Unsaid

Chapter nine

Id managed to go all day without running in to Niall, I'd been avoiding him in every sense of the way. I decided last night that he can't act like my best friend when we're on our own and then when he see's someone act like I'm a piece of dirt he just kicked off of his shoe. I'm worth more than that.

I walked up my drive way, fishing my door keys out of my pocket, glad I was finally home and rid myself of this itchy and unflattering uniform. I'd got home a bit later today, Danielle and I went in to town and caught up on the yearbook, I put in Rhiannon's claim for a whole page, I'd love to know who was going on it, Niall I suppose, and Harry, Zayn, Chloe, Rhiannon herself, there's so many more of their friends that I don't know, but then again I suppose it's better that way, they aren't the sort of people I want to know.

The smell of coffee and perfume filled the air as I entered the house, the sound of laughter and chatter travelled to my ears as I set my bag down on the stairs, eager to find out who was visiting. My father worked until six, so my mother was really on her own all day, she rarely had company and when she did, it was usually some publisher, either turning her down or offering her a small sale, but this wasn't business chat I heard, it was friendly gossip chat.

I followed the noise out through the kitchen and in to the conservatory which was flooded with light, sitting at the table in the centre of the small room was my mother, and Maura, munching away on a brownie, hopefully part of a batch she had brought over. Sitting behind Maura on the window seats, looking completely horrified at having to be here was Niall, picking a scab through the hole in his jeans.

"Sophie you're late!" My mother scolded as she noticed me searching for brownies other than the one in Maura's hand, Niall looked up from his jeans and offered a relieved smile, which I ignored, staring back at my mother. "Well, come and sit down!" My mother cooed, pulling out the chair next to her, which I sat down in moments later.

"Sophie darling, as you know, Niall hasn't been doing well in school lately." Maura said, wearing her biggest and fakest grin as she talked badly of her son, who was sighing behind her, holding his head in his hands. "And I know what a clever girl you are so I was wondering if you would tutor Niall? Of course he'd pay you!" Maura continued explaining her offer.

"What? No I'm not going to pay her!" Niall scoffed leaving a muddy stain on the pillow, which I hoped my mother wouldn't see until later when she'd had a glass of wine or two.

"Yes you will darling, unless you want to go back to St Michaels!" Maura said slightly turning her head in his direction, he lowered his defence and he slouched down.

"I don't need to be paid anything ma'am, of course I'll tutor him." I smiled, knowing that this would be hell on earth, spending that much time with Niall would surely drive me insane.

"Well then it's settled! Sophie will tutor Niall!" My mother smiled taking a bite of a brownie, where were all the brownies coming from? It was beginning to frustrate me.

...

"No, x equals -1 because 5x - 6 = 3x - 8, come on!" I groaned slamming my head in to my hands as Niall scribbled down the equation for the sixth time.

"We've been over this!" I complained as Niall huffed, rubbing out his answer.

"Well you obviously can't teach this shit because it makes no sense!" He accused dropping the pencil frustratedly on my father's desk, I was lucky father allowed me to use his study to tutor Niall, I wouldn't want him in my room.

"Don't take it out on me!" I grunted, taking a deep breath and going over the equation again. "Look it's really not hard, all you have to do is minus 3x from both sides, then add six to both sides and divide both sides by two!" I sighed writing the steps out for him in large letters.

"Can we finish it for today? I'm exhausted." Niall groaned leaning back in the leather chair.

"Fine." I gave in copying his actions. "You can go then." I muttered pulling my phone out from my pocket.

"That's your phone?" he laughed at the sight of it. Sure it wasn't the newest model, but it was a phone nonetheless.

"I thought you were leaving." I grumbled ignoring his comment.

"I can't, not until six, mum thinks I'm still being tutored." He heartily laughed, pushing his body back in the chair as if it was his own.

"That's not my problem, go to a friend's house." I sighed staring down at the small font on my phone.

"I am at a friend's house." Although I couldn't see Nialls face, I held no doubt he was smirking, suddenly, my phone was whipped away from my hand as Niall snatched it off me, still holding a smirk.

"I'm not your friend Niall." I sighed and got up walking towards the door.

"Oh come on Soph, you know you are" Niall grumbled, stalking me out of the room and down the stairs.

"Only when no one's around, I'm not up for that Niall."  I pulled open the fridge and searched for anything other than one of my mother's 0 calorie wonder yoghurts. My attempt was hopeless of course, I don't think there was one item in the fridge that wasn't a part of one of my mother's diet plans.

When I turned around, holding two hot pop tarts I'd found buried in the bottom of the breadbin, I found Niall slouching over the island in my kitchen, elbows supporting his head as he eyed the food in my hand.

"You know I can't help it." He sighed as I sat down opposite, munching on the food, he could help it, that was the thing that irritated me.

"That's a petty excuse Niall, everyone knows you don't give a damn about what people think about you." I laughed as he grunted in annoyance.

"So you're telling me Sophie, that if you were walking through the corridors with me and you knew people were staring and silently judging, you wouldn't give a shit?" he asked in frustration.

"No Niall I wouldn't! Because I accept my friends and I will be friends with who I want to!!" I yelled getting overly annoyed at how immature he was being, I wasn't even sure why I was annoyed, being friends with Niall wouldn't work, we can't be in the same room together without finding sometime rude to say.

"Well then you're just fucked up aren't you?! Face it Sophie there is not a way we will ever walk past each other and say hello or even smile alright? I'm not going to get fucking judged and I'm not having you being ju- I'm just not having it!" He said alternating his sentence half way through his screams, with the fight we were having right now, I was glad it was only my brother who was home, because I knew he could care less about what was happening to me, so therefore wouldn't bother us.

Nialls face was no longer visible as he rested it in the nest of his arms spread across my table, I didn't want to believe it, but something crossed Niall then, he was more sensitive than what he led on, without a doubt, there was more to Niall than people knew.

"Now give me that pop tart" Niall mumbled holding out one of his hands, obviously that was his way of making truce, I gave him the pop tart, but I was still mad at him.

I was.