Back to Reality: Niall's Cancer Battle sequel

Chapter One: Awake

Chapter One: Awake

*Niall's POV*

"Oh god, he's moving! He's moving!"

Harry?

"Give him some space, his mind is not yet clear."

"Nialler, you wake up now, you hear me? You wake up!"

There's loud beeping noises. Hands keep touching me everywhere. Something is restricting me.

My eyes blink open. Blurry. I blink again. Blurry. It's like those movies when people pass out. Did I pass out?

"Harry, that's my arm!"

Louis?

"I'm awake. I'm here," I say but I can't hear my own voice. Am I deaf? Did I actually say it?

A beeping noise speeds up. "Why is his heart rate jumping so significantly?"

Liam?

"You're all freaking him out, stop crowding him!"

I'm okay. I'm okay. I feel fine.

"I need to smoke."

Zayn.

The flashbacks hit me and I don't resist them. They want to be seen.

But why?



~~~



I don't remember what happened exactly after I woke up yesterday. It all felt like a dream...even if, in fact, I had just entered back into reality. The doctor explained to me what happened physically of course and how it seemed to have an effect on my brain, but he couldn't figure out why.

Why did my mind decide to create a parallel universe in which my dreams felt like real life?

Sadly, he had no answers for me. He described some kind of amnesia process that happens while some "unfortunate" -yes, he used the term unfortunate- people are in a coma. I happened to be one of those unfortunate cases that thought they were still living in the physical world.

The worst part of it all is that it just felt so...real.

So, he decided to allow me to go home and rest once he realized he would be getting nothing out of me at that moment.



And the fact that I have no answers? Well, you could say I'm not doing so great.

-Niall



I close the dark green cover to the notebook I had just bought an hour ago. I keep having these flashbacks of a black notebook in which I wrote down everything, but I've figured out that it's just another part of my weird coma-induced world. I've decided to give the whole notebook thing a try though because it gives me a good feeling to have a place to write down things that go on in my head.

There's a knock on my door before it opens slowly. Curly hair appears through the small opening.

"Come in Harry," I say, chuckling under my breath at how hesitant he is. He reminds me of a meek mouse, unsure of whether he wants to enter a room or not.

Harry steps in and gives me a small smile. HIs eyes go to the bandage wrapped around my head. It makes me feel ridiculous, but the doctor was insistent that I wear it.

"Feeling any better?" He takes a seat on the bed beside me.

I shrug. "Well, if you thought you died and suddenly you wake up in a world that doesn't make any sense anymore...how would you handle it?" I ask him.

"Pretty badly," Harry admits without a second to think about his answer. "So this whole thing must be really weird for you right now."

What Harry doesn't understand is just how weird it really is. Who dies and then comes back to life only to realize they haven't died at all?! It's crazy. It's mental. It's just...wrong.

"Extremely weird," I mutter. I lean back into my pillow that I have propped up behind my back against the wall. "So what brings you around?"

"We've got to head to the doctors later for a check-up. Also, the lads were all wondering if you wanted to do anything special tonight." Harry his this way of talking that always makes you question whether he wants to escape or not. For example, right now he keeps twisting his hands and darting his eyes from mine to random places in the room. I've always found it kind of reassuring to have someone around who's still as nervous as I feel sometimes.

"Tonight? What's tonight?"

"September thirteenth," Harry answers.

My jaw drops. "What?! My birthday?! Wasn't yesterday July 17th-" I cut myself off when I realize. "Oh."

Harry notices too. "We don't have to do anything! If you aren't feeling up to it, then we all understand. I mean it's not like we have any huge plans at the moment and our biggest goal right now is to get you feeling up and better. And it's totally okay with everyone if you aren't-"

"I've been out for over a month?" I whisper. Harry stops talking mid-rant.

"It was a long time, mate," Harry's voice sounds pained and I can understand why. The lads all had to deal with a month of thinking I may or may not make it out of some lack-of-oxygen induced coma.

"It doesn't feel that way for me...I mean, I know it was...but...," I trail off, finding myself at a lack of explanation. How was this all possible?

