Broken (a Niall Horan love story)

Chapter 10

***Navaeh's P.O.V.***

''Boo!" Niall's voice boomed from behind me from where I sat on a park bench. I jumped about ten feet in the air before stabling myself on my feet and turning to glare at him. He had that victorious smirk on his lips as if he had just won the lottery. A chuckle was obviously being suppressed, but soon it was too much and he just busted out with the joyful noise.

''I hate you, Horan,'' I huffed, though he could tell that I was just teasing him despite his pout.

''Just having a bit of fun, I thought you had seen me coming,'' he defended himself while coming around the bench so that he was right in front of me. ''Do I get a hug?" he wondered as he tugged at the ends of his hoodie's strings absent mindedly.

''Nope, I'm still mad at you,'' I denied him. I stuck my nose up in the air in mock defiance even though I was fighting the smile that was threatening to take over my lips. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw him spread his arms spread out expectantly, and I giggled before closing the space between us and embracing him. He rocked me back and forth, and I closed my eyes when he squeezed me gently. It baffled me that he was so easy to get along with. We hadn't known each other for long, but I already felt like I had been friends with him for forever.

''I take it I'm forgiven,'' he chuckled.

''I could resist a Horan Hug,'' I mumbled which made him laugh a little.

''What do ya wanna do today?'' he wondered once we finally broke the hug. I just shrugged and he thought for a moment, ''How about we just stay at my place? I don't think I want to take the chance of being caught by paps. They've been after Harry lately and he says that they're fierce.''

''Well, I guess I would rather not get caught up in that,'' I nodded, ''I don't do well around crowds anyways.''

''Neither do I,'' he admitted, ''The paps can get a bit too aggressive sometimes too which doesn't help.''

''I could never do what you and the boys do,'' I told him truthfully, "Having my whole life broadcasted to the world. I think I would go insane.''

''Oh trust me,'' he chuckled, ''There have been times when we nearly have. Hasn't been pretty either. Harry usually is so well mannered around them, but even he has lashed out a few times. I'll do my best to keep you out of the spotlight, though.''

''Thanks,'' I smiled. As long as my father didn't see us together I would be fine. Even if he did I could just figure out some excuse as to why we were together, and he'd buy it if I kept a straight face. For now, I could be at ease and trust Niall when he said that he'd try his best. So, we walked somewhat quickly to his flat so that we wouldn't be seen. Once there, he closed the door behind us and we laughed at a joke he had been telling before we had made it in. Laughing came easy around him, and it felt nice to be around someone that was genuinely so happy.

''Did you eat anything? I know that it's kind of early and I have some cereal in the cabinets if you're interested,'' he offered and, as if on cue, my stomach growled. With a blush, I covered it with my hand as if it would stop the noise, and Niall chuckled while guiding me to the kitchen and pulling out a box from one of the cabinets. He poured some of the cereal into two bowls and patted the counter to signal for me to sit down on it. I did so, grabbing one of the bowls and waiting until he brought a spoon and the milk over. After filling both of the bowl, he hoisted himself up onto the counter as well and kicked his feet back and forth while he ate.

''So, how long can you stay today?" he questioned.

''Until five,'' I supplied after I was done chewing.

''Five?! That only gives us eight hours!" he exclaimed.

''You act like that's not enough,'' I giggled, and he shook his head with a small smile, but as a comfortable silence fell over us his smile dipped.

''Navaeh, how much does it hurt when you... you know, cut yourself?" he wondered.

I pushed around the bits of cereal around in the shallow bowl and thought about his question. ''I don't know,'' I shrugged, ''Why?"

"I just was wondering."

"Well, it hurt like hell the first time that I tried to do it, but then it hurt a bit less every other time. It's kind of like braces or falling off of a bike, I guess. At first you're not used to it and you feel like the pain is just excruciating, but then after a while you just kind of turn numb to it,'' I confessed as I continued to push around the cereal that was left. My appetite was gone now that I thought about all of the scars littering my wrists, and I set the bowl on the counter before pulling the sleeves of my hoodie further down.

The clank of Niall's bowl resting on the counter filled the room before his hand slowly came to one of my arms and pulled up the sleeve again. ''You don't have to feel ashamed, Navaeh,'' he assured me, ''This is a judge free zone, and you don't have to feel like you cant tell me things like this. I might not know how it feels, but I'm trying to understand.'' I smiled at his sweetness and nodded, letting his thumb graze the marks lightly. The gesture was comforting in a way. ''Am I helping?" he mumbled under his breath as if he didn't want to know the answer.

''Hm?" I tried to get him to clarify, and he took a deep breath.

''Am I helping with trying to stop and everything?" he restated, and I lifted his chin up so that he was looking at me.

''Yeah, you're helping.''

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So, don't murder me for not updating in forever. I promise that I am trying to catch up, and I hope you enjoyed :)

-cow_queen