The Runner ➳ Narry (Book One)

Chapter Twenty-Two

(Harry's POV)

"What's your last name?" I found myself asking Niall as he snuggled closer into my chest. We were laying on the sofa, me on my back and him on top of me. He was light, but very noticeable. My hands reached up and ran through his soft hair, fingers massaging the scalp as I felt his hot breath through the fabric of my shirt.

"Horan," he replied simply. I let that run through my mind for a while. Niall Horan.

"It suits you," I said after a moment.

"My last name suits me?" Niall asked with a chuckle. I felt him begin to trace small circles on the side of my stomach, making sure he steered clear of my stab wound.

"It does," I replied, my eyes fluttering closed.

"I wish I knew more about you," Niall said softly, as if it was more for himself to hear.

My eyes shot open as I looked down at him. "What?" I asked.

Niall sat up a little, sliding himself between my body and the sofa so he could look at my face. His light eyes were full of curiosity. "When are you going to start telling me things about you?" He asked with a slight frown.

"I told you to be pat-" I started but Niall cut me off.

"I have been patient, Harry! Don't you think that I deserve something?" He rose his voice at me, making me close my eyes in frustration. "If you want... this to work out, I need to know exactly who you are."

I sighed and sat up, pushing Niall up with me. "No," I started with a cold voice. "If you want this to work out, you don't need to know who I am."

Niall's face fell. "Why the fuck not?"

My eyes searched his for a while, both our faces stone cold. I knew that if I told him about me, he'd want nothing to do with me. Finally, I couldn't bear the silence any longer. I didn't want to fight with him. "Please just forget it," I said quietly, my eyes falling from his and focusing on the floor.

"I can't forget it, Harry," Niall said. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to tell me everything. I want to have a future with you, but I can't if I don't know anything about you."

I sighed and flopped myself back down on the couch, running a hand through my hair and tugging at the ends. How would anyone want to have a future with a drug runner? With someone who robs stores and banks? With someone who got kicked out at sixteen years old for trying to commit a crime? For someone who has been arrested multiple times? I was frustrated. I wanted to keep myself a secret from Niall. I just wanted someone to stick around for more than a month.

"Can we just lay down and talk about something else?" I asked, my voice soft and broken.

"What are you hiding?" Niall whispered. I looked over to find him studying me, his eyes full of concern and his face in a frown.

"Please," I pleaded, reaching for him. I grabbed hold of his hips and dragged him up on to me. He let out a loud sigh and nuzzled into my chest once again without a word. He soon went back to tracing soft circles on my stomach, my hands finding his soft hair again.

---------------------------------------

"Harry," someone shook my shoulder. I groaned and tried to cover my face with my hands, but someone was holding onto my arm. "Harry wake up."

I shook my head tiredly and squeezed my eyes shut even more. Suddenly, a loud boom echoed in my ears. My eyes shot open to meet Niall's, full of worry and fear. It was pitch black in the room, the only light coming from the flashing lightning outside the window. I listened as rain pelted against the glass, another loud boom shaking the whole house.

Niall tensed beside me, tightening the arms around my stomach as he buried his face into my chest. "I think I heard something," he said, muffled. We must have fallen asleep, I realized. I reached down and retrieved my phone from my pocket, turning it on. The time said 1:27 at night. Another bright light lit up the living room, followed by a earth shaking thunder clap.

Niall's arms squeezed me hard. "Ni," I said softly into his ear. "It's just a storm, babe."

"Okay," he said quietly, his voice still muffled. "I thought I heard something and it scared the shite out of me." I found myself chuckling, he was so cute. Niall looked up at me with a scowl and softly hit my shoulder. "Don't laugh at me," he said.

I chuckled even more. "I'm not." Niall pouted and tried to climb off of me, but I grabbed hold of his waist to keep him in place, laughing. "I promise you're safe."

"Stop laughing at me!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not laughing at you," I promised with a smile. "I think you're cute." Niall didn't look convinced. "I hate thunder too." His face softened a little bit, his frown turning into a small smile. "Do we have power?" I asked.

"I don't know," Niall shrugged. I softly pushed him off my lap, an immediate cold attacking my body. I stood up and made my way over to the kitchen, muttering out a few swear words as I banged my knee into the table beside the couch. Another loud clap of thunder shook through, and not even a second later I felt a clammy hand slip into mine, interlocking our fingers. I smiled to myself and looked back at Niall's shivering figure, the flash of lightning lighting up his features.

We walked together into the kitchen, my free palm sliding across the smooth wall trying to find the light switch. My fingers hit a small bump on the wall, and I tried flicking the lights on and off but nothing happened. Niall groaned loudly. "Great," he said. "Now we're stuck in the dark."

I chuckled. "Do you have any lanterns or anything?"

"In the basement," Niall replied, only the outline of his face was visible.

"Where's the basement?" I asked, trying to mentally picture where the door might be.

"I don't have one," Niall replied. I looked back at him confused. A flash of lightning lit up the room, revealing Niall's scrunched up face to stop himself from laughing.

"So, you're trying to tell me that you don't have any lanterns?" I asked, causing Niall to burst into a fit of giggles. "You could have just said so," I replied with a laugh. Niall came closer, standing up on his tippy toes to place a blind kiss on my lips.

"Sorry," he said jokingly.

I shook my head at him and turned around, yawning loudly as I led Niall through the kitchen. "We should just go get some sleep," I said. "It's late."

"But I-"

Bang Bang Bang

Niall stopped dead when the sound of three loud bangs echoed through the hallway. I stopped too, my eyes searching through the dark to try and detect what made that sound.

"What was that?" Niall asked shakily, moving closer to my body. I squinted my eyes down the hallway but couldn't see anything. I knew it wasn't the thunder, thunder doesn't make that noise.

Bang Bang Bang

"Harry," Niall said with a small voice, squeezing my hand tighter. I stepped forward cautiously, towards the front door. "I knew I heard something."

"I think someone's knocking," I replied. Niall pulled back on my arm, but I ignored it and dragged him along beside me towards the front end of the hallway.

"Can we please just go upstairs," Niall pleaded, still trying to pull me back.

"Someone's at the door," I said.

"Don't open it," Niall tugged at my arm. "Let's just go upstairs."

I ignored him and detached my hand from his, continuing stepping forward. I was only about a meter from the door when the same loud bangs sounded, making my breathing unsteady. "Harry!" Niall whispered harshly from farther down the hall.

I approached the door and reached for the lock, turning it until I heard a click. Slowly and cautiously, I opened the door.