Inked

Chapter 1

The piercing sound of an alarm screamed out at 5 in the morning on a Saturday. Niall's eyes shot open, strained by the light of the sunrise peering throught the curtains. Niall groaned, throwing his hands over his face, temporarily shielding himself from the morning.

"It is way too fucking early to be up, especially on a fucking Saturday..." he complained, rolling himself over on his stomach, throwing his arm out at the clock, slapping the top of it until it quit screeching. Niall groaned some more into his pillow, before heaving himself up off his bed. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and put his hands in his face.

"I am so not a morning person," he said aloud.

Waking up early was not part of the job Niall liked most, but there's some things he knew he had to sacrifice in order to be in this boyband. And if that sacrifice included his beauty sleep, then so be it. One Direction was going to start their 2013 World Tour on Monday, so the boys were getting on the road today.

Niall stripped off his boxers and turned the knob on the shower to warm. He ran his fingers through his hair, staring at himself aimlessly in the mirror. He swiveled his head from left to right then left again, examining his jawline with his piercing blue eyes. He looked up and down his body completely - from the top of his forehead to the toes on his feet. He twisted his arms in every way possible, making sure to examine every inch of them. Then, he did the same with his legs. Sighing with relief, he turned around 180 degrees, to reveal his backside. That feeling of relief soon disappeared as Niall ran his fingers across the fresh tattoo plastered across his right shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping he'd imagined it and the tattoo wouldn't be there when he opened his eyes.

One, two, three. His eyes shot open in desperation. Shit.. he thought. It was still there, mocking him. He traced it, outlining each twist and turn. A snake, hissing, revealing its pointy fangs.

"A snake? Really? Is that supposed to mean something to me or..?" he questioned his mirror image. He peered down and his shaft and laughed out loud at his own humor.

"God, this whole thing has really gotten to me. First I talk to myself, then I make penis jokes all by myself and even laugh at them. Get a grip Horan," he turned to the shower and stepped into the hot water raining down.

Between the steam and the soap, Niall tried to think of a reason why a snake would appear on his shoulder. Maybe he would get poisoned by someone who didn't like him. Or maybe he needs to avoid an actual snake, I mean they would be traveling and who knows what sorts of creatures will be lurking behind every turn. He shut off the shower and shook his head, flinging water in every direction. No, it had to be deeper than that.

Niall climbed out of the shower, grabbed a towel, drying himself off. He wrapped it around his hips and walked out to his packed suitcase, rummaging through it pulling out a pair of plaid boxers, grey sweatpants, and a black shirt that read "PUNK" in white letters. He threw the clothes on, pulled a pair of white socks on his feet, and slipped into a pair of sneakers. He zipped up his suitcase, everything he was taking with him packed tight. He threw himself back on the floor, covering his face with his hands.

"God, I can't wait to get on the freaking airplane so I can just sleep some more..." he groaned through his palms. A phone alarm went off on Niall's unmade bed. He rolled onto his stomach.

"Time to go," he pushed himself up off the floor as if he was doing a push up. Grabbing his phone, Niall shut the alarm off, grabbed his bags and tossed them towards his front door. He swiped his keys off his counter and took one last look at his house. He turned back towards the front door and out to his car.

An hour and a half later, he was at the London Heathrow Airport. One of his security guards met him and guided him inside, helping him carry his luggage. Once inside, they went to a reserved room where he could check in his luggage. Just as Niall finished paying for his bags,a pair of strong, swift arms grabbed him from behind and draped across his neck, wrists crossed at his chin.

"Nialler! You actually made it here on time, I'm surprised!" the person chirped in Niall's ear. Niall laughed and broke out of the person's grasp and spun around. He came face to face with Harry, his curly hair bouncing in his face and an unbelievely stupid grin spread across his face. Niall shoved his hands into Harry's chest, shoving him backwards jokingly.

"God Haz, it's way to early to be so cheerful. Cut it out, would ya?" Niall shook his head. Harry giggled and flung his arm across Niall's shoulders, walking him to the other side of the room.

"Never was a morning person, never will be," Harry stated. "Either way, the other boys are waiting. You can sleep on the long flight, but we have to get to the plane first!" he patted Niall on the back. Niall smiled, and rolled his eyes. They turned the corner and greeted the other boys.

"Okay boys, I don't think your management would appreciate you missing your plane so lets get a move on" Paul ushered them towards the doors leading to the terminals.

"Jesus I'm so excited! I mean I know it's like 7 in the morning and I'm strangely wide awake but this tour is going to be so freaking ridiculous I just know it" Louis rambled on as they walked towards their terminal. Liam laughed at Louis and grabbed his shoulder.

"Dude chill. Let's get there first!" his eyes twinkled, "but it will be pretty damn ridiculous!"

"Atta boy Payne! Get amped!" Louis jumped on Liam, causing them to crash to the ground. Paul rolled his eyes and pulled the boys off the floor.

"For god's sake it's 7 in the morning!" he growled.

"Cheer up Pauly, would ya?" Liam teased. Niall laughed at the boys and kept walking. They stopped at the terminal. They didn't have to stand around long before boarding the aircraft. When Niall finally got to sit down, he wasn't even tired anymore. He sighed, and looked out the window. He was fidgiting with the window shade when he felt a jab in his side.

"Dude, you're making so much noise. C'mon, try to get some sleep, we're all going to need it" Zayn nudged Niall with his elbow.

"Sorry Zayn. Fuck I'm just not tired anymore..." he slammed the shade down and slunk forward, holding his head with his hands, elbows rested on his knees.

"Niall, calm down. It's not like you're about to perform life-changing surgery or something. What's up with you today? Relax..." Zayn rubbed Niall's shoulders. Zayn always did that when someone seemed to be stressing out, and it always helped. But instead of relaxing, Niall remembered the snake tattoo draped across his shoulder.

Real snake or not, something is definitely going to bite me in the ass he thought. He closed his eyes and tried his best to forget about the tattoo and get some much-needed shut eye.