Chapter 34
-Alex POV-
Talking to my dads cheered me up but it made me as confused as ever. Did they know what I was meant to do? What was I meant to do? I know I needed to talk to Liam but I don't know if I have the courage to face him or even cause Hope that pain again. I don't know if I have the heart to break them up even though Liam is meant to be mine... I need him.
-Dougie POV-
"Why didn't you let me tell him my theory?" I asked, feeling a little disappointed that I couldn't give the game away. "Because your theory is right, if you were thinking what I think you were thinking..." Danny smiled. "Okay, what was I thinking?" I asked. "You were thinking that Liam is going out with Hope to make Alex jealous?" he guessed and I smiled that he knew me well enough. "Yeah, but why couldn't we tell him?" I asked. "Because they have to figure things out alone, you know, grow up?" he responded. "It reminds me of me and Tom" I laughed. "What? I actually thought you liked Tom at the time" he said confused. "Well, no, I didn't really... Well I did a bit but maybe that was lust" I laughed. "Well, the plan did work in the end though, I was jealous of Tom and I ended up kissing you, remember?" he smiled. "Not really, I recall that I made the first move" I grinned. "You sure about that Dougs?" he smiled evilly while moving closer. I just nodded in response, readying myself for something scary. "Death by tickling it is".
-Hope POV-
I don't know how long this is gonna take but hopefully Alex will act like he normally does and speak up. Just then the thought person came in and I grabbed Liam's hand who blushed. "What's up? Can't handle the heat?" I whispered in his ear. "I can handle anything!" he whispered back and I smiled then looked at Alex who was sat on his bed looking lonely. "What's up bro?" I asked. Well, I sort of knew already and I sort of felt like I was betraying him by being with Liam, even if it was fake. "Nothing, I was just talking to our Dads and they said something that's made me even more confused than before I went to them" he said. "Oh, what did they say?" I asked, "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR...I don't wanna talk about it" he started shouting but went quiet like he was restraining himself to keep calm and quiet. "I'm a bit tired, you guys going to sleep yet?" he asked. "Tired?" I asked Liam. "A bit" he said and I changed into my pyjamas without a shirt. I wasn't doing it on purpose, it was hot tonight. Liam did the same and we climbed into bed. "Night Liam, night Alex" I said. "Night Hope" Alex replied. "Night" Liam said quietly. "What's up?" I whispered. "He didn't say goodnight to me" he said. "Aww, don't worry about it" I said, hugging him.
-Alex POV-
I woke up in the morning and sighed. It was the weekend but I was feeling even worse than yesterday. I felt jealous, jealous of Hope. How could he have Liam and I couldn't, it seemed Hope could get any guy he wants with a snap of his fingers. I sat up in my bed and looked over at the two sleeping boys, both looking so peaceful, they fit perfectly. Me and Liam fit perfectly as well, his hugs were the best, he was the right size, slightly smaller than me and he slotted right into me like a puzzle. I wanted that back. I wanted Liam back...
Hope awoke a few minutes later, well I think it was. I might have been sitting here for half an hour but he saw me staring at him and then looked away. "Hope, why?" I asked suddenly with a tone that I didn't even recognise as myself. "I'm sorry, there's something I need to tell you" he said. "What is it? That this all just some joke to wind me up? Because if it is, it's working and you can stop now because it's not funny" I said. "No, it's about-" he started then stopped when the boy in his arms stirred and awoke. "Morning..." Hope smiled down at him. "Morning, handsome" Liam replied and kissed him. I clenched my fists tight and left the room, what did Hope want to tell me? Who was it about? I pulled out my phone and called Paul. "Wanna hang out? I'm bored" I said. "Sure!" he said happily.
Liam and Hope came down the stairs wrapped in each other. "I had an idea, why don't we all go down to the park today?" Hope smiled. "Yeah, why not? Paul's coming around anyway so he can come with us" I smiled while Liam and Hope didn't look happy about it at all. We all went to the park, bringing along big Liam, James and Kate. "So what we actually doing here?" Kate asked quietly while looking up at the sky. "Just hanging out, except out of school, what do you want to do?" Hope asked. "Let's talk, I'm a little confused about the situation going on" she asked and looked at me and making me look away. Hope and Kate walked off, leaving Liam sitting next to me while bigger Liam and James chatted. "Liam..." I started. "Yeah?" he asked with a bright smile, looking me in the eyes like he wanted me to say something. "Hey guys!" Paul said, announcing his arrival. I sighed at the interruption but turned to Paul. "Hi, how are you?" I asked. "Good thanks" he smiled then kissed me. I was shocked and didn't kiss back. I turned to Liam who had left to go and talk to James and the other Liam. Not exactly the best way for him to find out about this, I'm not even sure I want to try and make him jealous anymore, there has to be another way...
