𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 ✓

t-w-e-n-t-y--e-i-g-h-t

 ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶　　 ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ 

nh

Niall steps into his house Wednesday afternoon with his shoulders tense, body braced for impact. The moment the door clicks shut behind him, his parents are onto him.

"Hello," He greets, noting how their faces are. His father looks stern, as if seeing Niall step into the house once more brings him nothing but disappointment. Niall can't imagine he'll ever make his father proud. Even if he were to go into the family business as he's expected to do, his father would find some way to stay disappointed with him.

He wouldn't be stern enough, he wouldn't be effective enough, he would be too kind to his secretary - no one would take him seriously if he's too kind to his secretary - he would get a calculation wrong and lose the company millions, any number of things could go wrong and it would all inevitably land on Niall's shoulders.

It's an exhausting existence Niall leads for his father to always harbour some sort of disappointment with him.

His mother looks terse, her lips in a thin line as she stares down her youngest son. Niall thinks he doesn't disappoint her as much as he disappoints his father. He imagines he disappoints her in the sense that he will never understand their family's "values" and how things are run, nor will he ever understand their way of life, but that's different. Her disappointment in him is less volatile, more every day.

He deals with his mother's disappointment daily, so there's less in each dose he receives. He deals with his father's disappointment only when he deigns to appear, so there's more disappointment in each encounter.

Either way, he's nothing but a disappointment to them. That he knows.

Though right now, they're looking at him like he's a criminal, and that's new.

"What were you thinking, telling your fiancé that you're going to run out of town and leave him at the altar?" His mother snaps. His father's jaw is tight, his teeth grinding together as he narrows his eyes at Niall.

"I was thinking he deserved to know the truth. Zayn and I are leaving town if you don't let me out of this marriage," Niall tries to keep his voice calm, but when has he ever been good at staying calm when dealing with his family. He can only hope Greg and Denise aren't upstairs in their bedroom, listening in on the verbal beating Niall is sure to receive.

"You are forbidden from seeing that boy ever again!" His father roars, Niall once again looking to the windows to see if they've rattled in their panes at his booming voice, "You are to hand over your phone and car keys this instant. If you wish to go somewhere from now until June third, you are to inform us of the location, and who you will be with, and we will arrange transportation. If you are caught with that boy even once, you will be disowned from this family. All family rules are expected to be followed from this point on.

"You will have dinner with us each night, you will attend school each day and maintain the highest marks, you will be in bed and asleep by ten on weeknights, and midnight on weekends. You will complete each assignment as it is assigned to you and you will do so promptly. You will pass all of your classes and you will finish the year with the highest marks. You will follow each and every one of these rules to a T, do I make myself clear," His father is looming above him by the time he finishes, Niall simply taking a deep breath and nodding.