AN: Wow. Chapter 20. I can't believe I've made it this far already. Thank you for 900 reads...it means so much to me.

I love you.

~Alex

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Why the fuck would Niall be calling me? We haven't talked in years, and now all of a sudden he just decides to up and call me out of the blue?

Right as I move on and fall in love again, he's there to rip it all out from underneath as if he knows what he's doing. As if he knew I had fallen in love again and didn't want it to happen. Just when I'm happy and I'm no longer thinking about him, he reappears and pushes me back down that depressing as shit hole.

The worst part was, I didn't even know who to tell.

I couldn't tell Harry because he wouldn't know how to react, and honestly, I didn't know how to react either. Harry knew nothing about Niall other than he's famous and we used to be engaged. I definitely didn't need my now boyfriend worrying about my ex-fiance.

I couldn't tell my brothers because they'd immediately freak out and wouldn't have a clue what to do. They'd either insist that I call him back or just wait for him to call me again. Neither of those sounded ideal at the moment, and I'd rather just throw my phone across the room and sigh in satisfaction as I watched it shatter into a million little pieces.

I definitely couldn't tell McKenna. God knows she'd have something to say and it definitely wouldn't be good. Honestly, I couldn't go to her for anything. The only thing I could go to her for was if I wanted to cry and needed someone to put me down.

Liam sounded like the best option out of everyone. He understood what I was going through and would know what to do. In situations like these, who wouldn't go to their best friend?

"Harry," I walk back into his bedroom, my phone clutched tightly in my hands, "I have to go."

"What?" He sits up almost immediately, confusion filling his eyes, "Why? I want you to stay. Please stay with me, Flower."

My bottom lip slips between my teeth as I walk over to him and sit down beside him, "Liam needs me for something and he said it was an emergency," I look down at my lap as I speak, not being able to meet his eyes as I lie to him.

Lying. It was something that I hated doing, especially to the ones I love. I hated lying and I hated being lied to. But it was just something that came naturally to us human beings. We lied to get ourselves out of trouble or to keep secrets from each other.

And right now, I was lying to keep a secret from Harry that could potentially ruin us.

"Is everything okay, Aurora?" Harry asks me while placing his hand on my back, scooting closer to me.

No. Everything is not okay. Niall just called me and I have absolutely no idea why. What if he says he still loves me or he's calling to tell me he's engaged to someone else? I'm not even sure if I still love him or not. I think I do, but I love you too and-

"Yeah. Everything's fine," I breathe, finally looking up to meet his mint green eyes that have still never failed to take my breath away, "I just really need to go. I'm sorry I'm having to leave."

He shakes his head as his hand comes up to caress the side of my face, "Don't be. He's your best friend. I'd do the same for Louis," he smiles as his thumb moves back and forth across my skin.

"I don't deserve you," I smile sadly, placing my hand overtop of his.

"You deserve better than me," Harry smiles back before lightly kissing my lips, the warmth of his hand leaving the side of my face as he draws his hand away, "I'll see you tomorrow, Flower."

"Bye, Capolavoro," I press one more kiss to his lips before standing from the bed, wishing that I had never gone into his studio and checked my phone.

I'd probably still be snuggled up with Harry in his bed as he kept me warm with the touch of his skin and the look in his eyes. I had ruined all of that the second my feet touched the ground.

"T? Olly?" I call out as I walk into the living room. The television was still on as I see their bodies asleep on the couch. I smile softly as I look at their peaceful faces, pressing a kiss to both of their foreheads before slipping on my shoes. "I love you guys," I whisper as I grab a blanket and cover up Oliver.

As I leave, I make sure to close the door softly behind me, regret and longing filling my body the second I'm no longer inside of Harry's apartment. I couldn't help but let a few tears fall as my mind finally catches up with what's going on.

Niall called me. He called me because he wanted to talk to me. He hadn't left a voicemail or a text message, but he had picked up his phone, pressed on my contact, and he called me.

Should I call him back? What if it was important and he needed me at that exact moment?

Rather than dreading on it, I call Liam the second I'm no longer inside of the building, "Hey, Li. I'm sorry I'm calling you so late, but do you think you can come pick me up? I'm at Harry's."

"Yeah, I'm on my way right now. What's wrong, Rora? You sound upset," he says as I hear the commotion going on in the background, "Did Harry do something to you?"

I sit down on the curb as I look up at the stars, angrily wiping the tears that had fallen from my eyes away, "No. Harry didn't do anything," I breathe out softly.

"Then tell me what's wrong, babe."

"Niall called me."

"I'll be there in two minutes."

The line goes dead as he hangs up and I let out a small laugh. My body begins to shiver as the cold night air surrounds me, wrapping my arms tighter around me, now wishing I really had just stayed inside with Harry snuggled up in his bed.

