Downfall [Punk Niall Horan]

8

Nervously, I picked on my already chipped nails as I sat in Val's room. Which confused me, because why would she have a room down here underneath the city with a gang that blew up my house? But it also confused me as to why she was down here at all in the first place. Did they take her too? But she looked far to happy to have just been kidnapped and held here by her own will.

After picking around at my nails I started to bite on the ends of them, a nervous habit I had picked up from my father. A pang shot through my chest when a memory of him smiling at me through his fingers popped into my head. I had to mentally remind myself to not think about my parents.

According to Niall they were still alive and well, which was still something I didn't quite believe. But as for me, I was not safe or at least I didn't feel like it. All I had to do was find a kink in their security down, if they even had security that is. If I could learn more about the place, and how it works, then maybe I could escape. Maybe Val could help me escape, and we could get out of here together.

"Ty, stop doing that. You're not going to have any nails left," Val piped up casually, finally breaking the tense silence. For the past ten minutes, she had just been staring at me. I saw all the words racing around her mind, trying to conjure them up into a coherent explanation. Her mouth opened and closed several times, deciding that whatever the excuse wasn't good enough.

"Well maybe if you would tell me something and quit staring at me like I'm some kind of alien, I could stop," I spat, surprised by my sudden anger. Honestly it wasn't her I was angry with, it was this whole big mess that I was in that was making me rage filled. The kidnapping, the bombs, Val going missing. And most importantly Niall. This was all a lot to deal with for me, and with my condition creeping back around the corner, I just need some air to breathe and think clearly before I lost my mind completely.

"I just...I don't know where to begin really," Val huffed exasperatedly, crossing her thin yet strong arms across her chest. A long sigh blew from my mouth, and I ran my hand through my freshly clean hair. Valie had allowed me to take a shower before we talked, and Calum begrudgingly went off to get me some fresh clothes.

"The beginning?" I suggested nicely, batting my eyelashes at her. A scoff fell from her parted lips, but then a light giggle filled the air just like I suspected. Val was immune to my sarcasm and smartass remarks, and that was one of the things I loved about her.

"Well I guess I should start with my Dad is a part of Zaios," she rushed quickly, trying to get all of the words out before she could stop herself. Again. My heart skipped a beat, and not in the good fuzzy feeling way. Mikey, one of my favorite people on this earth was in the Gang that set off bombs around people? And my best friend, his daughter, knew and didn't tell me these crucial details? I couldn't help the hurt that surged through me and the frown that sketched onto my face. Did my bestfriend not trust me with this information? Or were simply not as close as I thought we were?

"What," I managed to grit, starting to shake slightly. Val left her position on her bed in front of me, and came to crouch down right in front of me. Guilt was in her eyes, and she grabbed my freshly bandaged hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I couldn't divulge that information in case-," she started telling me, pleading with her big blue eyes. But I wasn't having that dumb puppy dog look. "I told my Dad?" I finished her statement, barring my teeth angrily.

The silence that surrounded us was enough to answer my question that I already knew the answer to. Grabbing her small wrists, I scraped her hands off of me. The same scar that Niall had was on her wrist and I felt stupid for not noticing it before. I stood up with an angry scoff and pushed past her crouched figure, leaving her staring at my vacated spot.