“Oh, good. You’re still awake,” Steph commented, not even bothering to say hello.

“Why are you even awake this early?” Niall asked, knowing it was well near six in the morning in England.

“Work,” she responded. There was a silence between them for a few seconds. Niall looked at Louis, who gestured to him as if to ask her what she wanted.

“Why are you calling me?” Niall wondered. Being the nosy one Louis was he stood up and sat down next to Niall on his bed, leaning in towards the phone to hear what Steph was saying.

“I told you I would call you,” Steph said. “I just wanted to apologize.”

“Of course she does,” Louis grumbled under his breath.

“For?” Niall asked, even though he knew the answer. He just wanted to hear Steph actually say it, because he knew she was never the apologetic type.

“For being a bit rude when I said that we shouldn’t see each other anymore since you were going away. I’m…sorry.”

“Well, then why would you do it?” Niall shrugged, as of right now not having any sympathy or mercy for Steph. He tried to make himself sound unaffected by her apology and by the break up that happened nearly two months ago. He wanted her to know that he had moved on to better things, that being Mae. He wanted her to know that he didn’t need her in his life as a girlfriend or as someone to confide in like he used to. He wanted her to know that she no longer meant as much to him as she once did. He wanted to do to her exactly what she did to him.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do at the time,” she said, heaving a small sigh. She sounded as if the subject troubled her and that she wasn’t sure how to respond. “You were going away for three months, Niall. Three. That’s a long time. That’s three months we wouldn’t speak much, or see each other, or anything. And I didn’t want to have to go through that.”

Niall rolled his eyes, shocked at what he shot back at her. “Then why are you speaking to me right now? I still have a month left being away. How is this okay for you, then? You still can’t see me, or speak to me much, or do anything with me.”

Louis raised his fist and smiled, proud of his friend, causing Niall to smile to himself as he waited for Steph’s response.

She sighed softly again. Her voice was quiet and weak, as if Niall’s response surprised her. “I don’t know. I just miss you, I guess.”

Even though he was sure he didn’t want Steph back (right now, anyway), the way she said she missed him made his stomach drop the tiniest bit. He never really heard her say things like that when they were together because they saw each other all the time and were barely apart. And she sounded sincere and sad, which made Niall feel slightly bad for her.

“Well,” he said, before taking a long pause. This time he was the one with the soft tone. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Well, maybe we can catch up. You know?” Steph suggested. “I just want to know what you’re up to and what you’re doing. Is that okay?”

Niall heard Louis sigh loudly, unhappy with Steph’s response. Niall looked down at his hand that was placed in his lap, and his thoughts wandered to Mae. He didn’t think she would be very happy with him if she knew what he was doing, but at the same time he wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong. He didn’t find anything wrong in catching up with Steph as a friend and nothing more.

So, not thinking he would regret it, he nodded to himself. “Yeah. That’s fine.”

+

The next morning, Niall opened his eyes slightly before squeezing them back shut due to the blinding sunlight streaming into the room. He groaned quietly and turned on his side, and he opened his eyes. Harry and Liam were both missing from their beds, and Niall glanced through the open bathroom door to see Louis and Zayn were also out of their beds, their room empty. Niall sat up slowly and after he reached for his phone and checked the time, his eyes widened.

“Shit,” he said loudly, suddenly becoming fully awake and hopping out of bed. It was 12:30 and he was supposed to be at Mae’s house at 10. He had talked to Steph for nearly three hours last night, and surprisingly, it was nice. They caught up on what had been going on for the past two months, they laughed about a few things, and Niall told her that he was seeing Mae. Even though Steph informed Niall that what he was doing in a relationship with a girl who would be so far away in a month was ridiculous, but Niall didn’t care; he liked Mae no matter what, and where she was from didn’t mean anything to him at the moment.

He threw on a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt from his suitcase, before racing into the bathroom and brushing his teeth and hair, deciding to put a shower on hold because he knew Mae would be wondering where he was. Niall drowned himself in his bottle of cologne, before grabbing his shoes and running down the stairs. As he rounded the corner and arrived in the kitchen, he saw Mae sitting on the couch with Doniya and the rest of the guys. She looked up at him once she felt his presence in the room and smiled softly.

“I’m so sorry,” Niall apologized as he made his way towards the family room where all of his friends (and girlfriend) were. “I really over-slept.”

“I figured you would,” Louis commented, giving Niall a look that made him feel slightly guilty. “You were up pretty late last night.”

“It’s fine,” Mae said, and Niall knew she was serious. “It’s not like we had major plans. I just came by to see if you were okay since you didn’t answer my texts or anything.”

Feeling even guiltier about the situation, he plopped down in the chair. “I’m so sorry.”

“Do you want to go out to lunch since you haven’t eaten?” Mae asked curiously as she stood up from the couch and picked her purse up off the ground. “You should probably eat something.”

“Yeah,” Niall smiled. He didn’t think Mae would ever know how much he appreciated the fact that she cared about the littlest things, like making sure he got a bite to eat and was completely satisfied. No one else ever did that besides his mom, and knowing that there was a girl out there who cared for him like his mom did was the best feeling.

Mae nodded and after she said bye to Doniya and the guys, she walked over to Niall and waited for him to grab the car keys. But before they walked out the door, Louis stood up from the couch. “Niall, I wanna ask you something.”

Niall turned around slowly, knowing it was going to be about last night. He sighed softly. “What?”

Louis walked into the living room, away from the others, and gestured for Niall to follow. Niall dropped his hands to his sides, and after telling Mae that he would be right back, he followed his friend into the living room and held up his hands. “What?”

“You’re going to tell her about this, right?” Louis wondered as he looked at his friend, a stern look plastered on his face. This was the most serious Niall had ever seen him, and he wasn’t sure why.

“What’s got your knickers in a bunch?” Niall asked, his tone gaining an edge to it.

“Mae’s a really nice girl; you know that,” Louis commented. “And, honestly, I don’t think it’s right that she has no idea what’s going on. You know the guys wouldn’t approve of this either.”

“We talked on the phone to catch up; nothing happened,” Niall responded. “I didn’t tell her I missed her, I didn’t compliment her, I didn’t flirt with her. I did nothing, Louis.”

“I’m not saying you did,” Louis said with a small shrug. “But just talking can lead to other things, I’m sure. I’m not stupid. Steph is going to be up your ass constantly now. That’s how she’s always been. She’s like…a leech. She’s a pain in the ass.”

Niall knew Louis was right, because that’s how Steph had been ever since they starting dating. She was constantly bothering him and wanting to talk to him, but he figured some girls were just like that. Whenever he was out with friends she had to get a hold of him, whenever he was gone for the weekend she had to know what he was doing; it was almost as if she didn’t trust him, and that slightly bothered him.

“I know, but we were just catching up. It was nothing serious,” Niall said with a sigh. “Can I please go now? I already over-slept, and now I’m making Mae wait even more.”

“It didn’t seem like it mattered if you did last night,” Louis said rudely, and Niall wouldn’t admit it, but Louis’s response stung. “But sure. Have a great time.”

And with that, Niall turned on his heel and walked out the front door with Mae.