dissolve. nh

Chapter 14

I slipped out of the bathroom, my bare feet padding across the floor as I shut the door behind me. When I looked up, I saw Niall near his dresser, scrolling through his phone. His lips were pursed, and my eyes trailed down his figure, shirtless and although pale, he was the hottest guy I think I'd ever seen. The swoop in his back and the broadness of his shoulders sent tingles through my body. He looked up as soon as the door clicked shut, and he smiled as his eyes traveled up and down my body.

"Hmm, you look good in my clothes." He said, phone still in his hands. 

I gave a shy smile and nodded, holding up my clothes.

"Where should I put these?" I asked, and he nodded toward the laundry basket situated in the corner of the room.

"I'll wash clothes tomorrow." He said, and I nodded before walking over and dropping my clothes in. I felt his eyes on me the entire time, and I turned around, eyes roaming. His room wasn't very special; large king bed, covered in blue sheets, a closet with slits in the wooden doors, his bathroom on one side, and a dresser and night stand. The overhead light wasn't on, only the bedside lamp was, so shadows were cast everywhere in the room. 

And it smelled exactly like him. 

I yawned once, and then he was right there in front of me.

"You look tired. Do you want to go to bed?" He asked, and I nodded, then turned around. I went to walk into the living room, but he grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going?" He asked, a smile pulling at his cheeks and lips.

"T-the couch." I said, throwing a lazy thumb over my shoulder.

"No, Darling. You don't have to sleep on the couch. You can sleep with me." He said, his voice dropping low at the end. My eyes grew wide and I swallowed before looking at the ground, and almost immediately his fingers gently lifted my chin up.

"Bleu, I won't bite." He breathed, and I stared into his eyes. 

I had no idea what had gotten into me when he nodded his head behind him to the bed. I broke away, slowly padding over before I threw back the sheets and crawled inside. His bed was probably the most comfortable thing I'd ever felt. I let myself sink into it and buried my head in a pillow, trying to calm myself because my stomach was doing somersaults. I heard him moving around, setting things down and moving something, and then the 'chink' of metal. My eyes shot open and my heartbeat echoed in my ears. He blew out a breath at exactly the same time I did, and I heard him slide a drawer open. 

Barely a minute later I felt the bed behind me sink down, and I heard a chuckle. His breath hit my ear as he leaned down, and my eyes fluttered closed.

"Babe, you're in the middle of the bed. Scoot over." He said, the back of his hand pushing on my lower back. I moved over just enough where I was half on the left side, and half in the middle. The bed bounced lightly as he got comfortable, and then his arm was slung over my waist. 

My breath 'whooshed' out as he dragged my body close to his bare chest, our legs tangling together immediately. My body was locked up, and he let out a little groan of protest.

"Bleu, I'm not going to hurt you, babe. Relax." He breathed, and I turned my head around slightly, enough to see that his eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly open. I blew out a breath and turned back around, shutting my eyes and sinking into him.

"Oh, wait." He said, and his arm left my waist as he rolled over. I heard a click, and we were plunged into darkness. 

He settled back down, and it was a matter of minutes before I spoke. I couldn't hold it in any longer because it'd been eating away at me since it had happened.

"Niall?" I asked in a small voice, and he grunted out a response. "Why...why did you hit that guy?" I asked, turning over in his arms. I watched as his eyes opened lazily, then they locked with mine. His jaw clenched and the muscle jumped, but I waited patiently for him to answer. When he realized I wasn't letting this go, he rolled onto his back and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Because he disrespected you." He said, and as much as I didn't want to make him angry, I couldn't stop myself from saying,

"Well, hadn't you done the same thing to me before?" I asked, and his head snapped toward me. 

"Excuse me?" His eyes were narrowed at me, and I swallowed but held my ground.

"Niall-" "Give me one example of how I've disrespected you." He said, and I stayed silent, thinking.

"Think of all the creeps that you've come in contact with, and then tell me if I've done anything like them." He said, and I cast my eyes down to the duvet covering our bodies. It was true, what he was saying, but I didn't like it. I sighed, and he tilted my chin up to him. He didn't look angry, at least not at me, only confused.

"Why would you think I disrespected you, Bleu? What is so bad about me that you don't want to even consider the fact that I like you." He said, and I shot out of the bed. 

****

Niall's POV

She bounced out of the bed and paced away, my shirt barely covering her bum. She ran a hand through her long, wavy hair before shouting at me.

"Because this isn't supposed to happen!" She whipped around to face me, her brown eyes seeming to shine even in the dark.

"What's not supposed to happen?" I asked, sitting up and resting back on my hands.

"Us." Her voice caught on that single word, and I stilled. "Niall, why? Why would you chose me? Why did you pick me out of everyone else? How did this happen?" I got out of the bed when she put her face in her hands. 

I stopped just short of her, watching. Slowly she lifted her head, staring at me with all the hope in the world. I'd never seen her like this, never seen any girl like this. It was always lustful words being moaned or hateful ones being screamed at how I was a terrible man, or not a man at all.

"Bleu, you are special."

"No, I'm not." She interrupted, closing her eyes, but I spoke without a missing a beat.

"You're special to me, dammit. You ask me these questions and it would take me forever to answer them, or I can't answer them at all because it's so difficult to show you because you're the most stubborn person I've ever met. Bleu, don't fight it." I said, and she gave up completely, her pretty face covered by her hands once again and her shoulders slumped. 

I gathered her in my arms, resting my chin on her head and swaying us back and forth. I had never comforted a person before in my life, and I just hoped to God that I was doing it right because Bleu was the last person I wanted to see hurt. It was odd, knowing I'd just met her barely a week ago, as she'd pointed out, yet I confided everything I had in her, subconsciously, of course. Her body was limp against my own, and I found myself wondering if she was crying. 

After a long, long time of standing and holding her, she'd left to go to the bathroom. I climbed into my bed, collapsing and stretching out under the sheets.

"Come back to bed, Bleu." I called, and a few seconds later the light was turned out and she was standing in the doorway. I waited patiently for her to cross the room and then climb in beside me. She scooted in gently, getting closer than I thought she would, all the while her eyes never leaving mine. I laid my arm over her waist, easing the end of her shirt up and resting my palm on her soft, smooth skin.

"Thank you, Niall." She said, her voice clarifying everything inside of me yet still managing to melt me.

"You're welcome, Bleu. Now go to sleep." I said, and she nodded, gently closing her eyes. 

My breath hitched as I came to the realization that this was actually happening. She was here, she was real, and she was mine. Even if she refused to believe it, she was, and I would never let her go. How could I? How I could I lose this one beautiful thing I've ever known?