Lessons Learned

Part 9

How could I say no to that precious face? I had no idea how to play soccer, but I didn't care. "All right."

"Yay!" he took off at a sprint across the yard, calling for the ball. I pulled back my foot and stabbed at it meekly. It rolled about two feet.

Niall came to a stop well on the other side of the yard and started to laugh. He doubled over, his hands going to rest on his knees as the sweet sound of his mirth filled the loneliness of the limbo. My normal reaction to being laughed at was to cut, but there was something about Niall's laugh that kept the thought far from my mind. He just sounded happy, not mocking or cruel.

"We're gonna have to work on that love," he teased as he walked towards me. "So that means you have to stay here until I'm satisfied with your football skills."

"You want me to stay?" I was surprised. When I had mentioned staying with the other two boys that had both acted like that was a strange request. Niall seemed to expect it.

The roses that were his smooth cheeks flushed deliciously and he focused his attention on the soccer ball that was now resting in his hands. "Well only if you want to stay. I like having company."

"Zayn tried to get rid of me right away and Liam found it weird when I said I wanted to stay with him," I kicked a clump of grass. "I figured you wouldn't want me around either. No one ever does."

"Sure they do," Niall tossed me the ball and I caught it. He took a few steps back and gave me a small smile. I noticed that even though he had smiled adorably many times, he had never smiled with his teeth. I wondered why.

"No they don't," I turned the ball over in my hands a few times before dropping it and punting it towards Niall. It smacked him right in the face and he fell to his knees as he grabbed at his mouth.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." I ran over to him and dropped down to the damp grass at his feet. His head was bent, the golden strands of his hair catching the sunlight and making him look like the angel he was. "Are you all right?"

He didn't answer, so I slipped my hand underneath his chin and tipped his face up to meet my gaze. I surprised myself, I didn't usually touch people but it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

"No don't look," Niall turned away, keeping his hands over the lower half of his face. His voice came out adorably garbled behind his fingers and I couldn't help but smile. He had made me smile more times in my short time his limbo than I had smiled the past few years of my life. There was just something about him that made me wish I was a better person.

"Why not?" I tried to peel his fingers away but he had a death grip on his own face. "I need to see if you're all right."

"I'm fine," he started to back away from me, his eyes warily watching to make sure I didn't follow.

"Why won't you show me?"

The stretch of his cheeks visible above his hands turned bright red. He mumbled something that I didn't quite catch, so I leaned in closer. "Cause it feels like I have a fat lip," he kept his gaze focused over my shoulder. "And my mouth's already screwed up enough without you having to see that."

"What do you mean?" I crinkled my eyes in confusion. He had a very pretty mouth.

"My teeth are ugly," he muttered. So that's why he hadn't smiled with his mouth open.

"I'm sure your teeth are just as gorgeous as the rest of you." My hand flew up to cover my mouth; I hadn't meant to say that out loud. I had called Liam attractive earlier, but there was something different about him and Niall. I hadn't felt anything towards Liam, making it easy to state the facts regarding his appearance and personality. With Niall, I was attracted to him from the first second I laid eyes on him and it made my confession a little embarrassing. I didn't know what was happening to me.