I Want You To Stay. {Niall Horan}

Chapter Fifteen

"Cait?"

I lifted my head from it's position on Niall's shoulder to look into his beautiful blue eyes.

You know what they say about a person's eyes being the window to their soul? I never believed it until now. Looking into Niall's eyes, I felt as if I could see everything that he is and was, and everything that he ever hope to be. I could even read his every emotion through his eyes.

And right now they were filled with contentment. But hidden away underneath what a shred of pain. The type of pain associated with loss.

Not wanting to know why that pain was there in his eyes, Iayed my head back down, breaking eye contact, and, therefore, the connection as well.

"Mhm?" I hummed, signaling him to continue.

He was silent for a while before speaking again. "You know that the lads and I leave in two days, right?"

I did know that. We had discussed it earlier that week, and I was dreading the day it happened. I wrapped my arms tightly around him. "Not if I don't let you leave..." I trailed off, smirking.

His chest rumbled with his quite laughter. "I might have to take you up on that offer," he said, but then he sighed.

I appreciated the fact that he was trying to let me down easily. But I knew how it would go. He would have to leave and go back to living the lifestyle of the rich and famous while I stayed small and insignificant, blending into the medial background gray that was my life.

Gone again will be the moments, almost like this one, where we lay in bed, my head on his chest, talking about nothing in particular. Eventually, with the significant time difference and the demanding quality his career, he won't even have time for a phone call.

Our relationship will flicker out like the short lived light of a sparkler.

Bright and beautiful while it lasted, but gone all too soon.

Niall was the one to break the silence by blurting out a single question. "Do you want to come to with us?"

My head snapped up in surprise. "What?"

A small smile spread across his face. "Caitlyn, do you want to come to San Diego with us?"

My stomach dropped significantly. "San Diego?"

"Yeah, its so beautiful there, but it will be even better if you're there with me." He brush the hair out of my face and I dropped my gaze. I couldn't look him in the eyes. Their color suddenly reminded me of someone I hadn't seen in a very long time. "Babe?"

"I haven't been completely honest with you, Niall..." I told him, my gaze focused on the little dip at the base of his neck.

He stiffened beneath me and his arms tightened around my lower back. His voice was tense when he spoke. "What...what are you talking about?"

I started shaking my head. "I'm not-- I have a--"

My phone started ringing and my head snapped up to stare at it. Who was calling me right now?

Niall's hand snapped towards the nightstand and snatched my phone in a single, jerky movement. He glanced at the screen briefly before handing it to me.

"It's Kasey."

I took the phone gently, sitting up as I did so.

I answered. "Kasey?"

But it wasn't Kasey on the other end. And that worried me."Hello? Caitlyn?"

"Harry?"

***HARRY'S POV***

"Harry? Where's Kasey?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat before answering.

"Er, I'm not quite sure..." I trailed off. It hadn't occurred to me that I should have followed her.

"What's your room number? I'm coming over." She spoke tensely, and I couldn't blame her for being upset. Her best friend is missing.

And its my fault.

I gave her my room number, since she's never been to my room.

"Give me two minutes." Her voice rang through the speaker and the line went dead.

I exhaled a deep breath I didn't know I was holding. What was wrong with me? I knew better than to try to sleep with an emotionally unstable girl. And I sure as hell knew better than to let that girl run off crying in general, let alone nearly naked.

Which brings me back to my question: What the hell is wrong with me?

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a soft knock at the door. I opened the door to reveal a rather unkempt-looking Caitlyn.

She walked right past me into the room, not bothering with salutations.

I closed the door and turned toward her. She had turned around about half-way in.

"What the fuck happened, Harry?"

"I'm not sure exactly..." And it's true, I wasn't.

"Don't fuck with me Harry. I already have a pissed off boyfriend. And now I have a missing best friend." She took a step toward me and her voice was deadly calm as she spoke again. "Do you really think that I'm the type of person you want to fuck with right now."

I shook my head in response to her question. I didn't know Caitlyn too well, but I could tell she wasn't kidding.

"Now tell me what exactly happened from last night to this morning. If anyone will be able to find her it's me. I just need to know what happened."

"Well, we came up here after you guys left last night and--"

"Hang on a second," she said looking at her phone. "Yeah, babe?" she answered tentatively.

"Really? Oh, thank God," she sighed the words plopping into an open chair. "Yeah, just give me a couple minutes... Yeah... Okay.... See you."

The knot in my stomach loosened at how relaxed Caitlyn looked. She stared at her phone, conflicted, for a minute before looking at me.

"Good news: Kasey is fine. Zayn found her before she left the building and she's sleeping in his room."

I sighed in relief, a smile spreading lightly across my face. She's safe.

Caitlyn's mood didn't lift so much, though. "Bad news," she mumbled, more to herself than to me, "Niall fucking hates me..."

"No he doesn't," I blurted out. She looked up at me, surprised. I was too, but I went with it. I walked over to her and sat in the chair adjacent to the one she occupied. I place a light hand on her knee. "I know you don't have any reason to trust anything I say, but trust me on this. I know Niall. He doesn't hate you."

She shook her head. "You didn't hear him just now. God, I never knew Niall could get so angry..."

I thought back to Niall's threat the day the lads and I met Caitlyn for the first time. "It's only because he cares about you..." I said lightly.

"I didn't know he'd react like that!" She continued, completely oblivious to what I said. "And I didn't even tell him the worst part! Oh, God," she breathed out the last two words with wide eyes.

"Caitlyn, are you okay?"

Her eyes met mine again. "No, but I have to go. Now. While I still have the nerve to face him."

She gave me a light kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for listening, Harry."

And with that, she got up and left. She closed the door lightly behind her.

I shook my head.

Women are impossible to understand.