dust; n.h.

fourteen

FLEUR V.

It was a phone call from my mother that morning that woke the both of us up. I scrambled to answer, accidentally kicking Niall in the stomach in the process. He mumbled something about a good wake-up call, and I'd simply gesture towards my phone.

"Mom," I greeted her, waiting for her response. "Fleur, how's it back in England? Everything's alright?" Our small talk proceeded for a few minutes, asking about each others' lives in London and Hokkaido. "Listen, your dad isn't in the best of spirits. Your boyfriend," The word rolled off her tongue as if it was in a foreign language. "Isn't making your dad happy. He disapproves of the two of you, he's afraid you won't be happy. We see him and his band everywhere and he thinks you'll be shoved into a place you don't want to be in. Do you understand?"

I could only gulp, humming in response. Niall was propped up beside me on one forearm, tugging at where my shirt came up by just a little to reveal an inch of my pale flesh. "Your father is in the hospital, Fleur. He wanted me to get you over here when he was first hospitalised. Unfortunately, he's now in a coma," My mother had her words caught in her throat, stammering as she went. "He slipped into it last night. You need to come here, sweetie. It's just me and I can't cope alone, you know that."

And I knew. When my father left to the States and I was staying in the city, she completely lost it. It was just a few weeks, but she couldn't stand being alone. She'd have nightmares and delusions - I wouldn't want it to reoccur. The thought of my dad in a coma was pushed to the back of my mind. I felt uneasy thinking about him. "Alright, I know. Stay safe, mom. I love you."

Chucking my phone back onto the nightstand, I melted onto the sheets, fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. "Did anything happen, poppet?" He'd ask, leaving a sloppy peck on my temple. I shook my head, the weak smile present on my face proving nothing at all. I just couldn't control those tears that spilt from my eyes, burying my head into the pillow and wishing that my problems would disappear. He slips under the covers, palms on my shoulders. "Poppet, c'mon. Want t' talk about it?"

"I'm alright, babe.. I'm fine, don't worry. I know I'm on breakfast duty today but could you please help me out? I'm really tired."

Niall agrees to the switch in our little system put in place last night, no questions asked. The sound of his padded feet gradually faded as he made his way downstairs, leaving me to wallow in my thoughts. I had no idea how to break the news to Niall. There was a high chance that I wouldn't be returning if I chose to leave. I doubt my father would be able to regain his consciousness. It was only when Niall's groggy voice called from the kitchen that I had my mind set on my decision.

"Y'know you can tell me anything," He looks over his shoulder as he tried to get his Nutribullet to work. My arms wrap around his frame from behind, small hands on his stomach. "Nothing, really. You're just old."

"You're just a twat," He scolds, telling me to sit by the countertop. The cold marble cooled my skin and I hope he wouldn't realise my slightly red-rimmed eyes. "Yeah, sure thing babe. Thank you for breakfast." He grins at my acknowledgement, pressing a kiss to my lips as I attempted to savour the moment, knowing that it would be one of the last.

* * *

"Hey Niall. I know when you get home today, I won't be there. I won't be at Rochelle's either, so don't bother searching. I wish I didn't have to do this; I promise you. Thank you for all the amazing memories the past three months. Even in the year I've known you, thank you for letting me see your change and growth as a person, y'know? I'm so thankful for you and you should know that. I know this is such a horrible thing to do and I'm such a horrible girlfriend and I shouldn't even be treating you like this but please know that I put my family before anything else in this world. I apologise for having to put you through this but I'm sure we'll both get over it. Three months isn't long. It's just a little period in your life that you'll forget. The ring that you bought.. It's back in the box in the top-left drawer of the white dresser in your room. Thank you for all the promises, Ni. But I'm sorry that I can't help you keep them. If you know where I'm headed, please don't find me. Make this easier for the both of us. I love you so much. You have so much ahead of you. So many people who love and support you.. I just can't see a place for myself there. You've given me so much and I can't do the same. Please don't think you did anything wrong - you didn't. Happy 22nd, baby. Thanks for letting me into your life. I guess this is goodbye-"

The voicemail cut Fleur off as the taxi came to a halt at Heathrow. Niall received it the moment it was sent over to him, sitting in the lounge of the radio station waiting for their interview to begin. He figured it was probably a message asking about dinner, but as soon as the first sentence was played he began to question what was going on. Dialling her number, he stands from his seat as others looked at him in curiosity, wide-eyed and wondering. She answers, despite whatever she had said in her message. He could clearly hear the commotion of the airport in the background and the sound of her sniffing. Dear Lord, he hated hearing her cry.

"Flo? Where are you?" He questions, concerned. His brows were furrowed and his teeth sank on his bottom lip till it drew blood. "I- I'm at Heathrow. I'm sorry I've to leave you like this.. I can't do long-distance, especially when you're always travelling. I'm sorry, Niall. It's really all on me, and I'm not just saying it for the sake of making an excuse. It's just that I'm too needy, okay? My mom's call made me realise a lot of things and I'm sorry if I'm letting you down."

His eyelids shut as he realised he had lost her. She was the same hard-headed girl who needed company. She couldn't follow him everywhere, he couldn't stay in one place for long. They both couldn't commit to it, and that was what led Fleur into making her mind.

"Please stay. Please just tell me that you'll stay, we'll talk this through. You're going to your parents' place, in Japan, right? I just want t'make sure that you'll be okay.. Babe. Please, we'll make this work with a plan and all," He pleads, and by this point his friends were surrounding him, patting his back. They didn't know who he was talking to - he'd never actually told them. They saw her around, and they passed it off as a recurring friends-with-benefits sort of thing. "Niall.. It's okay. I know you've got your press junkets and the last leg of your tour and all but really.. I'm probably not coming back. We didn't make it that long anyway, they were right, weren't they? It's best to end it here."

"I love you," He breathes out, powerless in the face of dejection. "Save that bit of love for someone more special than me, yeah?" Fleur whispers and smiles to herself, knowing that he'd give his all to anyone with the changing of the tides, and maybe soon he'd forget her and how it felt like to make her laugh. The line went dead, and he looks up to find three pairs of eyes gazing intently at his phone. The name Fleur Hayes was on the screen, and Harry was the first to shout with much excitement, "I knew it!"

"It hasn't been long, has it Niall? It'll blow over in time, music'll see you through."

But he knows it won't.

hello! i hope that wasn't too expected.. i'll probably make some minor changes to this chapter. also, niall celebrated his birthday with drinks and clubbing in Vegas. 100% called it. happy belated birthday baby boy. x