Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hello friends! I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who has ever commented on this story. I'm sorry I don't always know how to respond to your comments all of the time, but they all make me smile. You guys are always so kind and supporting D; Thank you for reading and, of course, thanks for the support!

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❝HARRY❞

It has been several weeks since Niall had sprained his ankle; despite of his injury, Niall insisted on working and would ignore me whenever I told him to take it easy. Even with his little walking stick, it was rather unnerving to watch Niall limp about and struggle with his normal line of work.

There were many times when I would insist on taking care of his smaller duties for him, but Niall would always stubbornly decline. Only when I told Father about Niall's circumstances did he finally listen and took a couple of days off.

The past few days had been quite difficult for me; I almost forgot what my life was like before Niall came around. Every time I needed something, I would turn around and order Niall only to realize that there was nobody behind me. Thankfully, I was informed that Niall shall be returning to work today.

Today was also the dreaded day I was to journey out into town to get a haircut; it had been several months—perhaps even a year—since I had last gotten my hair trimmed. Frankly, I had little to no care regarding my hair, but Gemma kept on insisting that a woman only fancied a man who appeared to be clean shaven and well-groomed. If a woman was only shallow enough to fancy my appearance, perhaps we should not be together after all.

I sighed and glanced over at the clock on the wall; Niall was supposed to be here by eight o'clock sharp, but he was already several minutes late. I flopped back onto the bed, careful to not wrinkle the new suit on my back—made from "expensive fabric imported from India", according to Helen, the head seamstress. I honestly didn't even know why they bother making me new suits from expensive fabrics for everyday use, since I tended to ruin them in less than a few weeks.

My legs began to swing back and forth to the rhythm of the ticking clock on the wall as I kept my eyes fixed on the door, waiting for the tardy butler to arrive.

Eventually, the obnoxious thumping of Niall's walking stick could be heard outside as he hobbled down the corridor. "Finally," I groaned, hopping off the bed and scurrying across the floor towards the bedroom door. I pulled open the door before Niall even had the chance to knock; his fist was raised, hinting that he was just about to pound it against the door.

"Good morning, Harry," he smiled shyly, dropping his hand to his side. "Pardon my tardiness; my walking stick seemed to have disappeared this morning only to reappear once again underneath my bed."

"All is well as long as you accompany me to town today for my annual trim. My hair is getting quite long and I reckon it is about time that I visited the hairdresser," I replied, straightening my posture and mocking his posh behaviors.

"Fuck off," he laughed, swinging his walking stick at me. "Quit mocking me; you're actually supposed to speak like that. Sir Des recently scolded me because your formalities have been dropping."  

"Sorry for not being an uptight noble," I replied, crinkling my nose slightly. It wasn't as if I didn't know how to speak like a proper gentleman, I just preferred not to. Only in front of Father and Mother's acquaintances did I ever find the necessity to act accordingly.

"The coachman should have the carriage prepared by now. Are you ready to leave?" Niall asked, eying my attire from head to toe.

"Yeah, no thanks to a certain somebody," I sneered, pulling my coat on. "Maybe we could get the hairdresser to trim your hair as well; perhaps then you will look less barbaric." Niall rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth as I began heading towards the door. I could almost swear he tried to trip me with his walking stick when I passed by him.