Code Black (N.S)

3.

Niall's POV

I let out an anxious breathe as the plane landed. I had never really liked plane trips but they seemed so much worse when you knew that you were never going back. Things were most likely going to be completely different for me and I wasn't sure how much of my life I wanted to change.

I had never really reacted well to change, so I wasn't sure how I was going to manage living here. Clearly I was just going to have to get used to it. I wished I wasn't being so anxious about this, I was used to dealing with things that made me uneasy, this shouldn't be any different. 

Mum's gaze turned to me, her eyes staring at me curiously and I knew that she could sense my uneasiness.

"Are you okay, Niall?" she asked.

I nodded slightly, hoping to put her at ease. She could tell that I wasn't telling her the truth because I was a terrible liar in the first place, as well as the simple fact that I didn't verbally respond, which was a clear indication of when I was upset. 

I had hoped that she would drop the subject but my answer didn't calm her down at all. Her motherly instincts to look after me kicked in. For my whole life, particularly after dad was gone, she had been insanely protective over me, which was understandable but considerably annoying at times.

"I'm fine," I mumbled and forced myself to smile, hoping that she didn't think I was mad at her for forcing this move onto me, because I wasn't. A part of me was excited for this, perhaps I could finally have friends.

~

I soon found myself in another taxi with mum, silently waiting to reach our new house. 

We were both silent. I could tell my mother wanted to speak but didn't want to talk just yet. I was too preoccupied with trying to calm my nerves, yet I was happy enough to be here. I guess she could still sense my discomfort because she continued to glance at me every so often.

"Are you sure you're okay, Niall? You can tell me if something's bothering you," she said softly, squeezing my arm reassuringly.

I sighed at her words, my eyes locked on my feet. I knew that I should probably tell her about how I was feeling, considering she was obviously going to stress more if she thought I was truly unhappy. 

"What if no one likes me? Everyone hated me in Ireland. What if people don't accept me for being gay? I can't go through with it again, mum," I muttered.

"Niall, impressing a group of kids in high school doesn't matter. If you're comfortable with who you are, then the people who can accept that are the ones that really matter," she replied, her voice was that same gentle tone it always was whenever we spoke about things like this.

"I just-- I don't want to get bullied again, but I know that I'm going to if people know," I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration. 

"You know I won't let anything happen to you. If anything happens, if anyone bothers you, come straight to me, okay?" she said. 

I knew to tell her if anything happened but from what had happened with my last school, I didn't think my mother could do much to stop the bullying. 

I nodded anyways because I didn't want to worry her anymore, and I knew I at least had her there for me, so I was slightly more at ease for the rest of the drive. 

~

After a few days of my mother and I trying our best to sort ourselves out in the new area, I had my first day at my new school. 

I was able to find the school building without too much trouble and hesitantly walked into the gates. A part of me wished I had taken longer to get here, so that there was no one around to see me enter. As I looked around, I saw several students look at me curiously, yet no one bothered to approach me.