"It's not your fault, Niall," Harry says quietly.

I look up at the curly haired boy and realize I haven't been seeing him right. Is it possible for someone to age within a day? No, but within a month it's very much plausible. I've got to stop thinking it's only been a day.

"What's it like?" Harry asks hesitantly.

At first I don't know how to answer him. I could go with the obvious answer of it being confusing and downright terrible, but is it that bad? I'm presented with this...opportunity to experience life after death. I have the ability to make life-changing decisions based on how I felt when I died. Even if I never physically died, they say the mind is the most powerful weapon.

"It's hard," I decide to say. I nod. "It's definitely difficult. For one thing, I'm not used to your hair being pushed back like that. Where's all the curls? And what about all those new tattoos? And what about our fans? What do they know?" Suddenly everything hits me like a bus. "I've missed so much."

Harry starts laughing so hard that he falls back onto the bed, rolling around like a puppy under attack. I'm caught off guard and stare at him. His laughter rings loudly in the room and he clutches at his stomach at an attempt to calm down.

"Are you okay?" I ask the still laughing Harry.

"Oh my god!" Harry somehow manages to say through his continuous laughter.

"What?!" Frustration is starting to build up in me. I hate not being in on the joke.

Harry slows his laughter down and concentrates on breathing. He runs a hand down his face, wiping at the spilt laughter tears. He sits up on the bed and looks at me with a wide dimpled smile.

"What?!" I repeat.

"You're out for a month and your main concern is my hair?! You're unbelievable!" He guffaws loudly and falls back down onto the bed as if he can't hold his body up any longer. Harry sighs. "You're definitely back, Nialler."

And somehow I find myself laughing with him about my ridiculous outburst about his hair. It is a funny thing to show concern towards. Something as simple as hair.

"Hey, Harry?" I ask once our laughter has died down and I can take in a deep breath without choking.

"Yes, Niall?"

I bite my bottom lip and ask slowly, "What was it like for you and the lads?"

The air of playfulness and laughter immediately disappears and is replaced with a type of sadness in the room. I kind of regret asking the question, but I just have to know. Did they deal with it easily?

Harry swallows audibly. "It wasn't easy," Harry's voice drops low, and I know he's back in the place of remembrance. "At first, we had all thought you just fell asleep. Passed out from, I dunno, exhaustion. But after a day...you still hadn't woken up. You didn't react to anything around you. You weren't there." I look over at Harry who's lying sprawled across my bed the wrong way, his legs too long to fit entirely. His green eyes are set on the ceiling and I can see the way they're misted up and clouded with tears.

"I'm-"

"When we took you to the hospital, the doctor told us you were in a coma." I shut my mouth as Harry starts talking again. I don't even think he realizes I tried to say something. "I remember Louis, standing there, staring down at you. His eyes were so full of guilt. I think he blames himself mostly because he's the oldest, you know the whole 'I've got to play the role of the eldest' deal. But he stood in that room, and I swear I've never seen anyone so...lost. We all were. We weren't equipped to deal with this kind of situation. We didn't know what to do!" Harry suddenly chokes on a sob, his hands flying to the sides of his head.

I bite back my own tears and stare at the bumpy ceiling. I never wanted to hurt anyone, especially not one of the lads. But this was beyond my control. They had to understand that, right?

"Yesterday when you woke up, that will always be the greatest moment in my life. I didn't know exactly how much you all meant to me before, but now I do. You lads are my family. What we went through with you...that was hell," Harry whispers, his voice deadpan of emotion.

"But things will be better now," Harry says and sits up. I notice the tear stains on his shirt.

I give him a smile and try to convince myself as well. "I know they will," I say.

But I'm not convinced.



**A/N**

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AHHHHH this fanfic is at #191 in Fan Fiction and #211 in Teen Fiction... I would just like to say thank you for reading and supporting me. Even if it doesn't get farther than that, it's still pretty amazing to me.

I love you all. Honestly (:

Stay Great,

Kathleen :3