C10 Chapter 10

I get home around ten at night, to find both my parents in the living room watching a movie, and my brother in his own room, looking at something on his laptop.

“Hi.” I say after I open the door and knock on it, just to be polite.

“You know you’re supposed to knock before you open the door right?” he asks, but I shrug and walk in either way. “What would you have done if I was jacking off?”

“Oh please, I know you only do that at night.”

He looks at me with a freaked-out expression.

“Yeah, I’ve heard you and it’s really disturbing. You should try to be more quiet.” I say and sit down on his bed.

“So what can I help you with?” Jason asks, pausing his show to look at me.

“Can you tell me why you’ve never liked Jasper?”

He looks at me with a curious expression. “What brought this on?”

I shrug and take off my blazer because I’m getting a bit too warm. Or maybe it’s the wine.

“So I went on a double date tonight. With Niall and Poppy.”

“And how did that go?” he laughs, trying to lift up my mood.

“It was…fine.”

“And what does this have to do with the fact that I don’t like your boyfriend?”

“Well, Niall said that he’s taking advantage of me because I have money. And I thought that this might be the reason you don’t like him as well.”

“I’ve never noticed that he takes advantage of you. But if Niall did, then it must be true.” He concludes.

“So why don’t you like him then?” I push. “Please, you never told me.”

“Look, it’s my problem with him.”

“Jason, you’re my brother and he’s my boyfriend. You need to tell me.”

He sighs. “I just don’t like him as a person okay? That’s all.”

I squint at him. “Are you sure?”

He nods. “Yeah.”

I still don’t buy his bullshit, but I leave him be, because if I don’t get my makeup and heels off as soon as possible, I will faint. Honestly, the one thing I hate most after a long day, is having to remove my makeup.

As I stare at myself in the mirror while I clean my face, Niall’s words keep running through my mind.

“Honestly, you’re a girl with so much wasted potential”

“If we’d met under any other circumstances, you’d fit the description.”

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? And why does it bother me so much? And, most important of all, why did it make me feel sort of…good?

I shake my head and wipe the last remains of my foundation off, before I splash water over my entire face. I shouldn’t let Niall’s words get to me, first of all because it’s Niall, and second of all because I’m with Jasper, and if I trust Jasper, then that’s all that matters.

As I get in bed later that night, I can’t help but ask myself if I really trust Jasper. And as I fall asleep, I’ve already made up my mind.

I’ll bully Niall on Monday to tell me what he meant with all those cryptic sentences.

***

Okay, so Monday might be a little too far away for my liking. This is a sentence I have never, and will never, use again in my entire life.

My leg keeps bouncing up and down as I sit at my desk, trying to focus on the chapter I have to read until Monday, but I can’t. It’s Saturday night and I’ve been thinking about what Niall said ever since I woke up.

I close the book and grab my phone. I send Jake a text.

Nicki: where would I hypothetically find Niall Harrison on a Saturday night?

Jake: * eyes emoji *

Jake: what

Jake: are you

Jake: talking about

Nicki: I said HYPOTHETICALLY

Jake: biiiiitch

Jake: idk, let me text Louis

Nicki: and what do u say??

Jake: that I need to find him so we can work on the project?

Jake: idk

Nicki: u da best

Jake: u know u have some explaining to do right?

Nicki: yeah :D

I don’t even think about it twice as I stand up from my desk and wander into my closet. I pick out a blue dress shirt, a pair of jeans, my favorite black bomber jacket, and a pair of black Zanotti sneakers.

My phone beeps from the other room.

Jake: he’s with Louis and some friends in a park in their neighborhood

Jake: here’s the location

Nicki: love uuuuu

I click on the map he forwarded me from Louis, and see that it’s ten miles away, so I think about it for a second. Knowing myself, I’m well aware of the fact that I won’t let this go, and that forty more hours until Monday are going to be the death of me.

So I grab my pepper spray from the bedside table and throw it in my bag, along with my phone and rape whistle, just in case.

I grab my car keys as I leave my room, and don’t even bother to tell my parents where I’m headed as I pass them while I make a quick stop in the kitchen.

To my surprise, my mother asks me where I’m going.

“To meet up with some friends.” I say as I grab a water bottle and head towards the main hallway.

I pull my hair up in a bun in front of the mirror by the door (in case someone tries to grab me by my hair and rape me, I don’t even know), and then I exit the house.

It’s not that cold outside, thank God, so I don’t have to wait in the car until it gets warm for me to drive.

I place my phone in its holder and start the car, ready to go question Niall.

As I wait at the stoplight two miles away from their location, I ask myself whether I’m an actual psycho, and whether I should be doing this. I don’t get the time to find an answer, because the lights turn green and the asshole in the Honda behind me is already honking.

I flip him off through the window and step on the gas, following the directions.

I finally arrive in front of a park, and I can see some people on the benches smoking and laughing, so I park on the opposite side and double check that I locked the car.

