In Real Life (Niam/Nouis/Zarry)

Chapter Four

Needless to say Liam and I couldn't keep our eyes off of each other. We were too busy watching each other's hands as we painted, his hands often making their way on mines. He looked at me with a smile, his brown eyes seemingly lighting up with delight. I could feel the burning eyes of Harry and Zayn as they watched us with waiting eyes. I wasn't sure what it was that they were expecting, though I was sure they wanted to see us kiss. At least Harry did, mostly because he was a fast paced kid though he didn't realize it.

There wasn't much actually appearing on my canvas besides the little strokes of paint that Liam was adding on. I was too busy staring at his biceps as he worked, the way they flexed and relaxed with each brush stroke.

"Niall, would you like to help us in the kitchen?" Harry called out. I turned around to see him poking his head out of the patio door,his eyes telling me to come inside. I put my brush down and smiled at Liam before leaving Harry's backyard and walking inside to see him and Zayn giving me incredulous looks.

"What the hell is this?" Harry asked in that deep raspy voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"It's like when a blind person asks you what you look like, it's sweet but awkward." Zayn said.

Harry and I both looked at him and asked in unison, "What?!" Zayn simply shrugged and went back to drinking the orange juice he had in his hand.

"I think Zayn is trying to say that you two aren't saying much but you keep stealing these lingering gazes at each other and it's really awkward because you both obviously want to say something." Harry was the voice of reason.

"I'm good." I told him.

Zayn sniffed the air around him in an extra obnoxious way. "What's that pungent odor I smell, could it be bullshit?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me with his seductive smirk.

"Shut up Malik before I push you over the counter." I threatened. He laughed and Harry smirked as well, his green eyes lingering on Zayn's closed brown orbs.

"Yet someone should be listening to their own advice." I whispered, walking past him into the kitchen to grab the cupcakes that Harry had started once we first arrived. The boy was a master baker and he walked into the kitchen, giving me the stank eye along the way.

"That's not the same." Harry said in a low voice so Zayn couldn't hear.

"And how not?" I hissed at him. "How can you tell me to speak up when you haven't even confessed your feelings to Zayn?" 

"There's one major but simple difference between our two situations."" Harry said, fixing the drinks and placing them on a tray before turning back to me. "Your feelings are requited, while mines are not." He said, taking the tray and walking outside. He was pissed, I could tell, which saddened me. 

I folded my arms on the counter and laid my head on them, leaning over so I can think.

I was sitting in a field, the deep blue sky of a sunny mid-day was hanging magnificently over my head. The ground was dotted with a million white daisies, their petals blowing in the wind around me, looking like magical little sprites that danced to an unknown drum. I was sitting there with my arms wrapped around me, trying to fight back a breeze when there were covers placed around my shoulders, a large hand resting softly on my shoulders. It patted me softly and I turned around to see my knight, his armor reflecting off the sun in a blinding radiance.

"Hello again." I whispered to my knight, holding his hand as he moved to be seated on my picnic basket, his metal clanging as he sat before me. He was silent as he watched me, his helmet concealing his eyes but I felt them, I knew they were there. I leaned forward, gazing into the slits of his helm.

What I saw staring back at me were brown eyes, a milky substance that reminded me of melted chocolate that was frozen yet still held that special gleam. I wanted to stare into those eyes forever, to melt inside of the chocolate pool, which was almost my reality as something pulled me out of my fantasies.

I felt it clawing at my leg as I looked down to see the smoky gray cat who was clawing at my legs, it's fur puffed out as it's green eyes stared at me.

I looked at the dark gift, the female feline being a cat that Zayn had adopted and given to Harry, the Maine Coon being completely evil. "Maleficent." I groaned, as he reared up in an effort to attack me again. I pushed the overly large cat away with my leg as I grabbed the cupcakes and ran outside. 

"Took you long enough." Zayn said with a cheeky grin. I limped over, the pain of that cat's claws finally hitting me.

"Harry, that damn cat is just as evil as it's name." I complained.

"Niall!" Liam said as soon as I put the tray of tray of food down. He walked over to me, pulling my pants leg up as he inspected my wound.

"Ouuch Niall, that looks nasty." Zayn said, biting his nails.

"Harry your cat hates me." I said as Zayn directed Liam to the medical kit.

"Ohh no, she didn't mean it Niall!" Harry defended the creature. "He just shows his love by attacking you." Harry defended the creature from Hell.

Liam came back to nurture my leg as he started to cleanse it, much to the gushing of the little girl inside of Harry. He looked at me with those kind brown eyes as he bandaged me up and I smiled at him.

"Liam do you fix a lot of injuries?" I asked him.

"I used to play sports a lot." He told me. "Most of the time I had to treat my own injuries, just tell me do you feel about it."

"I'll live Mr. Payne." I told him. He smiled up at me and I looked down at him, trying my best to ignore the two ecstatic idiots in the background.

"Good!" He whispered in utter glee that made my stomach churn.

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while! Please don't kill me! More Niam to come!!**