Broken Strings || Niall Horan [AU]

● PART THREE: 18 | together

He looks at me then, his eyes sleepy but bright all the same. "You know, this time last month, I'd completely lost all hope. I mean, I spent every day just... just waiting around, you know? Just wishing for something to come along and change my life somehow. I was just so bored. I even spent some time hoping to miraculously run out of food, for my water supply to stop working, just so that I didn't have to waste my time tryinganymore. I thought I could quietly slip out of the world and be done with it. It's ridiculous, isn't it? I didn't exactly want to die, but with my so-called life, I wasn't that bothered about living, either. And I hate that because then you came along. And you changed everything, Anna. I can't help but wonder what might have happened if those dumb wishes had come true... if I hadn't met you..." Niall trails off, shaking his head as he looks down at his lap. 

I'm speechless. All words have evaporated from my tongue. Niall and I are more similar than I'd ever thought possible. We were both ready to die. Sure, there's a difference between wanting death and simply not minding the prospect of it, but the bottom line is, we were both certain that life wasn't worth living anymore. And now, we hate ourselves for it, because we've realised just how close we came to not meeting each other; to leaving the world without ever experiencing this incredible feeling between us. 

I open my mouth to speak, determined to tell him the truth of exactly what I was doing on that cliffside by his abandoned house on the morning we met. "Niall, there's something I have to tell you," I whisper, the words barely audible. 

"You know what?" He interjects, reaching forward to tuck a stray section of hair behind my ear. "I think, tonight, we should just be normal. I've already said way too much. Let's just eat and forget about our pasts, yeah? God knows it's what I've been trying to do for ages." 

I gulp, startled, and nod. I swallow away my words, and with them, the prospect of Niall ever knowing exactly why and how I came to stumble across his little abode. After all, I can't picture myself coming this close to telling him again, at least not for a little while. "Okay," I say, wondering if the reason Niall cut me off so abrubtly was because he was worried about what I was going to say; worried that I was about to ruin the positivity of this evening. And if so, he's right: that is what I was going to do. "Let's eat."

I lean forward, grabbing a sandwich. "Chocolate spread!" I grin, peering between each slice. 

"You know," Niall puts his lips close to my ear, just as I'm about to take a huge bite, "Harry and Liam are still watching us."

"Huh?" 

He pulls away, lowering his voice. "Don't look now, but they're hiding behind that bush over there." He gives a subtle nod in the direction of where they're supposedly hiding. 

After a few moments, I glance over my shoulder. Sure enough, there's a mop of curly hair just poking out from above a bush of flowers. "Idiots," I laugh, albeit quietly. Then I look at Niall, a metaphorical light-bulb glowing in my brain. "You know, they'd probably wet their pants with happiness if we kissed right now."

"Ew," Niall says with a chuckle as I put down my untouched sandwich. "You're disgusting. But you're also right." He looks down, somewhat shyly. Our faces are close enough to kiss. Glancing up again, he says, "So, uh... should we?"

I give the smallest of nods, eager to kiss him again. I lean in, and I'm close enough for my breath to tickle his lips when I say, "We'd better make it believable."

"I don't think that'll be too difficult," Niall breathes in that gorgeous accent, but his voice is cut off when I press my lips to his. Niall is more forward than I expected him to be; his tongue finds its way past my lips as his hands run down my body, resting on my waist, squeezing me ever-so-gently there. There's only a thin layer of material seperating my skin from his fingers, and I feel hot beneath his touch. Everything about this moment is perfect; the warmth and feel of Niall's lips against mine, the heat between us, the twinkle of stars overhead and the yellow glow of the candle beside us. After mere seconds, I've completely forgotten that we're only really kissing right now because we want to see Harry and Liam's reactions. 

I've never felt so secure. I've never kissed a boy without being entirely certain that there are more kisses to come. But when I'm with Niall, an air of invincibility surrounds me, making me sure that nothing will come between us, at least not for a while. It's dumb, being so certain about something that is so often the cause of heartbreak; but right now, the warmth between Niall and I seems infinite. 

It seems like we've been kissing for a while, but it's really only about fifteen seconds between Niall and I pressing our lips together and Harry leaping up from behind the hedge, pounding his fist into the air with a loud "yes!". We break apart, tilting our heads towards him with feigned expressions of surprise stitched to our faces. "I mean, uh," Harry stammers, coughing awkwardly to cover the silence. "We just, uh, came back to get my... my... My shoe..."

"Give it up, Harry," Liam laughs. "They knew we were here."

"Oh," Harry says. Again, he coughs. "Well then, congratulations for taking the hint and finally doing what you should've been doing this whole time." He steps over the small hedge, coming towards us and crouching to our height. He places each hand on our backs, grinning triumphantly. "So, how does it feel? She's a great kisser, isn't she, Niall?"

"She is," Niall laughs, before raising an eyebrow. His smile fades. "But, uh, how would you know that?"

Shit. My heart plummets and fear wedges itself into my gut; the perfect moment has been shattered and anxiety grips me from the inside. Niall still has no idea about mine and Harry's time together, all those years ago. He stares at me, lifting his eyebrows in confusion. I can't bear to meet his eye; instead, I glare at Harry, willing him to say something, anything, to take away this severe awkwardness.

"I mean, she looks like she's a good kisser," Harry says calmly after a long, deafening silence. "I've kissed so many girls, I can tell." 

"Oh," Niall says after a brief pause. "Okay, then." He lets out a chuckle and picks up my sandwich, taking a huge bite. I watch him as he chews, observing the movement of his jawline. "What?" He asks, catching me staring. 

"Nothing," I say quickly, leaning over and planting a quick kiss on Niall's cheek. 

"You two are so adorable," Liam grins. 

"Aren't they just?" Harry smiles. "I feel like a proud father."

As our laughter fades, a figure appears from the darkness. I'm the only one to notice at first; the boys have started tucking into the picnic food -- typical -- and I'm too busy admiring Niall's beauty to join them. But the figure appears just behind him, and I can't help but stare. Tall and lanky with a lit cigarette dangling between his lips. His head is half-shaven, and a flop of greasy-looking black hair hangs down the middle. I don't recognise him. 

"Um... guys?" I murmur when I realise that he's staring right at us. 

"Oh, shit," Harry curses when he looks up. Liam puts his head in his hands, clearly frustrated by this stranger's sudden presence. 

"What is it?" Niall asks, looking over his shoulder to meet the stranger's gaze. 

"Just piss off, Tyler," Liam mutters. 

"You're Niall, right?" The guy -- Tyler -- slurs. 

"Niall, don't," Harry hisses, but the ever-friendly Niall has already jumped to his feet, sticking out a hand for the stranger to shake. 

"Yeah, that's me," Niall smiles, and for a moment, Tyler looks as if he might crack a grin too. Niall has that power about him; an aura of positivity that is easily passed from person to person. At first, I wouldn't be surprised if the two quickly became friends. But then, Tyler begins to scowl, his breathing heavy, and it's instantly clear that he doesn't like Niall one bit. 

I realise that something isn't quite right; a tense, dark atmosphere has fallen upon us and the world around us is eerily quiet. My breath catches in my throat. And that's when the fist comes flying Niall's way. 

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author's note: i'm so so so so so sorry for how long it took me to update this. writer's block sucks, ugh. anyway, i was so desperate to post this that i haven't read it through yet, so i apologise for any silly mistakes or awkward sentence structures. 

i love you all sooooooo much. thank you for bearing with me and not getting angry about how long it takes me to update ♥ the next chapter will come quicker, i promise.