International Relations [Niall Horan Fanfic]

..::Chapter 31::..

Niall's POV

Jess' heartbeat had quickly slowed after the silence consumed us. Sleep had then consumed her. It didn't come as easily to me however. Jess' refusal to consummate our love left me hot and bothered. The idea of living with Willie was fun when it was just us. Now... I wanted nothing more than to throw his ass out on the curb, family or not.

Staring up at my ceiling, I thought about this beauty that was curled into my side. I'd wanted to tell her how I really felt for a while now and either never had the guts or convinced myself that I wasn't sure. It was inevitable, me falling for her. I knew from the that first night at Liam's that my relationship with her was going to be different from that of Sophia's other friends that seem to come and go so easily. I pushed the emotion back thinking there was no possible way I was feeling this way already. That I was jumping the gun too soon.

This damn secret hung above us every second of every day and it was really starting to piss me off. The longer our 'affair' went on, the more guilty Jess felt. I felt some guilt, sure, but it made me more angry than anything else. The secret was like a fly that continuously buzzed around in the air above my ear like a nuisance when I'm trying to sleep. The idea of sneaking around with quick cheeky visits was fun and even hot at the start. 'Forbidden love' used to sound exciting, but I was over it.

I wanted to take her to the shops and shower her with gifts. Gifts she was allowed to show off. I wanted to mark her body everywhere. Marks she could be embarrassed of if they were ever discovered, not worried about. Jess wasn't ashamed of me, I knew that. But she was having a much harder time with this lie then I was and being there for her was important but it's testing my patience. If it were up to me, I'd have already sent all the lads a quick text and that'd be the end of it. I'd deal with the consequences later, as long as I had Jess all to myself.

A tighter grip on my shirt caught my attention. Jess' face was all scrunched up and sweat made her baby hairs stick to her forehead. My fingers pried the small hairs from her skin and kissed the top of her head. Her hand proceeded to clench and release my shirt.

Jess had only had a handful of nightmares since we met that I knew of and that was because of Brody. I had almost forgotten about that fucker. Reminder: I still need to beat his face in.

I knew you weren't supposed to wake up sleepwalkers but I wasn't sure what not to do when it came to nightmares. Regardless, I wasn't about to let her sub-conscience pull her under and torment her. So, I leaned forward with Jess in my arms. Her body had started to shake as I pulled her one leg over to my other side.

With a hand on her back to keep her close, my other hand cupped her cheek, "Jess, baby, please wake up."

I kissed her nose and she pushed against my chest in resistance. I wasn't sure what to do. Do I hold her tighter even though I know her dream would manipulate my actions as if Brody were doing them? The very last thing I wanted to do was hurt her more but I wasn't about to leave her to fend for herself.

"Jessica," I said a bit louder, "Jess, please wake up, baby. You need to wake up."

She was now crying and mumbling incoherent sentences, while shaking her head furiously from side-to-side. Although, I could have sworn I heard her say, 'Dad.'

"Oh god, Jess please." I begged with both my hands on her face now, "I love you, princess."

Jess pushed on me more and I was getting aggravated because it didn't take this long last time. What was I doing wrong?

Suddenly, there was a slight knock on the door before it slowly opened to reveal Willie. He looked like he had just woken up and had sleepwalked into my room.