Liam: "I'm so excited for (Y/N) to get here, I haven't seen her in ages," Liam smiles happily, straightening up the apartment. Niall looks up from the television and the color drains from his face. "Aw! I can't wait to see her, you two are too cute together," Zayn muses, typing away on his phone. "I think I have to go, actually,' Niall blurts out suddenly, jumping off the couch. "What? Why?" Liam asks, slightly insulted. Him and the other boys know very well Niall had no other plans. "I just, I have somewhere to be..." Niall mumbles vaguely, walking towards the door. "Niall-" Harry starts. All of a sudden the doorbell rings and Liam lets you inside, greeting you with a kiss and picking you up in his arms. Niall winces and looks away. He wants to to be the one kissing you. But you're his best friend's girlfriend. He doesn't want to hurt Liam. He figures the only way to get past these feelings is to keep burying them and avoiding you as much as possible. "Harry! Zayn! Lou!" you exclaim, waving to each of the boys. "Niall!" you exclaim, wrapping him in a hug, seeing as he's the nearest one. Niall stiffens under your grip and quickly pulls away. "Hey (Y/N), I was just, uh, leaving..." he mumbles, running his hand through his blonde hair and heading to the doorway. Liam quickly blocks the door and crosses his arms. "Niall, what's up with you? You've been acting so strange lately--especially whenever I mention (Y/N)," he says softly, genuinely concerned for his friend. "Liam, I'm fine," Niall lies, but Liam sees right through it. "Hey, are you okay?" you turn around, noticing the hushed conversation and raise an eyebrow with concern. "He says he is, but he's clearly not," Liam sighs, shaking his head. "Please tell me what's wrong, I'm your BEST FRIEND, Niall." "That's the problem," Niall replies softly. "I've had a massive crush on (Y/N) lately and I want these feelings to go away, but they're not and I don't want to have a crush on my best friend's girlfriend especially because you two are perfect together and I'm trying to bury these feelings but...." Niall lets out a frustrated squeak and shakes his head. "I'm so sorry, Liam," he breathes. Liam doesn't know what to say for a moment, and neither do you. Liam's glad Niall told him and that he hasn't made a move on you, but he's also upset that his best friend has eyes for his girl. "It's okay, Niall," Liam says finally, wrapping the blonde in a hug. "Just promise you won't make any moves." Niall nods, swearing he won't. He hopes he can lose his feelings for you, but looking into Liam's honest and genuine eyes he knows he'd never want to hurt his best friend. So he'll do his very best to bury all feelings he has for you.
Zayn: "I need to talk to you, Zayn," Louis leans on the door frame of the younger boy's room and sighs. His usual smiling expression is replaced with a frown and his blue eyes are edged with worry. "Okay, come on in," Zayn replies, patting a space next to him on his bed. "What's wrong with you, bro? You look...not yourself." Louis reluctantly makes his way to the edge of Zayn's bed, but doesn't sit down. "Promise me you won't get mad?" Louis begins, looking down at his bare feet. "Lou, what's going on?" Louis shakes his head and stares Zayn right in the eye. "Promise you won't be mad and you won't like, punch me or anything," Louis repeats, completely serious. "Lou--" "Zayn, promise me," Louis cuts him off. "Fine. I promise. Now what the hell's going on with you?" Zayn sighs, looking genuinely concerned. "I've been really...distraught lately," Louis begins, not meeting Zayn's gaze. "Ever since last weekend at the beach, when all of us and...(Y/N) and Danielle were there, I've been really frustrated and angry at myself." Zayn listens closely, hanging on to each word. What is he talking about? "Lou, you're not, like...talking about self-harm or anything, are you?" Zayn says softly, looking at Louis' wrists for any evidence. "No! No, I'm not doing that, I'd never, what I'm trying to say..." the blue-eyed boy breathes deeply and shuts his eyes, bracing himself for Zayn's reaction. "I've been crushing on (Y/N) so bad." Silence. "My (Y/N)?" Zayn asks gently, looking at Louis with a slightly hurt expression. Louis' taken aback by the boy's reaction--he'd expected an angry one, maybe even a punch in the face. "Yeah," Louis sighs, sitting down next to Zayn and shaking his head. "I'm obviously not going to do anything about it--she's yours. I'd never do that to a friend, you know? I just wanted to tell you, because I feel awful hiding things..." the elder boy explains. Zayn just stares at a loose string on his sleeve and nods. "Okay," he says simply, void of emotion. "Okay?" Louis asks suspiciously. "Look, I'm glad you told me, but I don't know what you want me to say," the hazel-eyed boy replies. "I'm obviously not happy about it, but I can't change the way you feel. I'll just have to hope you don't act on your feelings." Louis nods and meets the other boy's gaze. "I won't." Zayn nods. "Good."
