Niall: Everything that you’ve ever dreamed of disappearing when you wake up
“No!” Niall jerked out of bed abruptly, the remnants of his nightmare still clinging to his skin as he shivered with the lingering terror that had clutched at his heart as he’d watched helplessly, unable to change what had occurred. Turning to the side of the bed, he gazed at your still-slumbering figure, feeling his racing heart begin to slow with the sight of you. Releasing a quiet sigh, Niall wrapped his arms around you, burrowing his face in your hair as he whispered for you to wake up. “Y/N, Y/N. Wake up. I had a nightmare.” Sucking in another breath of air, Niall shook you gently once more, noting how your eyes squeezed shut as you reluctantly woke up. “Hmm?” You turned to face Niall, sleep weighing down your eyes as you took in your wide-eyed boyfriend, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he gazed at you frightfully, “Ni? What happened?” Niall ran a hand through his hair, fingers leaving a frenzied path of blond spikes in their wake, “I… I had a nightmare, and I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t real. ‘S stupid.” You pushed yourself so that you were sitting, your arms wrapping around your trembling boyfriend as you pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Shh, it’s okay, babe. I’m here.” Niall tucked his head into the crook of your shoulder, kissing the soft skin of your neck before inhaling deeply, “Thought I’d lost you,” he mumbled quietly—almost too quietly for you to catch. “I thought you’d left me, and I thought you-you-” His breath caught in his throat and his arms tightened around you once more, “Sorry,” he breathed, “dunno what I’m freaked out about. You’re here now. ‘S all that matters.” Smiling softly, you rocked Niall back and forth in your arms, stroking his hair as you murmured comforting whispers in his ear, “I’ll always be here. Don’t worry about it, Ni. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” You leaned back, gazing into the brilliant blues you loved so much, making sure Niall understood the sincerity of your words. With a solemn nod, Niall leaned in to kiss you—
Niall woke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest as his hand scrambled to the left side of the bed—your side of the bed—searching for you, his throat tight with unspoken words. When his hand found nothing but the cool sheets, he ran his fingers through his hair, looking at the perfectly made left side of the bed, as untouched as if you had never been there, as if you had never promised him that you’d stay forever. “Y/N?” He whispered, feeling tears form in his eyes as he clung to a small strand of hope that it was another bad dream, trying to force the memories of you leaving from his mind. “I had a nightmare, and I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t real.”
Harry: But there’s nothing to be afraid of
“Babe? Something wrong?” Harry waltzed over to your side of the bed, crawling into your lap and wrapping his arms around you as if he was a small child and not a grown man who was, at the moment, crushing the better half of your internal organs. “There wasn’t anything wrong, at least not until you decided that you could actually fit in my lap—which you can’t by the way,” you laughed, playfully pushing your boyfriend, who, despite his many mishaps, was rather solid and unmoving. Harry frowned at you, placing a quick peck to your cheek before rolling so that he was sitting beside you on the bed, his fingers laced with yours as he gazed at you solemnly, “Honestly, what’s wrong, love?” Harry’s thumb ran across the ridges of your knuckle, the sensation familiar and comforting, allowing you a moment to collect your thoughts. “I, uh, I was just thinking about… us. Like, what’s going to happen and all that.” You looked at Harry, noting the way the pink of his lips had turned downward into a frown as he processed your words, “Wh-what do you mean? Are you breaking up with me?” Your eyes widened in shock as you realized what your words could have implied, and you shook your head fiercely, silently cursing yourself, “No! No, no, I would never—no, I love you, Harry, so much—I just, I was just thinking about what we were, and, God, I can’t ever get anything right.” Your free hand—the one that wasn’t being tightly gripped in Harry’s—reached to pinch the bridge of your nose as you berated yourself for starting the conversation in that manner, noting the relieved smile that now stretched across your previously anxious boyfriend’s face. “I was just wondering if… if this is all real. If you really meant everything. My past relationships…” Harry’s hand lowered yours, intertwining your fingers as his green eyes peered at you earnestly, “I know that your past relationships haven’t been all that great—not even close, but I promise it’s not gonna be like that this time. You’re my world, and I can’t promise you many things, but I can promise you that there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Pressing a soft kiss to your lips, Harry smiled, his eyes soft, “You and I… we’re meant to be. We’re going to make it. I promise.” Letting your eyes drift shut, you allowed yourself to smile, to feel the comfort his words brought you, and before you knew it, Harry was kissing you once more.
But there’s nothing to be afraid of, you thought to yourself bitterly, feeling a single tear slip down your cheek as you watched the curly-haired boy eating his breakfast a few booths away, your presence unnoticed as usual. Wiping away the salty-tracks of grief that lined your face, you pushed yourself from the booth, leaving the cafe quietly, your heart heavy. Nothing to be afraid of, you told yourself, not believing yourself, he told me that there was nothing to be afraid of.
