He's a Keeper (Narry AU)

Forty

Words: 3085

Guys, make sure you read the Author's Note at the end!

The past days have been pretty good. Harry has been trying to teach me a few basic tricks that I could use in cases where I have to defend myself. In return, I've tried to let him see and feel how it actually is to love someone. I don't know how to explain it, really. But I think we're both getting the hang of it.

At least, that's what I hope.

A few times already, I was able to tackle Harry down to the ground. I must say, he let me win our small matches a few times, just because I was getting frustrated. I just know he did. But still, getting a giant down to the ground is in itself a work-out.

For Harry was the same. He opened up to me in a way I didn't expect him to. I knew he would open up to me eventually, knowing he was already trying his best to not push me away, but I at least thought he would need some time to tell me some personal things about him.

Anyway, it was Friday, exact a week ago when I saw Jack for the last time. I must say, I hadn't earned money at all in that week. The movie kept me busy till late in the evening, and when I went home, I would walk to Harry's first, and spend the rest of the evening there. Or he would walk with me to mine and my mom would make dinner for the three of us, or sometimes four when Daniel stayed over, too.

So I didn't really have much time to actually work in the Irish Muffin and earn some money. I still worked, but the movie only paid at the end when everything was filmed and done. And only if the movie would be a success, I would get money for it.

But, yeah. Up until then everything worked out pretty smoothly. I knew that if I would cross paths with Jack at any moment, I wasn't ready to fully fight him. He's this very strong and muscular dude and I'm... me.

That's why I play Nate in the movie. A pale, weak guy with no experience in anything but being single.

Yep, totally me.

But that didn't mean I wouldn't do him any damage if it would even come down to a fight. I didn't need to knock him unconscious, I just needed to get him to back off in worst case scenarios.

"Alright, can everyone focus from now on? We've lost already 15 minutes of our day and I really want this movie edited within 6 months. You all know what that means, 3 months to film the last few scenes. So please, give us everything you got for the next few months and I promise you, it'll be all worth the effort!" Leon said as I was zooming out again on the set. I've tried to keep my concentration, but I couldn't do anything else but fear tonight.

It's been a week.

The week is already over and I still felt like I  wasn't ready to face Jack. Sure Harry and I trained. And yeah I should be able to give a punch or two, but if Jack isn't alone tonight, I'm a goner.

I also wasn't able to gather enough money. I only have some left overs at home and the rest is on my bank account, which I do not want to touch unless I'm buying myself a house for later. I've been saving money ever since I was 10, and I'm not planning on ruining my future because of this jock and his gang.

"Horan, can I talk to you for a second please?"

I looked up and found Steven motioning me over with his hand. As I walked up to him, I noticed the mood change in both his and Leon's facial expression. "Is everything alright?" I asked unsure once I reached them.

Steven smiled and nodded before sitting down on his chair and placing both hands in his lap. "Niall, we didn't ask you over to give you any bad news. All we wanted to do was talk about the next scene. I know that we've tried to write it down in the script as detailed as possible, but it was rather difficult to do. Leon here came up with the idea of just telling you the meaning a bit so maybe you can understand it better."