I Thought You'd Care
Chapter 11: Like Like
Chapter 11: Like Like
Harry’s POV
As we talked and laughed on the way to Nell’s house, I slowly let go of my anger at Niall. She was just so great to hang around with that I almost forgot about what they had been doing when we got back.
We pulled into her driveway, and I gasped. Her house was not at all what I expected it to be. It had a bit of a garden [yard] out in front, but the grass was kicked up and there were holes everywhere. There were two bikes leaning up against a fence—one smaller, used one, one larger new one—and a broken down car in the driveway. The house was two stories, but it didn’t cover a whole lot of area. I turned to her. “Well, it was really nice meeting you.”
“Thanks, Harry. You too.”
She turned to open the door when I grabbed her arm. “You’re going to keep in touch, right? You’d better call me. I want to hang out again.”
Smiling, she answered. “Yeah, of course.”
I couldn’t just let her leave, though. So I stammered. “Before you, uh, you know, leave, I was wondering, could I, like, maybe, have a goodbye kiss?” I drew out the last syllable a bit. Shit, Harry. I thought to myself. You’re smooth. You’re smooth. Why the fuck can’t you talk to one girl? God damn, man.
She bit her lip and drew a tight smile. Wow, I fucked that up. I thought. “Um, yeah, sure.” She said, sounding really uncomfortable. She gave me a stiff kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later,” She said.
“Call me,” I responded, grinning at her despite our awkward moment. She closed the door and I drove away, watching her walk slowly into her house.
Nell’s POV
I slowly turned the doorknob, not overly eager to be home after the amazing night I’d had with Niall. We had only known each other for less than a day, and already we were fooling around like best friends. Or more than best friends, I don’t know. We kissed once. And then there was some sort of huge sexual tension thing going on when we danced, but he had made it not awkward and then we just ate some food. I loved being around him.
But then, there was the whole Harry thing. Because I liked him, too, and he had asked me to kiss him, but I couldn’t do it. Harry was a great kisser, it was true, but the one with Niall had just been so much better. Maybe it was the circumstances. I wasn’t sure. I almost felt slutty for kissing two guys in the same day, but kissing isn’t really a big deal. It would be one thing if I had sex with both of them. Which didn’t happen.
At this point, I realized that I had been standing at my door for at least two minutes, so I slowly opened it, trying to make as little noise as possible. I walked into the kitchen, expecting my mother to be there, waiting for me, but I found only Clyde. “Hey, little bro.” I said. “Where’s mother?”
“She said she was going with a friend for lunch. I missed you! Where did you go?” He said, his mood shifting with every word. I couldn’t blame him, though: he was six.
I tried not to let my anger at my mother get the best of me. On one hand, I couldn’t believe that she had left a six year old alone, especially in our shady neighborhood, but on the other, it was my fault, too. I had spent the night at Niall’s flat. I should have come back. Or maybe not. I deserved fun, too, right?
I shook my head. I wasn’t normally this conflicted about anything. “I made some new friends. And I slept over at their house.”
“What are their names? I want to meet them! Can I meet them?” He asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“I don’t know, kiddo. I don’t know if they’ll come over here. Well, their names are Harry, Niall, Zayn, Liam, and Louis.”
“They’re boys?” He asked incredulously.
“Yeah, little man, they’re boys.”
“Did you kiss them?” He asked, his eyes wide.
How do you lie to your little brother? “Yeah, guy, I kissed them. I kissed Harry and Niall.”
He dropped his jaw. “Ew! That’s gross. Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know. It might have been a bad idea.”
“Do you like them? Do you like like them? You can’t like like two people, can you?” He was still gaping at me.
“I don’t know…I might like like them, Clydio. You know Niall? I think I like like him. But I’m not sure, and I don’t think he likes me back.” I couldn’t believe how pathetic I was, talking about my crushes to my little brother.
“What about Harry?” This kid wasn’t going to let up on me.
