This Town |NH|

Chapter Thirteen

The next day, I woke up, my neck sore from having slept on the floor all night without a pillow. I rubbed my eyes to get them ready for the sunlight blasting through my window. I could hear what sounded like soft sobs and remembered that Siobhan was in my bed. I sat up and saw her body softly shaking from crying.

I got up off the floor and climbed into the bed with her, wrapping my arms and legs around her; something I often did whenever she cried over the years from all the bullying she endured. It was my weird way of letting her know she wasn't alone and that she was loved. She jumped at my touch, "Shit, Niall!"

"Sorry," I whispered, "Don't cry, hun. He's not worth it."

She turned to face me and buried her face in my chest. "It still hurts."

I rubbed her back and squeezed her tightly to me. "I know but no guy who would ever treat you like that or cheat on you is worth your tears or your time. I mean, for crying out loud, he never even got out of the car when he picked you up.  He always honked at you from his car. Like, get out and go get her, you idiot!"

She giggled a little at that, "I know, right? I thought that was weird, too."

We laid there in silence for a bit before I said, "I'm sorry."

She looked up at me and asked, "For what?"

"For everything. For not being the friend I should've been these past few months."

"Oh, no, Niall, don't be. I should be the one apologizing. I was such a bitch to you."

She looked at me, her eyes still red from crying. I ran a thumb across her cheek to wipe away a tear. "No more tears for that arse, ya hear me?"

She nodded and softly smiled. "Friends again?"

"Always. We always find a way back to each other. Although, this has probably been the longest we've ever gone," I admitted.

"Yeah, I think so. I don't know how the hell I got through these last few months without you. Or how many times I wanted to come over here and apologize and go back to being us. Can we go back to being us, Niall?"

"There's nothing else in this world I want more," I said, as I smiled at her and softly kissed her forehead.

While she ran back home to grab her swimsuit for another day by the river, I made us our lunches and packed everything into a cooler. My dad came into the kitchen at that time and made himself some tea. "Glad the two of you finally made up," he said, looking out the window, across the street at her house.

"Yeah, me too."

He let out a sigh and patted my back while smiling at me. You know, if you ever need me to help out with, ya know, the girls, I'm here."

"Umm, okay. Thanks, Dad."

"I'm just saying, if you ever find yourself liking a girl and don't know how to tell her, I can offer up some suggestions," he winked at me as we both saw Siobhan making her way back across the street. I couldn't respond because she walked through the door.

"Morning, Siobhan, feeling better?" my dad asked her.

"Morning, Mr. Horan. And, yes, a good night's sleep and some time in the sun seem to be the remedy for me." She smiled at him.

"Good to know. You two have fun."

We both semi waved at him as we exited out the door.

We spent the day basking in the sun again but I had another secret that I was keeping from her and I needed to tell her because the date was quickly approaching. Like, it was days away.

"Hey, Siobhan, can you come here for a minute. I need to tell ya something," I said, nervously. I felt like I was going to puke. I felt like I was about to tell her how I felt but no way I was doing that. I had just gotten her back.

"Niall!" She snapped her fingers in front of my face, "Earth to Niall," she said again.

"Uh, sorry. Zoned out for a second."

"Ya think?" She plopped down next to me and looked at me, "So? What is it you gotta tell me, Nialler?"

I smiled at my nickname she had given me. It had been so long since she had said it. I missed it. "Oh, sorry, yeah, soooo I did something back in January which since we weren't talking, I didn't tell ya about..." I paused. She looked at me, worried and confused. "Sooo, uh, I sent in a tape for The X Factor and my audition is on Monday, in Dublin." I said that last part so fast I wasn't entirely sure I had spoken English.

At first, all she did was look at me. No expression on her face, "You're auditioning for a tv show?"

"Uhh, yeah. Thought I'd give it a shot. See what happens."

She was quiet a moment, "Well, I'll be damned, Nialler. This Monday? In Dublin?"

"Yea. We're all going, me mum, dad, and Greg. Would ya like to come along, too?"

She looked at me, hurt flashing across her face, "You did this without telling me?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry but we weren't talking. And you were with Devon and I was angry and hurt and confused. I saw the opportunity online so I took it. I know we're supposed to do this together but maybe you can audition, too. And we can both get out of this town, together, like we said we would."

She shook her head. "Were you just going to leave and not tell me? What if you get through? What if you get through and we weren't talking? You would've just disappeared and not told me anything?"

"No, it's not like that. I assumed we would've been back to being friends sooner than we were. I would've told ya. I don't know when, maybe if I got through, I'd come home and tell ya. I guess I didn't want both of our hopes up without the potential to be disappointed." I hung my head a little, mad at myself for not running across the street six months ago and telling her.

"It's okay. You told me now, that's what counts. But, I don't think I'll be able to come along with ya. Just too short of notice. My dad will be needing my help at his shop. He doesn't get back until late Monday night."

"Okay," I said a little sadly. I knew it was a stretch.

"But I'll be rooting for ya and ya better call me with all the details." She smiled at me and gave me a hug. "Now, if you make it big, promise me, you'll never forget me."

I looked at her, "Girl, I'm taking you with me. A promise is a promise and out of the things I could promise, this is the one I have no intention of falling through on. We are getting out of this town...together. Everything will always be you and me."

"Against the world," she finished.