November // n.h

viii

               E I G H T

With every minute, that we have spent in silence, the skies were getting darker. Completely forgetting the fact, that I will get in trouble with my parents, I just enjoyed the silence and the thought that someone actually came here with me.

Sitting at the top of that hill made nothing else matter. Looking into the calming ocean helped me as well. My heart stopped pounding loudly and the memories of this place were fading a little. The only thing I wasn’t sure of, was if I should be happy or sad, that they are fading.

I close my eyes tightly, remembering how many things have changed since I was here a couple of months ago. I hear Niall move beside me, oblivious to the thoughts that were running through my head. He didn’t know what happened, as well as he didn’t know about my nightmares. The ones that stopped a couple of days ago. On Friday, to be exact. When he appeared in my life and decided to ask how I feel, while walking on the beach.

It is ridiculous of me to think this way, but Niall might actually be the reason that those nightmares stopped flooding and drowning me each night. After such a long time, I had the ability to fall asleep and not wake up with streaks of sweat running down my face and mixing up with the burning sour tears.

After a second thought, I unzipped my jumper and took it off. Cold wind brushes against my back and shoulders as a shiver runs down my spine. I place the clothing behind my back and as I was going to lie down, Niall spoke.

“What are you doing?” He asked, clearly taken aback by my sudden actions. I turn to look at him with my eyebrows risen.

“I am taking off my jumper.” I blurt out as if it is the right answer and the most normal thing to say.

“I thought so. In fact, I see so, but you’re going to freeze yourself. Put that back on.” He answers, picking up my jumper and placing it on my shoulders. I admit, maybe it would be a little too cold to survive without a jumper but I needed to lie down on something and look up.

“I want to lie down. I am fine, Niall.”

He shakes his head as a ‘no’ instead of answering me with the words; takes off his own jumper and places it on the ground, right behind the both of us.

“This time, you will be the one to freeze out.” I say looking at him as if he is doing the stupidest thing. He isn’t supposed to be sick. He’s a singer and even a little voice loss of one of the members will affect the whole performance of everyone else.

“Then you’ll cuddle with me, to warm me up.” He states dumb fondly and all that I can do is stare at him, pretending that those words never left his mouth. Did he really just say that? He expected me to cuddle with him?

I don’t answer. I don’t have to. The words that left Niall’s mouth a second ago sounded like a suggestion to me, although he might have taken it differently, thought of it differently. But I wasn’t going to cuddle with him, no matter how cold it gets, no matter what, I wasn’t going to cuddle to him.

“Eve?” He asks, bringing me back to reality and as I blink, Niall taps the empty side of his jumper and I do lie down, but just to watch the stars. “So I guess we are not going to cuddle.” He states noticing the distance that I have put between us. Maybe it is just a jumper but I did manage to put the distance between the two of us.

I chuckle. “No, Niall. We are going to watch the stars. I am, for sure.”

I hear him sigh and even though I want to laugh, I hold it back and watch the little dots, points in the far distance. It has always been fascinating for me to see those little things shining brightly like little diamonds in the far off distance. Doing their best to get noticed and appreciated at a point.