Fake (N.S)

35. (!)

Harry's POV

I looked to my side, eyes immediately locking on the face of who I knew to be my best friend. Well, he was technically my ex best friend. That was technicality that seemed to be incredibly important as of the past few years. 

Unsurprisingly, he was already taking notes before the teacher had even entered the classroom. I knew him well enough to know that he always needed to be ten steps ahead of everyone else. Although that might not really be his decision but rather because of the obviously strict parents he had been blessed with. 

Niall and I hadn't spoken to each other in nearly two years. How we had gone from the two children that did pretty much everything together to the teenagers that wanted nothing to do with each other, I didn't know.

We just...stopped.

It was a gradual thing. At first we stopped spending time together outside of school. Of course, we had made the effort to sit next to each other in classes we shared but that was all. We'd always be 'too busy' or 'not in the mood' and so our almost daily hangouts ceased to exist. 

Then our separation began to impact our friendship during school hours. Not looking at each other and sitting with our new friends. This went on until it got to the stage where we both deliberately avoided each other whenever we were near each other.

Liam and Zayn were not the friends that Niall used to be but they were close. I wasn't sure if any friendship could amount to the one I had with Niall but it wasn't as if there was much of a friendship left, so I was happy to have Zayn and Liam. 

I watched as he ran a hand through his hair, placing his hand on the desk and balling it into a fist. I knew that he was digging his nails into his palm, something he often did. I could also imagine what he was thinking. I was ashamed to admit it but I knew Niall better than I knew myself. 

My eyes didn't leave him. Instead, I watched him look up from his desk, sky blue eyes looking towards the ceiling, looking almost stressed out. He scrunched his eyes shut, muttering something under his breath. 

Even with the apparent and definitely mutual dislike I had for Niall, I couldn't deny that he was attractive. As Niall and I were like brothers throughout our friendship, the thoughts I had of him were always platonic. Now that I was a hormonal teenager that had nothing to do with him, I was free to check him out as much as I liked.

Just as long as no one realised that I was doing it, especially not him. That would not end well, not without excessive amounts of insulting, nowhere near the innocent conversations we would have had as children.

"Harry? You okay?" Zayn's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, causing Niall to turn and look at me, his admittedly beautiful blue eyes catching mine.

He scowled, giving me that relatively familiar glare before turning away from me. Now without Niall as a distraction, I turned my attention back to Zayn, who was looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

Zayn knew of mine and Niall's...complicated situation. He wasn't entirely convinced that our mutual dislike was genuine dislike but rather some deeper reason that we didn't yet understand. Thankfully, he respected that Niall was a topic I wished to avoid speaking about, so he kept quiet for the most part. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said quietly, my eyes moving back to look at the side of Niall's face, scanning his admittedly attractive side profile.

"Really?"

"Course," I shrugged, remaining as emotionless as possible. 

~