Liam stayed true to his words when he said he'd be here in two minutes. I sighed in relief as I got into his warm car, looking over at Liam as he stared at me intently, "Are you okay, babe?" He asks me, noticing the tear stains on my cheeks.

"Honestly?" I ask him, "No. I don't think I'm okay."

"Okay. Don't tell me anything yet. We're going to our place and I brought reinforcements," he says, reaching into his backseat and grabbing two small pints of ice cream.

"You're the best, Li," I laugh, leaning over the console to kiss him on the cheek.

Our place was the rooftop of my apartment building. It was the place where we told each other everything and could sit and stare at the city of Rome without any interruptions.

"Were you asleep when I called?"

"No. I was reading my book," he says, glancing over at me as he drives, "Lou was asleep though. I left a note for him in case he wakes up while I'm gone."

I nod my head, feeling guilty all over again for leaving Harry and lying to him. I wonder if he could tell that I was lying, thinking that maybe the reason why I left was because I didn't want to be around him anymore. When in reality, that was the only thing I wanted to do.

I wanted to spend all day wrapped up in his arms, breathing in his familiar jasmine scent and listening to his breathing. I wanted to hear the way his voice pronounced every word and syllable like he was singing a lullaby to a baby. I wanted to feel his lips against my skin as he called me Flower and beautiful over and over again until his throat was raw from speaking. I wanted to tell him that I love him. I wanted him.

I wanted Harry.

"I'll go grab some blankets and I'll meet you on the roof," I tell Liam as he parks his car in front of my apartment building.

He nods his head, grabbing the ice cream from the backseat before getting out of his car.

Knowing I was going to have to face the wrath of McKenna, I brace myself for her words before opening the door, only to reveal that she was nowhere to be found. I notice a note on the refrigerator and pick it up to read it.

Went out clubbing -Ken

Of course, she went out clubbing.

I grab two blankets and some more snacks before taking the elevator up to the roof, seeing Liam sitting on the chairs we had put up here a long time ago.

"Here," I smile at him, handing him his favorite blanket of mine. I sit down in the chair beside him and snuggle underneath the soft fabric of the blanket, taking the small pint of ice cream and the spoon Liam hands to me.

"Start talking."

And so I do. I tell him about the argument Harry and I had in the bathroom. Seeing the look in Harry's eyes as I told him I was afraid he wouldn't find me beautiful once I showed him my body was enough for me to break down all over again as I recalled the memory.

Speaking the words he said to me out loud didn't have the same effect on me as when they were coming from Harry, but they still sparked something deep inside of me that made me feel special. That made me feel loved.

I wondered if maybe Harry loves me. Maybe he doesn't know yet or maybe he doesn't love me yet. Either way, I still love him and he makes me feel loved.

"So then," I pause, taking a bite of my cookies and cream ice cream, "He convinced me to stay with him. That's when I got up to go check my phone and saw that I had a missed call from Niall."

"Damm, Aurora," Liam shakes his head, "You've got two boys tagging along after you."

"No," I mumble as I lick my spoon, "We don't know what Niall wanted. Maybe he was calling to tell me he's engaged to someone new."

Liam snorts as he lets out a sarcastic laugh, "Seriously? Aurora, he hasn't dated anyone. Nobody."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion at his words, thinking for sure that I'd seen some tabloids of Niall with another woman.

There's no way that he hasn't dated at least one other person since we've split. He was an attractive man with the voice of an angel. Who wouldn't be attracted to that? And there were plenty of gorgeous women he could easily get with, his charming smile and gorgeous baby blues drawing anyone and everyone in.

"Hm," I chew on the inside of my cheek, flicking my eyes between Liam and the now empty cup of ice cream in my hand, "I wonder why."

"Well, I know why. It's because he still loves you. Ever think of that?" He raises his eyebrows at me and I roll my eyes.

"That's really not something I want to be hearing right now," I huff in annoyance, tossing the empty cup of ice cream down beside me.

"I know, I know," Liam shrugs his shoulders while giving me a sympathetic look, "but you have to admit, the only reason you two split was because his career was taking off and you weren't going to be able to travel the world with him. It wasn't because you two fell out of love."

I cover my face up with my blanket and let out an aggravated groan, "Not. Helping."

"Let me ask you something, Aurora," he clears his throat, shifting in his seat to face me, "Do you still love him?"

The question I've been dreading to be heard spoken aloud has finally been said, and I knew the answer. I hated myself for knowing the answer and wished love didn't have to be so fucking complicated. My answer was a simple one-word answer, yet the rest of my future depended on that one simple word.

So in other words - it wasn't so simple at all.

Yes or no. That was the only two answers I could give.

