Angel on the Streets {shiall}

6

"Okay Shawnie... So like... Don't freak out, yeah?"

Shawn automatically was. A million thoughts went through his head. Niall had finally realised how insane it was to take in someone he didn't know. He was about to get kicked out, he just knew it and there was nothing he could do, nowhere he could go. The one other person he could trust made him anxious at the moment and Niall hadn't tried to convince him to reach out again since the call. What could he possibly have done to upset Niall? Why did he look so serious?

"Shawn, uh... My mother. She wants to talk to you."

"Wh-what?"

"It's been two weeks. Apparently, I've been calling her less, I dunno... Says she wants to know who the lovely young man is that's been taking her son's time away. And I think we should rip the band-aid off and call her now."

"Rip what? Why would we rip it? That sounds so barbaric, ripping a band-aid off! Don't you Europeans have any chill?"

"Umm... I'm going to ignore the last comment, especially since it's coming from a bloody American."

"I'm Canadian, bitch so ha!"

"Whatever. We're calling her."

Shawn told himself not to panic. The call had come as a relief at first, compared to what his brain had already mapped out but with this new development in mind, he was cooking up possibility after possibility. She had called him a lovely young man. Shawn viewed himself as anything but 'lovely'. Niall could see the nerves building and moved a little closer, smiling when Shawn felt his presence and rose his head.

"Hey... Come on, don't keep all those thoughts in that big anxiety-run brain of yours. Talk to me, yeah? What's going through your head right now? Give me every thought as they come."

"You know how I am with new people... She's going to think I'm a freak. Yes. She's going to think I'm a freak and a gold-digger and a manipulator who's lying about what happened and- and I'll get thrown out, she'll get upset with you and you'll throw me out cos she's your mom and sons love their moms. Sons love their moms, right?"

"Shawn, baby, no..." Niall had to have known calling him baby would melt him a bit but it simply wasn't enough to work right then.

"What? You going to tell me you love me more than her? You're going to not listen to the woman who pushed your gorgeous body out of her gorgeous body?"

"Literally add a couple more compliments to gorgeous and she'll have you, even if you're a serial killer on the side." Shawn blanked at him and Niall sighed at his tenseness. His shoulders were completely locked up and he was wringing his hands like there was no tomorrow, although he doubted Shawn even knew he was doing it. Knowing some of his nervous little mannerisms by now, he was certain Shawn's knee would be vibrating off the charts if they had been sitting. "You're not going to get kicked out of here, Shawn."

"Shut it Ni, you're not the one who's between homes right now." He swatted Niall's hand away when he reached to ruffle his hair, giving a short huff in sync with a snort from Niall.

"You're adorable." Niall mumbled into his shoulder, giving it a quick kiss before he pulled away. Shawn had never been exposed to the affectionate type. He and Camila hugged sometimes and cuddled, too until her boyfriend came into the picture. Since he kissed Niall's cheek on impulse, he'd hoped the man would forget it but that day had been the start of little pecks here and there between the two. He never knew when to expect it but he loved it way too much.

"I'm going to call her right now, okay? I'm going to get my phone and I'm going to call her. We are ripping the band-aid right off cos if we don't, you'll just spend hours pacing around freaking out about it! Be right back!"