Niall's POV~

"Stop barking!" I shouted at the wall, squeezing my eyes shut tighter. That fucking dog had started barking probably an hour ago, and hadn't stopped. 

I closed my eyes tightly, and put a pillow over my head. It was before noon, I could tell you that, and that is way too early to be waking up on a Saturday.  

I tried to sleep, pulling the comforter up to my chin. There was still that damn dog, barking right outside the window... 

"Okay! You win! I'm up! Just screw it all!" I yelled, sitting up and throwing the blankets off of me. 

As soon as I had shouted, the dog stopped barking. I shot a dirty look at the window. "Stupid mutt." I muttered, realizing that there was no getting back to sleep after this. 

I shivered as the cold air hit my bare chest. God, it was freezing in here. Mum would always make sure I had enough blankets if it got cold... 

No Niall. Don't cry. You aren't a child, so stop it. 

I wiped the tears from my eyes. It had taken me a while to get to sleep last night, and I just ended up crying over my fucked up life. I just hope Liam didn't hear me, or he will think I'm a wuss or something.

I walked to the bathroom, which was connected to the bedroom, and turned the shower on, waiting for the water to heat. I then undressed and stepped in, letting the hot water alert my senses. 

What am I going to do? I wondered as the steaming water washed over me. I couldn't stay here forever, and surely I was intruding in Liam's house. I hardly knew him, and he was letting me stay for free! Who could possibly be that nice? I was just glad he wasn't one of those homophobes who would have beat me up on the spot when I told him that I was gay. Instead, he gave me a hug and offered me a place to sleep. I'm not complaining, but he really didn't have to do that. Though it did feel really nice knowing that someone cared.

I stepped out of the shower, and found a towel in a cabinet. Quickly, I dried off and changed into a white t-shirt and some baggy jeans, not even bothering with shoes. The scent of bacon played at my nose, and my stomach growled.  

Gosh, I haven't eaten since yesterday morning! All day I was nervous about telling my mum.... so I didn't eat lunch or anything after that. And when I told her... she had been in the middle of cooking dinner.  

I headed out of the bedroom, making my way towards the kitchen. There, I found a shirtless Liam cooking breakfast. 

"Good morning, Niall. I hear that the neighbors dog isn't your favorite?" He asked, grinning cheekily at me. I nodded and sent a small smile his way. He continued cooking as I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do with myself. Liam seemed to notice my discomfort, for he said "Just sit over there, if ya want." and pointed at the table. I carefully pulled out a chair and watched him cook. 

Liam was fit, there was no doubt about it. All he was wearing was a pair of sweat pants. You could tell he went to the gym regularly, because his body was toned, with a six-pack peeking out from above the waistband of his pants. His hair was messy, but what could you expect? It was a Saturday morning, after all. He hummed a tune as he worked, and his eyes focused intently on whatever he was doing. His eyes. Those brown eyes practically melted me when I looked at them for the first time. Even through the darkness, I could tell that they were the softest, kindest eyes that I had ever seen. When he smiled, they became brighter, and his expression mirrored that of an energetic, excited puppy.   

"It's ready!" Liam said cheerfully, startling me and interrupting my thoughts. I quickly looked away from him, trying not to look like I had just creepily checked him out, and he set my breakfast down in front of me on the wooden table. He then returned to the stove to prepare his own plate. 

I began to eat rapidly, as I always do, and by the time Liam came back with his plate of bacon and eggs, I had finished. 

"Whoa." he said, sitting down in the seat across from me. He was staring wide eyed at my empty plate, and I blushed, looking down at my lap. 

"No, its cool. There is more on the stove if you're still hungry. I ended up cooking the whole package of bacon because it was about to expire. Help yourself." He said reassuringly, and I immediately got up to get a second serving. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

I ended up eating the whole plate of bacon. It was no big surprise to me, but Liam was shocked.  

"I've never seen someone eat that much before in one sitting! And you do this all the time?" He asked, staring at me with eyes big as saucers as I ate my last strip of bacon. I nodded quickly, amused at his surprise. He just stared. Suddenly, we heard a phone ringing.

"It's not me." Liam said. I noticed that the noise was coming from my backpack that had been left in the living room last night. 

I stood up from the table, and hastily walked into the living room. I spotted the dark green material of my back pack stooped on the couch, and quickly dug into it searching for my phone. I finally found it,  pulling out the small item and reading the screen as it vibrated. The caller ID read "Sean". I grinned happily and hit the green answer button. 

Sean has been my best friend ever since I moved here to London. He was from Ireland, too, and quickly helped me fit in. We remained best friends for about nine years, until he had to move back to Ireland last year. We are still close, and keep in touch, but it feels like we've grown apart.

Sean was the first person that I came out to. He accepted me fully and completely, saying "Well, if you've been gay all this time, and I haven't had a problem with you, then why should I have a problem with you now?" I was ecstatic that day. That was the day that I knew I could trust him with anything. 

"Hullo?" I asked, bringing the phone to my ear. I casually walked down the hall, pausing in the middle of it. Liam pushed by me politely, sending a small smile my way, and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Taking a shower I assumed, as moments later I heard running water coming from his bathroom.

