little do you know: the december drabbles // niall horan au

day 15: a sleigh ride (in which mona is nervous)

Mona didn't like sharp inclines or freezing temperatures or snow. And yet there she was, climbing a hill, her feet sinking in the snow, and flurries falling from the sky. She hated it, and the fact that Harry wouldn't stop bumping into her like the clumsy idiot he was only added to her irritation.

"Will you chill." Niall nudged her, being sure to keep up with her pace so she wouldn't fall behind the group, sending her the biggest grin she's ever seen. "It'll be fun, I promise."

Mona rolled her eyes. "Where the fuck did you idiots find sleds anyway?"

Harry must've thought her irritation was so amusing because he wouldn't stop smiling at her, those stupid dimples sinking deep into his cheeks. She wondered how he could be comfortable with that much snow in his hair. "In the shed behind the cabin," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Mona was planning on retorting with something snarky but the incline was starting to get to her, her thighs burning as she huffed and puffed up the hill. "'M so out of shape," she breathed, reaching for Niall's hand and pulling him down into the snow with her. "Let's rest, please." She noted the fondness behind his eye roll, sending him a grin of her own. Above her, Harry was chuckling, waving for the others to go on ahead without them.

Niall stuck the sled he'd been tugging up the hill into the snow, laying out on the hardened blanket of white, resting his head in Mona's lap, baring his teeth foolishly. In response, Mona fiddled with the thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, smirking when he wrinkled his nose as she tried to wriggle them off. "Stop," he whined, swatting her hands away, sucking his teeth when she didn't give up. "Mo."

"Are they prescription?" she asked, giggling at his rather peeved expression. "I've always wanted to ask."

Niall hummed, and then Harry jumped in, huffing in apparent surprise. "Really?" He snatched the spectacles off Niall's face resulting in a scowl forming on Niall's features. "I always thought you just wore these huge things because of you wanted to look hipster or something."

"No, fuckface," Niall retorted, grabbing his glasses from Harry's hand and putting them back on. "I need them because I'm as good as blind without them."

"Aww," Harry cooed. "Little Nialler and his glasses."

Niall simply rolled his eyes again, returning his gaze to Mona, who'd been watching the entire exchange with an amused smirk. She flicked his nose fondly, and he reached up to poke her chin in response. "Okay," he started, expression suddenly shifting into something serious. "Harry and I need to ask you something." Mona raised her eyebrows, gesturing for him to continue. "What's going on between Zayn and Harlow?"

Mona's shoulders slumped in understanding. "This is about Liam isn't it."

Harry nodded solemnly. "Yeah. He's pretty bummed, you know? Like, he tried to get over it but he just can't."

The three of them let out a deep sigh in unison, frowns now etched onto their faces. "Dunno," Mona finally said. "Like, at first I thought they were having a no-strings-attached kind of thing, but... Like, I've seen the way—"

"Harlow looks at Zayn, yeah," Niall interrupted, finishing her thought for her. "I just don't know what to do for him," he sighed, lips curving even lower and Mona found herself tapping at the corners of his mouth so they'd turn upwards again. "This love shit is so dumb."

"Heyyyyy," Harry whined. "Don't curse love!"

"Yeah, well," Niall muttered. "Love never did anything for me." As soon as the words left his lips, his eyes blazed, and he quickly got to his feet and pulled the sled out of the snow, motioning up the hill. "C'mon. The others must be wondering where we are."

Mona gave Harry an apprehensive look, which he returned before frowning again, brushing the snow from his pants as he helped Mona up, the two of them following Niall back up the hill. Conversation was light from that point on. Niall seemed to sink into one of his moods again, and Mona tried to read into the creases between his brows but to no avail.

Eventually, they caught up with the rest of the group, who were settling into their sled and preparing to slide down the bottom. It all appeared to be fun for a while, but then Zayn, Harlow, and Liam were waving at the three of them, sliding down the hill with such speed that it made Mona's heart jump into her throat, and suddenly, the idea wasn't so appealing anymore.

"Uh. Harry." He glanced over at the sound of her voice but he was already getting into the sled, fitting himself so that Niall and Mona would have room. "I. Um. I don't think I want to go anymore."

Harry frowned at the uneasiness in her voice, looking at Niall to help him out. "Nonsense. It's going to be fun, Mo, I promise."

But Mona was finding it hard to swallow over the lump in her throat, and all she wanted to do was walk back down the hill because she could feel her panic levels rising, her fingers trembling, her breaths stuttering.

"Relax." Niall's voice was soft in her ear, his hands curling around her wrists and snapping her out of her thoughts. "Harry and I've got you, okay? You'll be fine."

"But," she croaked. "What if I, like, fall off?"

Niall chuckled, leading her to the sled and helping her behind Harry. "I won't let that happen. I promise." With that, he settled in behind her, announcing for Harry to get the sled going. She whipped her head back fearfully, trying to convey that she didn't want to do this, that she wanted off the sled right away. But Niall simply gave her a slight smile, nodding his head reassuringly, so she turned around and clutched onto Harry's coat for dear life. The sled slowly started moving down the hill, and Mona clenched her eyes shut because the panic hadn't subsided and yet it hadn't gotten worse. "Relax," Niall repeated into her ear, his arms winding around her waist. "I've got you, okay?"

Somehow, Mona managed to nod her head. But then the sled gradually picked up significant speed and Harry started screaming, so naturally, she started screaming too, and Niall was simply laughing his ass off behind her. Soon, though, the panic transformed into delight, and she was screaming because she was having fun and not about to plummet a couple hundred feet to her death. Then, she was squealing and laughing and behind her, Niall gave her a little squeeze as if to say: See? It's not so bad.

And yeah, okay, maybe she was having the time of her life. But she wasn't going to say it out loud.