Lessons Learned

Part 10

I rolled over sleepily the next morning, surprised when my tired body hit something solid. I slowly opened my eyes as I tried to remember where I was. My bed was so comfortable that for a second I thought I was back at home before the memories of the limbo came flooding back.

My eyes opened to two bright blue orbs staring back at me. I sat up, clutching the covers to my scantily clad body as I screamed. Niall laughed, sitting up and pushing a few messy strands of blonde hair away from his face.

"Good morning Belly."

"How did you get in here?" I shrieked.

"Calm down," he giggled. "I picked the lock."

"Why the hell would you do that?" My voice came out angrier than I had planned.

His happy expression slid off his face and he jumped up, muttering an apology as he stumbled backwards.

I sighed and patted the warm spot on the bed he had abandoned, "You don't have to leave."

"No I'm sorry," he blushed. "You want privacy, I get it. Sorry."

"Niall come back." He was halfway out the door by now, still stuttering apologetically. "Please."

"All right," he slipped back in and closed the door behind him. This time he stood by the side of the bed and watched me warily. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"It's fine." I made sure the covers were up to my chin as he stared at me. I didn't need him seeing my fat, ugly body. "I just wasn't expecting to see you in here when I woke up."

"I missed you," he shrugged before gingerly taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. "I was getting lonely."

"You missed me?" I whispered in disbelief. Once again Niall had hit the nail on the head. I had never had anyone tell me this before.

"Yeah," he smiled slightly. "We barely got to hang out yesterday."

"Why do you care so much?" I was dying to know if he was just being nice because it was his job.

Niall shrugged and began playing with a string hanging off the edge of the duvet, "I don't know. There's something special about you."

"Are you dead?" I blurted out. This was too weird. The first person I had ever liked on my own terms and he wasn't even real. "Or are you old?"

It took him a few minutes to answer. Finally he mumbled, "Dead."

This was a question that had been bugging me since Liam admitted his death, "How do you know?"

Niall pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through it for a few seconds, before handing it over to me. On the screen was a text message that read 'I regret to inform you that your earth self has passed on.'

"This text is from forty five years ago."

Niall grabbed the phone away and shoved it back in his pocket, "I died young."

"How did you die?" I leaned forward eagerly as I awaited his answer.

I saw his eyes flick down and I noticed that the blanket I had drawn so closely around me had slipped off my shoulders. Niall's eyes traced the bare skin that danced across my collar bones as he bit his lip hungrily. I had never had anyone look at me like that before and I was surprised to find I liked it. It made me feel wanted.

Niall cleared his throat and looked away, "Sorry."

"It's all right," I pulled the duvet back up to my throat as he blushed fiercely.

Niall stood up uncomfortably and tugged on the zipper of his pink hoody, "I'll be downstairs making breakfast if you need me." With that he turned on his heel and ran out of the room.

After he left I took a quick shower and was happily surprised to find that the dressers in my room were stuffed full of clothes. I pulled on lace tights, a blue dress, and a cardigan before slipping back on the boots from the day before.

I tiptoed down the hallway and had one foot on the stairs when I remembered Niall's rule. He wasn't there to enforce it, but I felt like I had to obey it anyway. I slid down the banister and landed gracefully on my feet before slowly picking my way towards the kitchen.

Niall was sitting on the counter when I walked it, his thumbs flying over the keys of his phone and an empty plate at his side. He glanced over at my arrival and blushed slightly before climbing down and facing me.

"I like your dress," he cleared his throat. "It's pretty."

"Thanks," I lifted the skirt a little and watched as it fluttered to my knees when I dropped it. "Where did the clothes come from?"

Niall shrugged, "New clothes show up every time someone new comes. I don't really know why."

"What about the food?"

"The food?" Niall looked down at his dirty plate, then back into my eyes. "What about it?"

"How do you get more?"

"Oh, it just replenishes itself after a few days. It's weird but I don't care."

"Are you going to show me your memory yet?" I scuffed my boot along the tile floor of the kitchen. I needed out of Niall's world before I fell too hard.

"No, we're going to play football." Niall ran over and grabbed my hand, dragging me out the back door. "Your skills need some serious work."

Updated because: MY FRIEND CASSIE TOLD ME TO. @CassieScott