Honest Illusions [niall horan]

Chapter 2

Niall's P.O.V.

"Fuck," I cursed as my hand instinctively pulled itself away from the steaming griddle. Cheddar cheese aromas filled Zayn and Perrie's kitchen while Nina patiently sat at the kitchen island scribbling away in her notebook. For the second time today, my mind became excessively frustrated just from a minimal task; first the telly kept freezing up resulting in a very choppy watch of Derby versus Chelsea, and now this. Nothing seemed to run smoothly for me.

Unlike the many times I've watched Nina for Zayn and Perrie, I felt so out of place today. It wasn't that I was unfamiliar or uncomfortable with my surroundings, rather I felt so emotionally constrained with a desperate need to pour all of my feelings out. Maybe it was because I saw how happy all the other lads were with their lives now, following the end of our career as a band. Each one of them had their shit together, while I idly stood in the corner not even sure what I wanted to eat for dinner.

"Daddy said that was a bad word," Nina's fragile voice broke me out of gaze which was fixated on the many shrubs surrounding Zayn's backyard that could be seen through the giant glass window above the sink.

"He's right, jus' a slip 'f the tongue, like always," I winked at her before turning off the griddle then opening one of the many cabinet drawers to find a spatula. Once I had all four sandwiches placed on the plate, I grabbed a knife in order to cut them into halves, because apparently, according to Nina, triangles are evil. Kids.

"Here ya go princess Nina," I smiled at her as I slid the plate over to her. Her eyes immediately lit up before she grabbed the first half and dug straight into it. To be honest, the times when I watched her were the only times where I felt true happiness. In every other situation in my life, I tried, so hard, to feel an ounce of positivity or happiness, but the smallest bit was soon overshadowed by the prominent pain deep within me. Nina brought back that little spark of life I was missing, even though she was one of my best mates' children.

"How about after ya finish yer lunch we go on an adventure?" I suggested as I took a seat across from her. Markers, crayons, and dolls littered the marble countertop confirming to me I was indeed in the right household.

"Like in Tangled?" She asked, her voice a bit muffled by the food still in her mouth. A small laugh bubbled out of my throat before nodding my head at her in amusement. "But no lizards, okay?" Laughing at her confusion of lizards and chameleons, I nodded my head once again.

"Uncle Ni?" Just like Theo, every time she called me that, my heart slightly melted from cuteness. It was so adorable and heart warming to see this compassionate and unbreakable bond that held us so closely together.

"Yes princess?"

"How come I never met your princess?" I raised an eyebrow at her. All of these movies Zayn was letting her watch were really getting to her head, apparently. Nonetheless, I enjoyed just talking about nonsense with her. Weird as it sounds, Nina kept my mind preoccupied with her childish banter and actions.

"Like mummy, aunty El, aunty Sophia, aunty Claire," she rambled on making me wince at the mere thought of where this conversation would go. Aubrey's face was still etched in the back of my mind, even though our last encounter was well over three years ago. Our last encounter together wasn't the most pleasant ones because as much as I wanted to forgive her, I couldn't bring myself nor my mind to even process the magnitude of her actions. Alas, there was nothing I could do to reverse her selfish actions, and in the end she got what she always wanted: her career as a successful journalist. She was happy, and that was all I ever wanted for her, just not under those circumstances.

"She's jus' not 'round yet, she'll come one day, eventually," I mumbled, mainly to myself. Nina stared back at me with wide eyes before she struggled to scoot herself out of the metal chair. Once that mission was accomplished I heard her sandals clattering against the hardwood floor of the kitchen as she rounded the kitchen island to where I was standing. Within seconds, her slender arms were wrapping around my knees while her forehead and hair rested just slightly above my knee.