euphoric (n.s. AU)

t w e n t y o n e

hello... its been so very long but i'd like to continue this story! i hope you enjoy.

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Niall's POV

"Z-Zayn..." I stutter, taking a few steps back from the door. Shit... This isn't good. He must have overheard my phone call. He calmly strides over to the bedside table and sets the bag of food down, along with his phone. I haven't moved from my spot; my feet feel as if they're nailed to the floor. 

"Why aren't you saying anything, babe?" Zayn says, tapping my shoulder. I flinch, before turning around to face him. He is much taller than I am, which makes him even more intimidating. I blink a few times before opening my mouth, and then closing it again. 

"Cat got your tongue?" He asks in a playful tone, raising his hand to my mouth and using his thumb to pull down my bottom lip. He peeks in my mouth, inspecting for a few seconds, before dropping his hand back to his side. 

"Hmm, everything seems to be intact. So why aren't you talking?" He asks again, but this time, his tone of voice changed completely. A shiver runs down my spine as I frantically think of something to say. I don't want him to get angry with me. 

"M-My boss, he needs me to c-come in. I'm sorry..." I whisper, looking down at my feet.

"Hmm. Is that so?" He says, before swiftly grabbing my jaw and forcing our eyes to meet. I let out a small whimper of pain, with tears welling in my eyes. 

"Zayn, that hurts." I plead, but his grip only tightens. Tears begin flowing steadily, while I choke back any sounds that try to escape my throat.

"I brought food for us to eat together. It wouldn't be very polite to run off before eating it with me, now would it? You wouldn't want to upset me, right? So let's eat together." He says, tightening his grip one last time before letting go. I raise my hand to the reddened flesh of my jaw, rubbing it slightly to soothe the pain. I look up at him and nod, trying to avoid anymore conflict. Zayn smiles brightly and plants a kiss on my forehead.

"That's my good boy. You can leave after we eat, okay?" He says. His voice is much softer this time. I nod again, before he grabs me and pulls me into a hug. I sigh, burying my face in his chest. 

"I'm sorry Zayn. I didn't mean to upset you." I whisper. He pulls away from me and walks to the food. 

"It's okay, you can make up for it later. We should eat before it gets cold." He tells me. I agree, before we walk out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. 

"Thank you for the food, Zayn..." I say, and he nods. We ate in silence, besides the sound of silverware clinking against the plates. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, and I think he felt the same way. Zayn isn't a bad guy. He tries his best, he's stressed because of how much he works to provide for us. Guilt begins to flood in as I remember how Harry had touched me the night before. My phone buzzes, stopping me mid-thought. 

Harry // Are you still okay with me picking you up? I'm almost there. 

me // yeah, sorry. i was having breakfast. let's talk when you get here. 

I put my phone back into my pocket before heading towards the door. Zayn looks at me with a confused expression. 

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"Oh! Yes, of course. I'm so sorry. I'm just panicked about being late, is all." I say before running back to Zayn. He looks down at me, before hugging me.

"I love you... Be safe please." He says. I look up at him and kiss him gently. 

"I will. I love you, too." I say, before scurrying out of the house. I do love Zayn. I've been with him since I was a freshman in high school. He's all I've ever known. My parents didn't have much, and Zayn was always there to pick up their slack. He basically raised me, so parting with him has always been a hard concept to grasp. He had even dropped out so he could get a second job to provide for me. I've been so selfish, letting another man touch me while Zayn works his ass off. I belong with Zayn. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, no matter what. I'll be better for him, I'll listen to everything he has to say, I'll fulfill every request he makes. That's the least I can do, right? He's made so many sacrifices for me, and I need to do the same. Which is why I'm going to set the record straight with Harry today. 

As if on cue, his car pulls up to our designated meeting spot, and once again, I am jolted from my thoughts.

"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Harry asks me the second I get into the car. I giggle and nod. I like how much he cares about me.

"Niall. What happened to your face?" He asks, and my eyes widen. I glance in the small overhead mirror and gasp. Zayn had left red marks on my face from this morning, which were turning into bruises. I sigh, and turn to face Harry. 

"We need to talk, Harry. Please drive." I instruct, and he looks taken aback, but nods his head, pulling out of the parking lot. We drive to a secluded area by a lake, with lots of trees and other plants. He parks the car, before getting out and gently jogging to my side to open the door for me. I shake my head and blush. 

"I could've done that myself, you know." I tell him. He nods.

"You could've. But I wanted to do it for you." He says, and shuts the door after I step out. We walk around the lake for a while in silence, before I sigh. 

"Harry, what happened last night-"

"I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't control myself, I thought that we were both enjoying things. I should've made sure that you were comfortable. I promise you that next time, I'll do better. I've never done things with a man before, so I did a little bit of research. I won't mess up. I-"

"There can't be a next time, Harry." I say. He stops in his tracks, and I stop with him, turning to look up at him. 

"It was a mistake. I have a boyfriend, and you have a girlfriend. It should've never happened." I finish. This is the right thing to do. I have to do this. 

"Niall, please don't do this. What about everything we've been through already?" He pleads with me, and I sigh. 

"Look. I'm sorry you got drug into all of this. And I will be forever grateful for everything you've done to help me. But we can't keep doing this. I love Zayn. I was wrong for what I did last night, and I shouldn't have let it get as far as it did-"

"I think about you, constantly. I'm always wondering if you're okay, if you've eaten, if you're well rested, if you're thinking about me. I don't think I've ever felt this way, for anyone. Not even for Marissa. I've lost countless nights of sleep trying to understand why I can't get you out of my head, but I just don't get it." He explains, his voice wavering as if he is about to cry. He won't look at me. Right as I'm about to speak up, he continues. 

"I can't think of any other way to describe it other than you make me feel... kinda euphoric." He says. His eyes are red and his face his flushed. He looks beautiful. My heart aches, and I let out a soft sigh before meeting his eyes again. 

"I really need to graduate. So if you'll let me, I'd like to continue being your intern. But it can't go any farther than that. I'm sorry." I tell him, before turning around and heading back towards his car.

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love yall