Forever Young Chapter 9
As we exited the restaurant Liam followed Melanie to Mike's car while telling her a story. Niall, who had hooked his index finger with mine on the way out of the restaurant steered me towards the back of the parking towards my car, Harry and Louis close behind. I fumbled with the car keys, eager to start the car and turn the heat on full blast.
"Niall, you can have the passenger seat. I'm going to cuddle with Louis," Harry said, waggling his eyebrows. Louis pinched him in the bum.
The car soon heated up and Harry and Louis settled down in the back seat, talking about the hot waitress in the restaurant. Niall, being extremely easy to talk to, struck up a conversation and we asked each other questions back and forth while the music played softly. For the next 10 minutes, I found out that his favorite color was green and that his least favorite was purple. He told me that he'd like to let his natural hair color grow out, he told me he was left handed and that he could be really emotional during movies. In return, I told him that my favorite color was blue, and that I hated pink, I told him that I would never drink tea and that I was able to play more instruments than I could count on one hand. After a pause he turned to me.
"Why won't you play the piano in front of us?" He suddenly asked. "Your brother said you're really good,"
I avoided his gaze and tapped my thumbs on the steering wheel. He waited patiently for me to answer.
I never really felt comfortable talking about this to others. I wasn't sure I wanted to tell Niall either. Not everyone understands. It's hard. Every time I stroke a key, I'm surrounded by memories. I hate it, yet crave it at the same time. It's hard for my family too. I know what it does to them. I normally avoid playing in the house unless I'm home alone. I sighed, not knowing exactly what to say.
I peeked behind me at Harry and Louis. Louis was asleep, his head in Harry's lap and Harry's head was thrown back, his mouth hanging open as he snored lightly. I wasn't sure I wanted them to know just yet, if ever.
I finally turned back to Niall, still not knowing how to say what I wanted to say.
"I… Well, it's because…Things have happened, and they've really influenced how I play. I'm not sure I'm ready to share it with everyone yet," I finally said.
"You know we would never judge you," Niall said sympathetically.
"I know, but it's still hard. I've only recently started playing again."
"You mean you've stopped playing? For how long?"
"I stopped when I was almost 15 and I started again last spring," I said, staring blankly at the road ahead.
"What made you stop?" He pressed gently.
"I don't really want to talk about it. It's a bit personal," I told him.
Niall reached out and took my right hand from the steering wheel and wove his fingers through my own. It was a small, simple gesture but it held so much meaning. He understood. As he rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand in a soothing way, I wondered how I could possibly be so lucky to have someone like Niall suddenly walk into my life. I've done nothing to deserve someone as kind hearted and as sweet as him. As if he heard my last thought, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. I momentarily leaned into his touch.
"I just want you to know that I'm here if you ever want to talk. You can trust me, you know?" He murmured.
"I know," I replied, toying with his fingers.
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I turned into my driveway nearly 20 minutes later and I pulled up next to Michael's vacant car. After pulling the keys out, Niall and I turned to look at Harry and Louis who were still asleep. A glint twinkled in Niall's blue eyes and I laughed softly.
"How about I wake them," I said. "I don't think they'll be pleased with whatever techniques you're thinking of,"
With a laugh, Niall got out of the car and went to the trunk to carry in the bags of clothing we had all purchased today. I went around to Louis' side and opened the door, for if I had opened Harry's door, he would have surely toppled out from the way he was sleeping.
"Louis… Harry… Wake up," I said, placing a hand gently on Louis' back. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at me dazed.
I took his arm and pulled him out of the car and walked I him to the house. Harry was only stirring when I got back. I unbuckled his seatbelt and like Louis, I took a hold if Harry's arm, pulling him from the warmth of the car.
"You know, you're a pretty nice thing to wake up to," he grinned tiredly, running his fingers through his curls.
"Well hurry your butt up, I'm freezing," I said through chattering teeth.
We made our way into the house. The entrance was covered in shoes tossed randomly. With a sign, I grabbed the shoes and lined them up nicely against the wall. Thankfully they had hung their jackets up. I sauntered into the kitchen where Melanie, Niall, Michael and Louis were seated at the table and Liam, Harry and Nick were perched on the counters. Everyone was talking loudly as though no one had been asleep only moments ago. I sat next to Melanie and leaned tiredly against her shoulder.
"Who's sleeping where?" I asked.
For such a simple question, it took us nearly 10 minutes to come up with a decent answer. Mike was sleeping in his room and Nick had claimed his usual spot, the springy old sofa in Michael's room. Melanie and I would share my bed- as usual. Melanie began to offer up the sofa in my room but I jabbed my elbow in her ribs. I was NOT sharing my room with any of them. And so instead Michael offered to grab an old mattress from the back of his closet that 2 or even 3 of the boys could sleep on. Niall, not wanting to share a bed with Louis who tossed and turned all night claimed the largest couch in the living room, leaving the other 3 to share a mattress in Michael's room.
I was absolutely exhausted and I hadn't gotten a random surge of energy yet like everyone else, so I retreated to my bedroom after saying goodnight to everyone. I changed into a pair of black booty shorts and an old t-shirt, not even bothering to remove my makeup or brush my teeth before crawling into my bed and curling up. Downstairs, the clock rang softly, letting the house know that it was 2am, but I was sound asleep before the second chime.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
I woke up to the sound of snoring, which I found odd because Melanie didn't snore. I peeked at the other side of the bed and saw Melanie sound asleep. Sitting up, I looked at the other end of the room. Harry was asleep on my couch, a thick blanket wrapped around him while a leg and arm hung off the side. He must have crawled in here sometime in the night.
