Capture My Heart (BK3: Niall Horan)

-Ch 20: Reality.

CHAPTER TWENTY: Reality.

-Ashley Dawson-

“You think too much,” Niall said, knocking my knee with his own. For a moment I let this remark hang loosely in the air, my eyes were depicting detailed elements of the blades of grass peeking up from the leaves that scattered the ground.

“I can’t help it.” I breathed blankly, not even bothering to lift my gaze from the ground. I folded my legs up as if I was a primary school child again, sat in the circle for story time. All those pretty fairy-tales that build the expectations of a perfect world.

“Yes you can, you just kind of…” I looked up at him, raising my eye-brows as he stammered upon his continuation. “You just sit there and you don’t think, and you kind of…let your mind think about rainbows or something.”

“That is thinking, genius.” I complained sarcastically. I reached a finger out, and traced it along the tips of the cold blades of grass, they were damp with the aftermath of the last fallen rain shower.

“Yeah but it’s not serious thinking.”

“And that makes a difference?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“Yes, of course it does.” Niall insisted, sending me a smile. “God you’re so happy, you’re killing me seriously stop being to enthusiastic with your conversation.” He chuckled and then found my hand in his own, squeezing it for the emphasis of his half joke.

“God you’re so subtle, please stop.” I enthused; rolling my eyes in what I hoped was a playful manner.

“I know, but seriously, I don’t get what’s up with you.”

He draped an arm around my shoulder, tapping the end of my nose with his finger; I scrunched my nose up at the action, casting a gaze to the sky. I watched a bird saw above us and wondered where it was going, somewhere pretty.

“And you think I do?”

Niall shrugged. “Well you would be the first person I’d ask, personally.”

I rolled my eyes again, sending him a look in which he just shrugged too. “I think I’ll be alright once things get back to normal again.” I estimated absently, my words wandered as they got to the end, falling somewhere unknown.

“Define normal.” He demanded and I pulled my gaze from the ground again and met it with his. We just looked at each other, and then I realised that he was being completely serious as he raised his eye-brows doing spinning gestures with his hands that ordered me to obey.

“How they were before?”

“Before what?” He asked sceptically and I just looked at him, wondering why he was being so specific. “What? It’s a valid question. Before two months ago? Before you met Valerie? Before you found out about your sister and Louis? Before you met me?”

I blinked at him. “Obviously before that night, Niall.”

He sighed, “Okay, I’m sorry but you’re so confusing sometimes. I only want to know what’s going on.” He used his right hand to brush my hair away from my eyes, it fell back into place and he then resumed to tucking it behind my ear.

“Believe me; I’ll be fine once things fall back into place, when this has all blown over or something.”

“Or something.” He echoed thoughtfully.

“Yes, or something.”

“Hmm, I thought you didn’t use those filler words anymore…”