Niall Horan Imagines 2

Out Loud (Request)

The morning air was easy to breathe. It felt nice against my skin as we both listened to each other's footfalls on the sidewalk.

I glanced over at him, but it was the same as always; I had no idea what he was thinking. He kept his face blank but friendly, but I couldn't decipher what was in his head.

I looked away, focusing on running. Niall and I had been motivating each other to exercise during the summer, and so far, it had been going great. I was exhausted but getting fit, and the more time we spent together the better.

I think we both liked each other, it was just the words that hadn't come through yet. Tangled fingers, accidental compliments that meant more than you thought, and inside jokes was most of what we were. If we could even be considered 'a thing.'

As time went on, I realized I had forgotten to take my medicine that morning that helped prevent my asthma attacks. As soon as that thought popped into my head, I began to panic, making the situation much worse.

When the high school came into view, I could feel my airways closing, but Niall looked like he was concentrating harder than ever, I think.

We kept running into downtown, and I knew I would have to stop. One of our policies for working out was don't stop. We wanted to build endurance.

So when I pretended to trip to get him to stop, I waited for him to urge me back up on my feet.

I heard my wheezing echo off the fence next to me, and he bent down at my side.

"Didn't you bring your inhaler?" he asked me, and I took a deep breath before answering.

"No pockets," I shrugged. It was pretty bad, but if I'd stayed there, I would've been fine. Walking back would be dangerous.

I looked back up at him, and I saw something in his eyes. He was worried. He glanced around nervously as the passing people, then back to me.

For the first time, I was seeing emotion from him. Sure, he laughed and smiled, but everyone could do that. The change shocked me so much that I couldn't think straight.

I didn't even remember to breathe before saying, "If you're worried about people staring, we can go somewhere else." I had to take a long, deep breath after my sentence, watching his head snap back to look at me.

"I'm not worried about that," he scoffed. "I'm worried about you." I continued wheezing, sighing out loudly.

"Well, I can never tell what you're thinking," I countered, disregarding another foreign emotion to me in his eyes.

"I guess I'll have to say it out loud," he shrugged, nonchalantly standing up to help me do the same. I got into a good rhythm of breathing, seeing him start walking back towards my house, where we usually met in the mornings.

We were walking when he spoke up.

"I love you." I turned to him, feeling my lungs begin to squeeze shut again at how fast my heart was racing.

"What?" He chuckled, and I felt like I had gotten through some kind of shield he'd had on since we'd met.

"I said I would say aloud what I was thinking," he shrugged, and I continued to stare at him. He looked over at me, causing my head to turn away without thought. I blushed, trying to hide behind my hair.

"You're really cute when you're embarrassed," he spoke out, and I thought my heart was about to jump out of my chest and run off itself.

"Am I cute when I can't breathe?" I asked him, annoyed that he was intentionally embarrassing me, but ecstatic that he was letting me see his true self.

He slipped his hand into mine, and as we walked home, my lungs had found a reason to keep working.

.

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thanks to LaChae47 for requesting this! Sorry for the wait, but I hope you liked it!

I won't be posting this Easter Sunday for the respect I have for God and the sacrifice he made for all of us. I love Him so much it hurts sometimes. Thank you for understanding.

I love you all and thank you for 70k on these imagines!

Mel xx