Here For You (A Niall Horan Fan Fiction)

Chapter 26

*Cara's POV*

I'm not quite sure how long we laid in the tree house, just looking at the sky above us through the retractable opening in the ceiling.

Niall spent most of the time talking to me. Telling me about myself. It's weird.. Hearing things about yourself. Things you're supposed to know, yet you don't. It almost sounds like a story from a book, with the way he's explaining it.

Apparently, I love to draw. And I've been writing stories since I was five. He told me that he was the only one I would ever share my stories with.

"You wrote this one story when we were nine years old. And to this day it is still my favourite."

"What was it about?" I asked, rolling over on my side so I could look at him.

A smile tugged at his lips as he kept his gaze on the now purple sky above us.

"It's quite the riveting story actually. It's about a glazed donut named Paul who fell in love with a strawberry jam-filled donut named Patricia. Paul gave Patricia his whole heart, or in your words, his whole donut hole." He paused so he could laugh at the memory of the story.

I couldn't help but fall in love with his laugh. The way his eyes squeezed shut and his cheeks flooded with a deep red as the most adorable giggle escaped his lips, it did something to me. It clouded my thoughts and made butterflies flutter in my stomach. Once he collected himself, he began explaining the rest of the story, my story, to me.

"But one day Patricia decided that she loved looks over personality and left Paul because his bland glazed appearance wasn't appealing to her anymore. So Patricia left Paul for Pierre, the Eclair. He was so sad because Patricia still possessed his heart, leaving him with just a gaping hole right in the middle of him. He spent the rest of his days alone on the pastry shelves of the bakery. On his final day, he was bought.. By you. And you brought him to my house and gave him to me as an apology for taking my last cookie at lunch the day before. And I ate Paul and forgave you and we lived happily ever after."

I couldn't help but burst out into laughter. I couldn't have been THAT weird, to write an entire story on donuts. But then again, the smile and look of serenity on Niall's face told me the story i wrote brought him some sort of comfort, so I didn't say anything other than,

"Wow." I said through my laughter. "Sounds quite imaginative."

"You would always write me stories as ways to apologise to me if I were ever mad at you. It's one of the minuscule reasons I fell in love with you.." He trailed off.

He rolled over on his side so he was now facing me. He didn't say a word, he just smiled as he took in every aspect of my face. Almost as if he were trying to memorize every single detail. The look in his eyes bared deep into my soul. The look of love. True love.

-

Niall grabbed the sides of my waist to support me as I climbed down the last couple steps of the tree house ladder. As soon as my feet hit the ground, he pulled me into him.

I automatically stiffened under his warm yet spontaneous embrace. He might've been my boyfriend, but at the moment I barely know him. All he told me in the tree house were the things about me. The only things I knew about him were that he was my boyfriend, my best friend, and the fact that he is far from subtle.

He could feel my stiff stance and instantly let go, coming to realization. He awkwardly retracted his arms, sticking his hands in his pockets and staring at the ground.

I cleared my throat before turning to walk back towards the house. He kept his pace similar to mine, his eyes not leaving his feet. I had to say something. The tension between us just became too awkward.

"So can you tell me just.. One more thing?"

He seemed caught off guard from me speaking up.

"Uhh. Y-yeah. Yeah sure. Anything."

"Can you possibly tell me why this place," I gestured to the house standing in front of us, "why it feels more like home to me than any other place?"

"Well probably because you lived here for almost 2 years." He blurted out. His eyes grew wide and his hand flew over his mouth.

"I-I mean.. Um-"

"I lived here. With you. My boyfriend. Why? Where was my father? My mother?" Confusion swept over me and I was starting to feel a slight twinge of pain in the back of my head.

"Well. Um. You see.. Y-your dad.. He left for Florida so he could start a better life for you and for him. Your mom... Well um, Cara, your mom.. She-"

"What are you guys talking about out here?" My dad interrupted.

"Oh. Nothing.." Niall said sounding both relieved and embarrassed.

"Mhmm." His mouth formed a firm line. "Cara, it's time to go back to the hotel now. You can come back tomorrow if you want."

I looked at Niall, he met me with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, actually. I'd love to." I gave the blond hair, blue-eyed boy a warm smile.

He stood there, looking like he was holding himself back from making a move, so I made one first. I enclosed the space between us and pulled him in for a hug. He hesitated slightly to return the hug.

"Thank you for everything today." I whispered in his ear, kissing him lightly on the cheek before letting my arms drop back to my sides.

And with that I was following John out of the house, feeling Niall's eyes on me the entire time.