Breaking Away

Sixteen

The winter only gets colder; by the end of November, it's freezing outside, and Niall is almost glad to be stuck in his hospital room where it's at least warm.

The bed next to his is occupied now. A girl named Isobel who hurt her back in a horse riding accident. She's a few years older than him, and whenever she speaks to him, she does this voice like she's talking to a little kid. Niall's trying not to dislike her but it's kinda difficult, especially when she's making progress a lot quicker than he did — Tom says it's because her injury is less severe than his is but that doesn't make it any easier.

Plus, Isobel has this stupid boyfriend who's here all the time and Niall doesn't think that the guy likes him much at all. He always gives him funny looks and ignores him.

He's glad his brothers are here today, not just for the company but because he can't bear to listen to Isobel and her boyfriend sucking each other's faces off on the other side of the curtain.

Louis sneezes again and the sound brings him back to reality. He jumps, looking at his twin brother in concern. The other boy's nose is bright red and his skin is a little pale, and Niall knows his brother well enough to know that he's definitely downplaying this 'little cold' he's claiming to have.

"You don't have to stay, if you're feelin' sick," he says, because as much as he doesn't want his brothers to leave him, he hates the idea of forcing Louis to stay when he ought to be in bed.

Louis just shakes his head, taking the tissue that Harry holds out to him. The three of them are on Niall's bed, Niall against his pillows and his brothers opposite him.

"M'fine. Coach's just been making us do football practice in shorts even though it's freezing out," he cuts himself off with a congested cough and then shrugs. "Least I don't have practice till next week now anyway. And then schools out for Christmas a couple weeks after that."

Niall chews his lip and nods. "Yeah...but, I mean, maybe you should sit practice out next week. So you don't feel any worse, you know?"

His twin brother rolls his eyes at that. "Okay Dad. Shut up, I'm okay."

Before Niall can argue back, the door opens and Bec stops in the doorway, smiling at the three of them.

"Sorry Niall, I didn't know you had your brothers here. We've got a session starting now if you're able to spare half an hour in my office?" She asks.

Chewing his lip, Niall eyes his brothers in guilt, not wanting to leave them here by themselves, bored.

Harry smiles at him. "Go ahead, Ni. M'gonna run down to the pharmacy and buy Lou some cough sweets so he can stop spluttering his germs all over me," he teases with a grin, earning a glare from Louis and a laugh from Niall.

He gives a slow nod and transfers himself across to his chair, looking at his brothers disdainfully. "You don't have to stay and wait for me. I know there's not much to do here, I don't want you to be —"

Both boys huff at that, Louis' turning into more of a cough.

"We'll wait for you, Nialler. Go on," Harry says, waving a hand at him.

Niall smiles in relief at that, nodding again and wheeling himself across to Bec, allowing the woman to close the door behind him. She smiles, falling into step alongside his chair as they head down the hallway toward her office.

"Hope I wasn't disturbing anything in there. I haven't seen your brothers here for a little while," she says.

He shakes his head. "Harry had exams and Lou's had a bunch of games so they've been busy, but we already caught up over text and stuff. We were just hangin' out," he tells her with a shrug.