Broken Strings || Niall Horan [AU]

● PART THREE: 18 | together

❝Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.❞ ▬ Anonymous.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Her fingers slide perfectly into the spaces inbetween his, and he looks at her; whilst doing so, he realises that he could spend every second of his remaining life admiring her beauty and holding her hand and never ever -- not in a million years, if it were humanly possible to live that long -- get bored or tired of doing so. 

They sit with their backs against the dusty brick wall, the canvas of blackness dotted with bright white stars hanging high above their heads. They remain quiet, simply gazing at each other, taking each other in as if afraid that this flawless moment will soon come to an end. 

Niall can't remember ever feeling this content. He's never been one to back down, to not fight for what he wants; now, finally, doing so for Anna has paid off. She looks so pretty right now, with the silver glow of the moon highlighting the gentle slope of her nose and the curve of her lips, making her eyes glimmer like the stars overhead. He longs to kiss her again, to feel her lips slowly moving against his once more, and he's just about to lean in when the door clicks open. They glance up, startled.  

There stands Zayn, cupping his hand around a cigarette as he attempts to light up. He looks down at the two, completely unfazed by their presence. "Alright?" He says coolly, flicking the lighter in one swift motion as it emits a small spark. 

"Um, hey, Zayn," Niall mutters, somehow feeling as if the moment has been spoiled. 

Tucking the small metallic object into the pocket of his dark jeans, Zayn looks away and takes a long drag. Niall and Anna watch as smoke billows from between his lips in curling white tendrils. "They're announcing the winners in, like, ten minutes," Zayn informs them after a brief moment of silence, the smoke momentarily clouding the space in front of his mouth. He nods in the direction of the door through which he came. "You might wanna get back in there." 

Anna is the first to get to her feet; she brushes the dust from the back of her dress, giving Zayn a small smile as she hurriedly walks past him. Niall reluctantly follows, his annoyance soon being replaced by nerves as he takes in what Zayn actually said. The winners? He'd completely forgotten about how tonight he'd taken part in an actual contest; he'd been so caught up in getting the girl of his dreams that the Band Battle had slipped from his mind. 

"Shit," Niall murmurs as they walk back down the small corridor towards the still-crowded bar. "This is actually happening."

"Yeah," Anna responds. "It is."

"What if we don't win? Harry's gonna be so annoyed. They'll blame it all on me..."

Anna twirls round on her heel, looking up at him. "If you don't win, nothing will change. Harry might be a bit grumpy, sure, but he's got to understand that you can't win everything. Besides, why would he blame it on you? You were the best person out there," she tells him. "You... you did the band proud." She lowers her voice and begins to blush fiercely as she adds, "You did me proud." She gives him a small smile and turns back towards the door, pulling it open. 

The sounds of laughter and chatter, previously muffled by the door, are instantly amplified when they find themselves standing in the pub. A sea of intoxicated bodies sways from side to side to a crappy chart song, which blasts out of the speakers at one end of the pub, where, nearby, three people -- presumably the judges -- stand on the stage, conversing in hushed voices.