I keep my purse close to my body as I cross the street and head towards the benches. There are five guys there, and I instantly recognize Zayn, Louis, and Niall.

When Louis looks up and sees me, he’s confused for one moment, but then greets me with a smile. Niall is shocked, and the rest of them just grin at me as they pass what seems to be a joint amongst themselves.

“Nicki, what brings you here?” Louis asks.

“Uh…I actually came here to talk to Niall.” I say, looking around.

Now everyone’s shocked.

“You came in this neighborhood to talk to me?” Niall asks in a mocking tone.

There it is.

I roll my eyes and nod. “So…can we talk somewhere more private? It’ll only take a second.”

Niall looks at Louis in a weird way, but then he stands up and walks over to me. I follow him towards a swing set where he sits down, but I remain standing.

“So do you want weed or a good fuck?” he bluntly asks.

“Excuse me?” I say, appalled, placing a hand on my chest.

“Oh come on Nicole, the only reason a girl like you would come to a neighborhood like this is for drugs or to get laid, because the posh guys from your part of town can’t last longer than five minutes.”

I want to say ten minutes, but I refrain myself because he’d laugh.

“I came here to sort something out.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

“It’s about what you said yesterday after dinner.”

“Oh God.” Niall sighs, shaking his head. “Just let it go.”

“See, I can’t. I need to know why you don’t trust Jasper, why you think he’s taking advantage of me, and what did you mean when you said that I have so much wasted potential.” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Did you really travel all the way here just to ask me this?”

I nod. “Yeah. And I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

“Jesus, you’ve really got a big ego, don’t you? Can’t you just accept the fact that not everyone is kissing your ass?”

“That’s not even the point!”

He cocks his head and looks at me. “Then it means you also have your doubts about your boyfriend.”

I swallow, not saying anything.

“And judging by the look in your eyes, I’m not the only one who’s said something negative about your boyfriend.”

“Okay, so my brother won’t tell him why he doesn’t like him. But you can, right? You don’t give a fuck about my feelings and whether I’m happy or not, so just tell me what I need to hear.”

Niall looks at me for a few moments, not saying anything, before he finally opens his mouth.

“I like Jasper. He’s a good friend of mine. But the fact that he forgot his wallet, and the fact that you said it’s not the first time it’s happened, means he’s taking advantage of you. And I’ve also heard him in the locker-room, telling Matt that he won’t bother getting tickets for the Manchester United game next week because you’ll pay anyway.”

I frown. “He said that?”

Niall nods. “I wouldn’t lie to you, because, as you’ve pointed out, I don’t care about your relationship.”

“Then why are you even telling me this?” I ask, and can’t help but notice that his eyes wander from my face to my legs, before they come back up to meet mine.

“Because I don’t like it when guys treat girls like shit.”

I can’t help but snort. “Oh, so now you’re a perfect gentleman? What about all those times you yelled at me?”

“Please, don’t tell me that got to you.” He says, rolling his eyes.

“It didn’t, but I’m just saying. You shouldn’t go around giving everyone relationship lessons when you don’t even know what that means.”

“If I remember correctly, you’re the one who came here and asked me to explain myself.”

I sigh. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“What was that?” he asks, cupping his ear.

“Fuck off, you heard me.” I say and sit down on the swing right next to his, pulling out a cigarette.

He does the same, and after I light mine, I continue to question him.

“So what about that wasted potential thing?”

I see him rolling his eyes as he lets out smoke. “It means that you’re…I don’t know how to say it. We were talking about Poppy, and how she’s not my type, right?”

I nod. “Right.”

“And then I said that I don’t like her that way because I like to chase someone, someone who will make me work for it.”

I nod again. “And then you said I’d fit the description.”

Niall turns in his swing to look at me, and I do the same.

“Why?” I ask. “You dislike me as a person.”

“Because you act like you’re something you’re not.”

I frown. “What? How would you know that?”

“Because I notice things. Like, when your friends suggest a really fancy restaurant they want to try out, so scrunch your nose but you don’t comment. Or when Jasper suggested to go to Dubai during winter break, you weren’t even excited about it, yet you still agreed.”

“And what am I supposed to make of this?” I ask, speechless because he actually noticed all these things I wasn’t even aware of, but matched my thoughts nonetheless.

“Your parents have a lot of money and you want to live up to that typical posh, rich girl stereotype everyone knows, when in reality you don’t even care about that stuff, but you’re too scared to admit it because you’ll disappoint people. And maybe, you also have this fear that most of the people in your life are friends with you just because of your parents’ wealth.”

I frown. His words are so on point that I have no idea what to say.

“And that’s probably why you made the effort to come here and question me. You’re insecure about this and you’ve never had someone point it out before.”

“That’s why you don’t like me? Because I’m pretending to be something I’m not?” I ask, not even sure why I care about Niall’s opinion.

He nods. “And by wasted potential I meant that you’d be exactly my type.”