The One You Call | horan au

twenty-nine

Niall's P.O.V.

-

I think about leaving straight from the garden too. But against my better judgement, it only feels decent to let Amanda know that half of our party has just left.

Did they just end everything, right there?

I keep my head down as I pass by the hostess for the third time now. I don't know if she'll try to make a bigger deal out of things when she realizes Phoebe and Ashton won't be returning but I don't plan on still being here when does.

What else could I have done back there? Accepted Ashton invitation to fight? Pulled out my phone to show him the many times I've tried to contact his girlfriend to further prove that she's been blatantly ignoring me?

Phoebe did everything right. How can Ashton not see that with the way she was pleading with him. And the more I tried to defend her, the more it felt like I was getting her in trouble.

I only promised Phoebe that Ashton wouldn't find out from me. I tried as hard as I could to get Amanda to see how important keeping Phoebe's secret was to me. But it's not my fault she's a conniving b.itch. Hearing that corny speech put me in a bad mood too but I would have never done what she did. If I knew exactly what she had been planning then I wouldn't have shown up at all.

Amanda is in the same spot we all left her in. I feel sick to my stomach when I look at her.

"What's going on?" she says, picking around the feta in her spinach salad.

"They left."

"They left together?" Only now does she put her fork down. She hasn't even asked if her friend is okay and it's bothering the h.ell out of me.

"Yes." I say, only to let her think her plan might have failed. "I'm headed out too."

"You're not gonna take me home?"

"You're f.ucking serious? Take an Uber."

Ashton and Phoebe planned this special night for themselves. They didn't have to invite us but they did so out of the kindness of their hearts and she thought this was okay to do in return? If that's the case, then she can be in charge of the bill.

When I get back to my place, it's barely 7pm. I think about calling one of the lads to unload what I've actually been up to these last few months until I realize every one of them are probably finishing up with their dates or maybe just starting them.

I expected to spend Valentine's Day alone. But I didn't expect for it to feel this lonely. I thought I'd at least get to talk to Amanda later about how awful it was. But right now I'll be fine if I never speak to her again.

I doubt my friends would care if they never saw her again too. They just seemed happy that I wasn't focused anymore on a woman that already had a boyfriend. I'd love for them to never find out this night even happened. How awkward is it gonna be to bother them with the very sh.it they warned me not to do.

But I can't act like tonight never happened.

There's only been one other time where I've felt this certain type of finality. Like I'll never get the chance to see Phoebe again and its all out of my power.

Months ago back when I was still dating Phoebe, I called Zayn one morning because I'd gotten too in my head and convinced myself I'd done something to drive Phoebe away.

We'd only been dating for a month and a half and so far Phoebe had come to every gig I invited her to. So when I asked her to sit pretty beside me while I played at this bar right outside town and she told me she wanted to hang back, it caught me off guard.