zero • njh

• twentyone •

After a few hours of Niall and I making out, he drives me home again. Being with him makes me feel unbelievably happy and I never imagined spending time with him being so amazing. With him, time feels like nothing. It's as if everything around us isn't important anymore. The whole world is standing still for us but unfortunately that's not the case for everyone else.    "I don't want to go." I say pouting and look at Niall. We are parked in my driveway and I'm trying my best to stay inside his car as long as I can.   
   "I don't want you to go either." Niall chuckles and takes my hand to squeeze it carefully.   
   "I'll just stay here, then."   
   "I'd love that, but your dad won't be too happy about that."   
   "Right." I sigh. "See you tomorrow?"    
   "I'll try to make time for you." Niall places a light kiss on my forehead and smiles at me.
   "Okay." I return his smile, give him a peck on his lips and get out of the car. Niall gives me a last cheeky grin before he pulls out of the driveway. Even though he's gone, my heart is still fluttering from excitement. I honestly can't believe that all this is real. It's too good to be true.

   With a huge smile on my face, I get inside. Dad is already setting the dinner table and a heavenly smell is stuck in the air. He looks at me while I walk in through the door. For a split second his eyes bore into me, but then his face lights up. It's probably nothing.    
   "Hey, there you are." he says and walks into the kitchen again. Then, he comes back with two plates of lasagna which he sets down on the table.
   "Dinner's ready, sit down." I sit down on my usual seat and take in the smell. I've never had anything better than dads lasagna.   
   "This smells so good." Dreamily I pick up my fork to dig in. "How was work?" I ask before I shove in a huge chunk.    
   "It was okay." he replies. "Nothing interesting happened. It's been really quiet."   
   "That's good."    
   "Well, yeah. But it's boring." he's quiet for a moment while we both chew on the lasagna. Then, with a sigh he adds: "I really appreciate your honesty."    
   "What do you mean?" I ask and look at him in confusion. He never does this and last time I checked, there was nothing for me to be honest about. Dad gives me a small grin.
   "You know," he continues "I think you noticed that I didn't fully buy the whole doing school work thing. I talked to Laura and she told me how nice it was of you to help out Niall. I'm just glad you actually did school work."   
   "Oh, that. Of course." Even though it feels wrong to be praised for something I didn't do, I put on a flustered smile.    

   "I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate you being honest with me with everything. I know I can trust you. I'm glad I raised my daughter well." he finishes his speech. 

  Honestly, this feels so wrong. These past few weeks I've been lying to him a lot. Going to parties, staying out all night, breaking into school property - and now this. I don't deserve this. Also, it's weird that he's doing this. He never, and I mean never, does this. There's something he isn't telling me. He's probably waiting for me to confess something but I don't want to ruin the whole mood if I happen to be wrong and he has no clue.  

   "I'm trying my best." I say and look down on my lasagna. Never have I been more uncomfortable sitting at the table with my dad. "Anyway, I'm really tired. It's been a rough day." 

  My try at saving me does not work out very well. Before I can stand up, dad leans back into his chair and looks at me intently. He doesn't need to say a word for me to sit down again. Yep, something is definitely happening right now and I wish I knew what it is. 
    "Is there something you want to tell me?" he asks.

   Dad has never been scary, but right now, I'm scared.

   He looks disappointed, upset and more importantly: he's angry. I swallow the lump in my throat. I have no idea what he wants me to tell him, because there is plenty of things I could confess. 
   "I don't know what you mean." I carefully say and he huffs annoyed. He looks away, rubbing his jaw. Then, he pulls something out of his pockets. I don't see what it is right away, but when he lays it down on the table between our plates, my stomach turns upside down.