Monday, June 18 2012
Los Angeles, CA

Niall and Brittany quickly broke apart as they heard Harry’s voice. He was briskly walking towards them, and suffice to say, he didn’t look happy.

“What’s going on?” he asked Brittany angrily. He was inches away from her now.

Brittany felt her heart speed up. Everything was happening so fast. One minute she’d been kissing Niall, telling him she loved him and, presumably, he was about to tell her the same. The next, Harry was angrily storming towards them. She could barely register what was going on. “I…” she stammered as Harry’s eyes pierced her.

“Harry,” Niall said. He touched his friend’s arm in an effort to calm him.

Harry pushed Niall away from him and snapped his attention away from Brittany for only a second. “Don’t. I don’t have anything to say to you.”

Niall just took a deep breath and watched as Harry began to question Brittany again.

“What’s going on? You love him?” he spat, raising his voice with every word. “How did this happen? When did this happen? What is this then?” he shouted, waving his hand between himself and Brittany.

Brittany choked back a sob and tried to keep the tears that stung her eyes at bay. “Harry, I’m sorry,” she cried, glancing over at Niall, who was still standing there, looking like he didn’t know what to do.

“Oh stop it Brittany,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “You don’t get to cry. What are you doing kissing him? You haven’t answered any of my questions so stop fucking crying – ”

“Oi, was is going on out here?” Louis asked, coming out of his hotel room and walking towards them. ‘Some of us are trying to sleep you know,” he said irritably. He glanced at the three of them. Niall was standing there with his hands in his pockets looking guilty. Harry was enraged. Brittany had tears streaming down her face.

It wasn’t hard to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Harry,” Louis said carefully, stepping towards him. “What’s going on?”

“Well why don’t you ask the two of them?” he shouted, motioning towards Brittany and Niall. “I’m sure they’ll tell you all about it because I’m done, I don’t need this,” he stepped away from Brittany, holding his hands up in defeat. “If you want that slut, she’s all yours,” he said to Niall, before walking down the hall back to his room in a huff.

Once they heard Harry’s door slam, Brittany put her head in her hands and started crying harder. Niall stepped over to her and rubbed her back lightly, pulling her in against his chest.

Louis eyed them. “So… what happened? What’s he on about?”

Niall sighed. “The short version is that he caught me kissing Brittany.”

Louis shook his head disapprovingly. “Nialler…”

“I know,” Niall said, still holding Brittany. “I know, okay? I knew he was dating her, but I was falling in love with her…”

“It’s not just your fault,” Brittany muttered, taking a deep breath and beginning to calm down. She looked up at Louis. “I flirted with him the whole tour, and I had a crush on him the whole time. Even before I came here. The whole thing with Harry just happened… but then Niall kissed me…”

Louis raised his eyebrow and looked back at Niall.

“I know,” Niall said again. “I shouldn’t have. I should have just let it go. It was stupid and I was selfish and I know that.”

Louis sighed. “Man, you really shouldn’t have. You should have talked to Harry first. Why didn’t you just tell him when he was first talking about dating her?”

Niall shook his head. “I don’t know. I tried to once, but then she walked in, and he asked her out and after that it was too late…”

Louis eyed the two of them. “I don’t know what to tell you, mate. You need to talk to Harry.”

Niall nodded. Sorting things out with Harry wasn’t going to be easy, to say the least. Harry wasn’t the type to stay so devoted to a girl as he had with Brittany, so it was clear he really did like her. That, and Niall knew that everything he had done was really shitty. He’d gone completely behind his friend’s back.

Apologizing to him and getting things back to normal was probably going to be the hardest thing he would ever do.

“You might want to give him some time to cool off though,” Louis said after a moment. “Just… do it soon okay? We can’t have this kind of tension… it’s not good for the group, and it’ll affect all of us.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Niall promised.

“Good,” Louis replied. “Try to have a good night, guys,” he said, heading back towards his room. “And try to get some sleep,” he finished, giving Niall a knowing look before closing his door.

Niall looked down at Brittany. Everything was out in the open now, and they were finally alone. He wiped a stray tear from her face. He would do anything in his power to keep Brittany from crying again. Sadness didn’t suit the personality of hers that he’d fallen in love with.

“All of my stuff is in Harry’s room,” Brittany muttered, looking down at the ground awkwardly.

Niall wasn’t sure what she was insinuating, but he decided to err on the side of caution. “Do you want me to ask security to get you your own room?”

