Falling into You

Chapter 3: Well so much for a good time right?

The first day back at school was always a bloody disaster. Niall hated it. Every year, it felt like he was walking into the same scene: kids pretending to be excited about learning, teachers acting like they missed the hell out of you, and the usual awkward first-day shit. Seriously, who even enjoyed this? Who enjoyed sitting in a room full of people who didn't know how to hold a conversation without the topic turning to something painfully boring?

Niall sighed as he made his way down the street toward Mullingar High. He knew it was going to be one of those days. One of those days where he'd wish he could just hit the fast-forward button to when he could get home, shove on some tunes, and forget about everything. Or maybe just hide out in his room all day and pretend school didn't exist. But, unfortunately, that wasn't an option.

Mullingar was, as always, alive with its typical hum of low-level excitement. There was the odd person walking their dog, a couple of kids arguing over something trivial, and the sound of seagulls overhead—honestly, when would those things ever just leave?

"Alright, Horan, don't make it worse than it is," he muttered to himself as he trudged toward the gates. His backpack was slung over one shoulder, and his hands were shoved deep into his jacket pockets. The whole situation had the potential to suck, but he was going to try and enjoy what he could. If he wasn't careful, it could very well become one of those days where everything just felt heavier than it should.

"Oi, Horan!"

Niall turned at the sound of his name, his eyes immediately landing on Sean, who was standing by the entrance to Mullingar High, looking far too chipper for someone who was about to spend the next six hours in a hellhole of textbooks and teachers with no sense of humor.

Niall narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the bloody New Kid he said, hands still jammed into his pockets, leaning against the school gates like he was the owner of the place. "What are you doing here, mate? You got lost already?"

Sean raised an eyebrow and strolled over, clearly in no rush. "Nah,  Niall said just making sure you're ready to survive this day. Can't have you going off without a guide now can I?"

Niall snorted. "Yeah, mate, 'cause you've got loads of experience in this place, don't you? What do you think? Gonna hold my hand through it all?" He smirked, pushing his hair out of his face.

Sean grinned, clearly enjoying the banter. "You wish. But honestly, I'm just here to see how bad this really is."

Niall rolled his eyes. "It's bad. Trust me. You've no idea what you're in for."

The two of them stood for a moment, eyeing the school building with mutual dread. There was no escaping it, though. The bell would ring soon, and that was the end of whatever sense of freedom Niall had left.

"Alright, mate," Niall finally said, straightening up. "We might as well get it over with. Welcome to Mullingar High, the place where dreams go to die." He shoved his hands back in his pockets and headed toward the entrance. "C'mon, let's get this over with."

Sean followed him, his footsteps falling in sync with Niall's. "What's the deal with this place? You look like you're about to walk the plank."

"Mate, I've been here for—what? Four years now? You get used to it. Same shit every day. Same teachers, same annoying pricks in the hallways, same stupid rules that no one listens to," Niall said with a half-grin. "But hey, if you're lucky, maybe some of the teachers will forget you're here, and you can sneak out before they catch you."

Sean gave him a skeptical look. "That's... comforting, Horan. Real comforting."

As they walked down the hallway toward their first class, Niall's eyes scanned the crowd. Same faces, same bored expressions. It was a sea of teenagers who looked like they were stuck in the same loop of monotony. But it wasn't all bad. There were a few mates scattered around, people he knew from the last few years—friends, acquaintances, people who had somehow survived the same hellhole.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the day, and they made their way to their first class.

"Alright, so what's the plan, Niall?" Sean asked, clearly trying to keep the mood light.

"Plan? Mate, the plan is to sit in class, zone out, and try not to look like I'm about to punch the next person who asks me if I did my homework," Niall replied, his sarcasm dripping thick. "And maybe—just maybe—try not to get caught staring at the clock every two minutes."

Sean grinned. "Sounds like a solid plan. I think I can get behind that."

They walked into the classroom, and Niall immediately froze in place. To his utter horror, every class they had this year was going to be together. Every. Single. One. The universe had apparently decided that Niall couldn't escape Sean for even a second.

"What the bloody hell?" Niall muttered to himself, his eyes darting around the classroom. "Are you serious? We've got every class together?" He stared at Sean, his mouth hanging open.

Sean, for his part, looked pretty pleased about the situation. "Looks like it, Horan. Guess we're stuck with each other for a while."

Niall shook his head. "I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse. But, hey, at least now you'll get to see how much I can annoy the hell out of you in real time."

They took their seats, and the teacher—Mrs. O'Malley—began the lecture. Niall wasn't listening, though. His mind was already somewhere else, drifting off to more interesting thoughts, like how long he'd last before he actually lost it in a class full of people who didn't get his sense of humor. But the real question was, why did it feel like Sean was the one person who actually understood him?

After what felt like a decade, the bell rang, and they moved on to the next class—English. More lectures, more stupid assignments, and more of the same. And yet, as Niall sat there, trying to make it through another boring lecture, he felt an odd sense of comfort that Sean was there beside him. Not that he'd ever admit it aloud, of course.

So, in his usual style, Niall decided to make the best of it. "Alright, mate," he whispered over to Sean, "I suppose we should properly introduce ourselves, huh? You know, the official rundown."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "What, like we're on some game show?"

Niall grinned, totally deadpan. "Exactly. Alright, here goes. My name's Niall James Horan. I'm 16 years old, and I've got blonde hair and blue eyes—pretty bloody standard stuff, really. Oh, and my favorite color's blue, in case you care about that. But don't get too attached. I'm a complicated guy." He leaned in, as if sharing a huge secret. "Oh, and my parents split when I was five. You know, the usual mess. Mum was always crying, Dad was shouting about some crap he didn't understand, and I was stuck in the middle, trying to figure out if I was ever gonna be alright. Classic family shit, right?"

Sean was silent for a moment, taking in what Niall had just said. "That's... a lot," he finally said, his voice softer than usual.

Niall shrugged it off. "Yeah, but I'm over it. I'm good now. I mean, how could I not be? I live in Mullingar, for God's sake." He grinned, throwing an arm around Sean's shoulder. "You'll get used to it. Trust me, by the end of this year, you'll be glad you stuck around with me. If not... well, you'll have plenty of stories for the grandkids."

Sean chuckled, though there was something a little more serious in his expression. "I'm not going anywhere, mate. Not when it looks like you need someone to keep you grounded."

Niall smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that. You'll be sick of me by the end of the week."

But deep down, for the first time in ages, Niall felt a little less alone.

The bell rang again, and they filed out of the classroom to the next one. Same shit, different day. But maybe—just maybe—having Sean around wasn't the worst thing after all.