Haunted

twelve

“Oh fuck off, Niall. The double cheese burger is way better than the full-o-fish or whatever the hell you call it.”

“Are you serious?” Niall looks appalled. I nod.

“And by the way,” Niall says, looking directly into my eyes. “It’s fillet-o-fish.” 

He moves forward and lightly slaps me across the face. 

I tilt my head and look back at him stunned.

“You did not just do that.” I say, fake glaring at him.

“Oh but I did.” He smirks.

I clench my jaw and return the slap, twice as hard. 

Niall places his hand on his cheek as he narrows his eyes at me.

“It’s going down,” Niall says as he raises his fist behind his head. 

I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for his fist to collide with my face.

“I’M YELLING TIMBER” Niall screams as he shoves me playfully and runs towards the elevator.

I let out a loud laugh and run after him as the elevator door closes behind me. 

We walk into my apartment and Niall immediately throws himself onto the couch, causing me to chuckle. 

“Tired?” I raise my eyebrows, smiling. 

Niall lets out a deep breath and rolls his eyes.

“You have no idea.” He mutters. 

I shake my head while grinning and hang my coat on the rack and place my old, worn out boots near the door. 

Yeah… I should really get a new pair of boots. 

“Do you mind if I crash at your place for the night?” Niall asks as he lays down and stretches his arms behind his head. 

I shrug.

“Sure,” I reply. “Hold on, I’ll go grab a blanket and a few pillows for you.” I say and walk off to my room and pull out a blanket and two pillows out the cupboard. 

I walk back to the living hall and throw them at Niall. 

He nods and flashes me a smile. “Thanks man.” He says, getting himself comfortable on the couch.

“No problemo.” I smile, walking towards my room.

“Night.” I call out over my shoulder, shutting the door behind me.

“Harry? Harry!” Someone whisper-shouts, shaking me awake.

I keep my eyes closed and let out a groan. 

“What the hell do you want?” I say groggily, grabbing my pillow and pressing it down on my face. 

The person snatches the pillow and turns the side light on. 

I sit up and blink a few times.

“Niall?” I croak, squinting my eyes at the brightness. I let out a yawn and stare at him. “What are you doing in here?” I ask, looking around and rubbing my eyes. 

“There’s someone at the door.” Niall whispers, turning his head around and staring out of my room.

“What?” I question, still sleepy as I struggle to keep my eyes open.

“There is someone at the door.” Niall repeats, dragging out each word. 

“Well go and see who it is!” I whisper, gesturing to the front door.

Niall quickly shakes his head and furrows his eyebrows.

“Hell no.” He replies. “This is your apartment.”

I groan again and lay back down on my bed, closing my eyes slowly.

“Who…who could it be?” I mutter, half asleep as my eyes flutter. 

“Think about it,” Niall snaps. “Who else would be roaming around the streets at 3 am in the damn morning looking for you.” 

It takes me a while to process everything he’s saying but realisation soon hits me like a ton of bricks and I quickly sit up, my eyes wide. My throat goes dry as I stare at Niall.

“It’s Scarlett.”