You Are My Sunshine ↠ Niall Horan

[9] - Niall

I never see the forest for the trees,

I could really use your melody,

Baby, I'm a little blind,

I think it's time for you to find me...

Nightingale by Demi Lovato.

N I A L L

Shannon doesn't flinch through the whole movie, she remains perfectly content.

I jump at a few parts and I know she's noticed because her head is still on my shoulder. Her giggles sending vibrations on my collarbone, the movie just ended but I don't want to get up.

I'm too comfortable but Shannon has other plans as she stands up to stretch. Her arms flex over her head raising her shirt a bit, I think I see an outline of a tattoo but then again I could just be seeing things as my eyes adjust to the lights.

She smirks at me, "That was a fun movie."

"Mhm, we should do this more often."

She laughs, "Do you know what time it is?"

"10:24." I say after pulling out my phone. "Well, looks like we're walking home." I groan, I'm just feeling particularly lazy right now.

"C'mon. The sooner we leave the sooner I can get to bed." She offers me a hand, I take this as a chance.

She pulls me up but before she can let go off my hand I entwine our fingers, Shannon looks down at our hands and smiles but tried to hide it after.

We start to leave, hand in hand.

Once we reach outside Shannon starts to kick a rock, her hair falls over her ear occasionally she would place it behind her ear.

I rub my thumb on her hand, her smile grows again, my own appears. I love making her smile, it seems like an easy task as she's easily amused but it still means a lot.

I know so much about her, there's still so many things I don't know but we'll get there, I know we will.

"You never told me the best thing that happened on tour." I laugh, of course she brings up the most random topic ever.

"I don't know, to be honest. So many great things happened."

"Travelling the world must be so cool."

"Yeah, it has it's pros and cons."

The conversation starts to flow again, her voice leading most of it.

"How do you always know what to say?"

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Like, you're always so sure of your answer. You know when to ask a question and you have the confidence. How?" I explain.

"It took a bit of confidence in the start but I think it's safe to say we've become closer."

"Definitely closer."

"So, what did you think of the movie?"

"Eh, it was pretty good actually."

"Hmm." It's silent, only the sound of our footsteps and the occasional buzz of the street lights.

The silence isn't overwhelming, it's nice and comfortable.

"You weren't scared?" She laughs.

I scoff, "I'm not scared of something as stupid as a movie!"

She smiles and look at the ground, "What are you scared of then?"

Shannon swings our arms as we walk, "I don't know, it's weird."

"What do you mean?" She looks at me.

"Well, I have a few fears..."

"But?"

I sigh while looking into her hazel eyes, sometimes there a mocha colour or even a dark shade of brown. They sort of change depending on her mood.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Niall." I shake my head, it's not a trust sort of thing I guess. I've never told anyone what I'm scared of.

"Getting judged."

Shannon nods, "Your judging me right now aren't you?"

She looks at me wide eyed, "What? No! I was just thinking about it."

"And what do you think about it?" Her hesitation of speaking is clear, as if she isn't sure of my reaction.

"Shannon?"

She sighs, "You can't let people scare you. You can't go through your life trying to please everyone else. You can't go through life worried about what everyone else will think."

It's a bit of a mini rant, her voice was firm as if she really wanted me to get this in my head. I have feeling there's more, but I don't mind.

I like when she rants about what she believes in, she makes sure I understand how I should think about myself.

She makes me understand myself, giving great advice.

"Whether it's your hair, clothes, what you have to say, how you feel, what you believe, who you're with or what you have. You can't let the judgement of others stop you from being you. Because if you do, you're no longer you...You're someone everyone else wants you to be."

"What about you? Any fears?"

"Spiders." She laughs.

"And..." I urge her.

She sighs, "It's stupid, don't worry."

"It won't be stupid, c'mon."

"Do you really want to know? It's kind of something I've put a lot of thought into through high school."

"Go ahead."

I stop her from walking to get a front on view of her, also because this means I can spend a bit more time with her.

"What I find really scary, is that I could change my life at any moment. I could stop talking to everyone that makes me unhappy. I could kiss whoever I want. I could shave my head or get on a plane to nowhere, maybe even take my own life. Nothing is stopping me, except maybe my own sanity."

I don't reply, the whole concept is a scary thing, I have a feeling I have a new fear.

She's right, in every way. Shannon is a smart girl, she looks into things more than needed but it makes her who she is.

Her gaze moves from the pavement back to my eyes, she hasn't finished. "My entire world is in my hands and I don't know what to do with it."

"Wow."

I pull her hand into mine entwining our fingers with hesitation, she doesn't seem to mind and swings our hands as we walk.

We don't talk.

When we arrive at her house I walk her all the way to her door, "Thanks for tonight Niall. It's nice to have someone to spend time with."

"Same here, we should do this again some time."

I stare into her eyes for a bit longer, taking her other hand in mine. I pull her into a hug, my face is close enough to her ear to whisper.

"Your fear is a fear worth conquering."

I peck her cheek, lingering there for a few seconds and her grip around me becomes tighter.

"Night Shan." I whisper again.

"Night Ni." She replies.

Slowly we let go of each other and I walk down her driveway shoving my hands into my pockets to provide warmth.

About halfway down the driveway I stop and turn around, the lights from a room upstairs turn on.

I see Shannon start to close to the curtains before she finishes I catch her eye.

A smile spreads on her face and I give her a wink as she waves, closing the curtains.

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