They Don't Know About Us

Christmas!

I sat on the end of my bed, pressing my back against the headboard. Well, there goes trying to have a nice night. I heard arguing downstairs, as I stayed in the guest bedroom. I didn't know what to do. I really don't want to interfere, but I feel bad because I started this. I should've just said nothing to Niall, and then we wouldn't be having this problem.

I heard the arguing again, and decided that I shouldn't interfere on this family problem. I decided to go take a shower, because I hadn't taken one for a while now. I grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a warm sweater and found my way over to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, then got out. I braided my hair into one long braid. I put on a pair of plaid pajama pants and a sweater . I walked out of the bathroom to notice the arguing hadn't stopped. I don't know what to do...

I walked back into the guest bedroom. I sat on the bed, and leaned my head against the headboard. I tried to listen to their argument, but couldn't hear clearly. I found myself growing tired from just sitting there. My eyes grew heavy, and then I fell asleep.

*


It was the middle of the night, and I heard some noise outside of my window. I looked over and saw nothing, so I simply closed my eyes again. I heard it again, and still tried to ignore it. Then, a shadow formed in front of the window. I quickly sat up and saw someone's shadow on the wall. Suddenly, the glass on my window was shattered. I protected my face with my arm, I moved my arm away and looked out the window, Father's eyes were staring at me. I silently gasped, and took a step back. Father climbed in through the window. I saw a knife in his hand. I took another step back. Father sprinted towards me and grabbed the end of my sweatshirt. I tried to push him away, but he had a firm grip on my sweatshirt. I tried to push him away, but all he did was stumble a few steps back. Wait a minute, that could work. I kept trying to push him away, causing him to stumble back, soon he was against the window sill. I pushed with all my might, causing him to fly out of the window. But.... he still had a firm grip on my sweatshirt, so I flew out of the window with him. I felt myself falling out of the second story. I'm going to die! Father looked scared, too, we hit the ground, and I felt a sharp pain as I landed on Father and passed out.

I felt like I couldn't breath. He finally stopped, and I was shaking immensely. I saw him pull out the blade. Suddenly, the doors slammed open. There were the boys. I felt like I had been saved. Father still had the knife in his hand, now aimed for my heart. Zayn and Niall ran over, and tried holding him back. But, it was too late. He stabbed me. The blade didn't stab my heart, but my lower stomach. I tried to gasp for breath. I was dying, I could feel the horrid pain take over me. I heard screaming as i fell to the ground, knife still in my body. I blacked out to the sound of screaming. I don't want to lose them.
*


My screams pierced through the ear, so everyone could hear. I couldn't get anything out of my head. Why do flashbacks like this randomly show up in my nightmares? Why does everything keep haunting me?

I collapsed onto the bed, and curled up into a ball. I covered my ears with my hands, trying to block out the world as I screamed. Tears ran down my face.

"Nicole, calm down!" I heard Niall yell. I stopped screaming, and opened up my eyes. Through my blurry vision I could see Niall looking concerned. He pulled me close to him, and held me in his arms. I felt him stroking my hair, trying to calm me down, as I let a few more tears slide down my face.

"I'm here, baby," Niall whispered into my ear, "Just let it out..."

I felt my tears staining his shirt as I cried. I balled the fabric on his shirt with my hands, almost in a way to say don't leave me. I didn't want him to ever let go of me. Niall looked down at me, and I looked up at him, so our eyes locked.

"Was it a nightmare?" He whispered. I nodded, so he continued, "Who of?" Niall asked. It was a very repetitive thing for me to have nightmares. It was a normal thing for me to have horrible flashbacks through my nightmares. Almost as a way to tell me to remember this.

"Father..." I whispered. Niall rubbed my back, in a calming way, "I'm here... I will always be there to protect you. He isn't coming back, Nicole. You don't need to worry about him anymore."

"I-I don't mean to think of him," I replied, "I-It just happens...."

"You're right, Niall,"

Niall and I immediately parted, and looked at the doorway. Leaning against the doorway was Niall's Dad.

"What do you mean?" Niall asked. I quickly wiped away the fallen tears from my cheeks.

"You said that Nicole needs you, and you're right," He replied, "I should've never said those things. I didn't know how much you two love each other. Could you please forgive me?"

Niall smiled, "Of course, Dad."

"Why don't we get something to eat then go to sleep?" his Dad suggested, "It is Christmas Eve after all, we should be happy."

Then, it hit me. It is Christmas Eve! I completely forgot all that's about Christmas. With all that's happened, I forgot about the holiday. Niall and I did bring presents, but they got burned in the fire, also.

