A mixture of scents greeted Niall once he stepped out of the autumn scenery and into her flat. The faint smell of sugar-coated perfume entered his nose. But a bitter whiff made it quite clear coffee was already brewing. Niall slid off his converse like Scarlett had done with her shoes. He followed her towards the kitchenette, the scent becoming stronger while the others were left in the other room.
The kitchenette’s design was simple, resembling the Coffee Corner. Soft, calm shades painted their way across the walls. A few solid patterned lights hung down from the ceiling, which were needed on the cloudy day. Niall sat down in one of the chairs at the table nearby, hearing a hushed creak from its weaved seat. He folded his hands on the glass surface, fiddling with his thumbs.
Niall remember his surroundings all too easily.
Scarlett’s footsteps were silent against the dark wood floor as she made her way over to the cabinet. Niall watched her every move, from her carefully handling the ceramic mugs to her shifting around with ease. Before he knew it, the cup full of sloshing liquid was shoved his way, gliding across the table smoothly. He caught it and immediately took a sip greedily, letting it slip down his throat and warm his stomach. His piercing blue eyes grazed over the rime of the mug. He could see Scarlett soaking what looked like a tea bag in the pale blue mug. His eyebrows furrowed.
“Tea?” he simply asked, and Scarlett nodded, tossing it into a wastebasket close-by. It left small drops on the floor that she just glared at.
“I prefer tea.” She answered, a smirk creeping its way upon her lips, “Ironic, eh? I work at a coffee shop, but can’t stand the taste of it.”
Niall knew he should of just dropped the matter right then, but he kept asking anyway.
“Then why do you have a coffee maker then?” he inquired more. Scarlett paused to think, but came to a troubled expression.
“I don’t actually know, really. I don’t remember…” her voice trailed off.
‘I know why.’ Niall thought to himself, but instantly regretted it.
The two sat taciturnly, reluctant to start any conversation. Niall watched the steam swirl above his coffee and into the air while Scarlett stirred her drink. It was relatively quiet, except for a few playful shrieks from the children outside faded into the background and clinks from the spoon hitting the sides of her cup.
Scarlett’s expression hinted a bit of curiosity. She glimpsed at Niall’s left hand that was clenched tightly around his mug. The scratches stood out even more against his white knuckles. A question tugged desperately at her mind, barely possible for her to keep it from slipping out.
“What happened to your hand?” she dared to ask. Niall caught her gaze and didn’t delay to hide his hand under the table. Scarlett’s questioning expression dropped as if she wished she hadn’t said anything about the matter.
“Well I-,” Niall began, put froze for a moment. He knew the truth would just upset her. “It was just an accident with some glass.” He pursed his lips while his injured hand rested on his lap. His gaze wandered down to the evidence of last night.
“You need to wrap some bandages around that.” Scarlett told him. His head jerked up towards toward Scarlett’s serious tone.
YOU ARE READING
Restart My Heart
FanfictionIt has been five years since the end of One Direction, and despite all the efforts made to still keep together, there's only one that truly bought them back to facing each other. Niall's stuck in a bit of a situation that reaches out to all of them...
