The Marks You Left (Niall Horan)

Prologue

PROLOGUE
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May 2020

"You know I kept a place for you in my mind,
And I know you did the same cause' you're just that kind,"

Fingers played heavily against the piano keys as Niall Horan sang raw words out of his mouth. The chords naturally combining knowing they had previously stood in his head for months.

The thought of Noelle Ellis never left his head. Avoiding to show a weak gesture from the truth, Niall wrote about Noelle instead of making an effort to confront her.

"So if we knew all along,
Why did it take so long?"

Niall was full of hurt and regret. As much as he tried to loop his way out of any thought that involved her, he couldn't. Not after everything. Not even after what happened. He knew her for only a few months, but it felt like years knowing her. It bugged him to even think of it that way.

"You know you make me feel loved,
Make me feel like I'm home,"

Niall always took breaks in between writing a song, but when he felt the most vulnerable and weakest, nowhere to explain his empty feelings, he created songs in minutes. Minutes.

It felt wrong. Niall felt wrong to find himself writing songs about Noelle, but it was his only escape. An attempted escape from the memories they created. Still trying to understand the truth; it took him months to finally settle it.

"Just started, it's just started,
I'm having trouble believing it's true"

Hands detached from the instrument in seconds as a sigh came off Niall. He scribbled the lyrics onto his journal; many scratch-outs and re-wordings made in the process.

"Just started, just started,
Now we are nothing, but through"

Fingers pressing the wrong keys, Niall stopped in motion at the mistake and groaned, reaching over the lyrical journal and slamming it onto the floor. Hands reached through his messy hair as memories, regrets and second thoughts haunted his mind again. Over, and over again. He was frustrated from the guilt.

Niall hated Noelle. Not because she hurt him for lying, but he hated her for causing an impact. Causing a mental state of stress. Causing him to feel alone.

"Elle," Niall whispered under his breath. "You knew all along, why did it take so long?" He closed his eyes.

Niall hated himself for missing her. The regret he had for that last day he took sight of her was burning him. He didn't mean those words. Niall was upset and misunderstanding at the moment and he didn't know how to react.

Noelle didn't deserve that treatment and Niall knew that, but all he had left was the reminder that it had been too late to take it all back. Is this what Noelle felt that day? Was this karma for the reactions Niall gave her? The thought bothered Niall.

That was five months ago. Almost half a year without seeing Noelle and it felt like more to him.

Coming back to his senses, Niall's expressions soften at his reality and bended down to take hold of the folded journal he once dropped, placing back onto the piano stand.

"So Long,
No Judgement,
Arms of A Stranger,
Dear Patience."

Niall flipped through the pages, examining every song he wrote about Noelle. "Elle, what have you done to me?"

Niall Horan missed Noelle Ellis, but it had been too late. When he realized that he had over-exaggerated the ending of the relationship, there was no contact of her, just like she had promised him.

All Niall had of Noelle was the marks she left behind for him to keep writing about her.

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This story isn't going to be third POV, I just wanted to make this prologue dramatic hahahaha