Unrequited (Narry)

Chapter Six

I HAVE A BIO MIDTERM TODAY AND IT'S 4AM. WHAT AM I DOING.

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Harry spent the weekend in absolute agony; his body resembled that of a burning inferno and he was producing enough sweat to sustain a small rain forest. It had become quite a mystery how he had fallen sick simply from visiting Niall alone, since the smaller lad had sworn upon his life that not a single soul had touched him.

Regardless of who did what, Harry was sent home due to his worrying parents. Now, on any other week, it would have been completely fine if Harry's presence was absent from the boarding house. Unfortunately, this week was particularly special; it was none other than little Niall Horan's seventh birthday.

The beta boys had been buzzing about it for the past couple of days, scheming a surprise party of sorts for the smaller lad. It was uncommon for them to band together for such a cause, but it seemed suiting since they all loved the Irish lad dearly and he had just gotten better in the nick of time for the celebration. Even the gelato lady who came on Fridays had grown a liking to the small lad and agreed to supply a small assortment of Niall's favorites as a birthday gift. The boys had also designated the alpha boys' extensive balcony as the setting for the surprise party, considering the fact that Niall never really quite ventured into the alpha wing unless he was accompanied by Harry.

As the day quickly approached, Niall grew more and more disheartened with each day that Harry failed to return. Every day after class, he would hurry back to his room to get Sergeant before proceeding to camp outside in the front of the boarding house, hoping that Harry would return. Of course, he knew that his wait was rather pointless and never failed to turn up unfruitful; Harry was scheduled to return to school the following Monday, barely missing Niall's birthday by one measly day. To Niall, that one day made a huge difference. Especially since he was turning seven. Seven for God's sake!

As Saturday came around, Niall became wrapped up in the monthly family visits; this one was particularly special, however, since his father took time off of his busy schedule to attend the Horan family gathering at the boarding house. Even Auntie Sue from Switzerland was able to come down to celebrate Niall's early birthday.

Niall was completely ecstatic when he opened up the gift from his father and realized that he had given him the golfer's hat he always wore when he brought Niall along with him to the fields. Of course, there was an additional golden shark pin-supposedly fashioned out of ores found deep within the lair of the oldest shark that's ever lived, according to his father-fastened to the side of the hat.

On the morning of his birthday, Niall was rudely awoken by a parade of beta boys, dressed completely from head to toe in blue. He immediately turned to scold Nick for allowing the boys to enter their bedroom only to be hushed by the taller lad and pulled into his feet. One of the boys messily helped Niall into the shark jacket Harry had given him before they hoisted the small lad up onto their shoulders and dashed down the halls of the beta wing, all the while joking about how he was officially the first shark to ever ride the waves.

As they passed by the grand foyer and made their way into the alpha wing, they continued hooting and cheering all along the way and waking up what little number of boys who were still asleep. As they approached the stretching balcony on the third floor, Niall couldn't help squealing as he spotted his father in an outrageous shark costume and his mother in a cute sailor-esque dress. He struggled to wriggle out of the beta boys' firm grasp and bolt over towards his father. It was a real treat to see his father once, but twice was just pure insanity.