Modest Oblivion - Book 6 (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 43 - Please say we're almost there

'Watchmen, what is left of the night' - Greycoats

'Runaway (U & I) - Galantis

Please say we're almost there

Niall walked with the guards to the elevators, his head pounding and his heart racing wildly in his chest. The look on that girls face, the stranger in the crowd was so familiar for a brief moment that his heart stopped. He thought, for a fleeting second it was her. That she had come to save him from himself, come to reconcile the past and fall headlong into his open arms. He sucked in an uneasy breath, his hands trembled, Niall knew the guards were watching him with keen interest. He ignored them all, decided to become lost in his own thoughts.

The screams of the crowd drowned out his heartbeat in his ears, he turned his head when he heard the erratic shrieking of one particularly enthusiastic fan, guards surrounded her. A blur of black suits and hot pink as they tried to control her. He squinted his bloodshot eyes to try and see what was going on, see why the girl was so hysterical. Even after all this time he still wasn't accustomed to fans getting so out of hand. He saw a flash of blonde hair and paused, one of the guards behind him nearly collided with Niall, frozen in place. Is it her?

Daniel, one of the new guards with short blonde hair and a background in military and security rested a hand on Niall's shoulder. "It's a trick of the light," he sighed.

Niall shook his head, "I just, she really looked-"

"This nights been hard enough," he replied.

Daniel was right, Niall knew it. He'd seen that idiot with his hands all over Dakota, the girl he loved and the girl who had unintentionally forgotten him. He wondered if when she went to sleep one night her mind decided to erase itself. A clean slate. Sometimes Niall thought it would be easier if he, too, had a clean slate and a mind that was malleable and empty of pain and regret. But he knew that he had to carry his own regrets and wear them like badges, they were his mistakes to live with and his heartache to carry. Niall hoped one day it would get easier because in that moment his entire body ached, his mind was weak and his knee's trembled. Reality was an asshole, Dakota was right.

"You're right," Niall sighed his voice shook.

They walked to the glass elevator at the end of the shining, bright lobby. Niall sucked in another breath as he pressed the button, his fingers shook so much that Daniel touched the button for him. Niall didn't say anything, he bowed his head and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

"I know him!" She screamed, "Please, just get one of the boys and they'll fucking recognise me!" She begged, her voice so loud in the lobby it was all he could hear. "Please, I just need to see them!"

"That's what they all say!" A gruff voice replied.

"They know me, get one of the guards who knows me! They know my sister they-"

The doors opened, Niall couldn't contain his pain any longer, he couldn't take the sound of that voice. So familiar, yet he knew it couldn't possibly be her. Fans could, at times, go to very disturbing lengths to try and get one second alone with them. This wasn't a new facet of their fame, it was something they had adjusted to when they first stepped into the limelight. Zayn struggled with fans the most, Harry dealt with fans the best out of all the boys.

Daniel held the door for Niall, "Wait," Niall sighed. "I'll go alone."

Daniel opened his mouth to object.

Niall held up a shaking hand, "Please?"

"There will be people at the top, you're safe here," Daniel said with a small nod.