Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Ten

"It seems as though I may have lost the ability to function properly," I muttered.

Lance pulled me in for a hug, rubbing my back softly, trying to ease my nerves. Clearly, there was no way of salvaging the confidence and bravery I had just a few days ago when I told Lance I would slay Harry's arse. He had laughed at my language and determination, but shook his head and told me that I did not know Sir Harry at all.

"Thanks for everything, mate," I whispered. My arms wrapped firmly around his waist as my nonexistent desires to part from Lance plummeted even further.

Lance finally released me from our embrace and laughed heartily when I didn't copy his actions.

"I'm sure Sir Harry will like you just as much as I do," he smiled. "Nobody can dislike a fine lad such as yourself, Niall."

Reluctantly, I finally relaxed my grip around his waist.

"You'll be bloody fantastic," he exclaimed, kissing my forehead softly.

I admit it. In that moment, I imagined Lance to be Louis. A small lump began to form in my throat. I swallowed thickly before responding.

"I'll see you in a bit, right?" I managed to ask.

He nodded before bidding farewell once more. And with that, he was gone.

Right then and there, with my hands tightly gripping the handles of the doors, I silently promised myself that I would try to start anew with Harry and drop all previous assumptions I had made. I took one last deep breath before pulling the heavy door open.

The warm light from the corridors flooded into the dark bedroom. I carefully maneuvered around the room as my eyes took its time to adjust to the darkness. My hands finally met the soft velvet curtains on the opposite side of the room which I had been searching for.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" I exclaimed, pulling the curtains apart. A large smile spread across my face as the sunshine from the window began to eat up the darkness all around me.

My face immediately fell as my eyes came to rest on the grand bed with which the man himself laid. Unfortunately, there wasn't just a man on the bed, no, there were two bodies, and neither of them were clothed.

I've never seen a naked body beside my own, needless to say, a female's. My level of disgust was flying out of control. The man, who I assumed was Harry, sat up groggily a brief moment after my surprise entrance and immediately smirked as our eyes met. I muttered a quick apology before hurrying back towards the door. Lance had warned me that Harry was a somewhat scandalous person in a sense that he always slept around with various women, but I tried not to believe him. I began desperately trying to hold onto the slim chance that she might have just been his spouse because I had just previously promised myself not to be a judgemental jerk.

I nervously paced back and forth in the corridors as I awaited the two to emerge from the room. It was my duty to wake up Harry, but I'd rather not have to walk in on that again. Besides, they might have woken up and decide to go at it again, and I definitely didn't need to see something like that.

After about thirty minutes, the bedroom doors finally opened.

I glanced nervously at the couple before me. Quite frankly, displays of affection are a bit too much for me. The woman wrapped her arms around Harry's neck protectively. His eyes found their way towards me and a wicked smile stretched across his face. My eyes widened in fear as I looked away. From my peripherals, I could see her peppering kisses across his lips before they met each other's halfway.

I watched the woman linger in his arms. She was reluctant to leave his side and sent a glare in my direction, clearly frustrated that my presence had cut their intimacy short. I returned a small apologetic nod. She simply snorted before heading for the door. I turned my attention towards Harry and was surprised to find that he already had his eyes set on me. I approached him, extending a hand.

"My name's Niall. I'm your new butler from today onwards," I smiled.

He blinked once before rolling his eyes.

"Not for long," he muttered. He pushed past me and swaggered down the corridors. I quickly followed him, taking small rapid steps to match his long strides.

"Sir," I called. "You mind as well get to know me because I'm not going anywhere."

He came to an abrupt stop, causing me to run right into him. I took a step back, rubbing my nose to stop myself from sneezing.

"Is that so?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. His icy emerald eyes were glossed over with disinterest, seemingly burning right through me.

I nodded, almost a bit too eager to escape his gaze.

"Good luck, Niall," he smiled. Even with a smile across his face, his eyes were still dead. I couldn't help but feel completely frightened by such a man.

I sighed in relief as soon as he swerved back around, continuing his walk. This is going to be a very long day.

⌛ ⌛ ⌛

"How was your first day working for the one and only Harry Styles?" Lance smirked. I glared at him, quickly approaching the boy before punching him directly in the stomach. His snickers turned into laughs as he coughed in between gasps of air.

"That bad?" he asked.

I plopped down onto Lance's bed, rubbing my face in frustration. "He scares the shit out of me," I groaned.

"The what?" He asked, arching an eyebrow.

"He just scares me a lot," I sighed, realizing that Lance probably doesn't understand twenty-first century slang.

"What'd he do?" he asked, trying to contain himself from another outburst of laughs.

"It's just—his eyes. They're so fucking scary, you know? It just makes me want to crawl under a rock and never come out. It's like they can see right through me."

"Harry's always like that at the beginning," Lance replied in a calming voice, ruffling my hair lightly. "He just wants to see if you're really up for the job or not."

"Really?" I asked with eyes full of hope.

"Of course not!" he shrieked, breaking into a fit of laughs. "He's always like that, Niall. You just have to get used to it."

My eyes drooped in disappointment. "Thanks for nothing, Lance," I muttered.

"Sorry Niall, but it's the truth."

⌛ ⌛ ⌛

After a long talk with Lance, I ended up falling asleep in his room. I was awakened the next day by pair of hands roughly shaking my shoulders.

"Niall!" a voice called in a loud whisper.

"Hmm?" I replied groggily. I was exhausted and had no intentions of waking up.

"It's time to get up," the voiced said, dragging my arms.

I groaned as the person persisted with their attempts to wake me.

"Niall!"

"For God's sake, I'm up, Louis!" I shouted, pulling my wrists from his grasp. My eyes quickly shot open as well, and I came face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes. I quickly realized that this indeed was not Louis but was in fact Lance. I silently prayed to myself, hoping that Lance wouldn't question my mistake, but I quickly discovered that I was in no such luck today.

"Who's Louis?" Lanced asked, putting me under an uncomfortable gaze. "I know I told you I wasn't going to ask until you were comfortable with telling me yourself, but I haven't been able to get it off my mind. How did you know my last name when I've never even met you before?"

I glanced up at him, realizing that he was absolutely serious.

"Listen, Lance. I know this is going to sound really weird, and to be honest, I wouldn't believe me either, but it's the truth."

He nodded slowly, taking a seat beside me on the bed.

"The truth is I'm not from here at all. In fact, I'm from the twenty-first century and my best friend is Louis Tomlinson."