(written by MrsNiallHoran :3)
-- Niall's POV --
Why did he have to bug me about telling my dad? I knew I had to. He didn't have to remind me. But when would I do it? I couldn't put it off too long since he was flying back to Ireland on Monday morning. I had the weekend to do it.
Okay, now how do I do it? I can't just randomly blurt out, "Hey Dad, I'm gay and Liam's my boyfriend" in the middle of dinner. Perhaps I could sit him down, one-on-one, father to son, and just tell him. But what do I say? I guess I could start with saying that a while after he last came to visit, I started to lose interest in girls and started dating guys, and more recently my romantic interest in the opposite sex had disappeared almost completely. Then I'll tell him that Liam and I used to be friends and we started hanging out again and now we're together. Should I tell him how strongly I feel for Liam? I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to mention that I've fallen completely head over heels for that boy.
I smiled to myself at the thought. Yes, I loved him. I really, truly did.
"What's got you so happy, sport?" Dad asked suddenly.
"Oh, nothing." I replied, absently looking out the window in the back seat. We dropped Liam off at the prison to visit his father and then drove around, looking at the sights, until he texted me to come pick him up. To my surprise, he slid in the back seat beside me instead of the front seat and I was disappointed. Not because of him being there exactly - I loved being near him and having him near me. I was just disappointed because I knew he was doing this so he could talk to me without having to text, and I knew exactly what he wanted to talk about. My dad started driving to Nandos while Liam leaned over and began whispering in my ear.
"Have you given it some thought?"
I sighed. "Liam, quit bringing it up. I told you; I don't want to talk about it. I'm figuring it out, okay? Just give me some time to think."
He leaned away, looking slightly hurt. "Okay." he mumbled under his breath. I felt bad as I glanced over at him, brown eyes with a sad shine as he stared out the window. I wished that I could just kiss him and tell him that I wasn't mad at him and that I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. Whenever he was hurt, I was hurt. It hurt me to know that I'd hurt him. I pulled out my phone, texting quickly.
'I'm sorry, Liliboo. I'm just nervous about telling him. I'm figuring something out. I'm not mad at you or anything and I didn't mean to sound so rude. You know I love you <3 -xx Ni'
I glanced over at him and his eyes were scanning his phone. He shot me a sideways look out of the corner of his eye and I smiled. He smiled back adorably, a light blush dusting his cheeks, and then began texting back. My phone buzzed a moment later.
'I know and I love you too. With all my heart <3 -xx Li'
As I read it, my smile grew and I tried not to giggle uncontrollably. I was about to text back when my phone rang, alerting me of a call. I looked at the caller I.D and then answered it. "Hey, Belliboo."
"Nanaimo!" Isabelle's sweet voice replied. "You'll be home soon, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to come skating with me tonight, at the rink." she said. "It'll be fun!"
I chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Sure, I'll come. Alright, we're stopping for supper, I got to go. Bye!" I replied. She said bye, too, and we hung up. We all got out of the car and walked into Nandos, where we sat down, Liam and I on one side and my father on the other, and ordered our food.
"So who were you talking to?" Dad asked as we waited for our food.
"This girl - Isabelle." I replied.
He grinned. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"No." Liam growled quickly for me. "They're just friends." he added on between clenched teeth. "Niall's with--" he stopped himself before he could say it, eyes dropping to look at the table. "Somebody else."
"You are? Oh, that's great, sport! Who is she?"
"I'll tell you later." I mumbled, glaring at Liam through slightly narrowed eyes.
After we ate, I fell asleep in the back seat with my dad driving and Liam riding shotgun. When I woke up, I realized that I was laying on Liam's couch, a blanket pulled over me. I stood up and wrapped it around me, following the sounds of laughter from the kitchen. Liam and my dad were playing cards, and looked up as I stood in the doorway, squinting at the light, one hand holding the blanket around me and the other rubbing at my eyes.
"Hey sleepy." Liam chuckled, placing a card face-down on the pile in between them.
I instantly worried about Liam and my dad alone together - what if he said something about us? I somehow knew he didn't. I could tell somehow. I yawned thoughtfully. Might as well get it over with. "Dad, can we talk for a sec?" I asked, taking a seat beside Liam.
"Sure, sport." he replied, placing a card down absolutely before giving me his full attention.
"Um... Well, last time you visited, I was dating this girl, remember?" I began. Dad nodded. "Since then, I sort of stopped dating girls." I said, hoping he'd get it so I didn't have to explain completely.
"So have you just not been dating or..." he hesitated, as If trying to figure out a way to word it.
"At first, I still liked girls, but not as much." I said when he didn't finish. "And since then, my romantic interest in females is just sort of gone." I explained quietly.
His expression was unreadable, a perfect poker face, so I went on. "I've dated a few guys." I continued. "And Liam's not just a friend - he's my boyfriend." I admitted softly, afraid of what he'd think.
After a minute of silence, he smiled and I was instantly relieved. "I love you either way, Ni. You know that. I don't care if you're gay - you're still my son and I still love you. In fact, I approve, and I'm proud of you for being proud of how you are and for having no problem saying so." he replied cheerfully. I smiled as he turned to look at Liam, now with a deadly serious and protective expression. Oh no. He doesn't approve of who I'm with. "You care for my son, correct?"
"Yes sir." Liam replied. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to me and I love him. I promise that he won't come to harm with me."
My father broke into another smile, clapping a hand down upon my boyfriend's shoulder. "You know I like you, Liam. You're a great kid. I have no doubt that Niall is in good hands with you."
My father's approval wasn't everything, but it still meant a lot and I was so relieved and happy to have it. "Thank you so much." Liam replied with a big smile.
Dad chuckled. "Back to the game?" he suggested, setting a card down on the pile.
Now that he knew, I didn't have to be careful not to get too affectionate. Now I can be as touchy-feely with Liam as I want. I cuddled you close, leaning against him and surveying his cards, helping him out.
I couldn't help but wear a big smile as I watched them play. My dad knew and approved.
One down, an entire school to go.
