Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most {Niam}

Four-

When Niall escaped Liam's house, he didn't even think about going home. He was crying, and his parents would be furious if they saw him like this. So, he opted for heading to the park instead.

He was sitting on a bench, crying into his own hands, shaking at the cold, when his cell phone began to vibrate. He answered, voice watery, "Leave me alone, Liam."

"Liam?"

Niall's heart stopped beating for a few seconds. But this wasn't Harry's voice, nor was it Zayn's - it was only Mitch. It was hardly a good thing, bad as it was to say, because Niall didn't want to talk to anyone right now, let alone the person who caused this.

"Sorry, babe," Niall murmured, forcing the words out of his mouth. He hoped Mitch didn't notice. "I was expecting my cousin to call..."

Mitch paused for a second, "Hey, are you crying?"

If there was one thing Niall had learned since the start of going out with Mitch, it was that the older boy could pick up lies like an expert. Niall let himself sniffle, "Yeah, but it doesn't-,"

"It matters, Niall," his boyfriend's voice was too powerful to be soothing. "You matter. Tell me where you are, and I'll come pick you up. Don't try to deny me, because it's not going to work. You need comfort. You need me."

He doesn't. But he won't say so.

Niall sighed, "Silver Lake."

"Stupid," Mitch scowled, and Niall's glad he's not there to see Niall's frown. He knew it wasn't smart, but the way Mitch said it made it sound even worse. "Why are you there? It's freezing outside."

"It's close to Liam's..."

Mitch groaned audibly, "Right, so it's that idiot's fault? What did he do now? Don't say nothing, because he made you cry."

Niall bit his lip. Who was Mitch to say anything about his cousin? Liam's never really done anything wrong until this point, and even then Niall felt like the blame was on him. And apart from that, what business was it of his?

"You don't know what you're talking about," Niall whispered anxiously. He never talks back to Mitch, and rightfully so. "You don't know what's happening, so stay out of it."

...

"Excuse me?"

 "Shit," Niall murmured, just now realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry...I...Just don't come get me. I'm going home."

"The hell you are," Mitch sneered. "You're not walking home in this weather. And besides that, you owe me an apology."

"I don't owe you shit."

With that, Niall ended the call. He sent a quick message to Zayn, and dialed Liam.

~-~-~

Liam stepped out of the car, and rushed towards Niall - who was still shaking.

The two cousins embraced each other, and Liam squeezed the younger boy as tightly as he could, "Niall, thank god. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Niall whispered, teeth chattering, as he pulled back a slight. "I shouldn't have run off. I was just being stupid. It's fine, really."

"It's not, though," Liam disagreed. "You don't deserve to be treated like that."

Before Niall could object, and say that Liam hadn't done anything wrong, his cousin was grabbing him by the arm and dragging him to car. Niall gratefully flopped down in the front seat, still shivering, as Liam cranked up the heat.

They didn't move.

"So, what's up?" Liam breathed finally, causing Niall to look over at him. "Why didn't you just go home? Or go to Mitch's?"