Temptations [Niall Horan]

Chapter 4

"This," the boy growled, slamming his fist into the side of the man's face.

I watched in horror as the two began to beat eachother senseless. In an effort to get them to stop, I ran over, trying to pry them apart.

I screamed when the man who had attacked me shoved me into the wall, my head slamming against the brick. I landed hard on the ground, floating in and out of consciousness.

I could feel the blood trickling down my forehead, my vision fuzzy. All I saw was fighting, fists flying.

However, just before I blacked out, I opened my eyes again, watching as the man picked up the knife, slicing a bold stripe across the boys chest. I desperately tried to get up, and help... but I blacked out.

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

"Hey!" a voice whispered.

My head was pounding. I slowly raised my hand to my forehead, feeling a knot the size of a tennis ball. I groaned, earning a chuckle from whomever had talked a moment ago.

My eyes snapped open, only to be met with a pair of bright blue eyes. When I realized who they belonged to I quickly sat up.

"Are ya alright?" Niall asked, raising an eyebrow. I said nothing, looking around at the room I was in. A dresser... a tv... a closet... a bed... I guess this was his apartment. My eyes continued to wander aimlessly around the room, my mind fuzzy. I jumped when I felt his hand on mine.

"Ronnie? Are ya alright?" Niall asked again, peering into my eyes.

"H-How do you know my name?!" I shakily asked.

He grinned at me, looking at my body up and down before cheekily saying, "How could I not know your name." I felt the heat rush to my cheeks at his words.

"Are ya gonna answer my question? Or am I goin to have to take ya to a doctor?" he asked a moment later.

"Uh... I'm fine I think. W-what exactly happened again?" I asked, resting my hand on my forehead. He frowned, recalling what had previously happened moments before.

"Some dick tried to basically murder you."

My mind flashed back to the aimless hours before. I'd been so afraid... before I could stop myself, I began crying. My hands flew to my face in embarrassment, trying to cover my tears.

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped themselves around my body, pulling me closer.

"Hey, hey, hey, Ronnie, everything's ok. You're alright," Niall whispered, resting his head on mine. I pulled away, my body shaking. I was confused...wasn't he supposed to be the bad guy? He used women for sex. Is that why he saved me? Was he going to use me next? Whatever this was, it wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to have an effect on comforting me.

I was supposed to be afraid of him. But my thoughts were interrupted when I found myself clinging to him as he rocked us back and forth on the bed. My cries reduced to whimpers as Niall continued to try and calm me down, whispering encouraging words into my ear. He pulled away a moment later.

"Are ya ok now?" he asked, peering into my eyes again. I nodded, wiping away my last tear. My head hurt horribly to make this situation worse, and I just wanted to go home. He seemed to notice my pain, handing me a Motrin.

"I thought ya'd need it. You have a pretty bad bruise..." he remarked, eyeing my forehead. I sighed, gulping down the pain killers before taking a moment to clear my head.

Niall must've carried me all the way here. I eyed him, as he awkwardly twirled his thumbs. He was so adorable...but I wasn't supposed to like him!

I noticed a large rip in his shirt from his shoulder to his left peck, blood soaking through.

"Oh my god," I whispered. Niall looked up, following my gaze.

"Ah shit... ya he tried to stab me with the knife. Only ended up cuttin' me though," he mumbled, fingering at the rip in the shirt.

"You... you have to clean it. Or it'll get infected," I worriedly remarked, getting up. I headed to his bathroom, searching his cabinets for some gauze, and a washcloth. I filled a bowl with hot water, searching for him in the bedroom. But he was gone.

"In here!" he called from outside. I walked into his living room, widening my eyes at how much larger it was than I'd expected. I sat down next to him on the couch, setting my supplies on his coffee table.

"Um...do you mind?" I nervously asked, gesturing to his shirt.

"Oh, no not at all!" he happily replied, peeling off the shirt. My eyes widened at the sight in front of me. My breath hitched as my eyes trailed over his stomach, noticing his toned six pack, and his extremely hot tan.

"Like what you see?" he smirked, noticing my staring. I blushed, snapping out of my thoughts as I began cleaning his wound.

"Ow!" He hissed, the warm disinfectant water seeping into his cut.

"Well it's not going to feel pleasant at first, stupid!" I giggled, continuing my work.

He smiled down at me, relaxing into the back of the couch. While I worked we small talked, asking eachother questions. Come to find out, Niall wasn't such a bad guy after all. But no matter what he told me, no matter the number of nice things I found out about him... I kept my guard up. I still didn't trust him, no matter how intriguing I found him.

"There!" I happily replied a while later, setting down the bowl. He smiled, looking down at his patched up wound.

"Thank you," he replied, smiling a beautiful smile. I nodded, my gaze shifting down to his stomach. I noticed the tattoos: birds, a star, and words that must've only made sense to him. It was actually quite beautiful, the way the words and symbols swirled on his skin.

I didn't notice him staring at me until I looked up, his eyes sparkling. I flinched when he took my hand in his, bringing it up to his chest.

"You can touch me... I don't bite," he teased, his voice low. I giggled at the warm touch of his chest against my hand. One by one I trailed my fingers along the tattoos, dotting his stomach. It was when he released a small moan that I pulled back, my heart beating rapidly.

His eyes shot open, reaching for my hand again. He placed it over his heart as his other hand found the small of my back, pulling me into him.

"I like it when you touch me, Ronnie...it turns me on," he whispered into my ear, his voice filled with lust. His words sent shivers down my spine. I gasped as his lips attached to my neck, just as the man who had attacked me had done only hours before. What had just happened to the sweet boy I'd come to know only seconds ago!?

I pushed him away, scoffing as I sat up off his couch.

"Baby, where're ya goin!?" he asked, following me as I grabbed my phone and walked out the door.

"Just stay away from me!" I called, running down the hall. I hurried outside, turning to make sure he wasn't following me. When I realized he wasn't, I broke off into a run. I sprinted to my building, desperately hurrying to the elevator, where I broke down seconds later.

What had just happened!? I liked Niall, I tried to be nice to him, but then he... he tried to... I was so confused!

Then it dawned on me... what Becca had warned me about. He uses people. He uses women.

He tried to use me.

I sobbed as I opened the door to my dorm, thanking god that Becca wasn't back from the party yet. I quickly peeled off the clothes on my body, that smelled so much like him. I'd taken my guard down to try to accept Niall, and he used me in less than 5 minutes.

I crawled into bed, crying myself to sleep at the thought of what had just happened.

How could I like someone that just tried to use me?