dissolve. nh

Chapter 26

“Hi, Ni.” I said, opening the door wider for him to step inside. His boots clonked on the hardwood, and he lifted his shades to reveal a set of hardened cerulean blue eyes. 

“Bleu.” He caught my waist with his free hand, bringing me close enough to dip his head brush his lips over my own. He pulled away, and it was over before I could’ve even blinked. “Ready to go?” He asked, his voice deeper and more…menacing than before.

“Um, yeah.” I said, reaching up to push my bangs back before I bent over to retrieve my bag. I straightened up, and Niall had his sunglasses pulled down again, and I couldn’t tell if he was even looking at me. My smile faltered, and I brushed past him to step onto the porch. 

When he’d followed me, I reached behind him to slam the door and check that it was locked, surprised at the fact that he’d jumped a little. I stomped down the porch steps, letting my anger become obvious and get the best of me. “Bleu.” He warned as I stormed down the pathway to where his Range was parked.

“What?” I spat, rounding on him.

“Don’t be angry at me.”

“I’m not angry.” I said, turning and continuing on down to the car. Seconds later, Niall was beside me, opening the door before I could put a hand on it. I grumbled my thanks, throwing my bag into the only open space in the backseat that wasn’t occupied by Niall’s gear. He climbed into the drivers seat and we clicked out seat belts into place, pulling away from the curb. When he opened his mouth to speak, I reached out and turned up music that neither one of us knew, but he clenched in jaw and complied to the not-so-silent treatment I was giving him. 

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We pulled into a giant parking lot of an even bigger stadium at around ten-fifteen, and my eyes grew wide. “This is where you’ll be fighting?” It was the first thing I’d said to him the whole trip, and he nodded, sunglasses concealing his eyes even though it was nearly pitch black outside. I shrugged, unbuckling my seatbelt before I opened the door. I immediately shut it, the chill blast enough to make the hairs stand up on my arms. Niall sat in his seat with the door open, and I turned to look at him. He finally turned to stare at me, giving me an incredulous look.

“Are you getting out?” He asked, his door wide open and anther chill blast making me shiver.

“Um, it’s cold. Do you-do you have a jacket I can borrow?” I asked, and I thought I saw a hint of a smile on his lips for the first time that night. 

He climbed out, and a second later the backdoor was open and he’d pulled the zipper down on his gym bag. He rifled through it, dragging out a red sweatshirt before he shut the door and came around to my side. When he opened my door, he had the shirt ready to be slipped over my head. I wiggled my arms in the holes, breathing in the smell of him without all the cologne and wares of the day.

“Sorry if it smells like sweat. It was in my gym bag with my gloves and stuff.” He said, offering me his hand. I intertwined our fingers, which I don’t think he expected, and slid from the seat and onto the pavement beside him. He let our hands fall between us, and it just felt right.

“No, it’s okay. It smells like you.” I said sheepishly, pulling my long hair out to fall around my shoulders. He tried to hold back the smirk that made his lips twitch, staring straight ahead as a blast of chilly wind hit us. While he didn’t flinch, I shrunk into his side, cowering away. 

Before we walked into the doors of the arena, he spoke, “You’re going to meet a lot of people. I won’t be too far away, if I even leave you at all, but they’re going to say…things. Just ignore them, okay, Baby.” His voice was husky, lazy, almost like he hadn’t slept in a long, long time.