hazy || niall horan

12. shared bedrooms and squeaky floors

Aoife made it to the park in record time, only stopping at red lights and a train. The air around her was becoming crisper and the sun was finally beginning it's descent. She had wondered the whole way over what Niall was so distressed about and she hoped that perhaps it would have something to do with why he wasn't speaking to her.

She arrived at the park and saw a figured pressed up against the side of the trees that look oddly like Niall. She wouldn't admit to it but she had studied his silhouette numerous times and was sure it was him. You couldn't blamer her, he had a really nice body.

She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder and he flinched grabbing her arms and twisting them so that he was pinning her against the tree. He had a hard look in his eyes, something Aoife had not seen in him. It terrified her a little bit but what terrified her more was the state of his face. His face was bloodied, a cut that stemmed from the top of his forehead to the middle was dripping blood into his left eye. His lip was busted and his eye was swollen almost shut.

"Did you fall again?" She all but screamed. She looked around to see if anyone heard her and decidedly realized they were alone.

"Would you believe me if I said I tripped numerous times down the stairs?" Niall joked lifting the good side of his mouth into a smirk. Aoife gave him a pointed look.

Niall sighs, "Fine. Robert Horan is not as...charitable with his kin as he is with the other people in this town."

Aoife understands everything now. She had suspected something a few weeks ago when they first began hanging out and Niall would flinch when she playfully jabbed at him. She brushed it off because he had and really she should have known better.

Without a word, Aoife picks up both hers and Niall's bags and shoves them onto her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Niall asks looking up at Aoife through those big brown lashes.

Aoife has never given much though to how pretty Niall looks. Though she'd never admit that he was pretty, he wouldn't like to be called pretty she doesn't think. Handsome maybe, pretty might bruise his masculinity.

But he is pretty.

She never really noticed before how crystal clear his eyes are or that he has a little bit of scruff that litters his jawline and darkly fills the divet in his chin. She thinks he looks his age as he stares up at her, cerulean blue eyes a little glossy from hurt and a little more vulnerable than usual.

"Get up, we're going home."

"I'm not going back there," he says, "at least not tonight." Niall resigns himself to the fact that at some point he will have to go home and he will have to face his father again, alone.

"To my house you big oaf."

Aoife doesn't know what she'll say to her foster mom when she gets there and she knows she'll have to show Niall the side of her that she doesn't like to really show people but he needs the company more than she needs privacy.

"Won't your parents be mad that you're bringing a boy home?" Niall asks following her down the road.

"They aren't going to know so there's nothing to be mad about."

*

When they arrive at the foster home, Aoife motions for Niall to stay where he is.

"Wait here." Aoife says hanging Niall's bag to him and heading for the front door.

The lights are off and she prays that everyone has gone to bed. Aoife quietly opens the front door and hears the TV running from inside the living room. she peeks her head around the foyer and sees Patricia sprawled out on the recliner snoring softly. Perfect. If she can sneak Niall in without being seen, she can get him to leave early tomorrow morning before she has to get the kids ready for school.

"Listen, I need you to really use your inside voice and follow every step I make when we get into the house. The floor boards are squeaky and I don't want to risk waking anyone up."

Niall makes his mouth a zipper and locks it to let Aoife know he'll be quiet.

The two make it through the house without waking anyone up save for Phoebe, one of her foster siblings. She managed to convince Phoebe it was all a dream and shoo'ed her back to her room before she woke up completely.

When they enter Aofie's room she looks around and wishes she would have cleaned up. Her room isn't dirty but it isn't quite clean. She has books littering her floor and posters on her walls and occasionally she is too lazy to throw her socks in her hamper so there is a little pile of them near her door but she can't be bothered to make excuses. Niall had been vulnerable with her tonight and perhaps this was her way of being vulnerable too.

"I can sleep on the floor," Niall says looking at the cold and dusty hardwood.

"Nonsense, you're my guest, I'll sleep on the floor." Aoife has done it before when Patricia had refused to buy her a bed. It wasn't as uncomfortable as she had expected.

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor Aoif," the nickname runs off his tongue like pure honey.

"Then we can share and just stay on separate sides."

Aoife has a queen bed that she got for free from salvage. She found it with one leg missing and had gone on a hunt to find wood enough to make the bed level again. It wasn't the best bed but it did it's job.

Niall sizes the bed up and then shifted his gaze towards Aoife.

The air seemed to shift in between them and with each passing minute it simmered into a slow burning heat that could warm anyone's chilled bones. Niall was the one to break the silence with a clear of his throat.

"I guess that could work. Just don't get handsy in the middle of the night."

"In your dreams Horan."

Oh it definitely would be tonight if Niall has any control over it.

typical bed sharing scene, but i couldn't resist. sorry it's been so long in between updates!!

let me know what you think. :)