For the First Time | n.h.

Chapter Seven

I couldn’t help but laugh a little, "Right, I’m sure it was the teacher’s fault and not at all the fact that you probably never studied."

Ben gave me a mock-offended look before insisting, jokingly, that he was very studious and never missed a deadline. I laughed and rolled my eyes before sarcastically agreeing with him. That’s when we arrived at my class and I told him I had to go.

"Well, you want to talk later then Megan?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

I shrugged, thinking what could be the harm? Ben seemed nice and easy to talk to. "Sure," I agreed before we parted ways. I spent that class pondering over Ben’s intentions; why did he all of a sudden want to talk to me? After about twenty minutes I nearly rolled my eyes at myself. I had a bad tendency to overanalyze everything. Why did Ben have to have a motive? Perhaps he just wanted to talk like any other normal person. Yes, I decided, that must be it.

Niall met me on my way out of class. I smiled as soon as I saw him and he did the same. He was wearing a pair of kakis and a green polo shirt that hugged his strong shoulders. Niall had grown up a lot in the past year; that was clear just by looking at him.

"Let me walk you home?" he asked casually.

I nodded, "Sure, you can stay for dinner if you’d like, my dad’s not home. And I need you to help me with my homework." I gave him a big smile.

He let his head fall back as he groaned, "If it’s math don’t bother asking me because you’ll fail if I try and help you with anything."

I shook my head and gave him a sheepish grin, "What about biology?"

Niall groaned even louder this time, "You know I hate biology."

I pouted, "Please Niall?" I held onto his arm and looked up at him with the same sad expression. "Pretty please?"

He sighed, "You’re demanding, you know that Megan?" I smiled as he began to give in. "Yes, fine, I’ll try to help you, just stop looking at me like that." He playfully flicked my cheek with his free hand.

"Thanks babe," I said, squeezing his hand briefly before letting go.

The walk to my house wasn’t far; about ten minutes or so. When we arrived I let him inside and we immediately entered the kitchen. "So what are we making for dinner?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

Knowing he was starving, I tossed him a bag of crisps, "Eat this to hold you over, my little piglet."

Niall laughed before cracking into the bag and practically stuffing his face in his usual way. When he caught me giving him a scolding look he pressed his lips together. I just smiled and shook my head as I grabbed my book bag off the table. Niall wrapped his arm around my neck, jokingly putting me in a headlock just as we reached the sofa in the living room. We used to play fight all the time when we were little. Sometimes I would have a chance because we were both small but Niall’s quite strong now, leaving me hopeless.

"Niall," I whined, trying to wiggle free from his grasp, "Let go."

"But that means we have to do homework," he complained, poking my stomach with his other hand.

"Yes, it does," I answered. When he still didn’t let go I huffed, "Fine then." I wrapped my arms around Niall’s torso and began tickling him, knowing he had quite a weakness for that. He flinched a bit but not enough to free me. I tried a different tactic and stepped on his foot. As he tried to step back he tripped onto the sofa, bringing me down with him in the process. I ended up on top of him but he had freed me. Triumphantly, I found a comfortable position sitting on his stomach so he couldn’t move.