Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most {Niam}

Nine-

At school, Niall is hardly himself.

He didn’t have Mitch in any classes, thank god, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other people there to harass him. And, for the first time in his young life, he let them.

There used to be a time when Niall wouldn’t let people bother him – if they did, he would bother them back. Teasing was a normal thing within him and his little group of friends. They all razzed each other all day long, and most of the time, the person who started it would be teased right back.

For whatever reason, Niall didn’t tease back today.

He didn’t have the energy for anything – lessons, talking, eating…everything seemed to require more effort that he honestly couldn’t put forth. His shoulders and head were heavy, always bent over and hunched, and he couldn’t even smile at a joke, never mind laugh. His body was sore all over, especially his lower half, to the point where walking caused pain to shoot up his legs. And as if that weren’t enough all on its’ own, he had gym that day.

“What’s up?” Savannah asked him as they walked towards the locker rooms together. Niall gave her a dumb look, faking like he had no idea what she was talking about. But he knew. “You keep, like, wincing and stuff…seriously, it looks like you’ve got a tic or some shit. And you’re kind of slouchy, and slow…my point is, you look like shit.”

Honestly, she was the first to point it out, and Niall’s glad that she caught it before a teacher or another faculty member could – or anyone that would otherwise call his parents and harass them for information that they didn’t have.

“I don’t know,” Niall sighed, straightening himself up the best he could. He couldn’t find a lie to present, however – how did you explain something like this? “Tired, I guess.”

If that wasn’t an understatement, Niall didn’t know what was. Though it wasn’t the main reason for his behavior, he had spent his entire night wanting his parents, or Liam, and crying from the pain and his overall rising anxiety. Savannah, close as a friend could get, couldn’t know the real reason behind his attitude or his actions. He thinks it’s that thought that brings the guilt.

Savannah arches one of her well-defined eyebrows at him. “Are you kidding me? Here I was, worrying that you got your ass kicked, and you’re just tired? Shit, Niall, if it’s really this bad you should have just stayed home today.”

Like that was at all possible. He hadn’t even stayed home last night.

He offered her a weak smile, “Don’t worry ‘bout me. I’m going to be fine. I’ll call Liam and tell him to take me to Starbucks during lunch.”

They had stopped near the girl’s locker room, Savannah standing in the doorframe – waiting for the bell to ring to actually go in and get changed. Instead, she cocked her head at Niall. “So it is true? Liam did get suspended for the fight? And not Mitch?”

“Suppose,” Niall shrugged, and took a couple steps closer to the boy’s locker room. “I don’t know, I guess if Mitch didn’t really try to fight him back, then…I suppose it was something like an attack.”

Hardly, but no one besides the three boys understood what really went down. But it was mostly true – Mitch didn’t even lay a finger on Liam, and Niall guessed it was out of fear, but he couldn’t be sure because Mitch didn’t really feel anything, let alone fear.

“That is bullshit,” Savannah scoffed, just in time for the bell to chime. She called out to Niall before he entered the locker room, “Why would Liam do that in the first place?”

Niall pretended he didn’t hear her.

~-~-~

Before today, Niall hadn’t been self-conscious about changing in front of people.