Hostages

nineteen

- Niall -

The sun had departed the sky, leaving us in darkness as the eleven o'clock moonlight illuminated the world. The boys had all said their goodnights, about an hour ago, for some rest in the bunks meanwhile I stayed put on the couch. After we left Andrea, Harry wasn't impressed with the thought of just having her sleep there. We didn't argue much about it. Instead, he went out to see her and offered if she wanted to crash on the couch but apparently she insisted on not invading our space. I agree with her on that.

I was watching a rerun of crime show on the TV. I don't know the name of it but it seemed a little interesting. However, it also made me sick watching these shows, now knowing I went through what those people are going through. And they are actors, my situation was real.

When I finally gave up on the show, I walked to the kitchen to set my bowl, from some chips we had stashed in here, in the sink and rinsed it out. As I stood at the sink, I glanced out the window to see Andrea still sitting there in the exact same spot we had left her just hours before. She looked like she was freezing even though it was the one of the hottest days of the year.

Watching her sit there reminded me of why I liked her in the first place. She was a determind girl. She was also extremely stubborn. She never seemed to want to give up. She was like a rock. No, she was like a diamond. Hard and tough but beautiful and mesmerizing.

This really wasn't her fault. My conscience tells me as I stand and stare. And if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't have found Louis in the first place. Really, you should thank her.

I decided to not be a douchebag to her tonight and snagged a blanket from the couch. I reached for the handle in hesitation. Go, Niall. It's almost like I have to force myself to open the door. I stepped off the bus and marched across the parking lot until I reached beside her. She stared at me as I walked over. My eyes remained on the ground in front of me.

I sat next to her, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. She gave me the oddest look. "Thank you?" She said it more of a question than an appreciation.

"What?" I shot back, shifting around to get comfortable on this stone which was nearly impossible. "I can not be a dick at points in life, you know."

"So you have noticed?" She joked, giving a snarky, but yet, contagious smile that made me smile smally. She cuddled up in the blanket. Her face actually looked beautiful in the moonlight. Her eyes sparkled with the stars and her skin glowed. How can she do that? How can she just sit there and look like that?

"Hey," I chuckled, raising an eyebrow and nudging her playfully. "You can't tell me you haven't been acting like a prissy queen either."

Andrea looked at me and furrowed her eyebrows, then scoffed. "I haven't. I've been caring and trying to figure this whole thing out. You just think I've been acting like a queen but I haven't. I could be."

"But I've already seen it so it doesn't matter." I pushed on, nudging her playfully.

"No, you really haven't." Andrea laughed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "It's funny because earlier I freaked out at Will because he kept asking 'excuse me' to everything so I told him to get a hearing aid."

I laughed harder than I should have. It was loud, annoying, and I'm pretty sure it scared her a little bit at first. God, I hate my laugh. "Oh wow, so you are a prissy queen."

"Okay, I admit. I'm a prissy queen but I haven't been to you so you can't say anything." She confessed with a sign of mock surrender, holding her hands up.

Andrea's smile could literally brighten up anyone's day. It was a beautiful and outstanding. It was contagious majorly so even if I didn't want to smile she could make me. How can she do that too? Smile and laugh with me when I've been nothing but a big asshole to her? She just doesn't make sense.

"You have a really pretty smile, you know that right?" I pointed it aloud to her, staring at her gorgeous face. I never realized how cute of a button nose she has, and those little chubby cheeks. She's so cute.

Andrea blushed, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red that shown even through her bruises. "Oh, uh, thank you." She grinned even wider. She bit her bottom lip and shied away. I wanted to turn her chin back so I could look at her eyes again but I held back.

Andrea's a mystery. She's different than all the other girls I've ever met and I'm tempted to find out why. "So what's with your back story?" I asked her, adjusting my position to lean back on my hands. My feet dangled in front, bouncing off the stone wall that barricaded the garden.

"What do you mean?" She asked, tensing up and running a hand through her hair, twirling the ends. She tried to make it seem like she didn't know what I was talking about but she's not very good at hiding it. Watching her act like this makes me want to just dig deeper.

"You're so mysterious. I mean like where's your family? Friends? Aren't they worried?" I asked her, nosing my way in. It's what I do best. I start small and go big. "You haven't even mentioned a mum or dad."

Andrea's smile faded quickly. She bit her bottom lip again and avoided eye contact. I feel like I shouldn't have mentioned this but I just want her to open up to me. "Want to know where my family is?" She asked, rubbing a finger under her nose and sniffling.

I nodded, a little concern touched me at heart and I worried. I don't know much about Andrea and even though we haven't been getting along, I still care for her and seeing her upset makes me upset. Andrea gulped, hard and loud. She looked up at me and it looked like she was all ready to cry.

"You can trust me, Andrea." I said, reassuring her. I didn't like seeing her like this but she looks heavy. She looks like something is just weighing her down. Normally, if you have a burden on your shoulders, the minute you tell someone, it feels like the weight is lifted and you don't have to hide from it anymore.

Andrea looked me in the eye, and I tried sending a mental voice note telling her to trust me. I softened my eyes. She looked away, picking at her nail polish. She took in a nice deep breath then spoke.