Pinky Promise

Chapter 11

"You know you should be better at covering up your tattoos." Niall whispers, his fingers tracing my shoulder tattoo. I tense, partially from the subject, partially from his touch.

He stalks in front of me, squatting down and taking my bare left foot in his hands.

"Just like this one." He whispers, tracing my tattoo on the back of my ankle. I breath out slowly.

"And then there's this one." He says.

He stands up and moves a couple inches closer so that the tips of our toes are touching. His hands rest lightly on my hips and then slowly move up stomach to the left side of my chest. He takes one of his fingers and ever so slightly traces the cursive permanently imprinted on my skin. My breath hitches as his fingers move back down to my hips. He leans in and places a gentle kiss on the corner of my mouth. Before he can pull away, I twist my head so his lips crash onto mine. My arms hook around his neck, moving through the hair at the nape of his neck.

I move my lips right under his ear, whispering, "What about you?"

I trace his arm, the swirls of the blank ink forming different shapes and letters. After a little while, I move onto his other arm and then move up to the top of his shirt, where the rest of his tattoos are peeking out. Copying his actions, I slide my fingers up his stomach, dipping into the lines of his six pack. He slowly pulls off his white t shirt, and I continue tracing his tattoos.

"You're the first person to see them." He whispers.

I'm shocked but grateful. I wrap him in my arms for a hug. After a few seconds I pull back and put my foot on his thigh.

I grab his hand and we lightly trace the tattoo on my foot.

"This one was when I turned sixteen." It's of three tiny birds, flying on my ankle. "That's when my little brother was born, and died the same day."

I see his eyes widen and I start shaking a tiny bit. I turn around so my back is facing him and he retraces my other tattoo. This one is of a big bird high up on my neck.

"When Wesley almost died about a year ago."

He lifts up my shirt again and traces the lettering. This tattoo says, 'Everything has beauty' in dark cursive. Underneath it it says, 'but not everyone can see it' in white lettering. I grimace.

"After my second suicide attempt. This is where I met Wesley."

His hands leave my side and fall limply by his hips.

"My turn." I state boldly.

He turns around when I lightly trace a cross on the back of his neck.

"The one person that's been there when no one else has." He states.

I trail my fingers down his spine until I reach the dimples at the bottom of his spine. There are a few words inked on his skin in cursive.

"We accept the love we think we deserve." I breathe out.

I trail my fingers up and along his right arm, goosebumps rising wherever my fingers lay. He suddenly grabs my wrists in his grasp and curls them into my chest, off of his arms. He scoops up his shirt and pulls it over his head and keeps his eyes off of mine.

"What's wrong?" I ask softly, wounded by his actions.

"I'm just not ready for that yet." He says, flopping down onto the couch lay against the wall, the closed blinds above it. I frown and walk over to him.

"Alright."

He ignores me and scrolls through his phone.

My frown deepens and I huff, laying down next to him. I bite my lip and grab a blanket from the back of the couch, deep in thought.

"You know that crease doesn't look good on you." He whispers, his index finger smoothing out the crease in between my eyebrows.

He kisses my forehead and lays back down.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." I say, waiting for his reaction.

"I'm sorry too." He says, implying that he shouldn't have taken that far.

That's not what I was expecting. Well then. I shiver, the temperature way too cold in the room. Half from the thermostat and half from the tension. Niall rubs my arm, trying to rid the goosebumps.

"You can't turn down the heat, it's permanently set for Wesley's needs." I call out as Niall sits up, looking for the thermostat.

He curses and turns to me. Niall gets under the blanket and wraps his ankles around mine. He tugs me closer to his chest and I dig my head into the dip in his collar bones. I can feel his breath fanning out over my head. He rubs my back and I purr, loving the feeling. I can feel his lips part into a smile and I intertwine our fingers, my breathing slowing down.

He softly starts singing The A Team by Ed Sheeran and my eyes flutter. I finally fall asleep as he finishes the song.

NIALL'S POV

I smile, looking down at her. I wasn't the lovey dovey sappy guy but this is pretty darn cute. Until she kicks me straight in the shin. I bite my tongue, trying not to cry out in pain. I knew this moment wasn't going to last.

She twists around a bit, digging her hips into my thighs and untangling our feet. Every few minutes she mumbles something or twitches her ankle. After getting used to her periodic kicks to my legs, I finally fall asleep with bruises forming.

Wesley's POV

A little wobbly on my feet, I teeter down the hall back towards my room. The stupid oxygen machine wheels behind me, squeaking nosily. I grumble and take a deep breath, thinking of my numbered days. I quietly walk into my room, peering around the corner at Niall and Brinley.

I smile looking at them, they are all tangled up together. I was hoping to make it to adult hood, and maybe start a family of my own. Those dreams along with many others are being crushed as I speak. With difficulty, I carry the oxygen machine over to my bed, trying to make as little noise as possible. I flip open a new book and start reading, getting lost in the characters.

After about an hour, Brinley starts to stir. I catch my breath, waiting to see if she wakes up. She wiggles a little farther from Niall but he pulls her back to his chest in his sleep. Awwww.

I am in a real life romantic movie. I wonder what actress would play me if this were to become a movie? As I'm pondering that thought, Brinley kicks Niall in the shins. I'm just about wheezing in laughter. He winces a little bit and flutters his eyes.

Before his eyes land on me, I can swear I hear him whisper, "It's worth it."

I busy myself in my book and Niall carefully unwraps his arm from around Brinley, checking his phone.

"'Sup?" He whispers, eyeing me.

"How was chemo?"

"Boring." I whisper back.

We both eye Brinley.

"Did she kick you in the shins?"

He laughs, "Multiple times."

He drags his legs from the couch, showing me more tattoos and more bruises. I laugh along with him. Brinley wakes up with her eyes closed, oblivious to my presence. She pats the couch, searching for him. Once her arm lands on his bicep, she tugs him closer to her.

"I'm cold!" She whines.

He smirks at me then resumes his previous position. Brinley's phone dings and she groans, taking it out and reading the text message.

Oh and if you could check out my new series, 'Imagines' - they're just imagines of all the boys - that'd be awesome! Thank you!