Count On Me | Niam

Chapter One

Niall

"Chloe! We're going to be late!"

Looking through his daughter's school bag, Niall checked for the hundredth time that she had her lunch box before slotting her reading book in between her Pokémon cards and spelling book, taking a deep breath as he called out to her again. "Chloe, if you're not here in the next ten seconds you're going to be late."

It took another minute for Chloe to finally appear, Niall handing over her school bag as he unlocked the door, ushering her into the corridor and locking up as she ran down the corridor towards the lifts. Catching up with Chloe as she reached the lift, Niall used the wait to sort out her hair, pulling a bobble out of his pocket and fixing her curls into a ponytail while she fidgeted.

Niall didn't need to look down at his daughter to know that she was pulling a face at his handiwork and sighed as Chloe reached up, tightening the ponytail and messing with the stray curls he hadn't managed to tie back before she began mumbling about school, leaving him humming every so often in response. He glanced down at his watch once the lift doors opened, cursing as he saw just how late they were, holding Chloe's hand and leading her out of the building and down the road to the bus stop, with the two of them only just arriving in time to catch the bus. Paying the driver, Niall sighed as Chloe ran on upstairs to the top deck without him, making his way up top as the bus started to move, causing him to stumble.

*****

"Come on Chlo, you're already late." They were the last ones through the gate as Niall propelled the seven-year-old through the school gate, trying to avoid the stares of all the parents leaving after dropping their own children off, well are of the judgement written across the faces as he dropped Chloe's hand and let her run on ahead. Niall hung her bags on her peg for her once they reached her classroom and stopped to watch to make sure she actually joined the other children at her table. As he was about to leave, Niall came face to face with Chloe's teacher and was forced to turn around, coming face to face with the greying battle-axe that was Mrs Evans.

"Is everything alright, at home? This isn't the first time Chloe's been late." Mrs Evans got straight to her point, seemingly oblivious to Niall's discomfort and folding her arms as she stared at him. His cheeks flushing bright red, Niall put his hands in his pockets of his jeans, shrugging slightly before shaking his head. "Everything is fine at home, we simply...haven't adjusted to the changes in the bus schedule yet. It won't happen again."

Looking unconvinced, she nodded, turning back to her class, Niall waving goodbye to Chloe before making his escape, taking a moment to compose himself before making his way back to the bus stop.

*****

Eventually, after a long bus ride into the city centre and a ten minute walk, Niall finally made his way into work, acknowledging his boss as he ducked past the latest over head display of guitars and made his way to the back office, dropping off his jacket and Chloe's swim stuff before he checked the duty roster, busying himself checking the stores inventory. The work distracted him enough for him to get over the run in with Chloe's teacher and Niall skipped his lunch hour, taking the time to work on restocking shelves after the latest orders had been delivered, only stopping when his boss came by with a mug of tea for him, pointing out he only had half an hour until Chloe would be dropped off by the sitter.

His boss leaving before he could thank him, Niall took a sip of tea before turning back to the shelves, finishing re-stocking before he was required to help a customer on the shop floor, spending an hour explaining to an elderly gentleman the differences between a classical guitar to an acoustic guitar. Finishing up by helping him choose an acoustic guitar, Niall was about to ring up his purchase when the shop door opened, Chloe running in, the sitter following in behind, collapsing her umbrella in the doorway.

Already expecting Chloe and her customary hello, Niall bent down, hugging her as she ran over to him before he picked her up and set her up on the counter, letting her sit up there as he struggled to find his wallet to pay Jessica, pausing as he noticed the look on her face. "What?"

"It's nothing. Just- Chloe's teacher thought I should mention to you the school's running a morning breakfast club. She thought it might help if Chloe could get to school earlier." Jessica handed over Chloe's bag over to Niall and leant against the counter next to him, watching him for a second before she elbowed him in the arm and continued. "I take it you were a minute or so late and she decided you needed a talking to?"

"Yeah..." Elbowing her back, Niall fell silent, turning around to see Chloe no longer sat on the till but behind it, his boss helping her to ring up a customer's purchase. "I take it she was no trouble?"

"'Course not. She's always the best behaved kid. Has been from day one." Both of the snorted at that but Jessica gave Chloe a fond smile nonetheless. She rolled her eyes at Niall before heading back outside, leaving him stood by himself for a moment before turning back to his daughter. Giving his boss a grateful smile, he watched as she finished up with the customer, high-fiving her once she jumped down from the stool she was now perched on. "Good job, Chlo. Ready for swimming?"

Chloe's answer came in the form of an enthusiastic yell that she then apologised for, glancing around the shop with a guilty expression as Niall shook his head at her, heading over to the backroom to collect their stuff, picking Chloe's school bag up and handing over her swim bag before they left.

**************

Watching as Chloe's swim group finished up in the pool, Niall searched through the locker to find her towel and met her by the edge of the pool, enveloping her in her towel before he directed her towards the changing room, sighing as, once again, a sopping wet costume was thrown at him over the top of the changing room door.

He wrung the costume out, sharing a sigh with one of the other parents there, both of them holding matching piles of damp nylon. Returning to the changing rooms, Niall felt himself smiling as he found Chloe waiting for him, dressed in the onesie she'd been given for Christmas, her coat wrapped around her shoulders and her hair still soaking and covering her face. He smiled again as she nestled into the arm he'd wrapped around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, ignoring the scent of chlorine as he asked, "Good lesson?"

"Yeah. Coach reckons that on Thursday, we're gonna start diving." Chloe leant against Niall as she yawned, dragging the bottom of her swim bag along the floor which prompted Niall to carry it for her along with her school bag, the two of them swerving to avoid a guy running up to the gym as they made for the exit.