Brittany shook her head, and glanced up at Niall. “No… can I stay with you?”

Niall nodded and pulled her back into his room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He kissed Brittany lightly again. Now that he knew he could do so freely, he couldn’t stop himself. He touched her face gingerly and continued kissing her with more intensity.

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and collect his thoughts.

Brittany traced the pattern on his t-shirt. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest. She’d never experienced something like this before. The fire, the wanting, and the need to be with him in every way possible.

“Do you want to?” she asked quietly, looking up at him.

“What?” he asked, searching her face for clarification.

“You know…” she said, glancing over at the bed, and then back up at Niall.

He leaned down and kissed her again. “Brittany, I have been waiting the whole tour to be with you. What do you think?”

Brittany bit her lip and gave him a small smile as she sauntered over to the hotel bed. The blankets were still neatly tucked and looked the picture of perfection.

She laid down on the bed and pulled Niall on top of her. She kissed him forcefully, letting her hands explore his back and wasted no time in pulling his shirt over his head.

He leaned down to kiss her again, but Brittany moved her head away. She gave him a sly grin as she pulled off her dress to reveal her matching lacy pink bra and underwear set. Again, he leaned in to kiss her, and again, she turned her head away.

“Brittany,” he groaned, resting his hand on her thigh. “You’re killing me here.”

She just continued to grin as she undid the button on his jeans and motioned for him to remove them. Of course, he wasted no time in kicking them off. He leaned back down on top of her, leaving a trail of kisses from her mouth, to her neck.

“God…” Brittany moaned as he pressed his hard manhood against her. Niall slid his hand underneath her and expertly unclipped her bra. He kissed her hungrily before pulling away for a moment to let her toss the garment on to the floor. He planted soft kisses down her chest and Brittany ran her hands through his damp hair as he did so, enjoying the feeling of his lips on her skin.

“Ready?” he asked softly, glancing up at her.

She just nodded, not taking her eyes off him.

He pulled away from her momentarily so he could take off his last article of clothing, and so Brittany could do the same. Seconds later, he positioned himself overtop of the girl he loved so much. Her hair was in her eyes and he brushed it away before guiding himself into her.

He moaned softly, kissing her cheek as he began to roll his hips against hers. He went slowly, enjoying the closeness that they were finally able to share. The two of them moved rhythmically against each other, keeping up a steady pace for as long as they could. So many times he had imagined this, and though he partially wanted to take her roughly and do all sorts of naughty things to her, he withheld. There would be many opportunities for that, but for now, he just wanted to love her.

And love her, he did. He kissed her softly and held her tight. No matter what happened between them from here on out, this was the moment he wanted etched upon his memory. The moment where everything felt perfect and right.

He tried his best to go slowly, but she was driving him crazy. What with the little noises she was making, her soft hands running along his body and her lips leaving small kisses all over his neck and shoulder. He drew in a sharp breath, knowing he was probably not going to last much longer.

He kissed Brittany deeply and left a trail of kisses from her mouth to her neck, sucking lightly just behind her earlobe. She writhed underneath him, arching her back and moaning as she came.

He thrusted back into her, and the feeling of her pulsating walls around him sent him over the edge. He moved faster now, gripping the sheets as his body shuddered with orgasm.

He collapsed on top of her. Both of them were sweaty, breathing heavily and content with what they’d done. After catching his breath a little, Niall pulled himself up slightly and kissed Brittany on the forehead.

“I love you, Britt Britt,” he said softly, realizing that he hadn’t yet actually said those words to her.

She sighed happily. “I love you too, Nialler.”

They snuggled up close together as exhaustion took over. It had been a long couple of days, but finally they were able to fall asleep in each others’ arms.

***

Brittany opened her eyes groggily the next morning to a loud knocking on the hotel room door. She glanced down at Niall, his blonde hair was poking out from underneath the covers. She considered just snuggling up to him and falling asleep again, but the knocking persisted.

“Niall,” she said softly, shaking him awake. “Someone’s at the door.”

“Mmph,” he mumbled, not opening his eyes. “Let them knock.”

Brittany smiled a little and kissed him on the forehead. She figured she should probably answer the door; there was no point in prolonging the drama that was surely going to hit them. So, she quickly got dressed, picking up her scattered clothes from the night before.

She looked through the peephole and breathed a sigh of relief at who was standing on the other side. At least it wasn’t Harry or someone from management.

