"You could have stayed away, but the universe had other plans for us."

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Chapter 11:
Here's to comebacks

Louie huffed discreetly before putting an empty smile to hand a mother the bag with the toy her child wanted.

He usually didn't enjoy his job very much simply because it felt like an overused routine. It had no excitment, no thrill. It was just plain. However it payed nicely since it was in a better part of town and that, sadly made up for everything else. So he endured it, because it was a necessity.

"Enjoy!" Louie waved until they walked out before falling over the counter with his arms and resting his face in the between them, grunting.

He was tired, annoyed and he couldn't stop thinking about Harry. He planned to find him. To figure out all this built up antecipation to simply know more about him, to listen to him talk, because there was something so peaceful about the way Harry talked.

"Louie!" Someone called behind him.

He turned concluding it was Michael and he was right. His boss stood close to the door frame of his office waiting for Louie to spot him.

"Come here." He motioned with his hand and Louie, finding it odd, walked over following the man inside.

"Close the door." He said as he sat in his armchair and Louie did so, sitting across the desk after.

"What is it, Mic?" He rubbed his hands together. This sort of situation was unusual.

"We need to talk." He declared making Louie immediately unravel the scenarios.

"What about?"

"I have to be honest with you. Bad days are coming. We are going to have a lot of buget cuts around here, and you have been slacking off-"

"You're firing me." Louie interrupted rolling his eyes, with a smile of desbelief.

"Will you just liste-"

"You are firing me."

"Louie, just-"

"Aren't you?"

"Well, ...yes."

"Fuck you, Michael. Fuck you." He got up and shouted in his face, pondering the possibility of throwing his chair to the man's head.

"I'm sorry. We can't afford to keep you, Louie. Plus, you always smell like hash. It startles the costumers."

"You know I need this job."

"I'm sorry, Louie." He said, but the furious boy was already making his way to the door. "Don't you want your last pay check?"

So he stopped right in the spot, and pondered. But there was no arguing. It was't smart to deny it, obviously.'

So he turned around and snatched the paper off Michael's hand before walking out of the office, and the store, completely pissed.

Before any panic started to sink in.

●

Niall woke up at ten a.m. sharp that dat feeling well rested. He took a warm shower, got dressed and ate breakfast before turning on his computer.

Although he was in a good mood that morning, he remembered that he dreamt of Eileen again last night.

Since the last time he saw her, he actually started feeling better. He still longed for her, and thought of her, specially when he was in the shower but not on an obcessive tone. He didn't stalk her online anymore.

Witnessing the sight off her still fragile over their relationship gave Niall some perspective. It wasn't just him who hurt. She hurt too.

And that was weirdly reassuring.

Ready to go up to Liam's flat, Niall gathered his things. They hadn't talked since yesterday when Liam had left unexpectedly and he didn't answer any of Niall's calls or texts. But that was usual for Liam.

He didn't mind it though as he knew Liam was coping with unresolved issues and Niall knew how unresolved issues could drive a person mad.

With his computer in hand and his keys on the back pocket he exited the apartment carelessly strolling down the hall to the elevator.

"Niall." The boy jumped. His computer fell off his hand and his heart jolted, as he turned around to spot the person that scared the heck out of him.

He tried to regain his breath until he realised who had called him. "Eileen? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry I scared you." She said with a smile on her face and after went to reach for the computer just as Niall did.

Inevitably, their hands collided liked magnets, making the two freeze on the spot.

Eileen looked up to Niall's blue eyes and he did the same back at her deep brown ones. Niall's glance softned.

She looked so pure and perfect, her hair cascading down her shoulders and her cheeks rosy.

A smile ghosted her pink lips before she reached down and grabbed the computer for him, and as they stood up she handed it to Niall.

"Thank you." He looked down and slid it off her hands politely, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm glad I found you. It even occured to me that you might have moved or something." Her voice had a perky tone to it, but not one that sounded real. It was a tone that someone would use to try and avoid touching the subject they really came to talk about.

"Nah, still living here." Niall said looking at the walls, the carpet, anything but her, fidgetting with the zip of his jacket.

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Hell, I don't know what is it that you want..." she was rambling. Making little sense of what she was saying. "I know this isn't my place. I don't even know if it could be-"

"Eileen, why are you here?" Niall raised his head and looked the girl in her face, his tone decisive and clear unlike before.