If I said yes, then I'm just fucking screwed and there was no denying it. I love Harry. Yet, I love Niall. How stupid and dumb would I have to be to love two people at the same time? My heart really needed to make up its mind.

If I said no, then I'd be lying to myself. How do you fall out of love with your first love? No matter what, they'll always hold a special place in your heart. You can't just easily move on from someone who gave you all of your firsts.

"Yes."

And by that one word, my future was changed. Pushed onto a different path than the one I had been traveling on for these past two years. All because I was in love with two people at the same time.

"You're in love with Harry, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Again with that stupid word. Yes. Three simple letters had no clue how much power they held when put into one word.

Silence surrounds us like a thick and suffocating blanket, both of us having no clue what to do or say next. Who does in a situation like this?

Oh, you know. It's just Aurora and her stupid heart falling for two different guys instead of acting like a normal person and only being in love with one guy. The usual.

"You're screwed."

"Yep," I reply, popping the p.

My heart practically leaps out of my chest as my phone begins to ring, scrambling to pick it up and see who was calling me. "Shit, shit, shit!" I panic as I show Liam who was calling me, tempted to throw my phone over the roof.

"Answer it!" He hisses at me and I frantically shake my head no.

"Fuck no!"

"Answer it, dammit!"

"You answer it!" I toss my phone at him.

He tosses it back to me, the small device fumbling around in my hands before I toss it back to him.

I widen my eyes in horror as he presses the green button, shoving the phone into my hands with a satisfied grin.

"Hello?" His accent rings through my ears as my head starts to spin at the sound of his voice, "Aurora? Are you there?"

"Speak," Liam whispers quietly as I bring the phone up to my ear.

"Aurora?" My throat dries up as he says my name, my brain almost not believing that I was hearing his voice again after all this time, "Aurora I can hear you breathing. Talk to me."

I swallow harshly, squeezing my eyes shut as I open my mouth, "Hi," My voice cracks and I hit my forehead with my fist, completely embarrassed at how this was going so far.

"Hi, Princess."

Oh God, not the nickname. Not the nickname that brought me to my knees every time he used it.

"Hey, Bluey."

And then there was me using the nickname that made him grin like he was the happiest man on Earth. It caused his eyes to sparkle sapphires.

He clears his throat and I knew he was probably pinching his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger, "How have you been?"

"Good, good," I glance over at Liam who was casually scrolling on his phone, "And you? How have you been?"

"Alright, I guess," he replies and I nod my head, mentally facepalming once I realize he couldn't see me.

"That's good."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence fills the line and I feel myself cringing at how awkward we were. I had no clue what to say to him, and I guessed he had no clue what to say to me.

"So," I clear my throat once more, picking at the edge of my blanket, "It's been a while."

He laughs softly and I feel my heart melt at the beautiful sound, "That it has. It's been what, almost two years?"

I hum softly, biting my bottom lip as I hold back a smile, "I thought we promised each other we'd call."

"We did, didn't we?" Niall sighs, probably running his fingers through his hair as he sat back into his chair, "I guess neither one of us has held up our end of that bargain, huh Princess?"

"We haven't," I admit.

I tried calling him when we first split, but the pain of hearing his voice and knowing I wouldn't be able to see him was too much and I couldn't do it.

"I, um, er," he rambles, taking a deep breath, "I miss you."

Like a shot to the heart, I almost double over in pain, tears brimming in my eyes, "You can't say stuff like that, Ni. Not after all this time."

"I know, Princess, I know. But it's true. I think about you every day and-"

"Please stop," I whisper, feeling Liam place his hand on my thigh and wipe my tears away.

"I miss you, Aurora. I've written my two albums about you and every song is about you. I can't seem to get you out of my mind. You're all I think about and you're in my dreams every time I fall asleep," he continues and I feel my heart breaking with each word he speaks.

"Niall, please. Stop," My voice breaks along with my heart.

He falls silent as I chew on my bottom lip, staring into Liam's sympathetic eyes, "I'm sorry."

"Why did you call me, Niall? Why are you calling me after all this time?"

"Because I-" he starts, his voice cracking as if he was crying with me, "I...I'm."

"You what?"

"I'm still in love with you, Princess."

I quickly hang up, throwing my phone down beside me as I collapse into Liam's arms, clutching onto his shirt as I let all of my emotions out.

"It's okay, darling. I'm here," he coos in my ear as he runs his hand through my hair, holding onto me tightly.

Why is he saying this now? Why now? Why after two years is he telling me this?

Just as I'm finally happy again and I'm no longer thinking about him, he comes crashing back into my world and bringing down everything that I had built during his absence. It was almost as if he didn't want me moving on from him. Not now. Not ever.

And he was doing a damn good job of it so far.

"Let's go inside, babe. There's a song I need you to listen to. Then you can decide whether or not you're mad."

That was the day everything changed for good.