lovefool // niall horan spy au

ii. i remind you of the days you poured your heart into

Sameera never had to live through such a disastrous day in her life.

She's never been so angry before, which is actually saying a lot because she's not the type of person to get upset over trivial things.

But Niall. Oh my god, she hates him.

The feeling is apparently mutual at the moment because neither of them have spoken a word to each other since Hodges called in for an urgent meeting, which basically comprised of him yelling at them for acting childish during a very important mission. Sameera is fuming, not because her worst fear became a reality and she had to sit through a scolding from Hodges, but because this isn't even her fault.

She's really trying here. It's beyond her why Niall is so adamant on showing his dislike towards her but she's really tried to be his friend. She learned how he takes his coffee, and how he likes his t-shirts folded meticulously so they fit neatly in his drawer, and how he doesn't want to be bothered before he's gone on his daily run. She's done everything to show him that she's really not as bad as he seems to think she is.

But somehow, it's still not enough.

Here's the story:

Hodges somehow caught wind of the fact that she and Niall have been bickering a bit too much for comfort. So, ever the problem-solver, he decided to enroll them in a cooking class that meets twice a week in Downtown L.A. Sameera truly believes that Niall would have bailed on the class if they were not under strict orders to attend it and try to get their act together.

Anyway, they show up to the class only to find out that it's one curated especially for couples. They were suddenly surrounded by couples who were clearly still in the honeymoon phase. As the instructor walked them through a basic cheesecake recipe, the others looked at their partners with affectionate gazes and playful laughs as they worked around each other at their stations.

Niall, on the other hand, was anything but cooperative. He couldn't seem to stop huffing and puffing at Sameera, mumbling complaints under his breath audible even to the instructor. At the end of the class, she quietly approached the two of them to kindly let them know they do not have to return for the next class if this is not something they wish to pursue.

She also recommended couple's therapy.

Sameera has never been more humiliated in her life. She can't seem to shake the feeling of wanting to cry because of the scolding they had to sit through from Hodges. "People's lives are at risk here! And you two are acting embarrassing because you can't get along?" he'd said, a sneer on his face. "If you two cannot stop acting like children, then let me know! I will find someone else for the job."

"Sir—" she had tried, attempting to explain that none of this was her fault.

But Hodges was having none of it. "I have had partners I would have died for, had one that took a bullet for me. And looking at you two, considering that, I feel ashamed." With that, he exited the stream, leaving behind a thick cloud of tension between her and Niall.

She sighs in frustration as she recalls it now, harshly setting a plate into the dish rack as she finishes rinsing it off. They have a perfectly working dishwasher, but Niall had made an annoying passing comment about it once, something along the lines of how she probably doesn't know to do anything but use the dishwasher, so now she washes the dishes by hand just to spite him. She leaves all of his mugs and plates in the sink as well. The annoyance is surging up in her once more, and she'll be damned if she does his fucking dishes for him. Since he has so much to say, he can do them himself.

Hodges' words burn inside her. The two of them must be a disgraceful excuse for partners. She can't imagine ever wanting to take a bullet for someone as awful as Niall.