Louis: "I've got to get to work," you tell Harry and Louis who are sitting at the kitchen table, sleepily sipping cups of tea. "I had fun," you add, winking at Louis and giving him a quick peck before sliding on your shoes and leaving the flat. "Okay, Curly. What's your problem with her?" Louis blurts out suddenly, causing Harry to nearly choke on his tea. "I'm sorry? What problem?" The green-eyed boy asks innocently, wondering if he'd been too obvious. "Don't pretend, Harry. I'm your best friend--we're practically brothers. I can tell you've got a problem with her, now what is it?" Louis asks more firmly, his blue eyes burning into emerald ones. "I don't have a problem with her," Harry replies simply, sloshing around the tea in his cup. "Then why do you keep glancing over at her and looking all angry-like? Did she do something to you or something? And every time I mention her you totally check yourself out of the conversation and give one word responses." Harry sets down his nearly empty mug of tea and knows he's got no other choice than to be honest. Louis can always tell when he's lying--Harry's an awful liar, plus Louis knows him too well. "I don't have a problem with her, really. It's quite the opposite," the younger boy admits. Louis raises an eyebrow, but allows him to continue. "Ever since she started hanging around so often, I've really grown to like her--like, like-her, like-her. A crush. She's gorgeous and funny and smart and..." Louis bites his lip and grips the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white. "I'd NEVER think of taking her from you or anything like that, I love you too much, Lou. Plus, you two are perfect, I just can't stop myself from crushing on her and..." Harry swallows thickly and shakes his head. "I don't know what to do, Lou. I can't keep seeing her and pretending everything's fine. I don't want to fancy her, but I do." Louis is literally speechless for the first time in probably all 20 years of his existence. "Look, I don't blame you for fancying her, obviously," Louis begins, reaching across the table and giving Harry's hand a squeeze. "But just ride out the crush and wait for it to go away, all right? She's really special to me, I don't want to lose either of you." Harry nods slowly, grateful for Louis' understanding.
