking to me about how we were getting married so young, and then I just realized all of this c-commitment I was going into and how I was settling down so soon and it just freaked me out and I-I broke down." I explained, sniffling. "I love him, I-I really do, I just... I-I don't know if I'm ready to be married at eighteen, M-Mum. It's so much commitment, s-so soon, and... I'm still just a kid. These are my party years, and while all my other friends would be out partying and having fun, I'd just be sitting at home with my husband, all committed and settled down and... I-I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"I thought you were certain that you wanted to spend your life with him?"
"I-I thought I was, but... B-But now I'm n-n-not so sure."
"It's probably just your nerves getting to you, sweetie. You've been under a great deal of stress, you know, planning the wedding and all. You just need to take some time to relax, and I'm sure once you've calmed down, you'll be just dying to marry him." she replied with a smile, and I sniffled, feeling a tiny bit better.
"M-Maybe. I r-really hope so, y-yeah..."
I heard the front door open and close, and I wiped off my cheeks, glancing over as Zayn walked into the kitchen, holding several bags of groceries, and set them down on the counter. "Hey, Z-Zee."
"Hey, Ni. Hey, Maura. I'm guessing Niall wanted to talk to you?"
"Mhm. Thank you for letting him stay here with you, Zayn."
"No problemo. How 'ya feeling, Nialler?"
I shrugged heavily, staring down at the table as if it suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world. "N-Not great." I mumbled, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "B-But a little b-better."
"That's good. Maybe you aren't exactly ready, but... I think you should go talk to Liam." he replied, and I inhaled deeply, not completely sure about that. Would he even want to talk to me? After I broke off our engagement, and then that scene in the park and Liam was led to believe that I was cheating on him or something... I wouldn't be surprised if he never wanted to see me again. "It'd be good for you two to talk things out. You can talk it out, get back together, and then just agree that you'll get married later on in life, when you're ready. Just because you aren't ready to get married doesn't mean you two have to be alone and miserable. You love each other."
"M-Maybe you're right."
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"Liam, wait!"
"I don't want to talk to you!"
"Liam, please!" I begged, and maybe it was the words I said or maybe it was the way my voice cracked in the middle of my sentence or maybe it was the way I grabbed his hand as he tried to turn around and shoved a foot in between the door, but something about it seemed to break him down. He turned back around and opened the door, leaning against the doorway and crossing his arms.
"What do you want?"
"I want to explain."
"Look, I don't want any stupid explanations from you." he replied simply, and I just dropped my gaze to my feet, finding him being so dismissive towards me weird. I knew I deserved it, it just wasn't something I was used to anymore.
"I'm sorry, Liam, I am. First off, that scene in the park--"
"With Zayn? Yeah, don't wanna hear it."
"Me and Zayn are just friends, Liam, you know that."
"Do I?"
I sighed heavily, placing my hands on my hips. "Yes, you do. I was just upset and he was consoling me like a good friend. And yeah, I've been staying with him, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm not with him, I never have been, and I swear to God that I haven't cheated in my life, especially not on you."
"Actions speak louder than words." Liam muttered, and I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, into the house. He closed the door behind me and I kicked off my shoes, the two of us taking a seat in the kitchen.
"I'm telling you the truth, I swear."
"Alright, so, let's pretend you are. Why'd you break off our engagement?"
My eyes fell to my hands now, feeling guilty and upset at this question, at the grim way he asked it. "I... I got scared." I replied quietly, unable to look at him. "Y-You were just talking about how we'd always be together and never get to go out and have fun and Zayn was asking me if I was going to miss being a kid and everybody always asks why I'm getting tied down so early, and... All this commitment just scared me, okay?"
"Well, what are you scared of?" he asked me, looking confused. "I thought you wanted to marry me."
"I did, I... I do. I just... I guess I was just scared that we'd be rushing things and then we'd just end up getting divorced and losing each other."
"You could've just told me that, Niall."
"I didn't want to hurt you."
"You did anyways." he pointed out, and I nodded heavily, feeling bad. "Look, you could've just said so in the first place. If you're not ready to get married, alright, I get that. You didn't have to make it seem like everything was completely over. You can tell me anything, Niall, you know that. At least, I thought you knew that."
"I know, I just... I'm sorry, Liam. I didn't want to tell you and make you think that it was you, because it's not. It's just me being stupid and scared. Like seriously, what the hell is wrong with me? Willing to just give up the man I love just so I can go out and party! I'm such a horrible person." I mumbled out the last part, dropping my head onto the table and wrapping my arms around it, feeling tears in my eyes.
"Niall." Liam sighed, reaching out and taking my hands, unwrapping my arms from around me. I lifted my head and met his eyes, which softened as they noticed the tears in mine. "You're not a horrible person. I can understand that maybe you're a little scared. I get it. I mean, we're young and it's a lot of commitment and it's overwhelming. You're not ready to marry me, and that's okay."
"D'you think maybe you could wait until I am?" I asked softly, not wanting to make him do that, but he just smiled.
"I'll wait for you forever, Niall. Take all the time you need."
