The Runner (Niall Horan Fanfiction)

Don't Let Me Fall

Louis stared drunkenly out at London. Niall had been gone for more than a day now. Nothing was the same without him. Not only were they missing him, all blaming each other for what happened, but other things too. There was no one there to lighten the mood with their infectious laugh, no one to cheer them up and tell them everything would be fine. No one there to cuddle when they couldn’t sleep. He was gone, nowhere to be found. Louis dropped his empty beer can, hearing it clatter against the balcony tiles and roll away into the slowly growing pile of identical cans. He pushed the beanie he was wearing off of his head and cast it onto the ground along with the beer cans. His vision was blurred and he stumbled over to the edge of the balcony. He gripped the edge, staring out at the city. The lights flickered from side to side, making Louis feel dizzy. He suppressed a wave of nausea and tentatively swung a leg over the fencing, followed by another. He sat on the balcony for a while, opening another beer can, and just thinking. He looked down at the practically deserted street below him, and dropped his empty can. He smiled slightly when he heard it hit the ground, and watched it instantly crumple against the tarmac. Some strange, drunken part of his mind wondered what it would be like to jump. Whether he’d die instantly or lie in pain until his body finally shut down. He wondered what the rush would be like, falling towards his inevitable doom. He laughed slightly, thinking how stupid someone would be to actually do that. But then he realised that he was poised atop the fencing, ready to jump. He willed himself to stop, but the alcohol coursing through his veins wouldn’t let him. Somehow he managed to clutch onto a plumbing pipe beside him. His body was trying to make him let go, but the small part of his brain that he still had control over managed to keep him clinging to that pipe. He dodn’t notice as a car drove down the street, the light catching onto him, clinging to the pole. The driver immediately stopped and hurried out. “Don’t jump!” She called, pulling out her phone to call the police. “You don’t want to die, do you?” Her eyes scanned over him. Realisation, then horror took over her face, and she immediately disregarded the phone. “Louis, don’t jump. Your band is already missing Niall. Imagine how they would feel when they found out you were dead.” She wasn’t speaking loudly, but Louis heard her. “I don’t wanna...” He yelped, holding on tightly to his lifeline. His eyes met hers, and as blurry as his vision was, he could clearly tell the colour of them. Light blue, staring up at him, bright, but dulled with as much-maybe even more-fear than he was feeling. “Please.” She called out to him, close to tears. He felt his legs tense up, and he closed his eyes, picturing the bright blue orbs in his mind. A tear trickled down his cheek. He jumped.