Oblivious {Niall Centric}

viii

Niall woke up to his phone blaring the annoying staccato ringtone he set as his alarm. He groaned alongside Rex, rubbing at his tired eyes in a feeble attempt to rid them of lingering sleep. He had set the blasted alarm for six o'clock because Greg and Denise would land at 6:45, and it took a solid thirty minutes to drive to the airport.

Niall couldn't drive, but Rex could, so the punk was kind enough -- not really, Niall just wouldn't stop pestering him until he gave in -- to act as chauffeur.  Both boys got up and groggily dressed in comfortable clothes, which meant baggy sweat pants and oversized T-shirts. Niall made a quick breakfast of oatmeal for the both of them while Rex impatiently waited for him in the car.

"Geez, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood with that honking," Niall complained before handing Rex his bowl. The punk rolled his eyes before shoveling oatmeal into his mouth with one hand while the other steered the car. "You'll choke if you don't slow down."

Rex only shrugged because his cheeks were puffed up like a chipmunk's, moving his other hand to rest on the steering wheel now that his bowl was empty. Niall just sighed, looking out the window and spotting Zayn and Harry outside of Jerry's Java Joint.

He quickly rolled down the window and stuck his head out. "Zayn! Harry!" He yelled, waving his hand as a greeting as the car passed.

Both teens turned around, letting smiles overtake their handsome features as they waved back. Niall giggled before sitting back in his seat, closing the window in order to avoid Rex complaining about letting the cold air out.

The rest of the ride was uneventful unless winning a few levels in Best Fiends was considered worth mentioning -- it wasn't, but Niall felt accomplished anyway.

Upon arrival at 6:50-ish, Niall got out the car and sat on the hood to wait for the visiting couple. It had been too long, Niall thought, since he had seen Greg in person. It had also been a long wait to meet his brother's girlfriend, Denise.

Niall stood, catching a glimpse of Greg holding hands with a familiar pretty girl as they made their way to the pick-up area. He couldn't help himself as he ran to his brother, falling into Greg's open arms before being spun around.

After being set down, he turned to Denise and gave her a hug. He was pleasantly surprised to have the action returned and then some. "You must be Niall?"

"Yeah, and you must be Denise," He smiled before directing his attention back to his brother. "She's a keeper."

~.~.~.

When they arrived at the Horan home, Niall felt himself grow drastically nauseated. He didn't want to be back in that house, not after storming out days prior because his parents wanted to shove another bottle of pills down his throat. Greg knocked on the door thrice before it was opened by his mother; Niall tried to ignore the lack of greeting directed to him.

Ushered inside the pleasantly warm house, Niall's mother began chatting with Denise and Greg excitedly while Niall slipped into the kitchen unnoticed. To his dismay, his father was in there chopping up parsley.

"Niall," His father acknowledged the presence behind him.

"Should I set the table?" Niall replied in a clipped tone, wanting nothing more than an opportunity to fade into the background.

It might have been rude for him to avoid the discussion in the living room, but Niall couldn't think of anything he could contribute to the conversation. Besides, he'd probably only be talking to Denise and Greg. Upon receiving a curt nod from his father, Niall took the pile of dinnerware and busied himself with preparing the table. However, he could still hear them talking, even his father who must have just finished in the kitchen.