little do you know // niall horan au

chapter 14; say something (part i)

That's it, Mona had enough of listening to this conversation. If she eavesdropped any more then she'd probably have a stroke or something and really, all she came up here for was some food. So, as if she'd just been walking in, she slammed the door shut, taking a deep breath to regain her self-control and announce her presence.

"Guys, you left the door unlocked, what's wrong with you?" She was glad that her tone at least sounded convincing as she made her way down the hall and to the back where the kitchen was. When she rounded in through the door, Niall and Harry were already watching for her, both of them looking pretty stunned. "Good morning," she greeted, forcing herself to smile. "What's for breakfast?"

Harry's face brightened up with a smile quickly but Niall was still looking a bit pale at her entrance. She decided she didn't have it in her to look at him without feeling too much, so she didn't. "Morning, Mo! Nothing special. Just some toast and cereal."

Mona shrugged, grabbing a bowl from one of the cupboards to fill it with some Special K and taking a seat next to Harry on their tiny kitchen table. Harry poured the milk in the bowl for her and she thanked him with a smile.

An awkward sort of silence fell over them for a moment and Mona hated it. These are her friends. They weren't supposed to have awkward moments. Harry was the one to break it, and from the way he was looking at her, Mona had a feeling she was going to wish he just didn't speak. "Mo, you alright? You're looking a little pale."

Mona drew a deep breath in and she hoped she didn't seem too out of the ordinary. "Um," she shrugged, "just woke up with a headache, is all."

Harry hummed, but he was watching her carefully. "Have you started to pack? Cali trip is in a few weeks."

Mona sighed. She could've done without a reminder of this information. She was making such good progress with her cereal and her headache had even gone away. Now, she pushed around the remaining flakes with her spoon, refusing to make eye contact with either of them. "I don't wanna talk about it," she mumbled, frowning at the milk in her bowl.

She didn't have to look up at Harry to know he was shaking his head at her. "Well seeing that I still owe you that talk about Valentine's Day, we're gonna talk about this later too. For now, I've gotta go. Got an early class today." With that, he grabbed his things and made his way out, calling out a reminder to lock the doors when they leave over his shoulder. Silence filled the room in his absence, and Mona nearly forgot Niall was sitting right in front of her until he placed a hand over hers on the table.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice lilted sweetly. When she looked up at him, his eyes sparkled from the rays of the sun filtering in through the window. God, she missed him.

"Hi," she murmured. She allowed herself to twist her hand upward so their fingers brushed together, and she nearly let him hold her hand until she remembered the conversation she walked into only a few moments prior. Instead, she pulled back, resting her chin on her fist and contenting herself with admiring how bits of sunlight seemed to reflect in those little golden-green flecks near his pupils.

Niall mirrored her pose, his smile never wavering. "So," he started, and Mona instantly felt on edge. "I have to tell you something."

Mona felt her stomach drop, but she tried to keep her expression neutral. "Yeah?"

Niall curled his lower lip between his teeth, nibbling on the bits of dry skin. There was a sort of nervousness in his eyes which had Mona preparing to brace herself. This conversation could go in any direction, and she prayed to every higher power in the universe that he wasn't going to tell her that he's seeing Cleo. With the thoughts of California and the stress of oncoming midterms, she didn't think she could handle this piled on top of all her issues right now.