hazy || niall horan

8. pitch picnics and lack thereof

Aoife shows up to school the next day annoyed already that she somewhat agreed to see Niall at lunch time. She had not gotten a lot of sleep the night before and had wished that she could curl up in a tiny ball on the floor in the library on campus and just sleep. She preferred her cubicle in the public library seeing as no one knew who she was and the few who had tried to never came around anymore.

Here, in the library at school people knew she was the isolated weird girl who walked everywhere and always seemed to have old clothes. She was sure some had figured her out but didn't care enough to defend herself.

We're still on for lunch? a text says as Aoife is walking in to her first class.

If I said no would you accept that?

Probably not, I'll see you half past noon.

Aoife found herself smiling at her phone, something she regarded as dangerous for a person like her.

Niall could so easily obliterate her fragile existence what with his beautiful regality and confidence.

She was unsure of what she truly felt for Niall but was sure of the fact that something about him had attracted her.

At half past 12, Aoife waited on the pitch for another seven minutes before she made it a point to count the minutes past their meeting time that Niall was late.

Perhaps he was held up, or he was picking up lunch before meeting her.

Aoife gave Niall the benefit of the doubt.

Half an hour, however, was quite enough time and Aoife began to pack her things. She grumbled to herself much like she did when her foster mom made her do chores that were not her own. She might have used explicits in regards to the blonde boy she was steadily becoming disappointed in.

With anger on her side and the rare heat of the English air, Aoife made it towards her sanctuary, the library, in record time.

She plopped down heavily in the seat of her cubicle, gulping down water as if she hadn't had any in weeks. Her lips welcome the cool liquid but her stomach confused it as food and let out an unusually loud bellow, one uncharacteristic of a girl her size. She had not eaten since last night, and even then she had received a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a small portion of mixed nuts.

The smaller children, those who were more often seen by Child Services were made sure to have full stomachs and round faces. Aoife's small frame they could explain away with eating disorders or a high metabolism.

"I figured I'd find you here," Niall's voice carried through the abandoned library.

"I hoped you wouldn't come looking."

"Listen, I'm sorry I was late. Something... came up," Niall's voice faltered and Aoife looked up. That is when she noticed the swollen skin beneath is left eye.

She wasn't quite sure yet if it would bruise but she was positive that he had been hit.

"Did you get into a fight?" she stood. "What the hell happened?"

Aoife instinctually reached for his skin, caressing the tenderness under his eye. Niall flinched but let her comfort him. Her touch although unexpected was exactly what he needed at that moment. His mother used to touch his face like that when she was trying to teach him something. He had missed the gesture.

"It's nothing," he began, "I, uh, I was running to the pitch because I was late and I tripped and hit the ground."

"Well did the ground have a killer right hook because this doesn't look like it came from a fall.

"That's what happened. I fell Aoife,"

"I don't think s-"

"Would you give it a rest!" Niall sighed, "Are you always this persistent?"

Aoife paused, "Are you always such a jackass?"

With that, Aoife grabbed her bag and ran for the exit. She was used to running when yelling ensued. She usually shut down if the yelling was directed towards her. Yelling could mean a multitude of things, all were scenarios that ended badly for Aoife.

She could feel Niall run after her, she could hear him call her name but she was already gone. If not physically then mentally she was.

She finally lost him downtown as she turned down random corners. He had probably given up ages ago. Still, even though she felt ridiculous and a little juvenile running away when the going got tough, she did not regret what she had done.

Her life was one big pile of tough and if she didn't use that to strengthen herself, she would have been dead a long time ago.