little do you know: the december drabbles // niall horan au

day 31: new year's kiss (in which it's just the beginning)

Mona honestly didn't want to deal with drunk college students blacking out because they didn't know how to space out their drinks. She also didn't really want to be working on New Year's Eve but she supposed there were worse things in life.

Apparently, she thought too soon, because Carter was suddenly by her side, leering at her in that shrewd way of his and Mona cursed the stars for sending him her way. "What do you want now, Carter?" she asked sardonically, making sure to throw in an eye roll for good measure.

Carter literally reeked of alcohol, and Mona was about to tell him to fuck off before her thought process was being cut off by the words coming out of his mouth. "What's up, princess?" He was grinning, making eyes at her, and Mona thought she might barf. He must've thought he could get away with it because there were only a handful of patrons left in the pub now, everyone opting to go to a friend's house for free beer and to widen their chances at getting laid.

She'd been resisting the urge to punch Carter in the face when she saw it, that fond glint in Niall's eyes, the look he'd always reserved for her, except this time, it was directed to another person. As she craned her neck to get a better view, she found that it was Cleo he was talking to, the girl from the hospital, and Mona didn't even have the time to even think of a proper reaction before Carter was closing in on her, both of his hands pressed to the counter on either side of her waist.

"So," he grinned deviously, the stench of his breath hitting Mona's face and she swore she almost did barf. "Who are you kissing at midnight, princess?" When she glanced at the clock, she realized it was only ten minutes to midnight, and she didn't want to enter the New Year being pursued by a perpetual creep.

"Don't call me that," Mona gritted, attempting to shove him away but he'd pushed her back into the counter, a bottle of bourbon crashing to the floor in the process. "Carter!" she gasped. "Don't be such a fucking—"

She didn't get to finish because Carter was suddenly being yanked back, Niall's fuming features appearing from behind him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Niall ground out, his fingers curled tightly around the collar of Carter's shirt.

"Oh shit!" someone squealed from behind the counter. "Bar fight!"

But Mona wasn't listening to the commotion, because she couldn't stop staring at how the plane of Niall's back looked with his plain white t-shirt, or the way his pants were slung a little low and when his shirt lifted up, the slight divots of his hipbones were visible. Niall was tall and lean, and probably really strong because his biceps bulged slightly and his shoulders were broad, and his neck was a thick column that was perfect for her lips. He had huge hands and long fingers, too, and Mona could see from the way they were wrapped around Carter's collar that—oh shit.

"Niall!" Mona snapped out of her reverie, legs propelling her forward just in time to stop Niall from tossing Carter into the shelf filled with bottles behind them. "Stop!" she screeched, prying Niall's hands away and finally getting a look at the deep flush staining his skin, jaw clenched in his rage. "Stop."

But Niall was much stronger than her, shaking out of her grip and yanking Carter by the collar once more. "Listen to me, you piece of shit," Niall threatened, eyes hard, and Carter looked so frightened he might've pissed himself. "Next time you touch her, or any girl, I'm gonna make sure you have no teeth left in that fowl mouth of yours. You hear me?" With one last glare, Niall shoved him into the wall, and Mona took the opportunity to grab him and steer him in the opposite direction, towards the back door.

"What are you doing? Do you want to get arrested?" she hissed, sending Jingle, who'd been lingering by the sidelines, an apologetic look over her shoulder before pushing Niall down the dimly lit corridor that led to the back door, where they were out of sight from the rest of the pub and Niall could calm down in peace. "Are you okay?" Mona asked a bit breathlessly, because Niall was giving her that intense stare again, the one that made her hair stand on edge and sent the blood in her body draining out of her head.

"Are you okay?" he asked, snapping out of whatever state he seemed to have been stuck in, hands reaching for Mona's elbows and looking over her as if to check if she was safe. How couldn't she be? If she was in his arms then she was safe, that was the way Mona understood it.

"I'm fine," she whispered, losing herself in his eyes again because they were like tidal waves, pulling her in and immersing her with all of the conflicting emotions, and suddenly she was thinking about his hands again, and the way they wrapped around the entirety of her arm, and the thick column of his neck that was just calling for her lips to leave marks all along the pretty pale, freckled skin, and fuck she wanted him.

She didn't know how it happened but she was pushing him into the wall, her hands pressed to his lower abdomen, and sure enough there were taut muscles beneath her touch, not overly defined but still toned and lean that made her want to trace over the faint outline of his abs. Niall wheezed out a breath. "Mo," he croaked, eyes widened, and Mona reached up out of habit to adjust his glasses. With her heels, the top of her head now reached to his nose, and just as the sounds of the countdown were beginning to float in the air from the pub, she was yanking on his collar and bringing his lips to hers, a surprised sound coming from deep within Niall's throat until he caught on and kissed her back, hands caressing her neck, fingers hooked against the back of her head so he could pull her closer, kissing her harder.

"Happy New Year!" everyone was cheering from inside, but Mona was too involved with Niall to care, her hands sliding down his stomach, fingers curling into the waistband of his jeans and she tried not to smirk when Niall groaned into her mouth.

"Fuck," he sputtered, pulling away and Mona had to resist the urge to huff in frustration. "Mona," he rasped, blue eyes blazing even in the darkness, and Mona thought her knees would give out. "What're you—"

"Shut up," she muttered, hands grabbing his face and kissing him again. And he reciprocated with even more fervor, her breath running so far away from her that she was the one pulling back this time, gasping for air, Niall gripping her hands and turning them around until her back was pressed to the wall, pinning her wrists against it too.

"What's going in in that head of yours?" he murmured, lips hovering over hers before pulling back to survey her, his stare returning.

Mona's breath stuttered, the words leaving her mouth before she even had the chance to think about them. "Remember what I said about being the next Zayn and Harlow?" she asked, and he squinted at her before nodding. "Well," she paused, eyeing him carefully, "how do you feel about that?"

Niall's eyes darted between each of hers, teeth running over his lower lip. "Like," his voice was low and raspy and Mona thought she might faint from it all, "a no strings attached kind of thing?"

She grinned, knowing he'd understand. "Exactly."

Niall hummed, but he was silent for so long that Mona thought he might reject her and she'd have to hide from embarrassment for a few days. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he leaned in to peck her lips, his hands releasing her wrists and he shoved them into his pockets instead. "I'll think about it," he replied with a wink, backing away slowly, a grin slowly curving along his mouth. "But you have to buy me a drink first."

Mona laughed, rolling her eyes. "Agreed."

--

Completed. Read Book 2: https://www.wattpad.com/story/253536313-little-do-you-know