On the other end of the line, I heard shuffling sounds, and then that familiar voice I recognize as my best friend's. 

"Niall, mate, how are ya?" Sean asked. I could hear laughter in the background, and then a door slammed and all the background noise went away.

"Well..." I say, unsure of where to begin. I wasn't sure if I could answer this question. I know that telling your best friend a secret shouldn't be hard, but I really didn't want to tell the story again. He already knew that I was gonna tell my mum about my sexuality, but he didn't know when. I guess it won't hurt anything to tell him, I mean, what do I really have to lose?

I began reciting my story, but not even half way through, I lost it.

"She called me a f- a fa-" I couldn't bring myself to say the harsh word. The wounds were still fresh in my heart, and damn did they hurt. Huge sobs escaped my lips as I found myself crying for the third time in less than twenty-four hours.

"Oh, Niall, are you okay?" I heard Sean whisper from the other end of the line. All I could do was stutter out a "N- No." Before another wave of sorrow hit me. I continued to sob.

"Where are you right now?" Sean asked, still whispering soothingly. I could just imagine the look of concern on his face. He hated it when people cried.

"Th- This guy let me stay with him... He's really nice... But Sean, it hurts so bad." I say.

"What hurts Niall? Did someone hurt you? What hurts?" Sean asked, concerned. I could barely whimper out my response.

"My heart." I whisper. My hands were shaking terribly, and my phone dropped onto the wooden floor beneath me. I didn't even notice I was on the ground until this moment, but frankly, I didn't care. I sat there and wept, and all the while Sean was urgently yelling my name from the phone.

I reached out with trembling hands and ended the call. I didn't want to talk anymore.

Liam's POV~

As soon as I finished showering, I dressed quickly and towel dried my hair, not even bothering to fix it. Saturday was usually a lazy day for me, so there was no need. 

I stepped out of my bedroom, humming a cheery tune, when I heard it. 

I looked down to see Niall sitting on the floor with his head in between his knees, weeping even harder than he had been last night. I fumbled to the floor next to him, shocked by his sobs.

"Niall! Niall, what's wrong?" I whispered, rubbing his back soothingly. I already had an inkling of what the issue was, I just wanted to know what had provoked it. He seemed okay this morning, so what could have caused his sudden change in mood? He didn't look up, and his breath came out shakily as he tried to compose himself. Just when I thought he would speak, his body shuddered and another sob escaped his lips.

"Shhh it's okay, everything is gonna be okay." I whispered gently. I continued to mutter consolations into his ear, until he finally calmed down enough to speak.

"Th- that was my friend." He said, gesturing at his cell phone that was lying on the floor.

"Okay..." I said, urging him to continue. He took a deep breath before replying.

"I-I tried to tell him about... ya know..." He said, trailing off. I nodded. He had tried to tell his friend about his mother.

"And then this happened." He whispered, tears streaming down his face.

I really wasn't sure what to do. I hardly knew him, so how was I supposed to comfort him? But it was my resposibility. He had no one else to turn to.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, putting a hand on his back. He shook his head lightly, pulling his knees up to his chest, as the tears welled up in his eyes.

"How about some T.V.? To get your mind off of things?" I asked. I really didn't have any more ideas. Who am I? Dr. Phil? I couldn't really be expected to talk him through it, and I didn't know him well enough to not say something that might make it worse. Thankfully, he nodded slowly, agreeing to my plan.

I stood up swiftly, and reached out a hand to help him up. Niall lifted up his shirt to wipe the tears from his face, before accepting my hand. I pulled him up and lead him to the living room.

I picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and began to scroll through the channels. Niall sat on the couch with his knees brought up to his chest, watching me with distraught blue eyes. His face was pink and puffy from crying, and his blonde hair was messy from him running his fingers through it. I bet that he was a really great person before all of this, but now all that was left was this broken boy sitting on my couch. When I looked into his eyes, all that I saw was sorrow and heartache, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Do ya like "Friends", Niall?" I asked, when I finally found something worth watching. He gave me a curt nod, and I selected the show.

I sat down on the couch next to him and watched the show for a while, until I began to feel cold. I grabbed a blanket that was lying on the end of the couch and draped it over me.

"You can share this with me Niall, or I could get you another blanket if you want..." I questioned, looking over at the Irish lad.

"Sharing is fine." He said weakly, glancing at me with his sad, blue orbs.

I lifted up the blanket and the blonde scooted closer to me. I draped it over the both of us, and we sat on the couch like that. Then, about fifteen minutes into the episode, Niall nuzzled into my shoulder.

I looked down to see that he had fallen asleep. I smiled; he looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. As he slept, there was no sign of that broken and battered boy who had been crying on the floor in the middle of my hallway. No, what was here now was a peaceful soul, free from harm as he slumbered.

What had happened to him was terrible, and now he was shattered. Sorrowful and pained was what he now was, and without some sort of light, he would stay like that. 

I began to doze as the episode ended, but one thing was clear to me. I was going to mend Niall's broken heart. No matter what.