“Well, I don’t know, but I might like like him, too.”
Harry’s POV
As we talked and laughed on the way to Nell’s house, I slowly let go of my anger at Niall. She was just so great to hang around with that I almost forgot about what they had been doing when we got back.
We pulled into her driveway, and I gasped. Her house was not at all what I expected it to be. It had a bit of a garden [yard] out in front, but the grass was kicked up and there were holes everywhere. There were two bikes leaning up against a fence—one smaller, used one, one larger new one—and a broken down car in the driveway. The house was two stories, but it didn’t cover a whole lot of area. I turned to her. “Well, it was really nice meeting you.”
“Thanks, Harry. You too.”
She turned to open the door when I grabbed her arm. “You’re going to keep in touch, right? You’d better call me. I want to hang out again.”
Smiling, she answered. “Yeah, of course.”
I couldn’t just let her leave, though. So I stammered. “Before you, uh, you know, leave, I was wondering, could I, like, maybe, have a goodbye kiss?” I drew out the last syllable a bit. Shit, Harry. I thought to myself. You’re smooth. You’re smooth. Why the fuck can’t you talk to one girl? God damn, man.
She bit her lip and drew a tight smile. Wow, I fucked that up. I thought. “Um, yeah, sure.” She said, sounding really uncomfortable. She gave me a stiff kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later,” She said.
“Call me,” I responded, grinning at her despite our awkward moment. She closed the door and I drove away, watching her walk slowly into her house.
Nell’s POV
I slowly turned the doorknob, not overly eager to be home after the amazing night I’d had with Niall. We had only known each other for less than a day, and already we were fooling around like best friends. Or more than best friends, I don’t know. We kissed once. And then there was some sort of huge sexual tension thing going on when we danced, but he had made it not awkward and then we just ate some food. I loved being around him.
But then, there was the whole Harry thing. Because I liked him, too, and he had asked me to kiss him, but I couldn’t do it. Harry was a great kisser, it was true, but the one with Niall had just been so much better. Maybe it was the circumstances. I wasn’t sure. I almost felt slutty for kissing two guys in the same day, but kissing isn’t really a big deal. It would be one thing if I had sex with both of them. Which didn’t happen.
At this point, I realized that I had been standing at my door for at least two minutes, so I slowly opened it, trying to make as little noise as possible. I walked into the kitchen, expecting my mother to be there, waiting for me, but I found only Clyde. “Hey, little bro.” I said. “Where’s mother?”
“She said she was going with a friend for lunch. I missed you! Where did you go?” He said, his mood shifting with every word. I couldn’t blame him, though: he was six.
I tried not to let my anger at my mother get the best of me. On one hand, I couldn’t believe that she had left a six year old alone, especially in our shady neighborhood, but on the other, it was my fault, too. I had spent the night at Niall’s flat. I should have come back. Or maybe not. I deserved fun, too, right?
I shook my head. I wasn’t normally this conflicted about anything. “I made some new friends. And I slept over at their house.”
“What are their names? I want to meet them! Can I meet them?” He asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“I don’t know, kiddo. I don’t know if they’ll come over here. Well, their names are Harry, Niall, Zayn, Liam, and Louis.”
“They’re boys?” He asked incredulously.
“Yeah, little man, they’re boys.”
“Did you kiss them?” He asked, his eyes wide.
How do you lie to your little brother? “Yeah, guy, I kissed them. I kissed Harry and Niall.”
He dropped his jaw. “Ew! That’s gross. Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know. It might have been a bad idea.”
“Do you like them? Do you like like them? You can’t like like two people, can you?” He was still gaping at me.
“I don’t know…I might like like them, Clydio. You know Niall? I think I like like him. But I’m not sure, and I don’t think he likes me back.” I couldn’t believe how pathetic I was, talking about my crushes to my little brother.
“What about Harry?” This kid wasn’t going to let up on me.
“Well, I don’t know, but I might like like him, too.”
8/19/13