little do you know // niall horan au

chapter 14; say something (part i)

Mona should've known that it was going to be a bad day from the morning she'd had.

But then again, she'd never really been that good at understanding when she was presented with a sign.

It happened like this:

She woke up with a headache unlike any she'd had in a while. She went through a mental list of what might've been the cause: she didn't drink last night so it couldn't have been a hangover and it didn't feel like a migraine–she'd had enough of them to just know–so it might've been because she was hungry or dehydrated.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, her immediate destination was to her kitchen, but for some reason, Zayn, Harlow, and Liam had chosen it as their spot for their much-needed intervention, and because it was being facilitated by, of all people, Louis, there was no way Mona was getting in between that. Mona was happy they were finally sorting things out amongst themselves, she really was, but all she wanted at the moment was a huge glass of water and maybe some cereal and then some tylenol because her head felt like it was going to explode.

Liam must have sensed as much from her grumble because he kindly informed her that Harry and Niall were up in Zayn's flat having breakfast and she could join them if she wanted, which of course, was an offer she wasn't going to refuse. So, she took the elevator up and made her way to the apartment, not bothering to knock as the door was already open. Zayn and Harry's apartment was weird and different in a way unlike Mona's and Harlow's or Niall's and Liam's because it had a long hall connecting the front to the back and all of the rooms in it.

Which was why as soon as she walked in, she could hear Niall and Harry talking in the kitchen. She didn't know why she did it, after all, she was never really one to eavesdrop, but her hands froze on the doorknob as she held it open, her body going completely still as she caught a bit of what Niall was saying to Harry.

"Mum's meeting me today and I dunno, I don't really wanna bring her here. Preferably somewhere public, y'know?" There was a pause before he spoke again, and when he did, it sounded like his mouth was full of food. This is how Mona knew he was stressed, because he was always scolding her for talking with her mouth full, and now he was guilty of the same thing. "Like, I'm proper nervous and I couldn't sleep last night because I have no idea what to expect from this. And I wanted to bring Cleo with me but she's working today and—"

"Wait," interrupted Harry, and Mona had to strain against the blood rushing in her ears to hear what he was saying. "Cleo? Since when did you want to bring her to meet your mum? And why would you bring Cleo when you have Mona? She's free today."

Niall grunted. "Mona's just a friend, Harry."

"And Cleo isn't?" Harry scoffed. And then he added, softer: "Did something happen between you and Mo?"

Mona, for her part, felt all her breath leave her. Her jaw slackened as she tried to breathe as effectively and quietly as she could, but honestly, she nearly just wanted to laugh. She'd done it, she'd finally pushed Niall away. This was what she wanted, so really she should be happy. She had a memory of the night of New Years' Eve, when Niall drunkenly confessed to her that there was a girl he liked. Was it really Cleo all along?

Niall stuttered through something but she wasn't really listening, and when she reigned in her focus again, she realized she really should not be listening into this. "Okay, okay, Mona's a friend and Cleo's a friend. But I just thought about bringing Cleo because Mona's been pretty distant lately and Cleo and I have been talking about my mum so..."

He trailed off and Mona imagined he was shrugging. Harry picked up right where he left off. "Mona's not just a friend to you and you and I both know that—"