So, this chapter is dedicated to a very special friend of mine. I love you so much, and not to get all mushy on you, but I really don't think I could live without you. You are like my sister, and even if we grow apart, I know you'll always be there for me. You know my insecurities, and I know yours, and thats part of what makes our relationsip stronger. And you need to stop being so damn insecure. It makes me sad when you pick at the things you don't like about yourself, because those are the things I like most. And don't act like you don't have them, because we all see you trying to hide your emotional pain. Well, atleast I do. Just don't ever forget that you are my best friend, and you will be forever. So, here's some Narry that will hopefully make your day a wee bit brighter, babe. :)
December 3, 2012
“Niall Horan?” a condescending voice asked. Niall groaned. Why would someone with that voice be in his room? “Niall Horan?” it asked again.
A hand roughly pushed at his shoulder. “Niall! Mate, wake up!”
Niall’s eyes flew open and he jolted upright, confused. “What?” he snapped, rubbing his eye.
Zayn chuckled next to him. “You’re in school. And they’re calling your name.”
Niall sunk farther back into his seat. “What for?” he mumbled in aggravation, receiving another chuckle from Zayn.
“Attendance.” He replied with a wide grin. “And he’s here, by the way!” Zayn called to the teacher, raising his hand.
Mrs. Meyers, their Latin teacher, rose one of her heavily penciled brows and pursed her thin lips. “And why couldn’t Mr. Horan have told me this himself?”
“Because I was sleeping, you batty old toad.” Niall muttered under his breath.
She turned her hawk-like eyes upon him. “What was that?”
Niall refrained from rolling his eyes. “Just saying that I wasn’t paying attention, that’s all.”
Her eyebrow remained arched up into her forehead, but she continued to call out the names on the list. Zayn attempted to make conversation, but Niall wasn’t reciprocating. He had stayed up hours after he normally went to bed the night before, and was in no mood for idle chit-chat. What he really wanted was to curl back up in his tiny bed in his dorm room, and sleep so deeply that his snores could be heard all the way back in Mullingar. But, unfortunately, he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Getting the vibes he was sending off, Zayn relaxed back in his desk and zoned in on the lesson that was taking place up at the white-board. Niall, meanwhile, laid his head on the desk and tried to get as much sleep as he could before he was woken up again by the bell.
The thought of seeing the boy again was what kept him up tossing and turning all night. He really wished that he could just learn his name, so he could stop referring to him as ‘the boy.’ Those bright green eyes were one of the many things that fascinated him. When he saw him at the library the day before, he sure had gotten an eyeful. It was not difficult to see that he was an extremely attractive boy. His messy chocolate curls and long physique made Niall want to swoon. Not to mention his dimples. It was a surprise to Niall that he had even had the nerve to approach him.
He didn’t know what came over him. At first he was just going to ignore him all together; after all, that is what he had decided the night before. But it was like another person had taken over his body, a completely different personality, and he just had to talk to him. And the words “we need to talk” just slipped out of his mouth. In hindsight, he probably should have asked for his name. But he was kind of distracted by his appearance, and that’s what disturbed Niall the most. He was undeniably attracted to the one boy who had the power to ruin his reputation.
* * * * * *
For the rest of the day, Niall kept an eye out for the boy. His eyes roamed the corridors between classes, combed through the lunchroom, and by his last hour, he was beginning to doubt that he would find him at all.
But, on the bright side, the entire school was being decorated for Christmas that afternoon, and instead of attending computer tech. class, he would be helping hang the decorations. He absolutely adored the Christmas season. He loved the chill of the weather and the anticipation of opening presents on Christmas morning. He loved drinking hot cocoa by the fire and the smell of cinnamon in every room he walked in. It was intoxicating, and he could not get enough of it.
Speaking of the smell of cinnamon, as he walked into his computer tech classroom, books in hand, a waft of the cinnamon-scented candle smoke hit him in the nostrils. He breathed it in as he made his way over to his station, next to two of his best friends, Liam and Louis. He plopped down in his chair at his computer, and waited for the bell to ring so that they could start decorating.
He couldn’t help that his mind wandered to the boy again; it had been doing that a lot for the past few days. Louis and Liam held their own conversation about football standings, and Niall zoned out. He was growing impatient. Even if he did hold a small fascination for the mysterious boy, he was still very aware of the secret the boy unknowingly kept.
He sighed heavily, causing Louis to look up from his conversation.
“Hey man. Are you feeling alright?” he asked in a concerned voice. It was almost paternal.
Niall gave him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just ready to put up the decorations and get this day over with.”
Liam nodded his head in agreement. “I know what you mean. I’ve four exams to study for, and I haven’t even had all of my classes for this week yet!”
“Me too!” Louis exclaimed. “Except I don-“ His sentence was cut off by the ringing of the bell, and his teacher, Mrs. Hamilton, sweeping into the classroom. Louis went utterly silent and stared at her. Niall suspected he fancied her.
“Alright class.” She said in her airy voice. “It’s time to get to it! Everyone get up and grab the decorations for your station. Mangus, John, you guys are on lights. Mary, LeAnn, you are on mistletoe. And that does not give you an excuse to mack all over each other in the corridor! Niall, Louis and Liam you guys are on cardboard cutout duty.” She rummaged around in her closet before pulling out multiple cardboard snowmen and Father Christmas’s.
“Oh shootfire!” she exclaimed. “I forgot to grab the reindeer. Niall, will you be a doll and go and get the reindeer for me? They’re in the auditorium. It should be unlocked, the drama students are in there.”
He nodded yes, and got up, shoving his hands into his pockets. Behind him he heard Louis say in an eager voice, “What about me, Mrs. Hamilton? What do you want me to do?” Niall snorted to himself.
* * * * * *
He walked around the school corridors and out of the building, before making his way to the huge auditorium. The drama students all had class in the afternoon, and not wanting to disturb them, he walked around to the back entrance.
He opened the heavy metal door, and closed it behind him trying to make as little noise as possible. He walked around backstage for a while. There were about six or seven people on stage, but they weren’t rehearsing or anything. They were all just sort of lying around. Still being careful not to cause a scene, he looked around, trying to find the reindeer cutouts. As he edged his way around a curtain to get to the prop room, he spied a familiar set of dark curls.
There, lounging on his side on the edge of the stage, was ‘the boy.’
