Beauty & the Beast [Narry]

Chapter 8

Beth hadn't managed to make it to Niall's house the other day, for her mother was in town, but she was headed there now. Niall hadn't come in since that day.

She bumped into someone on her way there. Neither of them fell, which was good, but they both stumbled a bit. She looked up, an apology hanging off the tip of her tongue. "Oh, sorry- Nathan?"

Beth almost didn't recognize him. Usually Nathan was surrounded by girls and even some boys- that or he was pestering Niall about the two of them. He was alone today, though, with a flashlight and a wooden box.

"Niall's in danger." Nathan said simply. Beth, for a moment, just stared, then the words sunk in and she nearly had a panic attack right then and there. What happened? She went to ask, but Nathan, unintentionally, cut her off. "I must save him."

Nathan left without another word. Before Beth could even say anything or call out, Nathan was gone. Beth stared after him until she couldn't see him anymore. That was a bit odd. She though, but she headed to the book store. She decided talking to Mrs. Knight would help. If anyone knew what happened to Niall or what was going on, it would be her.

The bookstore was closed when Beth got there, however. She was confused, now. It was Monday, correct? Or had she gotten her days wrong?

Beth tried to think nothing of it. Mrs. Knight must just be sick or tired. Maybe she'd gotten up late or something. She decided she'd check back tomorrow.

----

Nathan actually ran into Frisy on his way to the forest. The dog was barking and running around and whimpering sadly. He was probably hungry, too, but Nathan didn't care about that. He kneeled by him and pet his head.

"Come, Frisy, for we must save Niall!" Nathan exclaimed. Frisy followed him, as he did Niall when his owner was still around. He trotted along his heels, letting out occasional barks and whimpers.

When they came upon the edge of the woods, Frisy was a bit hesitant. He paused for a moment and then, seeing at Nathan wasn't going to stop, began to follow him once again, right on his heels over the leaves.

Nathan followed the beam of light coming out of his flashlight, when he's turned on a moment after they'd gotten into the woods. He didn't notice the slight ruffle of leaves and crunches of branches as someone searched for the person in the woods. No, Nathan was simply oblivious. Gretta had made him this way for the time being, but he didn't know that, either.

Frisy whimpered hearing the sounds, letting out an extremely loud bark when he heard rapid footsteps coming towards them. Whoever it was who was running ran straight into Nathan, knocking him back. Nathan would have fallen straight onto Frisy if the dog hadn't moved away, still barking.

"Frisy!" A familiar voice said, kneeling next to the dog and pulling him into a hug- the kind you give your dog when you haven't seen it for a long time. Frisy barked happily, licking at his face.

Nathan turned. The boy was petting Frisy's head, hugging the dog lightly. When he pulled away, Nathan could see who it was properly.

"Niall?"

----

Earlier

Niall was in bed now, and the beast was sleeping, too, while the girls were in the living room. Liam was still out in the forest, but Zayn and Louis had come back, as Liam had sent them back.

"He loves with his heart," Danielle was standing up, practically prancing around the room. She was a dancer, so nobody was surprised. "The beast is changing! We'll all be free soon! Oh, how lovely it will be to be free!"

None of them noticed Niall sitting on the stairs. They weren't looking that way. He'd just come down to give back his tea cup, since he'd never taken it downstairs.

"I'm so sick of this curse," Eleanor said. She had her knees over the arm of the couch, her head on Louis' thighs. He was stroking her hair. "I hate being chained to this forest, and never being able to leave. It's stupid."

"Gretta," Perrie muttered. She was sitting in Zayn's lap. "Oh well! As soon as Niall falls in love with the beast, we'll all be free! And Harold will be human again!"

"Oh, I can just imagine that fresh air!" Danielle said. "The flowers, the water, even the snow! It's a good thing you found Niall, Perrie. We'll all be free!"

"I'm being used?" Niall whispered. They didn't hear him, of course. He hardly heard himself. He was just there to free them all? He was just there to fall in love with the beast? He thought he had, actually. He thought . . . he thought he did love the beast, but now-

Niall looked back to the couch. They still hadn't noticed he was there. He stood up, his legs shaking under him. "You're using me." His voice was shaky, too.

They all turned to him, shock spread across their faces. They looked like they'd all been caught in the middle of commiting a horrible, horrible crime. Perrie stood up quickly, her lips trembling. "Niall, it-it's not like that-"

"You kidnapped me." Niall made his way down the stairs on wobbly legs. He felt close to crying. "You kept me here just so you could be free?"

"Niall," Perrie placed a hand on his cheek when he got close enough that she only had to take a few steps to be in front of him. "we all love you. You're like family to us."

"It doesn't change what you did." Niall's eyes were filling with tears. "I thought maybe I could have a life here. Maybe I was brought to safety, out of a life of being used. Maybe I wasn't going to be used as a punching bag, as a sorry excuse for a lover- but now I'm just being used for some stupid spell!"

"Niall-" Perrie tried. Niall shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe they were all using him, using him like everyone else had.

"No." Niall, stepped away from the pink-haired girl, who was close to tears as well. "No, I-I'm done being used, okay? I . . . I give up."

Then Niall was running, crying, and dropping the tea cup as he went. Perrie went to run after him, shouting "Niall!", but the beast caught her arm with a gentle paw, as to not hurt her.

"Let him go." Harold ordered. Perrie didn't argue. Nobody did. What the beast said went and maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was better that Niall was free.

----

Niall cried as he ran, his vision blurry. He couldn't believe . . . he thought he would be happy there. The beast had been kind and . . . maybe he had actually fallen for him, but now-

Niall wasn't really paying attention to where he'd been going. He ran straight into someone and they both fell back. He heard a bark and sat up quickly, hoping the dog wouldn't hurt him.

He was shocked to find it was- "Frisy!" Niall scoot close to the dog, wrapping his arms lightly around Frisy's neck. He couldn't believe it. He didn't think he'd ever see his dog again.

"Niall?" A familiar voice said. Niall turned. It was Nathan he'd run into. He had a silver flashlight with purple light- one he'd never seen before, and a wooden box.

"Nathan?" Niall frowned. They both asked the same question, suddenly. "What are you doing here?"