Taking the Plunge

Chapter Four

The morning after the party, Niall leaves the house and walks the five or six blocks to the tattoo parlour. He leaves his phone and his wallet in his room, only taking his iPod, ID, and fifty quid.

The walk was silent, save for the music blasting through the young blonde's headphones. He strolled along, ignorant of the world around him. Focusing on his own inner turmoil rather than the pedestrians scrambling to get from place to place around him.

Does Liam want me? He thought to himself, kicking a stray rock off of the pavement and into the road. He watched as a passing car crushed it into pieces. Is he just playing with me? Does he only want to win that stupid  bet? What could have possibly spurred him to strike up a conversation with me in the first place, I'm nothing special.. The self-deprecating thoughts continued to plague the young boy's mind until he reached his destination.

Climbing the few stairs up to the entrance of the shoppe, Niall switched off his iPod and opened the door. He was greeted by the high pitched chime of the bell ringing above his head and the smell of cleaning antiseptic. He smiled at the girl sitting at the counter, walking past her and into the back area of the store where the employees created their works of art. With a critical eye, the blonde scanned the room. He was looking for an artist in particular, but could not find him.

"Hey, Niall! Haven't seen you in a while. The tongue piercing holding  up well?" Niall jumped a little at the sound of his friends voice, but immediately turned around and threw himself into the dark haired boy's arms.

"Zayn!" he cried, feeling the weight of the yesterday's events peeling off of his shoulders as the older boy enveloped him in a friendly embrace.

"Hey buddy, what're you in here for today?" Zayn laughed. The two had become close friends in the time that Niall had been getting all of his piercings done. They had a level of trust that Niall shared with no one but Zayn, and that's why he refused to go anywhere else. That's why he was in the tattoo parlour in the first place. He didn't trust anyone else.

"I need you to do me a favour…" Niall said, backing out of Zayn's hug and looking him in the eye.

"Oh no, the last time you asked me for a favour, you had me pierce your-" the dark haired boy replied, but was abruptly cut off by Niall's hand covering his mouth.

"We don't speak of that, Zayn." He whispered threateningly. "I need you to design me a tattoo. I want it today and I can pay you." Zayn froze.  Niall never asked for tattoos… He claimed that they were too painful and too permanent.

"Niall, buddy… Don't you want to think this through a bit first? I know how you are with the piercings and stuff, but tattoos are permanent…" Zayn trailed off, leaving the blonde to mull over his words carefully.

"I've thought about it. I want to do this." Niall answered confidently. Zayn shook his head, gripping his friend's shoulder and steering him into the back room where they kept the design equipment.

"Want to tell me why you're getting inked?" the older boy attempted to make light conversation as he opened and closed drawers, looking for his special sharpie.

"Well, there's this boy…." Niall started, before launching into the full story of what had happened in the last few days.

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The rest of the weekend passed quickly for Niall. His mother was a bit peeved that he had gone out and gotten his entire back inked without telling her, but eventually, she gave up. She claimed that since Niall was old enough to make his own decisions and he used his own  money, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Niall spent Monday morning avoiding both Louis and Liam, for they were trying to track him down. Louis probably wanted to know why he had left the party early on Friday evening, and Liam probably wanted another go at finding his piercings. Luckily enough, Niall had managed to stay relatively hidden from the two for the most part of the day.

And then, there was lunch.

All four of the boys shared the same lunch period, which meant that there was almost a one hundred percent chance of them all running into each other. Attempting to be sneaky, Niall ditched the last three minutes of his free period and ran to the lunch room, hoping that he would beat everyone there and be able to get out with his lunch before anyone saw him.

After securing his lunch, Niall set off towards the bathroom near the science wing. Hoping to pass by undetected, since no one ever used those bathrooms, the blonde boy grabbed himself a seat in the handicapped stall. He shut the door, put the lid down on the toilet seat, and got comfortable.

Niall was completely unaware as to what events were about to unfold as he took one last bite of his apple, tossing the core into the trashcan that sat in the far corner of the stall. Getting up from his makeshift seat, he picked up his things and made a move to exit the confined space. Unfortunately, not everything was going to go according to plan.

Without warning, the unlocked stall door burst open and Niall was pushed up against the tile wall. His things fell to the floor with a loud thunk as he collided with the cold, hard surface. A pair of large hands gripped the blonde's thighs, lifting his body from the ground and wrapping his legs around the mysterious person's waist.

"Do you know how long it took me to find you?" Niall shivered as the deep voice whispered in his ear, lips kissing down his collar bone.

"Liam…" the younger boy whined, pressing himself closer to the brunette's chiseled chest.

"Why'd you hide from me? You're obviously glad to see me…" Liam hissed, grinding his crotch against Niall's. The temperature in the small bathroom escalated as the two boys made out passionately. Niall let go of any reservations he'd had about Liam and just allowed himself to feel. 

Niall had an out of body experience that day. As Liam was kissing him and he was responding with just as much gusto, the blonde boy found himself looking at the scene unfolding as if he were a mere spectator. He examined the way that his body fit perfectly between Liam's legs, the way that Liam held him as if he were a breakable object but firmly nonetheless.  He watched, confused, as he saw himself pull Liam's face closer to his own, bringing their lips together in a fierce kiss. Niall continued to observe as Liam reached under his shirt, pulling it up so that it bunched at his chest. Liam casually kissed a trail from his lips, down the column of his throat and towards his nipples, pausing only briefly to leave a hickey where Niall's neck met his shoulder. Keeping one hand on the blonde's thigh to hold him steady, Liam used his left to try and undo Niall's fly. And that’s when Niall was transported back into his body.

"Stop.." the younger boy protested weakly, using his arms as leverage to try and push Liam away.

"You like it.." the brunette whispered huskily, tugging harder at Niall's pants in hopes of getting them off.

"STOP!" Niall screamed. Liam, surprised, dropped the younger boy to the floor and jumped away. From there, Niall did the only thing that he knew:

He ran to Louis.