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"You're jealous"
The words echoed through his mind mocking him. Et tu, Brute, et tu? Nick always prided himself on being aloof. A social butterfly that flittered in and out of relationships with other people but never really getting attached beyond a quick "call me" here or "see you when I see you" there. There was no way he was jealous over some boy.
Daisy had been with him when he'd scrolled through twitter and seen it. It was silly really, just Liam having a laugh and declaring his love for Niall. He tried to laugh off the strange feeling in his chest when he saw it, it was probably the dodgy fish he'd had for lunch anyway. He must have gone quiet because suddenly his phone was snatched out of his hand and Daisy had laughed at the tweets before looking at him and asking what was wrong. Nick had snatched his phone back and muttered a quick "nothing" before draining his glass of wine and trying to change the subject. That's when she had smirked like the bloody cat that caught the canary and had said the words that now haunted him. "You're jealous"
Word had gotten around his circle of friends faster than he thought possible and they'd all laughed at him and made kissy faces. Some friends he thought to himself, gossipping like gossipping things about his lovelife. No, not lovelife, his "young hot celebrity with benefits". Yeah, that sounded much better. It's not like they'd made any promises to each other, just two guys hooking up whenever they found themselves in the same place. He has to laugh at the tabloids and Tumblr speculating he and Harry had something going on when really it was a different young popstar who caught his eye and wormed his way into Nick's bed. And maybe there'd been a bit more post-coital cuddling and talking than was expected from a casual hook up, but that was just because Nick wasn't cruel enough to kick the boy out of his bed afterwards.
If he'd had any feelings for the boy he'd probably be telling him just what he thought of Liamr's antics, but seeing as they were just two strangers who liked each other's bodies, like a lot, Nick did what he thought was best; he distanced himself and went on with his life ignoring a certain Liam Payne.
You'd think the boy would get the hint when his texts went ignored and his phone calls were sent straight to voicemail, but it seemed he was more persistent that Nick had given him credit for. Nick still read all the texts and listened to the voicemails - just to make sure there wasn't some emergency, that's how he explained it to himself - but he never replied.
It had started to become a routine; read the texts, shake his head at naïve boys with puppy dog personalities and go on with his day. It wasn't ideal, but he made it work and ignored the small voice at the back of his head asking him why it was so important to read the texts straight away when he didn't have feelings for the boy. What he didn't expect was a phone call from an unknown number and the angry voice on the other end demanding to know what he'd done to Liam.Another bark of insults snapped him out of his daze as he tightly replied with a "none of your business, Tomlinson" before hanging up.
Maybe he should have seen it as a sign that more trouble was heading his way, but the inner workings of One Direction had always been a mystery to him. He found himself at a swanky night club face to face with a buzzing Niall, who seemed eager to talk to him. Any other day he'd be happy to see him but he couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by the happy Irishman after what had happened. The "incident" as he'd labeled it. Maybe that was the problem, he himself had a soft spot for the blond and could see how easy it would be to fall in love with him given half a chance. And Liam probably had plenty of chances on planes and in hotel rooms around the world, was probably giving it to his band mate whenever they were bored, just like he'd done to Nick whenever they were both in London and both bored. Nick quickly excused himself and left before Niall had a chance to talk about whatever had caught his interest lately.
Facing himself in the bathroom mirror the following morning was tough. Late nights and early mornings had taken their toll on him, not that he'd admit to having difficulty falling asleep lately. He was startled when the doorbell rang and slowly made his way to the front door while muttering about people who came to visit this early on a Saturday having no respect for normal people.
When he opened the door he was surprised to see a nervous-looking Liam looking back at him.
"Niall said he'd run into you, last night. Just thought I'd see for myself that you're still alive and they haven't just replaced you with a clone down at the station".
Nick couldn't decide whether Liam nervously running his fingers through his hair was endearing or just an annoying tick as he stamped down the urge to reach out and take the boy's hand in his.
"Just been busy working, you know how it is." Nick prayed Liam hadn't kept up with his instagram and twitter accounts or he'd know how much Nick had secluded himself lately in an effort to avoid the singer.
"It felt a bit like you were avoiding me, like I'd done something wrong. That maybe I'd done something for you not wanting to see me, you know, like before...?" And oh lord, he couldn't have looked more like a kicked puppy if he tried.
Nick carefully leant against the door in an effort to look casual and much calmer than he felt. "What we had was fun, but all good things have to come to an end and all that. I'm sure you have plenty of beautiful women and men throwing themselves at you happy to replace me" the like your precious Niall went unsaid.
A flash of hurt ran across Liam's face before he slowly nodded. "Right, if that's how you feel...I guess I'll see you around?" He looked slightly hopeful before nodding to himself and turning to walk away.
Thanking his lucky stars that he was used to plastering on a smile, Nick simply threw back "See you around" before stepping back into his flat.
Closing the door behind him Nick slowly slid down it to sit on the floor. He was soon joined by Pig, who looked up at him before flopping down and resting her head in his lap. "We don't need fit young popstars in our life, do we, girl? No, we're better off without them."
He could almost believe his own lie.