The Water Boy (Narry)

Chapter 20

I placed my hands over his, my fingers skimming over his to feel the bumps of his knuckles. I didn't once look down to the hands  I was touching as I imagined the small cross that was inked into his skin forever. 

"It's me, Water Boy," the voice, sounding just like Harry's, whispered into my ear. 

That was when I turned around, confused as to why Harry would say that to me anymore. The boy I turned to face wasn't Harry. The soft hair that I felt on my neck was no longer there. It was replaced with darker styled hair. His lips weren't the ones that graced my shoulder. There was no smile. There was Zayn Malik, a gritty smirk and blazing hazel eyes taunting me worse than his facial expression ever could. 

I gasped, my voice echoing along the bare tile walls. I obviously had no where to run and that helped Zayn out  a lot. He had grabbed the back of my neck and turned me out just like he had on Friday night. Then he pushed my face forward and I braced myself to hit the wall but I never did.

I opened my eyes and the wall had turned into that puddle of grass and mud.

I opened my eyes and I was there all over again.

By the time I woke up, it had been time to get ready for school so I could shake it from my mind until Harry picked me up that morning. My eyes drifted down to his hand that was resting on the gearshift, my mind thinking about how his hands, though with fingers so long and mighty, were gentle at handling. This was the hand he hand punched Zayn with and I want to touch it like it held some sort of secret power to unlock my ability to strike Zayn or Louis in the face. But t was just a hand; just Harry's hand. 

I thought of The Beatles' song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and wondered if Harry had ever heard it. The lyrics were quite simple yet so truthful and meaningful to me. I think if I ever had a chance to really hold his hand that I'd be smiling and that upbeat song would be playing in my head. Maybe I'd hum it as well and Harry would eye me curiously because he knew the song and he was happy that I knew it. 

"Niall, you there?"  I blinked a few times, that hand of his waving in my face slowly to bring me back into focus 

"Oh, yeah, sorry." I replied lamely. 

"Something on your mind?"

Someone's on my mind, yes. It's you. 

"If you're worried about Louis and Zayn you don't have to be. Liam saw him this weekend and commended me on the bruise he noticed on his cheek that I have given him so hopefully any vengeance will be on me, the one he actually should have a problem with now." He explained as we sat in the car park. 

As much as I wanted to chuckle or agree with Harry about that I couldn't because that's not how I wanted things to be. I didn't want Harry to be some kind of replacement target for me, just like I also didn't want that for Liam. What I wanted was to be left alone and have it all just start to fade, like friendship that you never thought you'd lose but all communication just stops. I wanted it to be like that. Nobody else would get hurt that way. 

I ignored the part about Zayn's bruise because I'd probably be seeing it very shortly. The words that stuck out from Harry's lips were the ones about hearing from Liam this weekend. Did that mean Harry was available this entire time and I should have been the one to ask him if I could come around to his? I didn't want to feel like I was imposing on his life. I didn't want to sound annoying now that we were becoming friends. 

"So," I cleared my throat, "what did you do this weekend?" For some reason I just had to find out. 

He shook his head. "Not much. I tried to do the least as possible since my knee had a party of its own Friday night. I wanted to make sure that I rested it up all weekend so maybe there was still a chance I'd get good news from my doctor later in the week. I could have sworn I felt this weird pulling feeling in my hip yesterday so I hope that it was just from kneeling or something.