I Want It Bad - Narry

Chapter Thirty Five

"Your mum's right, they never do come off," Niall starts, glancing up at her mother with a wink, "That's why I had me . . . pictures are drawn on with a permanent marker. So I wouldn't have t' color 'em every day."

She stares at him in awe, hesitantly reaching out and splaying her small hand against one of the biggest pieces Niall had done. The contrast of black ink and her pale skin makes her giggle, looking back at her mother to ask if she's just as fascinated by the discovery.

"Mommy, can I pretty please get a picture, too? It's so cool!"

"I'm afraid only adults can get them, sweetie," her mother replies, her face noticeably full of panic at a possible tantrum.

Niall's stomach instantly drops at the sight of the little girl tearing up at that, lips in a bigger pout than even Harry can make. He's never been any good with kids, so of course the one time that he tries to be it blows up in his face. He whips around to Harry, desperate for any kind of help, but he already seems to be two steps ahead as he holds up a pair of highlighters.

"What picture were you wanting, love?" Harry asks, kneeling next to her with a smile.

"A d-daisy, because my name i-is Daisy," she manages through her tears, furiously wipe at them with her hand.

Harry nods, eyebrows furrowed as he finds himself deep in thought. And what unraveled next is as if it came straight from a movie scene, as the typical boy-from-next-door comes to heal a broken heart. Harry is certainly no Picasso, but he draws a small, pretty daisy on the girl's hand, the petals pink instead of white with a yellow center. Daisy's eyes begin to light up as he adds the finishing details, and she quickly throws her arms around his neck with a plentiful amount of thank you's along with. She does the same to Niall, which catches him off guard considering he didn't do anything at all. But it doesn't really matter, not compared to the happiness radiating from the little girl in front of him.

"You just made her the happiest girl in the world," Harry says as the two begin to leave, smile so big that it almost hurts.

"You were the one who drew it, not me," Niall replies hotly, finding his voice to be unintentionally bitter.

He's trying to shake off the jealousy in the back of his mind, but it creeps forward nevertheless. He can't help but to wish that he were the one to come up with that. Maybe then this stigma attached to his piercings and tattoos would leave him the hell alone for once. It's not always fun to be the bad guy.

"But it wouldn't have even happened if it weren't for you," Harry argues, noticing how irritable Niall became. "The way you talked to her, you were so gentle and sweet. That means more than any drawing could."

Niall flushes at that, skin becoming uncomfortably hot at Harry's words. This certainly wasn't what he expected to feel after doing a good deed. He almost regrets it.

"Is that really you, Nialler? My God, you're looking rather red. Trying to get a tan down there in Cali?"

Niall's head snaps up at the sound of the familiar voice calling out to him, seeing none other than Louis making his way over. He's got a playful smirk dancing across his lips, in which Niall immediately scowls at.

"And here I thought I'd come back and see you a changed man, Tommo," Niall retorted, and Louis feigns a hurt expression.

"And here I was feeling pretty chuffed to see you," Louis mutters, slinging an arm around Niall's shoulders and planting a sloppy kiss to his cheek, "I've got the right mind to just leave your sorry ass here to fend for yourself."

"Are ya just going to let him talk to me like that, Harry?" Niall says in bewilderment, laughing when Louis elbows his side and tries to ruffle his hair.

"Well, no, 'cause you guys are pretty cute together," Harry mumbles with a sheepish smile, and Louis' smirk widens into a wolfish grin.

"That's right, 've got myself a catch right here!"

Niall blanches at the mere thought of it, struggling to escape from the Doncaster boy's grip that only tightens in response.

"C'mon, love, we're starting to look like a pair of slags out here," Louis says in unnecessarily loud voice, drawing a few gazes from passersby.

Niall can only groan in response, letting himself be dragged away with Harry laughing brightly from behind.

***

Once they've reached the all-to-familiar campus, the three start grabbing suitcases and bring them inside Louis' dorm. It's not as cluttered as it normally is, Niall assuming he made Liam or Zayn clean up a bit for their arrival. But they barely make it through the door before Harry is whisked away by one of his classmates, asking where he had gone and why he suddenly wasn't in class anymore. It makes Niall's stomach twists into knots at the mere reminder of it, guilt rising like bile in the back of his throat.

"You alright, mate?" Louis suddenly asks, watching him from his bed with a concerned mist in his eyes. He pats the spot next to him when Niall can only numbly shake his head, looking dazed and almost hesitant.

"I need t' talk to ya," Niall says quietly, eyes flickering over to the door as if he's paranoid.

"Is . . . is the something to do with Harry? I swear if you fucking did something stupid—"

"I didn't," Niall snaps through gritted teeth, before deflating with downcast eyes. "I-I guess it was stupid, but not in t' way that you're thinking. I really fucked up—"

Before he can finish his sentence, the door to Louis' room begins to creak open, revealing a rather broken looking Harry from behind.

"What do you mean, Niall?" Harry asks, voice quiet and confused.

It practically rips Niall's heart in two, seeing him like this. He wants nothing more than to reach out and tell him that everything's okay. But that couldn't be further from the truth.