My Best Friend

Ch. 16

By the time the concert is over, Niall still isn't talking to me nor am I talking with him. I'm just irritated. I don't know why he's acting like this. He completely ignores me when he comes into the dressing room. I huff and text Josh that we'd need to reschedule because I'm tired. I need to deal with him. I can't handle him being mad at me and we're not going months without speaking to each other. That almost killed me.

Niall gets out of the shower and he's still ignoring me. He's acting like such a child.

"Hey a few of us are going out for drinks if you two want to join?" Alex asks.

"Uh no I'm good, thank you Alex." I smile. She looks to Niall.

"Sure, I'll go." Dear lord...

"Fine, I'll come to." I huff and cross my arms.

"Great! We're about to leave!" She says. Niall finished getting dressed and walks out, leaving me behind. Why is he such a child? I roll my eyes and walk out with Alex. We all get in the cars, Niall of course deciding to go to the one I'm not in. Fine. If he wants to act like this, I'll show him. The drive is only 10 minutes before we're outside this bar. We get in and grab a booth towards the back. I really don't want to drink, knowing I'll have to take care of a drunk Niall.

"Do you want anything?" Josh asks in my ear. It's not too difficult to hear in here but it's still kind of loud.

"No I'm good!" I say. He nods and sits back, I guess he isn't getting anything either. Niall and Lewis get beer. It takes a lot for Niall to get drunk. Irish genes.

We're at the bar for a few hours. Luckily, he isn't drunk but he's definitely buzzed. I've been chatting with Josh all night. Honestly, we don't have much in common so it's been kind of awkward. He's a nice guy but I think we're better as friends.

I check my watch and it's almost 3 in the morning. We should probably go since we have another show tomorrow.

"Are we ready? It's getting late." I announce.

"Aye! Don't be a buzz kill!" Niall's yells. His speech is starting to get slurred. Drunk Niall is impossible to handle.

"It's 3am. I'm exhausted and I'd like to go back to the hotel." I say but he just rolls his eyes. He's being such an asshole... I have no clue what I did.

"I'll take you back." Josh says. I thank him. Brendan comes with us, leaving Niall, Lewis, and Alex. I'm tired of his attitude. We grab a taxi back. I'm so ready to get these clothes off. Heels get irritating after a while. When we get back to the hotel, Josh walks me to my room then bids me goodnight.

——

I wake up to someone knocking at my door. I check the clock and it's 5 in the morning. Who the hell is beating on my door at this hour?! After slipping my glasses and my robe on, I answer the door.

"Niall? What's wrong?" He's drunk. Or at least close to being drunk.

"You weren't in my bed." If I didn't know him as well as I do, I wouldn't be able to understand him. His accent gets really heavy when he's not sober.

"You were being an ass." I wrap my arm around his waist so I can help him to his room.

"'M sorry... I love you." He says. I get his key out of his pants so I can open the door.

"I love you. Now let's get you into bed." I huff as I set him on his bed.

"Arms up." He holds them up lazily so I can take his shirt off.

"Stand up." I help him up and unbutton his pants before pulling them down his legs. He falls back on the bed when I get to his ankles. Idiot...

"No, no, I love love you. Like I'm in love with you. I'm so in love with you, Andrea." I feel my heart skip a beat. He's just drunk, Andie. He doesn't know what he's saying. Something in the back of my head kept saying 'drunk words are sober thoughts', though.

"Let me grab you a glass of water." He pulls me to him as I walk away.

"I'm not drunk. I just wanted you with me." He stands up, his hands fiddling with my robe tie. He unties it and slides it off of me. I'm only wearing his shirt and some underwear, nothing he hasn't seen before but this time it feels different. I feel different under his gaze.

"You're still buzzed, Ni..." I whisper.

"Doesn't mean I don't love you. I just finally have the confidence to tell you." I feel his eyes on me but I can't look at him. If I do, then it's real. His feelings. Everything will be real and I'm terrified.

"Look at me." He brings my face up to look at him and I gasp. I see it. I see the love and adoration in his eyes. Something I know I've seen before but never knew what it was.

"You're scared. What is it?" He asks. I hate that he knows me so well.

"I don't want to ruin this. Our friendship. It's so important to me. You're so important to me. If I lose you, I won't be able to handle it. I realized that when we went months without talking to each other. I- I can't lose you and if I admit what I feel and it ends badly then I- I-" He cuts me off.

"Sshhh. You're not going to lose me." He kisses my forehead and hugs me. I'm not crying, I'm just scared.

"When did you realize?" I look at him.

"Nonna. She slapped some sense into me. Then seeing you with Josh, it just pissed me off so much. I didn't want him near you." He sits on the bed, his hands sliding down my body and resting on the back of my thighs.

"Nonna and Nonno each said something to me when I was staying with them. Even Alex said something, yesterday!" I chuckle, now realizing how right they were.

"What did Alex say?" I lean into him and run my fingers through his hair.

"How every time I'm not here, you're always in a mood and that as soon as I walk into the room, you stare at me and how I'm your light. That I've had you wrapped around my finger for a while." I smile. He laughs, nodding in agreement.

"Yea she's definitely right. I'd do anything and everything for you. I think I've loved you for a while now but I just never realized it. Ever sense that kiss, I can't get you out of my head. I shouldn't have pulled away cause fuck that was amazing." He says. I smile but instead of answering, I lean down and kiss him. This catches him off guard because he moves back before realizing what just happened. He cups my face and kisses me again. He takes me with him as he lays back on the bed. His hands find their way under my shirt and I gasp at the feeling, allowing him to slip his tongue in. He's never touched me like this but it feels so good. We pull away to breathe and just stare at each other. I kiss the top of his chest then lay my head down. His hands are still under my shirt, feeling my skin.

"I love you, so much." He whispers.

"I love you. More than you know." I sigh and soon fall asleep