Lover // n.h au

Part 3

Quinn had a memory from when they were younger. They must have been about 10 years old. Niall's mum was in the kitchen cooking dinner while the two of them were playing in Niall's room.

Niall was singing a song at the top of his lungs and Quinn just kept laughing. The whole entire time and Niall got mad. He got so mad he went downstairs to tell his mum that Quinn was ready to go home.

Quinn no longer found it so funny but Niall was given permission to walk her home. Quinn remembered feeling so mad at Niall while they walked down the road.

"You didn't have to laugh at me," Niall muttered, kicking rocks like the melodramatic young boy he was.

"I think you're funny," Quinn told him. "So I laughed."

"Well whatever," Niall muttered, looking away.

It was silence the whole walk to her house. Quinn felt guilty but she didn't quite know how to use the words 'I'm sorry' yet which she blamed her mother for.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Quinn told him, looking at him hopefully.

"Maybe," Niall responded with a shrug. "If you stop being an arse."

To that, Quinn shoved Niall- a little harder than expected. He fell backwards on his butt. Niall bursted into tears almost instantly.

"Baby!" Quinn yelled.

"You're mean!" Niall yelled, standing up. He angrily wiped his tears with the back of his hand.

"You called me an arse!" Quinn cried. "That is a naughty word."

"Whatever!" Niall yelled. He pushed past her and angrily walked back down the road.

This memory makes Quinn chuckle. It often pops into her head especially when she hears the word arse. It had been the first time she was sworn at especially by Niall.

Quinn can't help but admire how angsty their childhood seemed to be. They were best friends who could also fight. And Quinn was no meanie. When people were mean to her she had the instinct to push them down as any young child did.

Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. She sat back in her chair, wrapping her hands around her coffee cup.

"What's so funny?" Brigid asked, setting a plate of toast in front of her. She grabbed her own cup of coffee and sat down across from Quinn.

"I was just thinking about this fight Niall and I got into when we were younger," Quinn shook her head. She let out a sigh and brought her coffee to her lips.

"Oh heavens," Brigid huffed, laughing. "You two were always fighting about something. Niall was so sensitive and you were just so aggressive as a young girl."

"That's fair," Quinn chuckled, nodding. "I do wonder why Niall was so sensitive though. Greg routinely kicked his ass. In front of me sometimes."

"Well he was the baby," Brigid smiled. "And Greg was always tough on him. Maura saw that and took a little extra care of him."

Quinn hummed, picking at her toast. She took a bite, eyes drifting to the window. She'd wondered how things would have been if they stayed friends their whole life. If they'd be where they're at now.

"I don't want to pry," Brigid said gently. "I know you're a private person. I was just wondering if you and Niall were friends again?"

"Dunno," Quinn shrugged. "Maybe."

The last thing she wanted to do was give her mother any intimate details about her whereabouts with a man let alone Niall. That was a recipe for disaster.