Vigilant | N.H.

Twenty One.

March 23rd, 2016.

NIALL'S POV
The haziness of the club intoxicates me in the most sickening way. I just want to get the hell out of here. "Yo, try this shit, Niall!" Liam shouts at me across the roaring room. I shake my head and put my hand up. "I'm good, man," I let him down gently. I've lost count of how many days I've been sober, so I guess it's been a while. It's weird, growing out of my toxic habits, but I feel myself growing up. I've been an adult for a while now, but I genuinely feel like I'm maturing and acting my age.

"You good Ni?" Harry wraps his arm around my shoulder. I smile and nod at him. "All good." He gives me a mischievous smile and raises his eyebrow at me. "So, you gonna go check in on your girl?" he says as he motions his head over to Blair. She and Delaney are dancing to some Shawn Mendes song, flaring their arms in every direction.

"She's having fun with your girl," I tease back at him. He shakes his head and burrows his face in his hands in an attempt to hide his rosy cheeks. Despite his efforts to deny it, we all know deep down he's already crazy for her. Anytime Blair and I hang out, they hang out too. I'm pretty sure they think we're dumb enough to ignore the signs, but really, who do they think they can fool?

I have to laugh.

Suddenly, I feel a cool breeze of air before being jerked backward. "Hiiiiiiiiii," her welcoming voice greets me as she pulls me into her. I can't help but smile as I turn around to face her. She leans into my ear and whispers in a low tone. "I got Delaney to admit she likes Harry," she speaks with a giggle. My jaw drops as my eyes go wide.

I fucking called it. I should start betting on shit like this, then I wouldn't have to work.

I lean into her ear and chuckle into my words. "How long do you think until they become official? I'm calling a month," I place my bets on the timeline. She nods in agreement and continues to giggle. "What's so funny?" Delaney snaps her head away from Harry and turns to us. "Nothing, just talking about what we're going to do later," I quickly come up with a believable lie. She rolls her eyes at my words and mumbles a quiet "disgusting" under her breath. My eyes meet with Blair's as we shrug our shoulders and step away, giving them some space.

I lightly place my hands on her hips, guiding us through the crowd. We make our way upstairs to a secluded area where we can chat and be away from the livelihood.

We casually chat about our weekly schedules and somehow switch to talking about our terrible childhoods. "He didn't even call on my 6th birthday," she lets out a melancholy chuckle. "That's when I knew I didn't matter anymore. That's also when I started to resent him." She fiddles the gold rings on her left hand, avoiding eye contact with me. A tear falls from her eye as she quickly wipes it away. "I'm sorry, I've never told anyone that before," she clams up. "Not even Delaney."

I gently stroke her head in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm so sorry," I whisper as I place a kiss on the top of her head. "Don't be, it's not your fault," she faintly speaks. "Besides, you're not anything like him and that's all that matters." I force a smile through my lips but I'm unable to keep it. On the outside, she looks like she's a normal, happy girl. Deep down, she struggles with a lot; her past being the main source of her pain. These past few weeks she's been letting me in more and more which isn't easy for her. Each day I see a new side to her—I hear about the good times, the bad ones, and every reason she left her hometown behind, even though she never pin-points it on one specific reason.

Every second I get a new glimpse of complexity that proves that she's the strongest woman I know.

"Do you hate him?" I ask, searching for the answer I've been longing to hear for quite some time. She lets out a light sigh and shakes her head. "As much as I want to, I can't. He's my father, and regardless of how terrible he's treated my mother and I, there's not a bone in my body that can hate him." Her tone shifts from upset to serious, which lifts my heavy heart. "That's understandable," I state in a neutral tone. "You have a beautiful heart, B," I softly whisper as I continue to stroke her head.