Nightmare

Chapter 2.

Marcia closed the door behind her softly and kicked off her heels. It was an interesting evening for her. She had been persuaded to go clubbing, got hit on by one of the douchiest (but admittedly hottest) guys of the school, and has been ditched by her best friend and forced to walk home. She momentarily regretted declining Niall’s offer to walk home, but shook her head. He was no good for her, she had to stay away. Sure he was drop dead sexy, but he was a womanizer, and would do nothing but break her heart. But even through Marcia was telling herself this, she kept seeing his crestfallen face as she walked away. Niall looked so upset… Marcia peeled her dress off and hopped in the shower, washing the makeup Carolina had caked on her face only an hour and a half earlier. The hot water seemed to wash the eveniing off her as well, leaving her feeling refreshed and happy. Suddenly she heard the door click open quietly, and her heart leapt to her throat. Her immediate thought, much to Marcia’s dismay, was Niall. Had he somehow followed her home and came to see her? She heard the familiar click-clack of heels on the wooden floor and felt herself relax. Of course. It was Carolina. She lived there too, after all.

"Marcia? It’s Rachel. I… I need to talk to you." Marcia shut the water off, wrapped herself up in her towel and ran towards the door to make sure she wasn’t hearing things. Sure enough, Rachel was standing at her door, in her favourite sparkly party dress and heels, looking distressed. Marcia smiled and gave her a hug, Then she pulled away and held her at arm’s length.

"What’s wrong, Rach?" Rachel looked at Marcia, her eyes tearing up.

"It’s Liam, Marcia. I can’t find him anywhere."

☪

Niall walked into his dorm and slammed the door behind him. All his friends have gone off with the girls they met, and he was stuck alone. He cursed himself for not being more stubborn with the girl he had met -damn it, he didn’t even know her name- so he would have not had to walk home alone. Her green eyes flashed in his mind, and Niall found himself hoping to see her again. Everything she said to him passed through his mind as he changed into his pyjamas. For some reason, she fascinated him. She was one of the few girls that wasn’t interested in him, and he found himself strangely attracted to that. He fell asleep with her scent lingering in his nostrils.

Niall woke up to the incessant ringing of his phone. Sleepily, he pushed himself up to his elbows and took his phone off his nightstand, answering with a sleepy ” ‘lo”.

"Niall? It’s Zayn. We have a problem." Niall thought he was crying, but he laughed at himself for thinking that. Zayn wasn’t crying. No way.

"What is it? It’s-" Niall checked the time on his iHome and groaned. "It’s 3 o’clock in the fucking morning, mate. What’s so urgent." Zayn gave a little strangled sob -so he was crying after all- and choked the words out.

"Liam’s missing, Niall. He didn’t come back from the club last night to his dorm and he didn’t go with a girl because he’s faithful to Rachel. I called Rachel and she said he’s not with her. I don’t know what to do, Niall, I’m so scared what if he got killed or kidnapped-"

"Zayn, stop. He’s fine, he probably got lost or something."

"He didn’t get lost, Niall, it’s Liam. He couldn’t get lost if he wanted to! He’s not answering his phone at all, which he usually does, and I don’t know Niall. We have to look for him." Niall let out another groan and sat up, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Fine. I’ll be right over. Thank god it’s the weekend…"

"Thank you, Niall!" Zayn’s voice showed traces of relief through the tears.

"Also man up, Zayn, crying is for pussies, and you sound like one right now."Niall barked and hung up. Grumbling about Zayn, he pulled on sweatpants, a jacket, Nikes and a SnapBack, grabbed his keys, wallet and phone and left.