I picked up my phone from the small table next to my bed and checked the time. 8:23. Weird. I wasn't even tired. I slipped out of the bed and quietly tip toed over to my closet, and careful not to wake anyone, I slipped inside, coming out moments later with a sweater in my hands. I put the red sweater on, made sure the strings were equal before zipping it up and tip toeing out if the room and into the hall. I peeked into Michael's room and glanced around, noticing all the boys still asleep. I made my way downstairs, wrapping my arms around me. Down in the living room, Niall was sprawled out on the nearest couch, his bare chest visible beneath the grey duvet. His chest rose softly and I took a tentative step towards the couch. He looked so much younger, not a single emotion etched upon his face. I left the living room and went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. At 9, I rinsed out my mug and walked over to the pantry in search for one of my mother's cookbooks, figuring I'd begin preparing breakfast. After locating a breakfast cookbook, I sat on the counter next to the sink and flipped through the pages, looking for something easy to make. I dog-eared a page and hopped off the counter, making my way to the fridge to make sure I had all the right ingredients. I was surprised to see that Michael had gone grocery shopping.
I was slicing up a container of strawberries when I Niall appeared in the kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of Michael's grey sweat pants. He ran his hand through his wild blonde hair and blinked at me.
"Hey," He yawned, "You're up early,"
"I know. I couldn't fall back asleep," I said, my eyes flickering down his chest. Sweet baby Jesus, he's got a 6 pack. I forced my eyes to look back down at the strawberries I was supposed to be cutting. His face cracked into a grin.
"Do you want some help with those?" He asked smugly. Obviously I need to work on my ogling skills.
"If you want," I shrugged casually. I glanced up at him again but my eyes didn't make it any higher than his stomach. I mentally cursed myself.
"Should I go put a shirt on? You might cut yourself if you keep looking at me instead of the knife," He said cockily.
"Very funny," I said dryly and he laughed.
He came around the counter and his eyes shot down to my bare legs. He didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that he was openly checking me out, his eyes taking in my smooth legs. Ha! He was no better.
"It's a bit chilly in here. I think I'll go put some pants on," I said, putting the knife down on the cutting board.
"Now that's not fair," He accused, looking at my face.
We stared at each other for a couple seconds, both grinning, before I nodded to a bunch of bananas.
"You can cut those," I said, picking up my knife and turning back to the strawberries to hide my grin.
He brought over a knife and a bowl that was on the counter and stood next to me, slicing up the bananas. I could literally feel his body heat through my sweater and his arm brushed mine every 10 seconds or so. We were silent for a while and my thoughts tumbled in. This was the first time we were alone since Saturday morning. I wondered if I should talk to him about… us, if there even was an 'us'. I looked over at him and my eyes zeroed in on the red mark on his neck. There was another one a couple inches lower on his collarbone. I glanced at his arms. God, he was so fit. I momentarily paused what I was doing. I actually flirted with Niall. And he flirted back. Yet another thing I normally didn't do. Well, actually, that was a lie. I've flirted with boys before, but I've never actually flirted with someone I liked. Most likely because I've never actually liked someone like I like Niall. This thing that we were doing, holding hands, playful banter, cute conversations, were things that I wasn't used to, but the longer it went on, it was definitely something I wouldn't mind getting used to.
He looked up, meeting my eyes and we turned away at the same time. Moments later, I felt his eyes on my face and I turned to look at him. He grinned and turned away. This went on for another couple minutes until he suddenly dropped his knife on the counter.
"Fuck it," He growled, wrapping his arm around my waist and slamming his lips on to mine. I dropped the knife in surprise and stiffened. He pulled me tight against him, his lips moving against my own unresponsive ones. It took me a moment before I snapped out of it and circled my arms around his neck, burying my fingers in his hair, tugging at the locks. He backed me up into the counter and gripped me around the waist, his lips moving urgently. I kissed him back roughly, trailing one of my hands down to his chest. He shivered violently and dropped his hands down to my bum, lifting me unto the counter in one swift movement. I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking them in place and I pulled him close to me, biting at his bottom lip. With a groan, his tongue darted out, meeting my own.
I pulled away when breathing became an issue and he leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine and trailing his hand up and down my thigh. He stared into my eyes, and his face cracked into a grin. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine again, but this time softly.
"Niall, what are we doing?" I murmured, as his lips trailed to the side of my mouth and continuing down my jaw. My breath hitched and my heart picked up speed again as he latched onto my neck, sucking at one spot. I gripped his shoulders tightly and I sighed loudly. I cracked open an eye and yelped, shoving Niall away.
"LOUIS!" I cried.
Louis had been standing by the fridge snickering silently with his phone out, pointed at us. Niall whipped around, confused, and when his eyes landed on Louis, Louis' eyes widened and he bolted down the hallway laughing loudly. Niall glanced at me sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair. I raised an eyebrow, and unable to contain it anymore, I burst out laughing, doubling over. I slid off the counter, still laughing and I slung an arm around Niall's shoulder.
"I'm sorry for shoving you," I said when my laugh died down.
"It's fine," He said, cracking a smile. Then, I leaned in and pressed my lips against his once more, letting them linger, before backing away. With a glance over my shoulder at a pink-faced Niall, I went in pursuit after Louis. He was so dead.
A/N; Hey! Like promised, here's another lame chapter. I thought the ending was kind of cute! I'd love to see a review! I have almost 2000 hits on this story and so little reviews. It's quite depressing. Though Virtual High Fives to those who do take the time to review! Also, if any of you have tumblr, let me know! I'd love to follow you (:
~GiveMeLovee
