STILL | NH |

FIFTY

**listen to the chapter song**

Niall

No.

This isn't happening again.

When she showed up at my doorstep today you could have literally knocked me over with a feather. Never would I have expected to see her here, not in a million years after what I'd done.

I'd had some trouble with my knee being sore and of course Harry told her about it. Really it wasn't that serious, just making things kind of annoying every now and then and I'd been so busy with doing stuff for The Bunk Off that I really hadn't been keeping up with other things in the way that I normally would have.

Opening my door and seeing her was like the best and the worst surprise. The best because I'd not stopped thinking about her and was dying to figure out how to go about talking to her, trying to figure out how to apologize to her regardless of the outcome.

The worst because the visions in my mind of her leaving from the same place were playing on a loop as she stood in the entryway when she stepped inside.

As soon as she insinuated that she was here because 'friends help friends', I couldn't help but think about how weird that phrase felt to use when it came to her.

Rigby was my friend before anything but the feelings that escalated from that made me a goner in more ways than one.

No way in hell was I going to deny her help if that meant that I was going to get to spend time with her. Maybe I could bring myself to apologize to her, to really sit down and talk about what happened between us and understand her better, like I should have done in the first place.

I couldn't help but laugh as she immediately told me to go shower, telling me I looked like shit in not so many words. Just knowing she was out there made my stomach tie up in knots as I tried to let the hot water relax me as much as possible, which it didn't not even in the slightest.

Making it quick, I washed my hair and my body, drying off in record time before throwing on some clean clothes that I brought in with me and had sat on the counter.

I didn't have to search for her very long, seeing the light on in the closet.

As soon as I made it to the doorway and saw her standing amongst the clothes, her gaze fixed on the little white number she left here by accident, I couldn't see anything but the life I wanted to live with her.

I knew that the chances of her letting me apologize and try and make it up to her were so slim, but god if I didn't try I would never forgive myself. Asking her if she still wanted it, wanted the dress, was my original intention but as the words poured out of my lips the only thing I wanted to know if what she still wanted was me.

Feeling her skin underneath my fingertips again as I got as close to her as I could made me feel like even if that was my last memory on earth, I would die a content and happy man.

When she asked again if I was still talking about the dress, there was no reason for me to even try and subdue that I wasn't talking about a dress anymore.

I was talking about us.

Me.

Her lips against mine again made my mind feel quiet, as if all the thoughts and details that had been mulled over the last few months didn't matter, that this was the only thing that mattered. As Rigby deepened the kiss all I could think about was how much I fucking love her.