Hostage (a One Direction story)

Chapter Twenty Five

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Jae's P.O.V.

The lads are all standing, running around, yelling things, calling the police, locking windows and doors...I'm frozen, my eyes blank and wide as they stare at the television blindly. Two words are bouncing around my skull, repeating themselves, echoing...run, Jae. Run, Jae. Run, Jae. Run, Jae. 

So that's what I do. Ignoring El's and Niall's cries for me to stop, I sprint upstairs to my room and slam the door shut, locking it tightly. I can hear the fists pounding on it urgently from far away, like they're at the end of a tunnel. Overcome by a sudden bout of dizziness, I slump to the floor, barely feeling the pain of the impact. 

Run, Jae. Run, Jae. Run, Jae. Run, Jae. Run, Jae. 

I close my eyes tiredly, wishing that the muffled shouting would go away.

It had to have been Nate, who killed Marc. Who stabbed him mercilessly. Nate, who would rape me and kill me if he had the chance. Nate, who killed his ex-partner(in crime). Nate. 

A shiver runs down my spine and I slowly sit up, rubbing my eyes, trying to scrub away the image of bloody letters spelling out 'Run, Jae' and failing. Stumbling slightly, I open the door, meaning to go downstairs and talk to the lads. As I pull it open, Niall trips into the room from where he had been leaning on the door, his unbalanced weight sending us both crashing backwards onto the bed, with him on top of me. 

I gasp, surprised by his unexpected weight, and blush furiously as he lifts his body off of me.

"Oh, god, Jae, I'm so sorry," he stammers, his hands fluttering awkwardly as he dithers. 

I snort. "It's fine. I'm fine. I mean..." I trail off, blushing even more, as he smiles. 

"You're so cute when you blush," he says, making my eyes widen. 

"I.. er... thanks?" I mumble, unsure how to receive the compliment. 

Deep down inside, a fangirl is screaming and jumping up and down and sobbing, but a larger part of me, the I'm-awkward-around-boys part, is blushing even more and staring at the ground. 

Niall's P.O.V.

I can't hold back a grin as my comment makes Jae blush even more, her gaze not meeting mine. My mind going back to what Eleanor told me to do, I sit next to her on the bed. 

"Jae. I...I wanted to let you know, about that night, on the balcony, when I kissed you-"

"It was a mistake, right?" she asks, ducking her head.

I put my fingers under her chin, lifting her head so that her deep blue eyes meet mine. "The opposite." I whisper, and kiss her softly, her sweet, lush lips moving against mine.

Goosebumps made me shiver with pleasure as she digs her fingers into my blonde hair. She wraps her arms around my neck, holding me closer to her, while my hands slide around her slim waist, hating every centimeter of space between us. Jae breaks the kiss, leaving us with barely a millimeter between our lips, and exhales shakily, letting her fingers trail down my shoulder and across my chest, her palm flat over my heart. She smiles softly at me and leans in again placing a sweet, passionate peck on my lips. It's obvious that she meant to move away, but I deepen the kiss, swirling my tongue with hers.

"Niall," she murmurs, the passion in her voice making me tremble. "Niall, I-" 

We're interrupted by the sound of footsteps, right outside Jae's open door. Blushing furiously, Jae springs away from me, and when Eleanor walks in she sees a very red-faced Jae standing awkwardly by the dresser while I sit on the bed. 

Quirking an eyebrow at me, she smirks at me before turning to Jae. "Jae, sweetie, the police are going to be arriving soon enough, they'll want to talk to you."

"Fine," says Jae shortly, not meeting El's eyes. "I... that's fine."

Eleanor smiles knowingly at me before leaving the room. 

"Jae..." I say, standing up.

She holds out her hand. "Just...Niall...could you give me some time. I need...I need to think things over, you know."

It feels like a punch in the stomach, but I force a smile onto my lips. "Sure, love." I turn away, unable to hold the fake grin any longer, and leave the room in a rush. My head pounding and my heart aching, I barely see Eleanor's confused look as I trudge through the living room. 

"It's stopped raining." I say in a monotone. "I'm going for a walk."

Looking back on it, I should've known that going on a walk so soon after seeing a bloody warning from Jae's kidnapper wasn't a good idea. But I was lovesick - I was sure Jae was going to reject me, and I didn't think.

But I damn right should've.

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