Stockholm Syndrome

Chapter 15

(Emma's POV)

I know Niall is awake when I wake up, but he is still wrapped in my arms. I make a move to pull away, but he grips my arms to his chest.

"Don't move. This is calming." He states simply. I leave my arms around him, and feel surprisingly comfortable in the darkness. He's right. It is surprisingly calming to lay there with my arms wrapped around him in the silence and the darkness. I'm not sure how long we lay there like that; there is no way to tell time down here. But I know that deep on some level I am comforted by the time spent like that.

"Are you okay? You scared me last night." I admit, breaking the beautiful silence. Niall shifts slightly, and I wonder if the subject makes him uncomfortable.

"I'm fine. Sometimes I just...get like that." His voice is weak in the room and I wonder if crying made him lose his voice.

"It's okay. But you're feeling better?" I need to make sure he doesn't plan on breaking down on me again. If he does that while I'm weak like this, I'm not sure I'll be able to comfort him.

You're just scared you might feel sorry for him and kiss him, my conscious accuses me. I push the thought t the back of my mind. Why would I want to kiss this boy? I mean sure he's tragically sad and sure he has the most amazing accent and is so warm in my arms and has a tendency to be absolutely- wait, what am I saying? This is absolutely ludicrous. I should be ranting about how insanely UNcute he is. Because I certainly don't find him cute. Not even a little bit.

"Much. So what would you like to do?" He asks, making no move to pull away from me.

"I take it 20 questions is out of the question this time?" I joke. I'm not really sure what made him break down earlier, but I really don't want it to happen again.

"I'm better now." Niall replies solemnly. "If you really want to play we can." I'm a bit confused by how serious he sounds.

"Its okay Niall." I assure him. He turns in my grip, and I wonder if he is turning towards me or away from me. When I feel his breath gently brush my face, I assume it was to face me.

"Its not okay. There was no reason for me to break down like that. I owe you an apology." He said softly. I tried to even out my breaths as his breath tickled my chin. What was wring with me. Niall was trying to apologize And all I could think about was how he must look right now. I bet he looks absolutely- awful. Yeah that was totally what I was gonna say. Don't even question it.

"Niall, you don't have to be perfect." I assured him. I heard a sharp intake of breath followed by several seconds of silence before he laughed.

"Whatever Emma. Lets talk about something less serious." He laughs and frown. What is with this boy?  One second he's apologizing for crying, the next he's trying to get me to enlighten up.

"Like what?" I ask. I really have no idea what members of internationally famous boy bands talk about on a regular basis.

"I don't know. What did we talk about when. Was babysitting you the other day?" He asks.

"My refusal to kiss Harry and how scary management can be." I bluntly respond. I don't know how I expect Niall to react, but he just laughs, his body shaking against me.

"Well now we know why you won't kiss Harry," he teases and I find myself confused.

"Wait why?" I think about potential reasons why he would think I would refuse.

"Because you would much rather kiss me." He stated simply, and I could feel him shaking with laughter again. Nuuh. Niall Horan did not just say that to me. I push down the butterflies in my stomach before boldly responding.

"Is that an offer? Because come to think of it, I might like that." I spit the words out, trying to convince myself I'm lying. Niall freezes, then pulls me a bit closer.

"I wish I could see your face right now." He whispers into the dark. I find myself glad he can't, as I'm sure um blushing furiously. What am I even doing, flirting with Niall Horan, who I would have no chance even if I had any interest in. But I don't let that stop me from continueing.

"Yeah, because you can't kiss me if you can't see my lips," I tease.

Niall leans over, shifting so much I can't really tell what he's doing. At least until he presses a gentle kiss to my chin, just to the left of the center. "I beg to differ." He whispers, falling back into my embrace.

Did Niall just kiss me? What an I even doing?

I gulp. "Niall, did you just kiss me?" I whisper. I'm not sure why I'm afraid to speak up. There's no one here besides Niall and I, no one listening in. Maybe I'm just too scared to let him answer.

"Yes Emma. I did just kiss you." He replies easily. His breath still tickles my face, and I feel butterflies in my stomach. What am I feeling? I should not be nervous around this boy. But how else am I really supposed to feel? He just kissed me!

Niall laughs softly. "Emma It wasn't even on the lips. I'm sorry for freaking you out." But somehow his apology doesn't make his voice lose its fun touch. And I can't help but find it attractive.

Wait! What am I saying? No, no, no, no, no! Niall Horan is some paparazzi created monster, and I should certainly not feel this way around him. I still hate him and his completely horribly UNadorable band. Don't I ?

~~~~/~-~~~~~~

Too fast? Should I just hold off on the whole romance thing? Oops...