“Morning, Liam!” she said brightly as she opened the door.

Liam didn’t smile. “Don’t do that Brittany, don’t act like everything’s all right because you and I both know it isn’t.”

She sighed and the smile was wiped right off her face. “Yeah, I know,” she muttered, looking down at the ground. “How did you even know I was here?”

Liam gave her a look. “Come on, Brittany. Gossip travels pretty fast around here.”

She just nodded. She figured she should have known that all of the rest of the group would know what had happened after their drama in the hallway. “Is Harry really mad?” she asked slowly, biting her lip.

Liam shrugged. “I haven’t been to talk to Harry, and he hasn’t left his room yet, so I really don’t know. Do you mind if I come in and talk to Niall? We’ve got to get this sorted, because we’re doing loads of press and shooting a video tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure,” Brittany said, ushering him into the room. “I’m going to go down to my bus and get ready…” she said before leaving. “See you guys later.”

She closed the door behind her and Liam glanced over at Niall, who was presumably still asleep in the bed. He sighed to himself, sitting down on the edge. “You awake, Nialler?”

“No,” Niall muttered, pulling the covers over his head, but just as quickly as he did that, Liam pulled them back. Niall rolled his eyes, but sat up slightly. “What?” he asked irritably.

“You tell me,” Liam said. “Neither one of you had the decency to tell Harry what was going on? You had to let him find out by catching the two of you kissing in the hall?”

“We didn’t mean to -” Niall started, but was quickly cut off.

“Of course you didn’t mean to!” Liam exclaimed, but took a deep breath and looked at Niall seriously. “I’m happy for the two of you, really, I am. But, was it really worth this? Harry’s probably really upset with you.”

“I know,” Niall said, his voice dripping with guilt. “I need to go to talk to him.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, you do. But we’ve got to get ready to go do press now. So hopefully you two can remain civil before you have a chance to talk in private,” he said before getting up and walking towards the door.

“Liam,” Niall called out after him. Liam stopped and looked back at him. “It will be worth it,” Niall continued, with a small smile creeping up on his face. “Harry will get over it eventually, but I’ll do everything I can to be with Brittany for the rest of my life.”

Liam sighed before walking out of the room. “For your sake, I hope you’re right.”

***

Half an hour later, the boys were standing in the lobby, waiting for a car to pick them up that would take them for their very long day of press.

Niall stood with his hands in his pockets and shifted uncomfortably as he watched Harry approach their group. He was the last to arrive, but he didn’t look overly tired or cranky. Perhaps he wasn’t so upset as Niall had anticipated he would be.

Harry gave them a slight nod as he joined up with them and they began to walk out to the car.

“Morning Haz,” Niall tried, looking over at him.

Harry stopped in his tracks and glared at Niall. “Don’t talk to me,” he said angrily. “When we’re out there doing interviews, we’ll act like everything’s normal, but it’s not. You and I are nothing anymore.”

Niall sighed. He knew it had to have been to good to be true. There was no way Harry wouldn’t be angry. “Harry,” he tried again, but Harry just shook his head.

“You fucked my girlfriend,” he said bluntly.

“Technically, no,” Niall said, biting his lip. “I didn’t have sex with her until you said you were done with her.”

Harry laughed in disbelief. “Are you mad?” he asked. “I don’t care when you did it, you were still kissing her in the hallway, and God knows how many times before that.”

“Harry, I’m really sorry-”

“You’re sorry?!” he shouted, inching closer to Niall to the point where he was right in his face. “If you felt bad about it you wouldn’t have even done it in the first place. You’re sorry that I’m angry with you, you’re not sorry you did it. You-”

“Enough,” Paul said, pulling the two boys apart. “I don’t care what kind of drama you’re having, but we’re going to do interviews today so let’s move it.”

The two boys nodded, and continued walking out to the car. There were loads of fans outside the hotel, and the moment the boys stepped outside the doors, Harry plastered a smile on his face and waved at them.

Niall glanced at him. He tried to act as though everything was normal by doing the same, but his heart just wasn’t in it. He didn’t know how he was going to begin to be able to make things up to Harry, and he only hoped that, in time, his friend would forgive him.

***

“It was weird,” Niall said later that evening as he and Brittany sat in his hotel room. They were both sitting on the bed, eating food they’d ordered from room service. They’d opted to avoid the hotel restaurant for obvious reasons. “He was so pissed off, but as soon as we were out in public in front of the fans, and in front of the press, he completely changed and acted like we were best buddies.”

