Chapter 9

"What’s your problem?" I snap at him, and he shrugs.

"It’s just that you eat in a very annoying way."

I frown, and literally refrain myself from jumping him.

"First of all, how can someone eat in an annoying way? Second of all, mind your own fucking business. And third, I wasn’t complaining when I saw the inside of your mouth while you were chewing on that pizza, okay?"

Niall points to my hands. "Your pinky is out."

"So what? Mind your own business. At least I don’t eat like a fuckin’ caveman."

"Okay, you’re making a scene." Jasper tells me and places his hand over mine, like it’s supposed to calm me down or something. It does quite the opposite though, so I stand up.

"I have to take a bit of fresh air, otherwise I’ll flip the table and slap this bitch."

Jasper looks at me with a very serious expression on his face. "Babe, just calm down okay? Let’s just finish our dinner."

"I don’t even know why I agreed to this thing in the first place. Knew my appetite would be ruined if I saw your face." Niall mumbles, and Poppy looks at me with a pleading expression, as if she were begging me not to tell him why we were actually here.

"Well, my appetite is ruined every single day at school when I see that mug of yours." I retort, even though it’s a really weak comeback.

"Oh, good. Preschool comebacks. You’re cool!" Niall says in a mocking tone, and I decide to drink my wine in one gulp instead of bothering with him anymore. He’s unreal, and I can’t deal with that, so I ask for another glass of wine, before I get back to eating.

The awkward silence is quickly broken because Jasper starts up a conversation with Poppy, which gives me the opportunity to eat in peace.

It’s half past nine when we finish everything and ask for the bill, thank God. I can’t believe I actually managed to survive two and a half hours so close to Niall Harrison without ripping my hair off. Although I’m pretty tipsy right now, I manage to find my wallet in my small purse.

"Hey babe? Can you pay for me? I forgot my wallet at home." Jasper says, and smiles at me.

"Why do you forget your wallet so often?" I ask, shaking my head, but pull out enough bills to pay for his part as well anyway.

I see Niall looking at us in a weird way, that doesn’t express disgust, but something else I’ve never seen in him.

The waitress takes the bill so I down the last drops of my third glass, before I stand up along with the rest of them to put our coats on.

"So…how are we splitting up into the cabs?" Jasper asks as we walk towards the exit. It’s a bit chilly outside, but I can endure it even though my legs are bare. We walk into the small alley next to the restaurant so we wouldn’t bother the people walking by. We light up a cigarette while Jasper looks for an Uber, and so we wait. It’s a bit awkward, but I can’t be bothered, so I focus on my cigarette.

"Can you drop me off on your way home?" Poppy asks Jasper, because coming with me would be a detour.

Jasper nods and kisses me goodbye, and I smile at Poppy as she gets in the car, before they’re off.

One thing I didn’t really think about was that I’d end up alone with Niall in an alley next to a restaurant we just had dinner in.

To my surprise, he doesn’t turn around to walk away, no. He just continues smoking, sneaking a glance at me every once in a while.

"What?" I ask as I try to find an Uber for the third time.

He slips his hands into his pockets. "What what?"

"Why do you keep looking at me?"

"Am I not allowed to?"

I look up at him this time, to see if he’s high or something.

"You are but…I was expecting an answer along the lines of "I don’t have Animal Planet on TV at home" or some shit like that."

And Niall actually laughs at that, but then turns serious once more. "No… I was just wondering."

"Wondering what?"

He shrugs, and looks towards the crowded street. I roll my eyes.

"Come on, say it now. I’m curious to see what you come up with this time." I say and give up on finding an Uber right now.

"Curiosity killed the cat Nicole."

I roll my eyes, but keep looking at him insistently. He eventually sighs, meaning that he’ll tell me what he keeps wondering about, although I’m a bit surprised that I actually care.

"Okay, well. I just think that it’s funny how you don’t even notice that your boyfriend is taking advantage of you."

I’m taken aback. Of all the things I thought would come out of his mouth, this was definitely not it.

"What? Are you serious?"