"It's really Christmas Eve?" Niall asked his Dad, just as shocked as me. He nodded, "I'm surprised you forgot about it," His Dad replied, "I made a nice dinner for Christmas Eve. Doesn't hurt to eat it at nine, right?"

"Any time is a good time to eat," Niall joked. We walked downstairs. We reached the kitchen and Mr. Horan started reheating the food. He pulled stuff out of the fridge and set it on the table. Niall and I went and helped him. Soon, the table was set up, and we were all seated.

The feast began. We spooned the food onto our plates. We ate, and talked happily. We had soon finished and went to bed.
*


I woke up in the guest bedroom in Niall's house the next morning. I glanced out the window to see a new layer of snow softly covering the ground. I then realized what today was. It's Christmas! I pulled myself out of bed and walked down the hall. I led myself over to Niall's room. I pushed open the door, to see him asleep in bed. I walked over to him and sat beside him on his bed.

His dirty blond hair was strewn messily over his forehead. His eyes were closed, and soft snores escaped his lips. Hm, why don't we try a new way to wake up Niall? I pushed a few loose strands of hair behind my ear, pushing it away from my face. I leaned close to Niall's face. I gently pressed my lips against his lips. Suddenly, I felt Niall kissing back. His fingers ran threw my curly hair. His hand pushed my head closer to his, making the kiss even better. We finally parted, and Niall's eyes were open. He smiled cheekily, "Try waking me up like that more often."

I giggled, and Niall pulled himself out of bed. He intertwined his fingers with mine, and we walked downstairs.

Niall led me over to the living room. When we walked in, I saw there was a Christmas tree set up, surrounded by presents.

"But, I thought we didn't have any presents," I said to Niall, confused.

"Doesn't mean that Dad didn't get any," Niall replied.

"But, I feel bad that I couldn't get anything," I whined. Niall shrugged, "Oh, well. Dad knows that it's not our fault."

I sighed and walked over to the couch and sat down. Niall sat close beside me, so I rested my head on his shoulder. Suddenly, the door burst open, ruining the moment.

"I'm here!" Niall and I turned around to see his brother, Greg, walking through the doorway.

"Why are you here so early?" Niall complained. Greg started to take off his coat, "Well, it's 10:30 in the morning, I'm not that early. Where's Dad?"

"He's not up yet," Niall answered. Greg tossed his coat on the chair beside him, and shut the front door, "Oh, well, I'll go eat breakfast before he wakes up."

Greg started to walk over to the kitchen. Niall stood up, "We might as well eat, too," Niall replied, standing up. I joined them in the kitchen, where they were pulling out different foods. We ate together around the counter. Greg and Niall were talking, while I silently ate. We soon finished, and at that time, Mr. Horan walked downstairs. Niall and Greg crowded around the living room. I sat back on the couch as Mr. Horan walked in. Greg and Niall started ripping open presents, reminding me of little kids. Mr. Horan would open a few different presents, but not as many as the other two. I simply sat on the couch, watching. I understood that the present Niall got for me burned in the fire, so I don't have anything to open now. I don't mind. Niall and I will repurchase our gifts for each other when we get home.

"Nicole, you know you have gifts, too," Mr. Horan said to me. I looked at him confused, "But, our presents burned in the fire."

"You're part of the family now. Of course we got you something," Mr. Horan answered.

"But, the presents I got everyone are gone, I can't accept these," I replied.

"I understand that all of yours burned in the plane crash," Mr. Horan replied, "Please accept them."

I gave in. I walked over to the Christmas Tree and looked through the pile of presents. I pulled out the one that said 'To Nicole'. I walked back over to the couch, and sat down. I tore open the wrapping paper, and opened the box. I found in the inside of the box a sweater, two new books, and three new journals, covered in floral print. I looked up smiling, "Thank you so much!" I said happily. Mr. Horan chuckled, "Sorry, it's nothing big, but Niall told me some things you liked."

"That reminds me," Niall replied. I looked over at him, to see he was pulling something out of his pocket. I saw a shine of metal, as his hand quickly covered the item, "This is for you, love."

He held out a bracelet. I picked it up from his hand, and looked up at him, "How did you get this? I thought the presents were destroyed?"

"Well, I had accidentally left this one in my pocket on the plane ride," Niall replied. I examined the metal bracelet. I ran my fingers over the letters. It spelled out:

All these little things

I smiled at the inscription. It instantly reminded me of our song, Little Things.

"Thank you, Niall," I replied. He smiled, "No problem... There was more, but you know what happened to them."

"This is all I need," I replied. I felt Niall's arms wrap around me, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his back, hugging him back.

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AWW CUTE CHAPTER! In, my opinion, at least. I'll be updating later today! Xx -Madison