Trails (PP 1) [Complete]

6

6 - Lies For Protection

~ Robyn ~

* 1 day later (April 2018)*

"What's wrong? You've sighed 20 times in three minutes, that's beaten my record," Niall whispers in my ear.

I look up at my ceiling, trying to work out what to say.

"Something feels different," I comment quietly.

Ethan is completely out of it, as proven by the red lipstick moustache he now has covering his top lip and half of his cheeks in a swirl.

"In what way?" Niall asks, bringing my arm extended to the ceiling back towards his chest.

"The atmosphere around the packs and at school is different. Something has shifted," I reply.

Niall props himself up an elbow as he watches me, but I stare at the ceiling. "You've been odd since the lockers. You're jealous, aren't you?"

"I'm not jealous. None of the girls have the guts to actually speak to you apart from a limited vocabulary of: hey; hi; bye; oh; look; it's; didn't; expect; to; see; you; Niall. That's the group that take English with us. The others are limited to: hi; bye; Niall. You think I'm jealous of that? I can shout at you and all you do is shout back at me not giving a shit."

Niall rolls his eyes before kissing my cheek. "I'm not actually joking about Cian handling them all."

"I know. Saw the whole thing with Fi earlier. Last person I expected to do that."

"She went from having until the end of the day to having two seconds in a second."

"She looked so lost for about a second before she was back to normal."

"They might do it on purpose."

"To get Cian to snap completely?"

"Possibly."

My mind wanders to what Oliver said yesterday. It could be Cian couldn't it? Cian could be overprotective of Niall to avoid suspicions.

"What's bugging you, Ro?" Niall questions quietly before kissing my lips. I respond briefly before pulling away.

"I'm not really sure. There's a lot going on," I reply.

"Worried about your birthday?"

"A bit."

"Maeve isn't doing the rainbow theme again, is she?"

I can't help laughing at that. "No, she isn't."

"I never got to tell you that you looked beautiful at my party. My father made sure I stayed away the whole evening." A finger trails down the side of my face gently as he watches me lead beside him, memorising the moment.