A Twist of Fate [niall horan]

Chapter 26

Aubrey's P.O.V.

After hours and hours of contemplating, I had come to the conclusion that I needed to go home for a little bit. It wasn't that I wasn't enjoying my time touring with the boys, quite the opposite actually. With everything that's happened in the past, it was a necessity for me to visit for a bit. Thanksgiving was right around the corner, it being tomorrow, so it'd be a nice holiday surprise for Adam and my aunt.

Niall, nor any of the other boys, had a clue that I was planning on going home. I knew it'd be rude to give them a very short notice, but I literally had made my final decision, only minutes ago. All five of them had gone out for some golf outing, so I was left all alone in my shared hotel room. Since I woke up, three hours ago, I've done nothing but lay in bed and browse flight options. Earliest flight I could get was tomorrow morning at six in the morning; clearly I have the best luck in the world. Obviously I needed a flight sooner than that so I can make it home in time for dinner tomorrow evening.

Not entirely content with my current flight options, I minimized the window only to be greeted with the last thing I wanted to think about: Niall's article. Could my morning get any more stressful? Last night with Niall had set me in a trance; I was beyond happy causing me to be blinded to everything else going around in my life.

As soon as he asked me if I'd ever hide anything from him, all I wanted was for the earth to shatter and swallow me whole. Despite the number of times I told myself I was going to confess to him, I felt as if I could muster up a bit of courage and tell him. Sadly, I was a coward, not being able to bring myself to tell him the truth. Just the thought of hurting him added even more guilt to my plate. When he found out Grace cheated on him, it shattered my heart to see him in such a state of vulnerability. I could never forgive myself if I was the cause of a second case of his heart break.

Lauren was the only one who knew the entire truth; I needed to get to her as soon as possible. Guilt was going to eat me alive if I didn't release some of tension bottled up inside me. While I waited for the airline website to reload, a rumble of noise could be heard from outside the hotel room. Before I knew it, the door handle was being jiggled causing the door to burst open revealing a grinning Niall and an annoyed Zayn.

"Admit it Malik, I totally kicked yer arse durin' those last few holes," he laughed as he plopped himself across my bed's mattress.

"Yeah, yeah no need to remind me," Zayn grumbled in response as he knelt down next to his suitcase. I looked over at Niall, giving him a questioning look.

"I dominated t'day's golf game, an' Zayn's bitter 'bout it," he chuckled.

"Am not. Golf is just not my game as it is for you," Zayn waved Niall off.

"Cut him some slack," I interjected in an attempt to help Zayn out. Over the period I had known Niall and the other guys, I noticed that Niall takes major pride in his accomplishments, which is amazing, but he tends to go overboard at times.

"Thanks Aubrey, at least someone still has faith in me," he said before smiling at me.

"Of course, ignore mean old Niall here," I joked as I reached over to ruffle Niall's hair. In response, Niall pulled himself up before laying himself right next to me, before wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me unbelievably close to him.

"Yer not supposed t' be takin' his side," he whispered in my ear eliciting a few chuckles from me.

"Sad your own girlfriend picked me over you, Horan," Zayn said before sticking his tongue out at Niall. Both Niall and I's eyes went wide as soon as the word 'girlfriend' left his mouth.

"Shut up," Niall retorted as he loosened his embrace around me.

"Um Zayn I told you we weren't exclusive or anything of that sort," I said as I fiddled with the ring around my thumb. Zayn seemed to realize the extent of his statement before quickly apologizing and going into the bathroom.