Two weeks had gone by and the conversations between Niall and Steph had become longer and more serious. Niall never intended for the conversations to lead back to them discussing how they used to be as a couple, but Steph had a way of eventually getting anything that she wanted out of him and he knew that. He thought he would be able to control it because he had Mae in the picture, but it was impossible.

Niall had never told Steph that he missed her or wanted her back; he would never tell her those things when he was with Mae. But the more he began talking to her, his old feelings that he thought were dead and buried came back little by little, and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. After every conversation, he would tell Louis what they talked about and Louis, as always, had a handful of questions to ask, like “What do you think about that?” or “How do you feel about that?” or “Does that mean you want to be with her?” And Niall never told Louis that he wanted to get back together with Steph, because he didn’t… but that didn’t mean feelings towards her weren’t there.

And he hadn’t told Louis that.

“So,” Louis sighed as he and Niall were sitting on the sand under the hot sun. “What’d you two talk about last night after you and Mae went out?”

“Nothing really,” Niall replied. “Honestly, it was a rather short conversation. She asked about Mae a bit, but nothing too serious.”

“Mm,” Louis said, and Niall knew that he was biting his tongue to hold back what he really wanted to say. “So?”

“So, what?” Niall shrugged.

“What do you think?” he asked, as if he were Niall’s psychologist.

“Don’t kill me,” Niall began. “But…what would you say if I said that…feelings may be coming back?”

Louis turned towards this friend. “I would ask if you were fucking out of your bloody mind. Seriously, Niall?”

“Yes, I’m serious,” Niall said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You like Mae?” Louis questioned. “A lot?”

“Well, yes,” he nodded.

“Then tell Steph to buzz off.”

Niall sat there for a minute, before glancing at Louis. “I can’t. I forgot how fun it was to talk to her. She makes me laugh a lot more than I remembered.”

“Mae makes you laugh all the time,” Louis commented, rolling his eyes. “And Mae doesn’t get on your ass like Steph did, and Mae doesn’t constantly want to pick a fight with you like Steph did if you ever did something wrong. I can’t believe you’re saying this right now.”

“But—”

“No but’s, Niall. Seriously,” Louis scolded, his voice growing louder. “You have three weeks left with this poor girl and you’re treating her like a sack of shit. You’re going behind her back and talking to your ex-girlfriend, and I have kept my mouth shut about it. Enough is enough,” Louis paused, before shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’ve kept my mouth shut for so long. You were totally different at the beginning of the summer when you first met her, and you know that.”

“Louis—”Niall started again, only to be cut off by his friend again.

“There is no excuse as to why you’re acting like an ass,” Louis exclaimed. “I don’t care if you don’t think you’re doing anything wrong; any women in the world would think you’re doing something wrong, I guarantee it. You’re doing something that is going to hurt Mae’s feelings, and that isn’t fair. And you haven’t mentioned one word of it to her, and she’s your girlfriend. She’s supposed to be able to trust you.”

Niall sighed to himself. He looked down at the golden sand, before scooping some up in his hand and letting the grains run through his fingers. He didn’t know what to say, and honestly he didn’t think Louis wanted to hear another word out of him. Louis had never gotten so angry with Niall and he knew that, but he also knew Louis was right. Niall couldn’t even explain how he felt after Louis just yelled at him; he felt as though he had gotten slapped in the face by his best friend.

Louis sat there and waited for Niall to say something in response, and when he didn’t, Louis stood up. He dusted the sand casually off of his swim trunks and picked up his towel. “Let me know when you’re done having your pity party,” he commented before walking back towards the Malik’s house, leaving Niall alone on the sand.

+

After stepping out of the shower, Louis wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way into his and Zayn’s room. He pulled out a pair of white skinny jeans and a blue t-shirt, before slipping them on and combing his fingers through his wet hair. While he was in the shower, he thought long and hard about what his next move was: either to continue to be quiet, or to tell Mae what was going on.

He chose the latter.

He didn’t think it was fair to Mae that Niall had been speaking to his ex-girlfriend. Serious, heartfelt conversations or not, it was still unfair and Louis wouldn’t tolerate it. Mae had become one of his friends, and even though Niall was his best friend, he wanted to tell Mae. If Mae knew something about what was going on in Louis’s relationship, he would want Mae to tell him. And if she never spoke to Niall again, then that would be her choice. But Louis refused to be that person that remained quiet until Mae found out that he had known all along, losing trust in not just Niall, but him as well.

As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he sighed to himself, knowing that telling Mae was going to be difficult. After spending a whole day with Mae, Louis realized that she was a bit sensitive when it came to Niall; he found out how highly she thought of him. Knowing that, it was going to make things harder for Louis, but he felt that this was something that needed to be done because Niall was never going to come out and say it.

“Where are you going?” Liam asked Louis from where he sat in the family room. Louis turned and looked at his friend, his hand on the doorknob.

“I’m running out real quick,” Louis responded, not wanting to say where he was actually going, in fear that Niall would somehow find out. “I’ll be right back.”

Liam didn’t say anything as he turned back to the TV, leaving Louis to his mission. Louis headed out the front door and as he made his way down the porch stairs, he looked over at Mae’s rental house to see that her parent’s car was there, meaning that she was home. He knew that Niall would hate him forever for what he was about to do, but Louis knew that it was the right thing. Maybe he shouldn’t be getting into his best friend’s relationship, but he felt sorry for Mae, especially because she had no idea what was going on.

And as Louis made his way up the porch stairs of Mae’s house, he heaved a heavy sigh. He raised his right hand and knocked on the door, before stepping back. Seconds later, Mae came to the door, and a smile immediately appeared on her face.

“Hey, Louis,” she said happily.

“Hey, Mae,” Louis said, a tiny smile on his face in return. “Can I come in?”

Mae nodded, having no idea what was about to come next. “Sure!”

Louis stepped inside and shut the front door behind him. This was not going to be easy.