The Runner ➳ Narry (Book One)

Chapter Twenty-One

(Niall's POV)

"You're not going to try my masterpiece?" I frowned while holding out a fork with baked cake on it for him to try.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though," he said. My face fell in disappointment.

"But you're hungry," I replied quietly.

A bit of guilt washed over his face for a moment before he shook his head, forcing a small smile. "I'm not hungry," he replied. "The cake turned out good, though."

"I want you to try it," I pouted. Harry sighed and ran a hand down his face. I could hear his stomach growling, I was sure he hadn't eaten since early this morning at my house. And that was only just popcorn. "Please," I said again. Harry let out another loud sigh before walking forward to the fork that I was still holding out. He glanced at me quickly before closing his lips around it, taking the cake into his mouth. I waited a few moments, watching him chew. His face lit up a while later, his smile confirming that the cake was good. I smiled back and continued eating my piece. "Do you want your own plate?" I asked.

Harry shook his head, and stepped forward to place a soft kiss on my forehead. "That was delicious, Ni."

"Would have been better if you helped," I said playfully. Harry chuckled and shook his head at me, walking towards the living room entrance. I followed him into the room and sat with him on the couch, propping my feet up on the coffee table and balancing the cake plate on one hand as I continued to eat it. "Do you have a job?" I asked suddenly.

Harry tensed beside me. I looked over at him as he held a hard glare on his face, looking straight ahead at the wall. I waited for a reply but nothing came. "Harry?" I questioned.

His eyes snapped over to me. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Yeah, I have a job," he said carefully.

"What do you do?" I asked, taking another bite of my almost finished cake piece.

Harry's breathing got a little faster, his eyes darting around the room. I narrowed my eyebrows in confusion at him. What's his problem? Is it an embarrassing job? "Did you turn off the oven?" Harry asked suddenly, completely changing the subject.

It caught me off guard a little, but I just went with it. Obviously he doesn't want to talk about it. Or anything. "I'll go make sure," I replied, standing up. I left the living room and walked into the kitchen, quickly shovelling the last bit of cake into my mouth and putting it in the sink. I heard my phone go off in the living room, completely forgetting I had left it on the coffee table after Harry had called earlier. I ignored it and washed my dirty dishes, also wrapping up the almost full cake that was left sitting on the counter. I checked to make sure the oven was turned off before walking back out to where Harry was sitting on the sofa.

"So I was thinking," I announced as I padded around the couch to sit down. "That we could-"

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" Harry asked beside me in a low, cold voice. I looked over at him in confusion, he was holding up a phone in his hand. My eyes shot over to the coffee table, seeing as the surface was clear. He was holding my phone.

"What do you mean?" I asked with worry. Harry clicked the power button, the screen of my phone turning on. An unread text flashed across the screen.

From: Babe I need to see you soon. Want to meet up? ;)

My breath caught in my throat. Shit, shit, shit! I knew I should have changed his name in my phone! Why the fuck is he texting me? At the worst time! "Harry, I-"

"Save it," he said harshly, tossing my phone into my lap. He stood up from his spot on the sofa and angrily stormed back through the kitchen. I sat stunned for a moment before jumping up to follow him.