Clarity « Niam

Chapter 8

Tuesday meant Aybrum had swim lessons, which meant he got to see the little blonde haired girl he'd became friends with when he went to the very first lesson.

Niall sat with the other parents, watching through the glass window and kept a close eye on Aybrum even though this was about their seventh week of attending lessons and he knew Aybrum knew enough to keep his head above water - but the idea of the toddler slipping out of his swim gear and drowning, just couldn't leave Niall's slightly worrisome mind.

He smiled casually at the brunette haired man who sat down in the only empty seat beside him, then went back to intently watching his son - occasionally craning his neck to see the toddler.

"Hi, I'm Louis. Your son seems to like my little girl, Laci." The brunette beside him commented, leaning towards him some but kept his eyes on the pool as well.

Niall glanced over at him, smiling again. "Aybrum, his name is Aybrum and yeah - he talks about her the whole ride home. I think he's a bit smitten."

He laughed, brushing a hand through his hair and pushed his hair back into a seemingly shaped quiff. "Laci does just about the same, it's the only reason she still wants to take swim lessons. I mean, she knows how to swim already. I just thought this would be something fun for her to do with kids around her age, but she's hated it up until she made friends with your son - he is yours isn't he?"

"Yes, and Laci is yours?" He slightly raised an eyebrow, both knowing they meant something more behind their words - meaning they were asking if they were the ones that had given birth.

Louis nodded, "Yes, her other father died in a car accident last year. Seeing her smiling and talking to your son, is the happiest I've seen her in months. Because she remembers she had two parents, but she just can't understand why her dad isn't coming home anymore."

He looked towards the window, seeing the two children swimming around in the pool together, seeing the massive smiles on their wet faces. "I'm sorry, I - how old is she?" Niall changed the subject, unsure of how to respond properly and didn't want to say anything insensitive.

"Two, how olds yours?" He motioned towards Aybrum.

Niall smiled, "Almost a year and a half, but he can walk on his own and he's talking some."

A soft whistle blew, meaning it was time for the parents to come collect their dampened children from the pool area because the lesson was over for the day.

"I guess I'll see you Thursday, yeah." Louis said as he stood up, giving him a warm smile and moved to the side so other parents could get past him to leave the room.

He nodded, "Maybe we could go for pizza or something after, let the kids spend some more time together."

"That'd be great actually, yeah. I'll see you then, bye -?" Louis' words trailed off when he realized he never actually got his name.

He smiled, "Niall - sorry, my names Niall Horan."

Louis laughed, making his eyes crinkle some. "Goodbye, Niall."
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Aybrum went straight to sleep once they got home, worn out from all the swimming and desperately needed a nap because he was beyond fussy on the way home.

Since the flat was quiet, Niall took the spare time to clean up around the place and do some last minute arrangements for their trip back to Mullingar - which was only a week and a half away.

He was more nervous to see Liam than he expected he'd be, because ever since they kissed, he hasn't really stopped thinking about it - about Liam, and what their future possibly holds for them as a couple or even as two people who share a child together.

Niall couldn't help himself when he stepped outside, sitting down on the small bench in the back garden and pulled out his phone.

He waited and waited for someone to pick up, then just about when he was going to give up, someone answered. "Hello?"

"Liam? I - um, it's Niall." His voice was shaky and unsure, not fully recognizing the voice on the other end.

There was another pause, Niall thought the call was dropped but then he recognized Liam's familiar voice. "Niall, hey - what's up?"

He furrowed his brow some, "Was that you who answered, because your voice sounded off?"

"I just have a sore throat, makes my voice all funny sometimes." Liam laughed, trying to brighten the mood because the whole conversation started out awkward.

"Okay - I, um - I called because I wanted to talk about us, the two of us." He started and then paused, not sure how to continue. "Actually, no I didn't. I called because I wanted to tell you that Aybrum - Aybrum, should know you're his father. I don't think it's fair we lead him on anymore. If we tell him now, we can avoid him being mad at us for not saying anything sooner."

"I agree. I was going to ask that question the next time we talked - when we should tell him." Liam was practically smiling through his words, on cloud nine that Aybrum could potentially call him, dad, now. "But are you sure that's what you called for?"

He silently sighed, pushing a hand through his disheveled hair. "Yeah, that's all. I should get going, I need to finish cleaning before Aybrum wakes up from his nap. Bye, Liam."

Niall hung up before he could say another word, knowing he couldn't handle hearing his voice anymore. Especially not if Liam was going to sit there and lie through his teeth.

He knew it was around two in the morning where Liam was and he knew Liam hadn't been the one to answer the phone, but he also knew exactly who had answered.

Zayn Malik.
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(authors note: so many plot to twists within the last two chapters, but it makes the story so much more interesting. Some of you were asking where Louis was and well, now you know.

What do you think Niall's going to do now that he knows/has a suspicion that Liam's sleeping with Zayn or at least spending an obnoxious amount of time with him outside of performances?

Comment, comment, comment!!!)