Niall nods, and I lean back against the brick wall because my feet are starting to hurt from the heels, and his words actually hit a soft spot. I’ve always had this fear in the back of my head, but I’ve never paid attention to it.

"And why do you care?" I ask, trying to defend myself, and Jasper as well.

"I don’t. You just asked me what I was thinking about."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms, before I prop one leg on the wall behind me. "Well, I now know not to do that ever again."

"Say whatever you want, but I saw the look on your face just now. You’ve had your doubts."

"You have no right-" I try to argue, but he interrupts me.

"You said it yourself, that he often forgets his wallet and so on. Not to mention that he never even defends you when I insult you." He adds.

"Oh, and that’s his fault?" I sarcastically ask, trying to hide the fact that I am actually shocked by the truth he’s currently speaking.

Niall purses his lips, taking a step closer. "Just saying, that’s all. I mean, you are the ‘golden couple’, so I just said what I observed tonight."

"Why don’t you just mind your own business?" I ask, my voice getting shakier, from the wind, as well as from the fact that what he’s saying is actually kind of true.

"Hey, I’m just trying to help."

I let out a laugh. "Oh right, Niall Harrison trying to help me. Am I dreaming?"

"Believe whatever you want. But if I were your boyfriend, or anyone else’s for that matter, I wouldn’t treat you like that. Or let someone else treat you badly."

"Are you drunk? I think those beers might have gotten to your head." I say, not looking him in the eye. "You’re not even my friend and yet you still like to insult me on a daily basis."

"That’s because I can’t help it."

"Why not though?" I ask, biting my lip. "What did I ever do to make you hate me so much?"

He shrugs. "I don’t know. Maybe just from the way you treated me over the past couple of years."

"The way I treated you? Are you insane? I’ve never done anything besides maybe spill water on you! But that’s it!"

After a few moments of silence, I speak up again, filled up with adrenaline:

"And you have no right to judge my relationship when you haven’t been committed to someone, ever!" I yell, pushing him away from me, because I just noticed how close he is.

He catches my hands, but it’s not a harsh gesture, it’s actually kind of gentle.

"Open your eyes Nicole. Even though I don’t like you as a person, that doesn’t mean you deserve to be taken advantage of. No one does."

I free myself from his grip. "Yeah, and you know that."

"You have no idea what I’ve been through, so get that snobby head out of your ass. No one has a perfect life like you do, okay?"

"Fine, I’m sorry. And for the sake of our sanity, I’m apologizing for the past few years. Let’s just…get over it, okay? I’m tired of this."

Niall’s expression changes, and he comes closer without saying anything, so I feel the need to add one more thing.

"And…about that girlfriend thing. You should really get with Poppy, she’s a nice girl."

He scrunches his nose. "She’s a good fuck, but she’s not my type."

"What do you mean she’s not your type? If you fuck her, then she’s your type."

"She’s not the type I’d stay loyal to."

I look at him confused. "That doesn’t make any sense."

"It does. I don’t like someone who already wants me." I can smell the alcohol on his breath, and now it’s clear why we’re having a seemingly normal conversation.

"That’s stupid. You don’t like to feel wanted?" I ask, exhaling, and the white steam coming out of my mouth hits his face.

"I wouldn’t know what that feels like in the first place."

I roll my eyes. "Because you don’t like nice girls who like you, apparently."

"No, I like nice girls. But I like the chase more." He says. "And if we’d met under any other circumstances, you’d fit the description."

I feel something igniting in my stomach, so I gulp and try to pull further away from him, but my back is already against the brick wall.

"You’re drunk." I say, barely audible, and he places a hand on my naked thigh.

"And honest. Honestly, you’re a girl with so much wasted potential."

Before I can ask him what he means by that, my phone buzzes, and I pull it out. I can still feel his eyes on me and his hand on my leg as I see a notification from Uber that a driver is coming my way.

"What did you mean by that?" I ask when he pulls back to let me go.

"What did I mean by what?"

"That I’ve got so much wasted potential?"

He steps away, putting his hands in his pockets, ready to walk away.

"I guess we’ll never know."