Bite {Niall Centric}

Day 148

A week on the road was nostalgic to Niall's wondering soul, but it was quite the burden as well. His ankle wouldn't heal for another three weeks, disabling him greatly. To put it in other words, Niall was stuck with the four idiots for a long while. The truck went over a speed bump, jostling Niall in Liam's lap. Liam let out a groan of pain when Niall's elbow connected to his ribs. "Sorry, sorry!"

"It's alright, little guy. Just didn't expect it is all."

"It's Niall," he mumbled. Deciding to finally let them know his name, Niall spoke aloud, "My name is Niall."

The boys all turned their heads to him - even Harry. "Well, it's about time you told us something about yourself," Louis snorted from the front seat. Niall scrunched his nose in irritation in response to Louis' sassy tone. "But thank you. . . Niall."

Niall sighed, resting against Liam's chest once more, head turned to the side to peer out of the window. The sky was murky and gray, matching Niall's somber mood. "Could we please pull over for a little bit? I'm getting restless back here."

"Do you think you can wait twenty minutes? I know a place in the upcoming town where we can rest and fill up the gas tank safely," Harry replied. Niall hummed in agreement, letting his eyes close for a quick nap.

~.~.~.

Niall felt the truck slow down, his body leaning away from Liam as the vehicle came to a final halt. He opened the door after flicking the lock up and slid out of Liam's lap, using his baseball bat as a makeshift cane to lean against as he hobbled towards the abandoned gas station. "Wait up! It isn't safe to go alone," Zayn was by his side in an instant, helping Niall slide passed the iron buglary bars on the front entrance. Niall made his way to the restroom, but before he could go in, Zayn had to ensure that the room was empty and safe. "Go ahead."

Niall slowly walked into the restroom, passing all of the stalls to get to the biggest one. Before sitting down on the toilet seat, he made sure to cover every inch of the seat with at least three layers of toilet paper. He pulled his backpack off, leaning his metal bat against the wall. He rummaged through the pockets until he found what he was looking for: a photograph. It was one of the only things he had left of his family.

He was only twelve in the picture, but he looked so happy. Everyone looked so happy. There were no zombies, no widespread cannibalism, and no chaos for the Horan family. Niall couldn't help the tears that fell, quiet sobs racking through his body. He bit his hand to silence the wailing, hot tears burning his skin.

Knock. Knock.

"Niall?" He heard Zayn's voice. Niall bit his hand harder, trying and failing to keep quiet. "Are you okay? I can hear crying."

Niall sniffled, taking deep, shaky breaths to calm down. He heard footsteps head for the stall he was in, the door rattling when Zayn tried to open it. "I'm fine," His voice broke, indicating that, no, he was not fine.

"Niall, let me in."

"I don't have my pants on, pervert."

"If I was born yesterday, maybe I'd believe you."

Niall sighed, putting his photograph away. He stood up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder before clutching the bat in his hand tightly. He wiped under his eyes with the sleeve of his flannel, ridding his face of tears before unlocking the stall door. "See? I'm fine."

Zayn looked at the blonde's face, eyes softening at the horrid state Niall was in. "You look. . . awful."

Niall snorted, rolling his eyes. "Thank you. Now, move aside, so we can leave."

A hand stopped Niall from moving away. The blonde turned back to Zayn, surprised when he was pulled into a hug. The top of Niall's head was used as a resting place for Zayn's chin during the embrace. The hug felt warm, safe, and reassuring. But Niall will never admit to that. "I don't know why you're crying. . . but I do know that things will get better."

Niall snuggled into the warmth of Zayn's chest, his ear pressed to the place where Zayn's heart beat.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Just the sound of Zayn living brought relief to Niall. There was no zombies here. Just humans and there beating hearts.

~.~.~.

Niall browsed the chips and candy in the snack aisle, Zayn trailing close by to make sure the blonde would be okay. Liam was guarding the entrance, Harry guarding the exit, and Louis guarding the snack pile. Niall grabbed a bag of pretzels and a chocolate bar before heading to the soda. He grabbed a bottle of cherry coke before hopping onto the checkout counter and opening the pretzels. Munching on the crunchy and salty snack, he observed his surroundings.

The gas station did not have any electricity unfortunately, so the only light they had was from outside. The place smelled of piss and sugar - quite the confusing mix. To the right was the manager's office and the restrooms, and to the left was the entrance and stacks of warm beer. In the back was all the freezers and food aisles, and in the front, where Niall sat, was the cashier's register and a wall-to-wall shelf of cigars and cigarettes. "Thirty more minutes then we'll hit the road. Everyone okay with that?" Harry announced as he shut the exit door before grabbing a pack of gum as he passed by the checkout counter to stand beside Liam.

Niall's eyes followed Harry's movements as he chewed on a pretzel noisily. When Harry's eyes met his, he nodded to show that he agreed. Harry's staring got too intense, so Niall looked down at his pretzel bag, cheeks hot and flushed. Discreetly, he looked back up and quickly looked back down when Harry's green calculating eyes were still on him. He fumbled with the hem of his shirt until Zayn stood in front of him, lifting his head up with a finger under his chin. "You okay?" Zayn asked in a whisper.

"Yes," Niall whispered back. "Thank you."

"For what?"

Niall shrugged. "For caring, I guess."

~.~.~.

Hope you enjoyed!