Unhealthy Love

Chapter 22

Niall might be in need of Harry more than he was ready to admit. The math test was less than three days away and as much as Niall was reluctant to admit, he needed Harry’s help in order to have a remote chance to pass since he was hopeless at the topic the test was on.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t pretend like he didn’t need Harry’s help when he appeared at his place later the same evening. Niall made a big deal of scowling and huffing at the younger boy, but much to the blonde’s frustration, Harry pointedly ignored his attempts at showing him how much he hated him; it seemed they both knew that could never happen.

“You know, Ni,” Harry sighed when 15 minutes passed with Harry asking if he understood and Niall grunting in reply even though he was too busy being annoyed with Harry to understand a word coming out of his mouth. “I am doing this for your benefit, could you like forget to be angry with me for just a couple of hours?”

Niall just crossed his arms and huffed, very much aware that he was behaving like a kindergarten kid.

“You don’t want to fail the test let alone the exam, right?” Harry inquired, and Niall pouted a little. He spluttered surprised when Harry suddenly poked his cheek with a long finger and he slapped the younger boy’s hand away with a growl. Harry muffled a snicker behind his hand, and Niall jabbed a finger into his dimple rather roughly and smirked evilly when Harry’s snicker turned into a yelp of pain. Then Harry suddenly pulled in Niall’s hair. “Damn it, Harry!” Niall exclaimed and immediately retailed by pulling one of Harry’s pretty curls. “Ouch! That actually hurts!” Harry cried and when Niall didn’t let go, he shoved him away. Harry obviously wasn’t aware of his own strength because he sent Niall toppling off the chair, and Niall felt damned if he went down alone so he quickly grabbed Harry’s shirt and took him with him in the fall.

“Fuck you, Harry!”

“Damn it, Niall!”

They entered a childish brawl on the floor where both of them tried not to hurt each other too much while both of them were getting increasingly annoyed by each other. It didn’t occur to them that they were acting like a couple of preteen girls instead of settling their issues like mature people.

Somehow the brawl turned into a tickle fight when Harry’s accidently brushed one of Niall’s tickle spots, and the smaller boy involuntary let out a surprised giggle. Niall gulped when he saw the evil glint in Harry’s eyes. “Don’t you fucking dare, Styles!” His warning fell on deaf ears, because seconds later he had to fend off the younger boy. Before long, the hysterical laughter filling the air could as well be taken for someone being tortured to death which Niall felt like.

In the fight that ensured Harry gained a few painful jabs to his ribs and jaw when Niall struggled against him. Niall refused to beg for mercy, and in the end, they stopped up when they were both completely drained off energy. Their legs had somehow gotten locked together and the more they tried to get free of each other, the worse it became.

“Look what you’ve done…”

“It’s your fault…”

They both turned to glare at each other at the same time, but then they released how close they were; they suddenly became very aware of their position. A poor couple of inches separated their faces and almost every little millimeter of their bodies were touching.

They stared at each other, neither of them daring to breathe let alone move.

Niall’s eyes were a bit big as they stared into Harry’s also slightly big eyes, and he was so close, Niall could make out every shade of green in his eyes and every individual curl falling over his face. He could see the almost unnoticeable birthmark at the corner of his left eye. He could hear andfeel Harry’s heart going crazy and it took a second for him to realize that his own heartbeat matched Harry’s. The heat radiating off Harry’s body and the warmth of his breath that hit Niall’s face in puffs could as well be scorching fire. Harry wasn’t moving, his eyes not flickering away from his, and Niall wasn’t sure if he was even blinking; if neither of them were blinking to be honest.