As Close As Strangers(Nuke)

Part 1: Crystal Creek

"Make up my mind, to make a new start"~ Led Zeppelin

**

It was almost unreal how familiar everything looked as Niall's dad drove through the old town of Crystal creek. It was a small quaint area, unlike New York where he had just spent the last year and a half of his life. This place was more familiar to him. Homely, he had spent fifteen and a half years here. He remembers himself with his dyed blond hair running around these exact streets with his four best friends, but that was a long time ago.

It was hard leaving it all behind, the boy had friends. A crush, a life which he had to rebuild. Although, it goes to show who your real friends are when you leave. As it turned out Niall didn't have any real friends, they made that very clear. Unlike the four people he met back in New York, they were real, and he could tell. They hadn't abandoned him the second he left, and that was better than last time. Going back to the place you grew up in should be the best thing to ever happen to a person. Niall was dreading it. He hated moving; he didn't want to lose his friends back in New York. He didn't want to be alone again. He didn't want to see him.

"Earth to Niall, are you planning on getting out the car or are you just going to sit there and watch the rest of us do all the work?" Bobby, Niall's Dad, clicked his fingers in front of the boy's face with an amused grin. "No, I think you've got it covered to be honest dad" The man rolled his eyes at his son, and Niall finally got himself out of the car, stretching as he did.

As the boy walked into the house, he heard the sound of his dads voice bellowed through the rooms "ow- fuck. Who left a chair in the middle of the hall?" His mums beautiful laugh could be heard from what Niall presumed was the living room. "Watch where you're going dear- Niall baby can you help me with this box" Niall smiled as his mum sat herself on the couch in exhaustion. "Sure, make the child do the work" Niall lifted the boy from the living room and took it to the kitchen where it was supposed to be. The boy did end up helping the movers with stuff from the van, but he would have rather been sleeping. Niall can never sleep on planes, and the journey from New York to Australia was a bitch.

He tried to take the slightly lighter boxes but seemed to misjudge the weight every time. Niall finally got to the hoard of boxes with his name on. The boy carried it into the house, Nessy, the young golden retriever, tripping him up every now and again as she ran around the house in a frantic excitement. It was an adventure, but Niall eventually found the stairs to the attic room. It took several houses to get everything into the house, and the entire family, including Ness were exhausted by the end of it. "We still need to unpack" Maura playfully slapped her husband's arm as the pessimist in him reminded her about all the work.

Niall was in his room already unpacking what he could. Things that were essential like his bag for school, which he sadly had to attend the next morning and phone chargers. He was lucky enough that it was the start of a new year. His last year in school, and he was going in completely alone. The boy grabbed his laptop, quickly connecting it to the WiFi and its charger before clicking on the Skype button. Zayn had made him promise to Skype them the first chance he could, he wasn't one to break a promise. He clicked the call button and watching it ring, the faces he already missed popped up on the screen soon after.

"Nialler my baby, I miss you" Harry pouted at the screen, making grabby hands towards it. "We all miss you, not just Harry" Liam rolled his eyes at the youngest boy's actions. While Louis wrapped his arms around his boy. "How is it mate? Anything changed?" Zayn was sat in the centre of the screen with a sad look on his face.

"Everything is the same, I miss you all so much. I really don't want to go through this alone again. I'm so happy I have you guys" The tear that fell down Liam's cheek made Niall's heart break in two. " Zayn you owe me A fiver, Liam cried I called it" Louis fist bumped the air dramatically making everyone laugh. Apart from Liam who had a pout on his face.

"You made a bet on whether I would cry or not? Do you have a heart? Our little Nialler is in Australia of course I'm going to cry my baby is gone" Niall made grabby hands before the screen, he wanted a big LiBear hug, but he couldn't, and it was killing him. "Don't worry Li, I will text you every day and let you know every little inconvenience in my life" The boy smiled at the screen shaking his head, he tried not to be sad for Niall's sake. They all just wanted to protect him.

"It's late in Brisbane Niall, you need your sleep bub. We'll text you tomorrow" Niall pouted but he understood that he needed his sleep. "Night guys" As the screen went black, Niall closed his laptop. All he could do was stare at the large pile of boxes, one of which had his Joggers, and another had his toothbrush and shower stuff. With a groan of protest, he unpacked the majority, putting stuff away as he did.

" A-ha fucking found you, little bitch" Niall yanked the toothbrush out of the box and placed it next to everything else he needed. He had his essentials. He found the bathroom in a short amount of time, quickly brushing his teeth and washing his face. Niall was a morning shower person, which he was happy about in this moment in time.

The outfit that Niall had picked for his first day back was simple. He didn't care about showing off, he cared about blending in. He had his usual black skinny jeans, maybe the pair that showed his bum the best, but no one needed to know that. He paired it with a plain Grey T-shirt and a blue jacket with a woolly inside. Niall felt his whole body relax when his body collided with his mattress, which was only just a mattress on the floor. He hadn't got around to building the bed frame, and he most certainly wasn't doing it that night. As his eyes drifted shut, he flat the least nervous he had all week, but no one needed to know that either.

If you remember this old boy, you've been here for a while. Damn. This was the second story I had ever published. It was shocking, welcome to the new and improved As Close As Strangers.