Two Birds on a Wire - NIAM [IN EDITING]

Chapter 1

"Hey fag, what's up?" Bonnie jeered as Niall passed her in the hall.

Niall kept his gaze locked on the ground and sped up, hoping to avoid any mean comments. 

"Look, he is ignoring a girl! Of course, because he likes guys," someone else said, laughing. 

"I don't see why he would like guys though, girl's do it better," a familiar voice sneered.

Niall looked up and saw Stan, Louis' best friend, looking at him with a smirk. 

"Just leave me alone," Niall croaked, using his voice for the first time in weeks.

The other kids mocked him, pretending to cry and whine like a baby. Niall had enough and started to run, heading straight to the bathroom. Tears were starting to run down his face and he kept his head down. 

He was rounding the corner when a body collided with his and he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Sorry," a boy breathed, getting up and holding his hand out to help Niall up.

Niall flinched at the offer, but then realized the stranger was crying and didn't look like he would do anything violent, and took his hand. 

"S'okay. My fault anyways.." Niall mumbled. The tears had stopped and the only way you could tell either of then had been crying was the salty water still on their cheeks. 

"No, uh, it was probably both our fault," the stranger said. "I'm Liam, by the way."

"I'm Niall."

"Niall.. I like the way that sounds," Liam said, before blushing and covering his mouth in embarrassment. "I mean, I uh, oh god this is awkward.."

Niall chuckled, which was rare for him, and replied, "It's okay, I actually like that compliment."

"That's good then," Liam smiled. 

"Yeah.." Niall trailed off, "Good. It's good."

As Niall seemed to get lost in his thoughts, Liam watched with a smile. He couldn't help but wonder why a boy as cute as him was crying, but he couldn't really judge since he himself had been doing the same. 

"So um, I was just heading home.." Liam said, trying to break the silence. 

"Oh! Yeah, so was I," Niall lied. 

"Great, so you wouldn't mind walking home with me?" Liam asked, with the slightest bit of hope in his voice.

To say Niall was shocked would be an understatement. "You mean, you want to hang with me?" 

"Uh.. well that's what I'm kind of implying.." 

"Y-Yeah sure, okay. That sounds.. nice?" Niall was literally at a loss for words. It seemed like such a simple gesture, but to him it was a tiny spark of hope. Maybe he wouldn't be lonely forever after all. 

Liam smiled, "Okay. Let's go then!" 

Together the two walked out, keeping a distance but still relatively close. Niall actually laughed for the first time in a while, and neither of them were sad for those short minutes. Everything was forgotten—the harsh words they were called, the empty space in their hearts... 

But, sadly, they had to part. 

"This is my street," Niall said, coming to a stop. 

"My house is just two blocks away," Liam said, stopping also. 

"Well, it was nice talking to you," Niall mumbled. A blush crept onto his face and he looked away smiling. 

"See you tomorrow then?" Liam asked.

"Yes, see you tomorrow. At school. For sure.." 

With nothing else to say, they started walking away from each other.

The previously forgotten void was once again in their minds, and slowly everything came creeping back to them. Their smiles melted from their face and was replaced with a thin line, and they both fought the urge to cry. 

Who knew two complete strangers could have so much in common?

When Niall entered his house, the burning smell of beer filled his nose. He knew, somewhere his drunken father would be awaiting his arrival. Running was no use, and hiding would just be cowardly.

"Father?" Niall called out wearily.

"The slut is home," his dad, named Bobby, slurred from the kitchen. "Come here, son."

Slowly, Niall walked to the room where he knew an intoxicated shell of a person would be standing impatiently, beer in one hand and a knife in the other. As expected, his father lunged at him and pinned him against the wall. It was the same thing everyday. 

Stab, beat, repeat. 

"Where should you bleed today?"

Without waiting for an answer, Niall's dad pulled his son's shirt off and smirked at the scars. Most of the time when Niall was stabbed, it was a regular line that would scar, but sometimes his dad decided to carve words into his skin. It was a permanent reminder of how "worthless" or "fat" he was.  

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood," Bobby spat, before pressing down with the tip of the knife right above Niall's belly button. Niall clenched his teeth and did his best to not make a sound, knowing that would only result in punishment. 

There was a knock at the door and Bobby quickly pulled away. "I'm going on a business trip for a while. I'll probably be back next month. I expect you to take care of this house while I'm gone. Consider this a break," he hissed. 

Niall sighed in relief and watched as his dad left with some man, and waited til the car was out of sight before cleaning up. He grabbed a towel and got it wet before dapping the wound on his stomach. The bleeding had stopped for the most part, but the pain was still seering and he couldn't walk without wincing. 

Another knock at the door caught Niall off guard. He almost tripped on his own feet while walking to answer.

Liam was standing on the porch, looking around awkwardly. "Hi Niall, I uh, I was bored and realized we don't have school tomorrow.. since it's Friday.. I had to ask an old lady where you lived, and I brought some movies if you want to watch them. It could be like a movie night, I guess, and uh—"

Niall cut off Liam's nervous rambling, "That'd be great."

Liam laughed in relief, "I was hoping you'd say that." 

Niall shrugged and moved to let him in. "Thanks for coming, by the way. I've never had a friend over before."

"Really?" Liam asked, but there wasn't the slightest bit of skeptism in his voice. It's almost as if he knew Niall would be a lonely, even though he is the most beautiful person he has ever met.

"This should be some fun then.." Liam said with a smirk. 

Niall almost questioned what he meant, but he decided against it. Maybe he should just go with it, and let things just go the way they do. This was his first time hanging out with someone but he was ready.

He could hardly even wait.