Vampires (AU)

Part 3!

"Niall? Are you okay?" Harry asked from beside my head, but I couldn't answer. My body was filling with sick guilt. For some reason, it was only now that I was realising what I had been doing for the past eight years. I'd convinced myself that I was doing good, ridding the world of evil vampires who killed innocent people like my parents. But, really, is that what I'd been doing? How many vampires like Harry or Liam or Louis had I killed?

Harry was panicking now. "Niall, come on, answer me. Please, Niall. What's wrong?" then he gave a little gasp and said, "It's not blood loss is it? Oh god, are you feeling faint?"

Just then, I felt arms holding me from behind, pulling me up from where I was leaning with my hands on my knees, eyes closed.

"Are you okay?"

It wasn't Harry this time. I recognised the voice, but where from? I opened my eyes cautiously, to see Liam's concerned face in front of mine. As I looked at him, he did a little frown of concentration then nodded. "You'll be fine once you've had a sit down. Come on."

"I don't know what happened, Liam! We were talking about...oh. Shit."

"What were you talking about, Harry?" Liam asked him. "It could be important."

I'm a murderer

. I thought in anguish. Eight years, hundreds of vampires, and they all could've been innocent...

I remembered, too late, that Liam could read minds. "Ah." he said quietly. By now, we'd reached the gazebo and he lowered me so I was sitting on the steps. I held my head in my hands, trying not to retch.

Louis had evidently been waiting there too. "I saw you three over by the road - what happened?"

"Niall was sick." Harry told him.

"Lovely. Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah, I'm great." I groaned, a hint of sarcasm evident in my voice.

This earned me a relieved laugh from Harry and Louis, but Liam didn't laugh. Instead, he looked at me seriously with those gorgeous chocolate eyes.

"Niall, we have to talk about this." he said.

"There's nothing to talk about." I tried to shrug what had happened off, but I wasn't fooling anyone.

"Liam's right." Harry told me. "We've got to talk about how you're feeling. It's not healthy to keep it bottled up."

"Who're you, Dr Phil?" Louis teased him.

Harry gave him a playful shove, and instead of retorting, Louis just kept hold of him in a hug. "Really though." Harry continued from where he was pulled into Louis' side. "We do have to talk about it."

"What if I don't want to talk about it?"

"Then think about it, and I'll hear." Liam suggested softly.

"I won't listen, it's okay." Harry added quickly, before I could say anything.

"Okay, okay. If I have to."

"D'you want me and Harry to go somewhere else for a while? Just while you two discuss." Louis offered.

"No, no, it's okay..."

"I think we will. No offence taken, Niall." Louis gave me a cheery smile.

I looked at Harry, who was sending a message of defeat through his eyes. "I'll see you in a bit then." he said.

"Yeah. See ya." Louis agreed. He took Harry's hand, and for some reason that relaxed me. Seeing a normal action when everything felt so...abnormal. I saw Liam's expression as they walked away. It was that same expression he'd had at the bar the first time I met them - not jealously, just wishing he had that. But he quickly turned back to me.