Grounded (Niall Horan)

Chapter Eight- Sick

"Anytime Niall. Anytime." I grabbed the rest of the groceries and followed her into the kitchen. The house hasn't changed much, but there were a few noticeable details gone. Either they had gotten a new fridge or taken down all the pictures that covered almost all of the old fridge. Most of these pictures were of me and Charlotte, but I'm assuming she made them take it down. Let's face it.. Her parents love me. Everybody does, except her.

"Well you know the house, I would suggest you take a nap on the sofa though. Because the soup will probably take a while to make." I nodded my head and laid down on the couch.

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When I woke up, it was 2:17. I stood up slowly and made my way to the kitchen. Mrs. Blakely wasn't there though. I went back into the living room, which was the center of their house and called for her.

"I'm in the game room, Niall!" She called out. I followed her voice and then saw that she was sitting at the computer, the pool table was on the other side of the room. These glasses sat at the edge of her nose and she cleared her throat nonchalantly. "I was just doing the taxes. How are you feeling, son?" I nodded my head and smiled. "Well if you're hungry just let me know. The soup won't be ready until dinner time, but I can make you a sandwich if you would like."

"Oh it's okay, I'm fine, really." I said. She raised her eyebrows again. "Promise." I said to reassure her.

"Oh alright. Charlotte should be home from school soon, and then when she gets here I'll run over to the store to get a few ingredients for the soup." She said quietly as she went back to the computer. Then turned her head facing me, "Sorry it's a little boring here. But you can "explore" just like you and Charlotte used to do if you want."

I accidentally chuckled remembering that. We used to get in trouble for finding new places to hide out in, and then never coming out when our parents called us. It was a lot of fun when we were kids. I actually kinda miss it.

I left Mrs. Blakely and decided to just walk around the house. There were a few more photographs in the hallways, mostly of Charlotte and her brother. One was with me and her though, and I was actually surprised it had made it up to the wall. It was of us when we were really young, Charlotte was Cinderella and I was a fireman. I remembered her getting super excited about getting her first pieces of candy, and I made sure to hold her hand and protect her. Only cause I'm such a good person though, no other reasons for sure.

I shook my head and smiled, climbing up the stairs. There were four doors to choose from. Charlotte's room was all the way on the other end so I started with the door closest. I put my hand around the door knob and pushed gently on it. It opened nicely to a little office area. There was a giant book case that held many different types of books, and straight ahead a computer desk that sat in front of a window. This room was pretty normal.

The next room on the side was an empty bedroom that Charlotte's older brother used to sleep in. But he packed up and went to uni in London.

I sat down on the bed and just looked around for a bit. Evan, Charlotte's brother, had white walls with a dark blue bed spread and a few old posters on the wall. He was never one into changing and decorating his room around much. When I was younger I used to always play with him and Greg, but when they said no I went with Char. I stood up and was about to walk out when I saw his mirror.

I looked back at myself and sighed. Not that I would ever admit this to anyone, but sometimes I don't like what I see. I looked down a bit ashamed and then walked back to the hallway. I gently closed the door, I had two rooms to choose from now. Either the bathroom or Charlotte's... Which do you think is more interesting?

I opened the door slowly, unsure of what I was expecting. She had a green comforter on the bed, and pink and blue pillows. The desk and the bookcase had moved from where they used to be, and now a flat screen was above the desk. There were a lot of things on the walls. But the push pin board caught my eye the most.

There were photos of her and her friends all over the place. I smiled at the silly ones, reminding me of what used to be. Some of them were in photo booths but others were just normal. Grant was in quite a few photos, and he was always by her side. In one photo he had his arms wrapped around and they were both smiling.

The one under that was of her and me. It was from when we were fourteen and I was kissing her cheek in the photo. She was blushing and smiling a lot, but her arm was still wrapped around my waist. Mine were around her shoulders. Did she think I lead her on? Was that why she was mad at me or something? I mean you don't just hate you old best friend all of a sudden like that-

"What are you doing?" I heard her voice, and could tell she was angry just by the tone.

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A/N: Had a bit of writers block for a while, but please vote or comment! :)