Brittany nodded, looking deep in thought as she took a bite of one of her french fries. “Well,” she said glancing at Niall. “He probably just needs some time to cool off.”

“Yeah, I know,” Niall replied quickly. “But it was just weird how his attitude changed around so quickly. Then once we were back here he darted off to his room so fast. He didn’t say a word to me or any of the other lads.”

Brittany just sipped at her drink and eyed Niall.

“What?” he asked, after a moment of her not saying anything.

“Nothing,” she smiled. “I just love you.”

Niall grinned. “I would kiss you, but I’m eating,” he said jokingly.

Brittany rolled her eyes, but laughed all the same. “I really wouldn’t worry too much about Harry,” she said, turning serious again. “He’ll probably get over it soon.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say,” Niall sighed. “When the tour’s over you’ll leave and not have to deal with him again until Madison Square Garden. Which is months away. I still have to see him every day, and he’s one of my best friends. So I’d really like it if he’d just hear me out and stop being so angry.”

Brittany looked at Niall sympathetically. She felt so guilty and selfish for causing this between the two boys. Every time she tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal, she was reminded that, yes, it definitely was. “Do you want me to try to talk to him?”

Niall shook his head. He didn’t think that would do any good at all. “No, I don’t think so.”

She shrugged. “I’m going to have to go over there anyway eventually… my stuff is still in his room. Including my phone.”

Niall gaped at her. “How are you surviving?” he asked mockingly.

“I’m not,” Brittany laughed. “I haven’t even been able to tell any of my friends how good you are in bed.”

Niall looked down at his near-empty plate of food. “Yeah… you probably shouldn’t do that.”

“What? You want me to tell them that you’re not good in bed?”

Niall rolled his eyes. “No, I mean, telling people about us. I thought you didn’t want this to get out. That was the reason it took so long, right?”

Brittany sighed. “Yeah… I guess you’re right. But it’s not like my friends are going to tell anybody or anything. Either way, I really do need to go get my phone,” she said, hopping off the bed. “Wish me luck,” she said, leaning over to kiss him.

He kissed her softly and gave her a warm smile when they broke apart. “Good luck,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” she said, before leaving and walking down the hall to Harry’s room.

She found herself in very much the same situation as she had the night before. Her heart was pounding, but she knocked on the door before she had a chance to run away.

Harry answered quickly, and looked down at her. “You’ve come for your stuff,” he guessed.

“Yeah,” Brittany said awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with him. “Can I come in?”

“Be my guest,” he said with annoyance. He moved aside and let her into the room.

“Thanks,” Brittany mumbled, stepping inside and quickly grabbing her phone of the dresser. She collected a couple of other things from the room, including her travel bag. Harry just stood there and watched her with his arms folded over his chest.

“Well… I guess that’s it,” Brittany said once she’d picked up most of her things.

“Guess so,” Harry said bitterly.

Brittany sighed. “Harry, look, I’m really sorry.”

“Save it Brittany,” he spat. “You fell in love with him. There’s no reason for you to apologize.”

She shuffled her feet a little. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry it happened like this.”

Harry just waved her off. “Whatever.”

She looked up at him oddly. He seemed to be taking it a lot better than Niall had described to her. “That’s it?” she asked. “Niall told me you blew up at him. Why are you forgiving me more easily?”

“Forgiving you?” Harry asked, raising his eyebrow. “I don’t recall forgiving you. Really Brittany, I couldn’t care less about you. You’ve been here for a month, and in a couple weeks you’ll be gone and I’ll never have to see you again. Niall was one of my best mates, and I never expected this from him. If he wanted you so much, he should have told me. But he didn’t, he went completely behind my back. It was all just a stupid game for him, he wanted what he couldn’t have.”

Brittany took a deep breath as she absorbed what Harry was saying to her. She tried to ignore the bit about it being just a game – surely that couldn’t have been true. She’d seen firsthand how much Niall loved her. “Can you just try to forgive him?” she pleaded.

“No. Now run along back to your boyfriend,” he said, spitting the word ‘boyfriend’ as if it were poison.

She nodded. “Bye Harry,” she said, before closing the door behind her. She sighed she walked down the hall. She hated herself for what she’d done to Harry and Niall. All she wanted was for the two of them to get their friendship back, and decided she’d so anything she needed to make that happen.