Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Twelve

I crouched down into a patch of flowers, enjoying their intoxicating scent. Almost instinctively, I began fashioning a flower crown from the array of flowers; it had been so long since I had last made one.

It was no secret that I was a momma's boy. Ever since I was little, mum would always dress me up in frilly dresses.

"Niall," she would say, "I made these just for you." She was always filled with so much joy when I put on one of her creations.

Of course, being the little boy I was, I never knew the difference between boy's and girl's clothing until I went to school and noticed that boys, indeed, did not wear dresses.

When I was little, Greg would often go out and play with the other children who lived in the neighborhood. I, on the other hand, was much shyer than Greg and was not able to speak to the other children without bursting into tears. Instead, I stayed at home and played with mum whenever she was not too busy.

The flowers in the garden became my obsession. I was intrigued how such fragile things could be so beautiful. Along with the dresses, mum always liked to make little flower crowns and would place them on my head while I pranced through the garden. At the time, flower crowns were probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life. I would follow mum around the house, begging her to teach me how to make one. Of course, she refused to teach me for the crowns she made required wires and garden tape, which I was much too young to handle at the time. Instead, she taught me how to make the simple one where a hole is poked into the steam of one flower while the second flower is threaded through the first until a crown is made.  

So there I was, sitting in a massive flower meadow, lost in my own world. I had forgotten Zayn's existence entirely while I was putting together my crown. A small chuckle brought me back to reality as I looked up and saw Zayn leaning against a tree with a canvas in his lap. I returned a smile, linking the last flower in place before heading over towards Zayn.

"I made this for you," I said, placing the fragile crown upon his ebony hair.

Zayn patted the ground beside him, gesturing me to sit down. I gladly took a seat and leaned my head onto his shoulder. He hummed softly as his paintbrush danced across the canvas. Before long, my eyes began to droop as I drifted off.  

❝HARRY❞

I didn't need a butler by my side. I could take care of myself just fine.

The quill pen in my hand nearly snapped in two as I harshly slammed it onto the parchment paper in anger. My English instructor was not pleased with my treatment of the quill but I could hardly care less right now with the anger boiling underneath my skin.

I spent the rest of my morning in my English and history lesson, barely even paying attention to a single word they were saying, as usual. I honestly don't see the point in learning history; it's not like I'm ever going to use history in the future. After all, I was going to inherit Father's business in the future.

As dinner rolled around, Father was not pleased to see that I was alone.

"Where's your butler?"

He glared at me from the head of the dining table. I sulked, slouching down further into my seat.

"I don't need a butler," I replied scornfully. His eyes narrowed, clearly not in the mood to deal with the usual excuses I would always pull.

"I don't want to hear any of that," he said, raising his voice. "I put Niall in your care and he damn well better still be in your care or God so help me."

"In my care?" I shouted, slamming my fist down onto the table. "The last time I checked, I'm the one he's supposed to take care of!"