By Chance

Thirteen

It was late morning when Elle was woken up in frustration, not being able to roll over due to something hard and boxy against her legs. After minutes of drifting in and out of consciousness she realised she was laying on top of the covers again and wasn’t all that comfortable. Finally deciding to open her eyes, the first thing she saw was a pair of still feet lying not far from her head. In brusque confusion she lifted her head and instantly remembered where she was. She had fallen asleep head to toe with Niall on his oversized bed with his guitar separating them. Carefully moving onto her back in an attempt to leave Niall undisturbed, she realised his guitar is what prevented her from rolling over, and discovered that one side of her body was aching with stiffness. Her attempt to leave Niall sleeping was, however, short lived. Solid, echoing footsteps thundered out in the hallway, ending as Niall’s door was opened without consideration.

“Niall, do you-” Liam had begun to say, ignorant to Niall’s sleepy state, but quickly stopped on his own accord.

“Oh.” Louis said bluntly, standing in the doorway behind Liam. Niall stirred and raised his head sluggishly to see the two boys overseeing the scene that he was oblivious to.

“Well, it isn’t every day you see Nialler sharing his bed with a girl.” Liam said loudly and overly mischievously, a sly grin crossing his face.

“And wearing his clothes, too,” Louis added cockily, the same expression present on his own face. Without a word Niall drearily twisted his body just enough to see Elle laying behind him, his eyes squinting with tiredness as though he intended to go back to sleep. The fact that Elle was sharing his bed, wearing his clothes, and above all, laying the wrong way up did not faze him one bit. He simply dropped back to his previous sleeping position, exhaling loudly before groaning in a manner that prompted the boys to give their reasons for barging into his room.

“It’s alright, mate.” Liam said with a laugh, waving Niall off as he left the room. Louis hung back for a few seconds longer, laughing to himself as he riveted the sight before him, leaving the door wide open when he left. A moment after they were gone Niall turned onto his back, knocking his guitar.

“Good morning,” Elle said inarticulately as they looked at one another.

“Morning,” Niall murmured, his voice sounding husky due to lack of use. He cleared his throat as he picked up his guitar and gently laid it by the side of his bed to get it out of the way. “I’m beginning to think you can sleep anywhere.”

“As am I,” Elle’s face was adorned with entertainment as she sat up and turned around to lay beside Niall properly, resting her head on the unoccupied pillow and immediately wondering why she hadn’t had the sense to turn around the night before.

“You’re nearly as bad as Zayn.” Niall’s face mirrored Elle’s as their reignited conversation had woken him up properly.

“Does he sleep on top of the covers too?” Elle asked, laughing at herself.

“He sleeps on anything.” Niall said sternly to get his point across, though the cheerfulness never left his eyes.

“Really?”

“I think the best spot was when we were in rehearsals one day, and we had this massive empty suitcase open on the floor, and he just decided to lay in it and fell asleep. Just like that. I have no idea how he does it,” Niall told her exuberantly, using his hands to affirm the profile of the suitcase as he spoke. They joked and laughed for several minutes more, directly continuing on with their goodhearted mannerisms from the previous night. They only decided to get up when they finally realised that most of the morning had slipped away from them.