before the beyond | ziall boyxboy

1.0

I know this has taken 1308743 years but I'm so unhappy with this cchapter and it's rushed and not finished how I wanted it to but here we go...#

Bit of a time skip... sorry!

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It had been almost a year since Niall took over the arena. His father had moved back to Ireland permanently, taking his mother and pride with him. That was four months into Niall's success, and the twenty-three-year-old's schemes were very much disapproved by his father, however encouraged by most others.

Louis had been pining after Harry, the doctor, for the longest time. His mind was constantly drifting to thoughts of the bloke, who remained indifferent to Louis; so the pining continued. Though after one snog, Louis felt as though he was finally getting somewhere, and with Niall as his wingman and his job including observing at the hospital, he was convinced that it was only a matter of time.

The runners under the age of fifteen had been relocated to housing blocks behind the arena, spread across the large expanse of land with two people to a bedroom and ten to a house. Bathrooms kept clean, due to cleaners coming round once a week. The older lads, who were far healthier than before. No more infections or blurry vision, and certainly no more cramped cells. There were small rooms installed in the place of the large cell area, and having moved out a large amount of people, there was more than enough space for attached shower rooms and enough rooms for them to share between two.

Zayn's bed was pushed against the wall, with the end of it next to the doorway to the bathroom, Liam's being just across the floor. A desk stood by the main door and it held paper and pens, though their lack of education prevented much more than some childish writing and silly drawings, something Zayn found hugely therapeutic before and after a run.

There were cooks employed, roasting up hearty meals for all the runners, ranging across all types of meals. Though the runners would have to help out due to the sheer amount of them and small amount of cooks.

Everything was coming together, and Niall couldn't have been happier. Some of the younger runners were being adopted by young couples who were unable to conceive, which was a really positive response to the idea of letting runners decide that it was something they wanted to do- not by force. The older boys were able to leave, they would just have to sign out and go. But their minimal amount of education and lack of experience in the real world prevented them from deciding to adventure out.

Niall met with them every few days, having formed bonds with some of the lads. He would help them train, working out alongside them was a challenge because the runners were so in shape. He would encourage them to leave, to be free and to explore the City- he was constantly met with shaking heads and anxious glances.

"I'd have nowhere to stay," or "It'd be too easy to get lost." Were the usual excuses, which was perfectly rational, in all honesty. So, Niall and Louis had conjured up yet another scheme, something slightly more adventurous for the older boys and fun for them. Niall wanted to take them into the City, and explore with them so that they'd get to know it and be able to go out for the day themselves, rather than being cramped in the arena premises every day of their bland lives.

//

"Who are we taking out today?" Niall asked, flashing Louis a brief glance as he knelt down to tie his laces. Louis hummed quietly, looking up from his phone with raised brows.

"I'm not sure, we'll just have to go and see who's training and who's not. It's a pretty terrible day, weather wise, so might have to go to a pub or something."

"Ok," Niall breathed, shifting the hood of his coat with a tilted lip before scuffing his trainer clad foot against the tile of the hallway floor. Louis looked up once again, pocketing the device and running a hand through his chestnut brown hair before pushing through the front door with a slow breath.