"Stop eating the batter!" I yelled as Niall once again tried to stick his hand in the mix. He'd already eaten so much of it that I had to keep making more. This was the third time I had to add things and it was taking a lot longer than it should. I couldn't help but laugh though "And you're spilling it everywhere too! Niall! You know I'm starting to remember why I stopped inviting you over for tea"

"But it's delicious!" Niall said, as if that excused his behavior. Or, at least that's what I think he said. His mouth was full of my cake batter so I wasn't too sure what he was saying. He looked really cute though with his cheeks all puffed out and that cheeky smile on those perfect lips….

"Nope, not gonna start thinking of that this time" I wasn't supposed to have said that out loud

"Thinking of what?" Niall asked licking the remaining batter off his fingers

"N-nothing. Just thinking out loud… Oh look the oven's ready" I said as a distraction. Niall seemed a little suspicious, or rather curious, about what I had been thinking but he let it go to my relief. He helped me get the batter into the cake molds and into the oven.

"How long does all this take again? I want cake now!" He whined like a little kid but stepped back away from the oven. I was starting to think he was doing this not because he actually thought this but rather to just be cute. He was already cute so that didn't seem right…

"Kitty!" Niall yelled as I slipped in some of the batter on the floor while in my daze.

I closed my eyes and braced myself. I felt pressure against my side but it didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would have. Or it should have if my memory was correct. I wasn't the most coordinated person and had slipped and fallen once before… okay more than once, and I remember it hurting a lot more than it did now. I opened my eyes to see what had lessened the pain and what I saw made me blush.

As I lay there I realized that the floor hadn't hurt me because I hadn't hit the floor at all. Under me, instead of the hardwood I had been expecting was Niall looking up at me. He was flat on the ground but when he saw me turn to him he used the hand he had been rubbing his head with to sit up. And that's when I noticed where his other hand was; on my waist.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worry written all over his big blue eyes

"Yeah…" was all I managed to say. This was a bit overwhelming for me. Not only had Niall practically thrown himself on the floor so I wouldn't be hurt but he was extremely close to me. He was holding me very firmly as if worried that if I got out of his grip I'd hurt myself again. And I was literally on top of him right now. So close that I could feel his chest rise and fall under me. His heart audible too, or maybe my heart was beating so loud that I thought it was two. He was so close, our faces only a foot away, and getting closer…

And of course this was when Lexi, Harry and the rest of the boys decided to make an entrance.

"So is this what you do when I'm not around?" Lexi asked as Niall and I lifted ourselves from the ground in a rush. "We just wanted to know how much longer the cake was gonna be"

"But we can go if you want. Leave you two alone. All you have to do is ask" Harry said staring at Niall the entire time. They kept making faces at each other so I guessed they were having some kind of silent conversation. Unfortunately for me Lexi's conversations were never silent.

"Wow Niall your back is really dirty! How long were you two rolling around on the floor? You'd think you would take your blazer off at least but hey to each their own. Also you two-"

"Come on" I said placing my hand over Lexi's mouth and dragged her out of the room. She didn't fight me there but I was sure if I'd let her she would have stood there and embarrassed me for hours.

"What?" she said as soon as I let her go

"Stop saying things like that!" I said extremely embarrassed as I could hear the boys laughing in the kitchen. All but one that is

"Oh what like I'm the one who pushed you on top of him and made you stay there for a while before you got up. Admit it you were comfortable."

"…Shut up" was all I said as I sat on my couch as Lexi smiled triumphantly

"I just don't see why you don't just ask him out. It's not that hard"

"Because… It's more complicated than that okay Lexi"

"Why though?" She asked catching my attention. She came closer and whispered, so the boys wouldn't hear us, for my sake I guessed. She looked serious which I found strange so I listened in more closely. "Mel, let me explain it to you this way. You like him. You want to date him. You can't date him unless one of you asks out the other. You don't want to ask him out yourself so it'd be up to him. He can't ask you out because you take every chance you get to make him think you don't like him like that. Long story short, if you don't ask him yourself or tell him you like him you two will never be together"

She stayed quiet letting that sink in, and it was sinking like a rock. I never really thought about it that way, but she was right. I needed to tell Niall how I felt but that was easier said than done. Niall had always been the guy I wanted, even when I had dated other guys. Eventually we ended up breaking up because I didn't think it was fair to the guy that I thought about Niall so much. It truly wasn't fair

"Well this isn't fair"

"Life isn't fair, Sweety" She patted my leg and stood up and started walking towards the kitchen.

I heard Lexi's heels as they slowly became quieter until they got to the kitchen. I didn't really feel like going back in there yet. The cake still had to cook for another while and I wanted to think some more. What Lexi had said had really struck a nerve. It was painful to think of it that way but she was right, if I wanted Niall I had to tell him how I felt.

But what if he found it awkward to be around me because he didn't feel the same and decided not to be with me anymore. As much as I wanted to be with Niall there was always that possibility of us not making it. And as much as I would love to call Niall mine, even if only for a while, I would much rather have him as my best friend than the guy I once dated. I let out a deep sigh and rested my head against the armrest.

"You okay?" Niall asked and sat down next to me. He wasn't exactly close but it still sent a chill down my spine. I didn't lift my head but just nodded. As sure as I was that I didn't want to lose Niall I was also sure that every time I heard his voice it made me melt and that feeling was not going away anytime soon.

"I'm sorry" he said in a soft voice that made me look up. This time he was looking down, at his feet, almost as if he were ashamed

"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault that I'm a klutz"

"No you're right only you would find and trip on the one spot in the whole kitchen that was slippery. But I'm the one that got them dirty in the first place" Niall said turning to me

"I spilt some things too you know you don't have to blame yourself. And even if you did make all the mess I wouldn't have fallen if I had just been paying attention. And besides I wasn't even hurt, I should be thanking you rather than you apologizing"

"You're the best" he said and hugged me. It wasn't as if he'd never touched me before, the incident in the kitchen is witness to that, but I still felt unprepared for this.

I didn't really know what else to say so I just hugged him back. We stayed there for a little while, probably longer than we should have, but it felt… right. He had always been there for me and I knew he always would be. I also thought of what Lexi had said. I wanted more than anything to be with Niall, and this is how I'd always pictured us. But it wasn't right.

"Hey Mel, I think your cake is done" I heard her call from the kitchen

Niall let go of me and stood up holding out his hand for me.

"Coming" I replied but didn't move. I just stood there and stared at Niall. He was so perfect, everything I had ever wanted in a guy, yet I knew then, I wouldn't tell him how I felt. It wasn't because I was shy but rather afraid. I had almost forgotten how much fun I had with Niall and how much I cared about him and I didn't want to lose that, he was too special.

I always thought people who didn't go out with someone because they didn't want to "hurt their friendship" were just trying to think of an excuse to say no but they were right. I loved Niall too much and I would much rather stay friends with him than have us date for some time and never speak to each other again. I'd decided, no matter what, I wasn't going to date Niall.