salute [h.s]

life's too short to be living without you (niall/marlow)

"i almost lost you"

Marlow was being stalked.

She was being stalked and she was not happy about it. On top of all the other shit happening in her life right now — her best friend practically inconsolable waiting for her boyfriend to wake up, the aftermath of the mess at the London Stock Exchange, and her own terrifying personal experience at the Royal Courts — she now had to deal with some creep following her around in a Range Rover, parking in front of the law firm for hours and hovering outside of court buildings when she went in to assist her boss with a case.

She didn't notice at first. It just started out as an unsettled feeling when she was out on the street that she couldn't place. It would stay with her right until she got home to her flat and would only go away when Niall dropped by within the hour to have dinner with her and, most nights, stay over. On those nights, she'd curl up as close to Niall as she could, letting him wrap his arm over her waist and pull her close because his arms were the safest place she could think of to be.

It was only after a couple of days of dealing with that feeling that she noticed the Range Rover trailing behind her and put together that the unsettled sensation had been the result of being watched. She kept an eye on it, memorized the license plate in case she need to tell someone about it, and then tried to ignore it. But on the third day, she'd had enough and she told herself she was going to deal with it instead of brushing it aside.

The problem was, she'd never been very good at controlling her temper or at making clear-headed decisions under pressure. She should have gotten to a safe place and called the police. Instead, she found herself storming across the street from the law firm, already dialling Niall's number on her phone as she went. If her stalker turned out to be someone violent, at least Niall would be on the other end of the line. He'd rush over at top speed to come and help her.

Of course, this was a terrible plan but that didn't occur to her until after her phone started ringing in her ear.

She was startled by a ringing phone nearby and she realized it was echoing out of the open window of the Range Rover. Her surprise quickly transitioned into another feeling, a much angrier feeling, especially when she heard Niall's gruff voice echoing not only in her ear but also out of the car window.

"Marlow, what's up? You alright?"

"There's someone stalking me," Marlow muttered into the phone, trying to leash in her anger as she stepped up to the Range Rover's driver side door from behind.

"Oh," Niall said, his voice sounding strained. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and Marlow heard him shuffling around in his seat, something crinkling loud enough to be heard. "That's, uh, that's not good. Do you know what he looks like? Or she, it could be a she. Could be anyone really."

"Or it could be a scruffy blond Irishman who enjoys scaring his girlfriend," she snapped as she stepped up to the window and narrowed her eyes at Niall.

He jumped about a foot in the air at the sight of her, letting out an unflattering yelp as he accidentally tossed his phone onto the floor. "Marlow, um, hi."

"Don't hi me, Niall Horan. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Niall's eyes widened at her harsh tone and he held his hands up defensively like she hadn't caught him red-handed lurking around outside her work. "I was just taking a lunch break," he said as he pointed to the half-eaten sandwich sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Outside my work?"

"It's as good a place as any — ow!" Marlow had reached in the open window to punch Niall in the shoulder and he raised his hand now to rub at the sore spot, wincing so his face was all scrunched up. If he was looking for sympathy, he wasn't getting it from her.