little do you know // niall horan au

chapter 7; heard it through the grapevine

Niall was being a little distant.

Mona couldn't really blame him, really. After all, she was the one who'd been an absolute prick a couple of days ago, so she couldn't exactly condemn Niall for not completely forgiving her right away. Still, she wouldn't say that it hurt whenever he'd scoot away from her slightly when she'd plop down a little too close to him on the couch or shove his hands into his pockets whenever her fingers would graze his knuckles as they trudged through the increasingly cold weather towards campus. No, she wouldn't say that it hurt, but it definitely left her chest feeling a little emptier than it had before.

Their only bit of skin-to-skin contact was the other day at Zayn's and Harry's place. The boys had a bit too much to drink at the pub, Mona accompanying them as they stumbled through the streets, their drunken giggles echoing through the streets, bouncing off the surrounding buildings. Mona had stopped by the nearby 24-hour diner to pick up something hearty and greasy for them before helping them all inside and up the elevator to Zayn's and Harry's apartment. The eye rolling was kept to a minimum because she hadn't really been in the snarky mood.

The boys, being them, ate their fry ups through good hearted banter and raucous laughter, the sounds of the television barely audible over Harry's pitiful attempts at knock-knock jokes and Liam belting out the lyrics to Beyonce's 'Crazy In Love' paired with Zayn's half-hearted attempts to rap Jay-Z's verse. Regardless, Mona wasn't really complaining. She felt like she needed a bit of entertainment after a rather dry night at Connemara's.

"Hiiii, Mona!" Harry drawled as he sidled up to her side where she was sitting on the floor and leaning against the sofa. He threw an arm over her shoulders, wisps of his unruly hair brushing against her face from his proximity. "How are you, Mona?" he sing-songed, a bleary, amused sort of smile curving along his face. "Why are you so quiet, Mona?" A pause and then more seriously, "Are you okay, Mona?"

Mona huffed, a small smile playing along her lips, because the only thing she was hyperaware of at the moment was the fact that Niall wouldn't even look at her. She patted Harry's thigh reassuringly. "I'm fine, Harold," she murmured, unable to look at him for more than a few moments, her eyes flitting down to stare at her fingers in her lap instead.

Harry just looked stunned and Zayn and Liam immediately stopped their singing, all three of their heads snapping up to look at her in astonishment. "Oh my god," Liam got out, and it was as if Mona just had to say those three words for them to sober up because none of them had that bleariness in their eyes anymore. "Oh my god," Liam repeated, rising to his wobbling feet to stagger over to where Mona was sitting, settling in on her free side. "Oh Mona, are you alright?" he asked, and Mona couldn't tell if his tone was hitched because of mock concern or if he was genuinely perturbed because he was pulling her in for a bone-crushing hug.

"You didn't insult me for being annoying," Harry got out, still sounding a bit dazed but more confused than anything.

Zayn was crawling up to her immediately after, forcing Mona to cross her legs so he could nestle his head on her lap. "Someone check if she has a fever," he slurred out, reaching up to poke just underneath her chin. "Nialler go get the thermometer, will ya? Maybe your Mona is sick."

Niall sighed and Mona didn't have to look up at him to know he was rolling his eyes. Her skin flushed at the thought of him still being annoyed with her, an embarrassed heat traveling up her neck and to her cheeks. "She's not sick, Zayn. She just said she's fine."

At his words, three pairs of eyes shot up to gape at him, Liam and Harry wrapping their arms tighter around Mona while Zayn cuddled up closer. Harry being Harry though changed the subject, frowning against Mona's cheek and saying, "Our Mona was so nice to us today." He was slurring his words again and it was as if their moment of sobriety had disappeared. "She got us drinks and ordered us a bloody amazing fry up and was so sweet to us. We love you, Mona."