Killer Kisses // h.s au

ten. Precautions

Precautions 

I was reading through Harry's surreptitious-looking notebook with names scribbled down, when a gentle rapping at the door seized my attention. Hurriedly returning the book to its hiding place, I galloped down the stairs and swung the door open. I was surprised to be met with sun-ray hair, bright blue eyes and inked skin. "Niall? What are you doing here?" 

He eyed me dubiously, the light catching the metal in his eyebrow. "I could ask you the same question." It only occurred to me then that Niall was unaware of my current living conditions.

"Oh, yeah, I'm kinda...staying here at the moment," my hand reached around to scratch the nape of my neck, "But anyway, what do you want?"

"I was hoping to speak to Harry," his eyes drifted over my shoulder in his subtle attempts to search for the man.

"Um, he's not here at the moment. You wanna come in?" I gestured behind me with a flick of my wrist. He considered it for a moment, before nodding and letting himself in. We sat opposite each other, both perched on different sofas. It was awkward to say the least.

"So when's he getting back?" Niall questioned to shatter the silence. He shuffled in his seat, rubbing his palms up and down his legs.

"I...I don't really know. He just said he'll be back whenever and left," I paused, "...Is there anything I can help you with?"

Crystal eyes blinked in surprise. He scratched the side of his hand, followed by his head bobbing frantically. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." He sat up, resting his arms in his lap with a hunched posture. "Do you think you'd be able to persuade Harry to up my payment? It just pisses me off that all the other lads get more money than me. It's not fair, you know?"

"I heard him say over the phone that Louis does more than you and that's why he gets paid more. That seems pretty fair to me," I justified Harry's decision.

"But that's just the thing, Hunter. Harry doesn't give me a chance to do more! He gives us all specific things to do and he always gives the other boys more complicated ones. They all have special traits: Liam's the smart one and the runner; Zayn's the fighter and Louis' the brave one – always up for anything. And then there's...just me." The overwhelming sadness in his eyes made my heart rip at the seams. "Even you managed to beat my ass in the initiation," he smiled sadly.

"Niall, I'm sure that's not true. You're Harry's mate, I'm sure he's not intending to make you feel inferior to the other boys."

"I don't care. I need the money. It just really annoys me, and it's been going on for so long that I..." he stopped himself.

"You what?" I pressed.

"I almost...hate him at times, Hunter. He's one of my best mates – one of the very few people I can actually trust, you know? But I hate him sometimes. I just want him to know how it feels to have no control over something. For someone else to be in charge for once."

This admittance startled me since I always just assumed they were all as close as brothers. It seemed that way from how they communicated with each other. I had never considered that any of them may have secretive, ill feelings towards one another.

"I'll see what I can do," I finalised after a moment of contemplation, "I'll try and convince him to give you a raise. But I can't guarantee anything, I don't think he'll listen to me."

"He's much more likely to listen to you than me."

"What makes you say that?" I enquired, head tilted to one side. He caught his lip ring between his front teeth, rising from the sofa and drifting to the doorway.