Black And White //N.H

45.

I sit in my car outside of Heathrow airport, waiting for Niall. When I got into my car I saw that it was too late to say that I couldn't pick him up, so I drove off. I look at myself in the mirror, my eyes catching sight of my wrist as I pull it down. It's already starting to form blue bruises around it, but it isn't painful, at least not yet. When I look at my face in the mirror I suck in a breath, seeing the red mark that's been taking form for the past thirty minutes. Now that the adrenaline is starting to settle down I feel the pain on my cheek, and I start shaking a little. I would never think that Chris would physically hurt me. I thought he was all bark and no bite, but apparently I was wrong. I grab a hoodie from the back of my car and put it on to cover my wrist, before pulling out my purse and finding some makeup. I try covering up the red marks but before I'm done I break down from both the physical pain and emotional stress, and tears start rolling down my face, ruining my attempt at covering the mark.

When I gather myself a little I look at the time and see that Niall is supposed to be here soon. I slowly got out of the car, feeling tired and emotionally drained, but I told him I'd meet him inside. I lock my car and put the keys in my pockets. While I'm walking over to the entrance I remember something Christ said.

"Anyways, doesn't seem like he thinks you're that interesting based on the articles I've seen lately. But then again, you don't really know how to keep a guy's attention."

I haven't watched the news about Niall lately, I couldn't put myself through that. I did in the beginning, but it made me sadder, so I had to stop. I wouldn't know it if he met someone in the last months. For all I know he might have moved on completely, while I sit here stuck with a feeling that I regret asking for a break. It did make sense, the way he told me break and break up is the same thing on the phone earlier this week. And if he had moved on, there is nothing I can do about it. Not at all.

When I get to arrivals, I stand in the back, pulling my hood over my head, trying to cover up a little. I'm sure I look like shit, and all I want to at this moment is to crawl into my bed and never come back. I pull my phone out, considering sending my mother a text and say that I would have to put off my visit for a couple of days, but decide against it. I should get away for some time, it would be good for me. When I look back up I see Niall entering, his suitcase in one hand and his phone in the other. He's wearing a cap and a pair of sunglasses so I don't see his face properly, but I still feel my heart skip a beat. I bite my lip, looking around to see if someone has noticed him, but there's mostly older people walking around so it's not likely. He spots me and waves, making me smile. He let's go of his suitcase as he approaches me and pulls me into a hug. I flinch a little when I feel my cheek meet his shoulder, but I'm soon comforted by the familiar smell of his cologne. I wrap my arms around him, and he rubs my back. "Hello, Emily," he says kissing the top of my head and I take this as a cue to let go. "Hi, Nigel," I joke and he laughs. I turn around, walking with him so that he can see the right side of my face, the side that isn't red. I ask him about his flight and he gives me a quick recap, and before we know it we reach my car. I help him put his suitcase in the back, before walking over to the driver seat, getting in. I bite my lips hoping he won't realize that my cheek is red. When he gets in he buckles up his seatbelt, but before I can say anything he pushes some hair out of my face. "What happened?" he asks, guiding his finger over my cheek. "Nothing, I walked into a class door," I tried, and he rolled his eyes at me. "I know when you're lying, Em. Now let's try again, what happened?" His words are a little harsh, but still soft. "It's nothing, Niall, I promise," I say pulling the keys up and getting ready to plug them in. "We're not leaving until you tell," he says, taking the keys from me. I reach out to get them, but when his eyes land on my wrist I pull it back quickly. "Seriously, Em, I'm worried," he says, taking my hand and pulling the sleeve of my hoodie up a little. "It's ok, you can tell me. I'm just Niall, you know," he tries, his voice softer than before. I look down, not wanting him to see the tears forming in my eyes. "I ran into Chris. Or I agreed to meet up with him," I whisper. Niall puts his hand under my chin and pushes it up a little so that I can look at him. "And he did this?" he mumbles and I nod. "He didn't mean it. I just said something and it pissed him off," I try to explain. "Didn't mean it? That doesn't matter. You don't hit someone just because they piss you off. Please don't make any excuses for him, I'm not having it," Niall says roughly and I pull back a little. "Sorry," I say, and he frowns. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean so say it like that, I'm sorry. Let's switch and I'll drive home, ok? We can talk about it then." I shake my head and he frowns again. "I can drive, don't worry about it," I say and he shakes his head. "No, we're switching, come on." I sigh, knowing I'm not gonna win this anyways, so I step out of the car.

"We're here," Niall says and I open my eyes. I look out and see that we're in my garage. "Niall, I was supposed to drive you home," I say and he shakes his head. "I'll figure a way to get home, don't worry. As for now I don't think you should be alone," he says and I frown. "I'm perfectly fine, Niall, ok? I don't need you to babysit me. I can deal with myself," I tell him, getting out of the car. "I'm not gonna babysit you, Em. I'm your friend, and I'm not leaving you," he says and I roll my eyes at him. "Can I please join you?" he asks and I can see the worry in his eyes. I just nod, not wanting to stress him out, before heading off.

Once I get into my flat I disappear into the bathroom. I take in my face and it isn't that bad. I splash some cold water on it before taking a sip, the cold liquid running through my throat. When I feel like I'm done I walk back to the sitting room, but Niall isn't there. Maybe he did leave after all. My thoughts are being interrupted when he appears in the doorway to the kitchen.

"I thought I could make you lunch?" he says, and leans into the doorframe. "I can make it, don't worry. You're the guest," I say and walk into the kitchen, passing him on the way. The tension between us is very prominent, and I realize I don't know how to act around him anymore. How to get back to the point we were before we started dating, I have absolutely no idea how to do it. "Em, please stop treating me like we don't know each other. Hell, I still have your stuff in my apartment," he says, and I let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry. It's just a little weird, I guess," I mumble and he nods. "Yeah, it is, but I don't care. Forget about the fact that we dated, remember that we were friends first," he tells me and I smile. "That's true." He smiles, walks over to the fridge and pulls out some stuff, before patting the counter, signalling that he wants me to sit on it. I jump up and he starts cooking some stuff. "Now, I don't want to pressure you, but do you want to tell me what happened?" he asks and I sigh, realizing that I should tell someone. I tell him everything, start to finish, including the parts about Niall himself.

"I think you should turn him in, Em. He's crazy. And as for me, I haven't hooked up with anyone and I could never cheat on you. You're amazing. He's just a piece of shit," Niall says when I'm done. He walks over to me, and pulls me into a hug. I lean my head on his shoulder, totally forgetting about this feeling. I want to tell him I love you so bad, but I know I shouldn't.

Later that night I'm lying on the couch in Nialls arms, half asleep. "Do you wanna sleep?" he says and I nod, rubbing my eye. I get up and walk into the bed, brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. When I get under the cover Niall walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge. "I don't want this to happen to you again, Emily. I feel shitty because I couldn't be there to protect you," he says, pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "You were on a plane, Niall. Anyways, I should have known that he could do something like that," I say feeling my eyelids become heavy. "I think you should get some sleep, Sweets," he mumbles, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Can you stay?" I ask softly and he stiffens a little, before relaxing again. "Sure." He gets off the bed, and then for the first time in months I fall asleep on Niall's chest, the feeling of being home creeping up on me.

AN// This was a pretty long one, but I kinda needed that to pull it together.