Harry: "So, are you coming to the beach, Li?" Harry asks, cradling his phone in his ear as he stuffs a towel and sunscreen into his beach bag. "Sure," Liam replies quickly. "Great! So then you, me, Niall, Lou and (Y/N) will all be there," Harry chimes, zipping his bag shut. Liam freezes when he hears your name. He can't bear to see you, especially not with Harry, especially not in a bikini! "Actually, nevermind, I actually can't go," Liam says dumbly, mentally slapping himself for not thinking of a better excuse. Harry pauses, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Liam, you just said you could go ten seconds ago." Silence. "Well, something just came up, so..." Liam lies, gripping the edge of his chair in frustration. "Bull shit, Liam. This is the fourth plan you've cancelled this month. What's up with you?" Harry breathes, genuinely confused. Usually Liam never cancelled plans, but ever since he and you had gotten serious, he'd been a bit off. "It's no big deal, Harry. I'll get over it," Liam replies, vaguely, clutching the phone tightly in his palm. "It's obviously a big deal if it's making you cancel plans and be all distant. Look, I know we aren't the closest of the boys, but you can tell me what's on your mind. You're still one of my best friends," Harry says honestly, willing the older boy to open up. "Fine, I'm so sorry, I really am sorry, I don't mean to be cancelling plans all the time but if I don't then this crush will just get worse and I don't want to ruin what you and (Y/N) have..." Liam explains quickly, his heart pounding. "What are you saying? You've got...a crush on (Y/N)?" the curly-haired boy is certainly shocked, but he's not too phased by it. He knows Liam would never do anything to break you two apart, or back-stab his friend. "I do. I've had it for about a month and I'm just trying to make it go away, I'm so sorry, Harry." Silence. "Come to the beach, then," Harry says simply. "What? But Harry-" Liam protests. "Look, Liam. It's fine you have a crush on her, but she's mine. She's mine, and you KNOW she's mine and you're not going to hurt me or anything like that. I trust you, Li. So, come to the beach." Liam is pleasantly surprised at the reaction, and he finally agrees. "Fine. I'll come to the beach." "Good. Don't forget your sunscreen," Harry replies in a fatherly manner. Liam wouldn't do anything to hurt him, he's too good to ever steal someone's girlfriend, especially not Harry's. Any other guy and Liam might have kicked some ass.
Niall: "You're my princess," Niall coos, nuzzling your neck. Zayn looks over, winces and looks away. "You're my Irish prince," you purr, running your hand through his blonde hair. Zayn cringes and wishes you two really wouldn't do that. He likes seeing his friend happy, he really does. But he keeps imaging himself being where Niall is. He keeps imagining himself nuzzling your neck, you running your hands through his dark hair, kissing your lips...Zayn quickly shakes away the thoughts that have been pegged in his mind for the past few days. No, he scolds himself. (Y/N) is Niall's. She's not yours. You can't have her. You don't steal other guys' girlfriends, especially not Niall. Adorable, Irish, perfect Niall. Jealousy fills Zayn's veins and he bites his lower lip to keep from shouting in frustration. He sees you in Niall's lap, your lips against his from the corner of his hazel eyes and that's it. He quickly punches a pillow and jumps up, storming out of the room. Footsteps trail behind him. Niall. "Zayn! Sorry about all that PDA, we didn't mean to make you leave," Niall says shyly, honestly. "It's fine," Zayn replies, in a tone suggesting it's not fine at all. "Zayn." the blue-eyed boy grabs the other boy's wrist, turning him to face him. "Look, Niall. It's fine. I'll just go watch TV in my room," Zayn shrugs, his eyes trained on the ground. "What's wrong, Zayn? Be honest." "Nothing's wrong." "Don't lie to me." "Nothing's WRONG," Zayn snaps, yanking his wrist out of Niall's grasp. Niall takes a step back, looking like a kicked puppy. "God, I'm sorry, Niall. I didn't mean to snap at you it's just, I've been so angry and jealous and awful lately..." Zayn sighs. "Zayn," Niall says gently, surprised to see his normally tough friend opening up. Niall places a reluctant hand on Zayn's shoulder, and Zayn doesn't pull away. "I've just been so jealous of you and (Y/N) and it's awful and I've just been having dreams about her and it's so wrong..." Zayn explains, looking genuinely apologetic. "Oh," Niall replies, not sure of what to say. "I'm just SO jealous that you're the one who gets to kiss her and hug her and stuff and I just..." the toffee-skinned boy shakes his head in frustration. "Maybe you don't fancy her? Maybe...maybe you just want a relationship like we have? Maybe you're jealous of that?" Niall offers, attempting to brighten the situation. Possibly, Zayn thinks, but doubtful. "You're right, Niall," Zayn lies, giving the blonde a hug. "Let's just forget this ever happened." Niall nods slowly, a bit skeptical. "How bout we go find you a girl? Tomorrow, we'll hit the clubs. Boys night out. Sound good?" Niall smiles half-heartedly. Zayn nods. "Sounds great."
-Jasmine❤