Uptown Boy (Narry Storan)

09. No sense

Just a quick one :) xx

HS

I hiss in pain as I run my busted knuckles under the cold water, watching as the clear water soon starts to turn into a translucent red.

"Talk about déjà vu, huh?" Niall comments. I eye him through the reflection of the mirror, watching as he leans against the counter beside me and presses some tissue to the corner of his lip.

I release a soft laugh, flashbacks of when Niall and I first met in the club toilet coming to mind and I was coincidentally washing my bloody knuckles as well. Both times because of Louis.

"How's the jaw?" I ask softly, before switching off the tap and shaking my hands dry.

"Could be better. For a puny dickhead like him, he can sure pack a punch." He comments as I pat my knuckles dry from excess water and blood.

"I'm sorry." I mumble, before turning to him, eyeing his newly formed busted lip, that has just replaced his previous one. Guilt completely rushes over me. Louis definitely did not have to get physical.

"Don't worry about it." He says, before casually tossing the tissue away. I could have sworn he said something else under his breath, but I couldn't quite catch it.

Seeing his busted lip just reminded me of that night. That night where someone punched him.

"That guy back at the shop the other day, who was he?" The question that has been buried to the back of my mind for the last two and a half weeks unconsciously gets blurted out from my lips. His eyes refuse to meet mine, and the blue hues in his eyes seemed to turn darker.

"Which guy?" He asks, acting oblivious and it's obvious he's desperately trying to avoid the topic. I part my lips to say something, but I stop myself the second I see his jaw tensing up. Instead, I shake my head.

"Never mind." I choose to say instead. It's not my business to interfere anyway. I could literally see the relief washing over him.

"You should ice that jaw." I tell him, changing the topic and he nods.

"I will when I'm home."

"Want me to give you a lift?" I ask. "To the station. Or, my offer to come over to my place still stands." I say, with a small smirk, hoping to lighten the mood. He chuckles breathily.

"As much as I'd love that thought, I have to be in the workshop early tomorrow." I nod slightly.

"Station then? The least I could do for that punch you got." I say with an awkward laugh.

"You shouldn't be repaying for his actions. You didn't do anything wrong."

Just as I was about to answer, we get interrupted by a phone ringing. This time, it isn't mine. I watch as Niall digs through his pocket, pulling out a shattered and cracked iPhone 4, before once again, his entire demeanour changes. He glances up at me and I get the message.

"I'll wait outside." I tell him and he gives me a small, grateful smile.

I glance over at him one last time before making my way out of the washroom.

I make my way out through the small convenient store, which was where we stopped by to wash our wounds. God knows we weren't going back inside the bar to clean ourselves up.

I lean myself against the wall, pulling out my phone to see numerous missed calls from Liam. Sighing, I send a quick text to him, apologising and telling him I'm going home to get some work done.