Trouble. (niall horan au)

chapter 24 - hypothetical questions

"Niall," I said into the receiver, balancing the phone against my shoulder, "Can I ask you a hypothetical question."

There was some muted movement from his end, followed by a drawn out yawn. "Oh, sweetheart, please tell me this is a good hypothetical question that you decided to wake me up for."

I glanced at the clock on the stove. "It's one in the afternoon."

"Your point? I always sleep with my phone on, just in case you call."

I ignored the warmth curling around my stomach as I imagined him still lying in bed, lilac hair mussed and eyes crinkled. Probably bare chested, clad in only boxers and ready to hear from me. I suddenly realized that I had stayed silent too long. "Okay, well, let's say that hypothetically, I saw a hypothetical stray cat on the street. Should I bring it inside? Hypothetically."

"No," he deadpanned instantly.

I was taken aback by the bluntness of his answer. "But why no-"

"Don't bring in stray animals, Abbey, they bite and have all sorts of diseases. I don't want you to come at me with a foaming mouth when I try to kiss you."

"Kinky, eh?" I tried to joke, but didn't even receive a pity laugh.

I sucked in my bottom lip, glancing over my shoulder at the massive cat curled up in the middle of the sofa. I had just finished up running when I noticed him meandering along the sidewalk in front of my house this morning. He may of been the fattest cat ever created in the animal kingdom, basically just a circle of orange and white fur on stump legs. I had led him inside using old bread crust and he now sat licking his paws and glaring at me.

"Okay," I said with overly forced enthusiasm, "You're right. What was I thinking. Bye."

"Don't hang up the phone," Niall demanded, clearly not buying it. I had let the issue go too quickly, not putting up a fight. "Oh god, please tell me you did not bring a stray animal into the house."

"Would you look at that," I mused, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction, "The newspaper says that it might rain later today. That'll be good for the grass."

"Abbey."

"Because we've had quite a drought lately. Real rough on my moms tulips."

"I'm coming over," he said, before hanging up. I listened to the empty dial tone for a moment, before glancing back at the cat. Panic ensued as I tried to formulate a plan to hide it before he came over. Given the fact that Niall took speed limits as more of a suggestion that an actual law, I didn't doubt that he'd be over quickly.

Niall had been in a- to put it kindly- hostile mood lately. After our sort of sleepover at my house, where I admitted my unfortunate incapability to handle anything sexual, Niall found a men's watch at my bedside. I didn't recgonize nor understand why it was there, but anyone can understand why it seemed weird. Did somebody break into my room and leave it there? Or did a friend of my moms accidentally drop it? The conspiracy theories were endless.

"A guy who leaves a nice watch is going to want to come back to get the nice watch," Niall had grumbled, watching me turn the timepiece over in my hands. "And geeze, they'll find a cute little girl asleep in her bed, and what'll they do? Something they shouldn't."

"Little girl?" I said, sliding the watch on and turning my wrist to model it, watching as moonlight glinted off the shiny surface.

Niall tried to slip it off my hand. "Take that off."

"Actually," I declared, "I think I'm going to keep it on. And never take it off ever. For years I'll keep this on, until it's fused to my skin. It will become part of me."