all strings attached || n.h au

part one

The last time Kyra dated someone secretly she was fifteen and she had two reasons for entangling herself in that rather messy and complicated situation:

One, her parents weren't really open to the idea of their young daughter dating anyone so they would talk her ears off if they were to find out she's going out with someone. As if having to hear them lecture her for not listening to them wouldn't be bad enough, they would also ground her for at least a year – lucky for her, they never found out so she didn't have to face any of that.

Two, the guy she dated back then happened to be one of her brother's friends, Glenn. Kyra's brother had this weird rule where he'd warn all of his friends to never hit on her and whenever his friends came over, he would warn them to not so much as glance his younger sister's way and if any of them were caught doing so, there'd be consequences. Kyra never found out what those consequences were.

So keeping the relationship a secret from both her parents and her brother was the only way Kyra could continue dating Glenn without getting each other into trouble and whilst a secret relationship was a red sign for other people, her ex-boyfriend didn't mind.

Glenn was afraid of Kyra's brother, Travis, too but not afraid enough to listen to the one thing Travis told all of his friends not to do which was date his younger sister. The relationship lasted for three months and Kyra considered that quite long because she was pretty certain they wouldn't move past two weeks or one month considering how many times they were nearly caught by Travis.

But now, Kyra had no reason to date anyone secretly. She's twenty-eight and her parents wouldn't talk her ears off if they found out she's dating someone (in fact, they're hoping she's already off the market) and her brother should be okay with her dating because she's a grown woman who could take care of herself.

So really, no reason for secret dating at all.

And yet, thirteen years later, history repeated itself.

Kyra found someone that she's head over heels for and that someone happened to be her brother's friend: Niall Horan. Travis and Niall met at work, and immediately became good friends. Those two were inseparable and since Niall spent a lot of time with Travis and their family (he didn't have a close relationship with his family so Travis felt as though it's his responsibility to make Niall feel as welcomed as possible in the Harrier household), he became Kyra's friend too.

When Travis was transferred to a different company about a year and a half later, Niall began to spend more and more time with Kyra, though he still kept in touch with Travis. They remained friends and still meet up for drinks every now and then, but since Travis wasn't around that much, Kyra's friendship with Niall blossomed into something else, something more.

Whilst she could just come out with the truth and tell her brother that she's dating his friend because like she said, she's a grown woman who could very well take care of herself and she didn't need him protecting her like some kind of an overprotective brother (not that she needed the protection back then), she decided that it'd be too messy if Travis found out and that's the last thing she needed. Especially when the relationship was going so well. So much so that the thoughts of coming clean about said relationship crossed her mind at least once a week. Each time, she brushed it off.

It's better this way, she'd tell herself. But right now, she's not so sure if keeping the relationship a secret was a brilliant idea after all.

"I don't get it," Bianca huffed as she put down her untouched cake on the coffee table. Kyra eyed the plate, suddenly craving for more cake. She'd had two slices already but she might pack up one more for the road. "How is he still single?"