She stopped talking, she looked startled. "I don't know what you want... in your life. But it doesn't matter, you should know anyways..."

"Know what?"

"That-... will you follow me?" She asked a sad smile landing on her lips and she looked Niall intensely with starry eyes.

"Follow you?"

"Yes. Follow me. Will you?"

"I don't know-" But Eileen was determined. She grabbed his hand on instinct and looked into his eyes.

"Please." She mouthed.

"Okay." He agreed.

●

Niall drove to where Eileen directed, struggling to take conclusions on where exactly they were headed.

His mind loudly threw questions around. What was he doing? What did she want? Why was he letting this mess get messy again?

But the nervous stirring building in the pit of his stomach told him that all this may be important. Even thought he didn't know what it was yet.

Eventually they pulled up in front of a building, on the nicer part of town.

Eileen walked out and Niall followed her to the entrance of the building.

She had a key to the entrance and they quickly got inside and into the elevator.

The place was nice. It had yellow walls and wooden floors, everything well polished although it looked like an old building.

"Are we going to your apartment?" Niall concluded after a while.

"Yes." Eileen answered right away. She didn't look particularly calm. Her breathing was heightened and she was picking at the skin around her nails with her teeth, plus fidgetting with her fingers most of the car ride.

The elevator opened at floor five and Eileen walked out, choosing the correct key, and sticked it inside the first door on the hallway.

The door was opened but she looked hesitant. "I want you to know that you can walk out... at any time." Her words were decisive but drenched in sorrow.

"You're scaring me." Niall whispered quietly as he got closer to her, and looked into her eyes.

She swung the door open and walked inside leaving Niall to do the same and close the door on his way in.

She disappeared to inside of the house as Niall looked around, after closing the door.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and examined the artefacts Eileen kept around. Nothing looked familiar.

Why had she even move back to Bradford?

"Niall?" Her sweet voice said his name and he turned to look at her.

And he couldn't believe what he saw.

"What the hell?"

●

Liam woke up with the sound of shattering glass breaking on the floor.

He looked up from the couch to examine his surroundings.

He was still in Louis' flat.

Soon he noticed broken glass on the floor and a olive skined boy bent down, picking it up.

"Zayn, you're up." Liam's raspy morning voice startled Zayn.

"Liam, you're still here!" He commented surprised as the other boy walked up to him, sporting a blank tank top that made his muscular inked arms ever so noticable and black boxers with a bulge. Zayn gulped as he noticed Liam's morning boner.

"Do you have a brom? It'd do the job better." Liam said but Zayn looked unfocused, his face lightly flushed, his eyes trail the hunk up and down

"Job, yeah..." Zayn said before nibling down on his lower lip.

Liam soon caught his gist, smirking as he witnessed the riddle that was the beautiful boy standing in front of him actually checking Liam out.

"Zayn." The boy drifted out of his daze feeling hot. "Do you have a broom?"

●

Louis twisted the key to his apart and swung the door open. His chest was flaming. He was angry, and frustrated and...

It was shit. He freaking out.

He looked up as he closed the door. "Guys?" Louie said when he found Liam and Zayn way to close to each other, a weird energy surrounding them.

They clearly didn't hear Louis walk in, as their faces turned in sync to look at the other boy.

"Louis! What are you doing home so early?" Zayn stepped away from Liam, cleaning off imaginary dust.

"Zayn, we're fucked." Louis said, closing the door and walking further inside.

"What? Why?" He asked as he examined Louis' body, the boy plopping down on the couch face first.

"Michael fired me." Louis grunted before screaming into one of pillows close to him.

"Why?" Zayn got closer to the couch where Louis laid face down.

"Bullshit, that's why." Louis spat with a tense jaw.

"How are we gonna pay rent?" Zayn took a hand to his temple, looking like he was deep in thought.

"I have two months covered tops." Louis sat up slowly. "Do you prefer to be starved or homeless?"

"You'll find another job." Zayn broke out to reality and tried to reassure him.

"I'm so pissed, and fucking done and..." a phone rang and it made Louie stop talking. He had recognized it clearly as he grabbed his phone from his pocket and looked at it, his expression shifting to confusion.

He got up and entered his room, staring at the screen of the device in his hand as he closed the door behind him.

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QUESTION #1: What did Niall see in Eileen's flat that made him say "What the hell?"?

A/N: Heyah! Sorry for the short chapter I just wanted to update :)

See you next chapter!