The A Team // NH

4.0

"Struggling to pay rent, long nights, strange men." 

It took a while for Niall to hear her name come up again, a very unbearable long time. It was a normal day at University, until he heard his friend mention a party and how wasted he got.

"Yeah no dude, I met this girl right. Beautiful, a bit too much make up but man best fuck ever." He overheard his friend say.

"Did you catch her name man?" The person talking to his friend asks.

"Something like, Sasha, wait no. It was Scarlette."

Niall didn't know if his heart broke or was it just the pieces of his skeleton falling apart. How could she do that to herself? He thought. Everything finally made sense, the deals, the money, how she could possibly afford that white powder. He couldn't stand the green eyes popping in and out of his head, he couldn't stand the fact that he was obsessing over her, that only in a matter of 2 months she managed to become his everything. 

The next morning he saw her.

It was unusual, seeing her in normal clothes and actual shoes. She looked like she cleaned up, her hair was less greasy and there were no ripped holes in her clothes. He tried his best to look away, to not intensely stare but god with her that was always impossible. It was like staring at a piece of broken glass, broken but there was still light leaking through, and there was no way he could ever take his eyes of her. Until he had to.

She was finally the one to walk up to him first for a change.

"Niall." She briefly muttered.

"Scarlette." He greeted back, trying his best not to make eye contact.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" She had nothing to apologize for, he thought.

"I don't. I don't know. It's been what? Two months? Since I've met you and I have never felt guilty for what I've done all these years, no matter how many people tell me it's the worst thing I could possibly do to myself. No one, except for you." She uttered, and he immediately concentrated his eyes on hers.

"Fucking hell." He hated her. No, he never hated her. As much as he wanted to, with all his heart all he could ever do was love her. Admire her.

"God, Scarlette. Are you even real?" It was a question he asked himself many times after, many times at night when she was laying next to him, with a face so content he wished he could freeze that moment and just stare at her forever. "Are you even real?" He often muttered when he would move the strands of hair from her face. Her green emerald eyes glistening, he couldn't believe she was real. Ever.

But she was, as real as people can get.

"I am. In the worst way possible." And like that, he learnt that all she ever did was talk down herself. Never said one thing good about herself, it was always her flaws that stood out most to her. While he saw the moon, she saw the dents that have been formed on the moon. Always, too many flaws. She hated herself.

"In the best fucking way possible." And all he ever did was put her on a pedestal.

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A/N: Sorry for the very long wait, school was a pain at the end of the year and I couldn't get a constant hand on a computer but here it is. I'll stay up writing a bit more. I hope this is worth the wait. I love you all, thank you so much for the support. x