-Liam POV-
He was with Paul! Now I was out of the picture, he was with the guy he wanted. "Hope, finished talking?" I asked, feeling myself getting close to tears. "Yeah, just one more second" he smiled, then returning to talking to Kate. I sat down next to him placing my hand in his. I don't know what to do now. Alex has moved on like I never happened...
"And now I'm with Liam and I'm not really sure about Alex" Hope said. "He's with Paul" I said quietly. "What?!" he asked, even though he clearly heard. "It's okay, we just need to do stuff in front of him and he'll eventually blurt it out" I whispered. "I can change that" Kate said, looking at us seriously. "What?!" I asked, mimicking Hope's reaction. If he gets with Kate then I still wouldn't have him and I might definitely lose him, she didn't know anything about what was going on... "Do it!" Hope said before I could think of saying no. She nodded and started walking towards them. "What are you doing?!" I asked but nearly shouted. "Saving my brother! And you!" he said back a bit frustrated. "We need to talk, I don't have a clue what you're talking about! What's up?" I asked. "I can't tell you or you could get hurt, my family as well" he said looking up to the cloud, holding back tears. "I won't let anyone know I know then, please! I don't want to let you face this alone..." I said putting my hand on his shoulder. "You know, you're acting like a real boyfriend would right now" he half-smiled. "I try my best, now stop changing the subject" I pressed. "It's about Paul, now keep smiling as I tell you this. Hopefully he won't know we're talking about him" he whispered in my ear. I nodded and smiled like he told me to. "Okay, it was him who kidnapped me" he said quietly and I continued to smile even though right now I wanted to cry. "It's okay now but he wants Alex... I know he just wants to use him for his body but I'm gonna save him before that happens" he whispered but it didn't make me feel any better. "I need to tell him" I said getting up. "No, don't you'll ruin everything" he said pulling me back down. "Just relax" he smiled. If he could do it then so can I. "Now kiss me and pretend everything's okay" he smirked. I rolled my eyes and grinned at him, doing as he said anyway. I pulled him in tightly, kissing him full-on. We stayed like that for a while longer than I expected and a few woof whistles could be heard. "You're a good kisser, I'm jealous of Alex" Hope smiled goofily. "Not so bad yourself" I smiled back, hoping that my stomach would stop flipping. "Finished eating each other?" James asked. "Maybe not quite" Hope laughed and I rolled my eyes.
-Kate POV-
Now's the chance I've been waiting for, he might have been with a guy but maybe he's bi? I've liked him for ages, since the day we met and I laid eyes on him but I wasn't as obvious as Lisa and I'm not a user. I like him for who he is, he's just my type, laid-back, sexy, confident. "Great smile" I accidentally said out loud while approaching the thought person. "Who's got a great smile?" Alex said while grinning cheekily at me. "No-one" I said, luckily I has blush on already but something was telling me that he could still tell that I was blushing. "Can we talk for a second?" I asked him and he took a glance at Paul. "Yeah, sure" he smiled and gestured over to the swings, the most romantic part in the park, unless it had a lake. We sat down and started swinging idly. "So..." he said quietly.
We talked about random things for a while, things that just made me smile because it was him saying them but I knew I had to get to the point soon. "I have something to say but please don't hate me for it" I said looking at the ground nervously. "What is it?" he smiled. "I understand that you're single now and... Iwaswonderingifyouwantedtobe myboyfriend" I said, speeding up the closer I got to finishing the sentence. Damn my nervousness. "Huh? A bit slower" he laughed and I nodded then took another deep breath. "I was wondering if you'd like to be my boyfriend because I really like you" I said looking in his eyes as I said it then looked at the clouds after I had finished. "Umm..." he said. "It's fine if you don't, I was asking not telling" I smiled. "No, I know, you don't have to explain yourself" he said and I continued to look up a the sky, waiting for my rejection, blinking back tears that were ready to come out. I looked to my side quickly and he was gone. "I thought so-oh" I gasped because he was right in front of me. "I do" he smiled his dazzling smile and I couldn't believe it. "Really?!" I asked shocked and he nodded, leaning forwards and our lips met. I melted into him while my stomach did a million flips. We pulled away and he was smiling. "Do you want to be with me? I don't want to feel like I'm forcing you... Cause you're like, really amazing and I'm not, maybe-" I started but he put his finger on my lips. "No! Nothing's forcing me, I wanna chance this, you're a nice girl, maybe the one I've been looking for who can make me happy" he smiled and I smiled back. How could I be so lucky?