state of grace // n.h a.u

part four

"Sorry, sorry." Madi holds her hands up in surrender. "What are you gonna tell him?"

"Nothing," Haley replies honestly after thinking about it for a few beats. "We're going to march down to the pharmacy around the corner, grab whatever tests we can find, and then rush back here to take the test before he even notices."

It's a solid plan, Haley thinks. She will tell Niall she has to cancel on him tonight as she doesn't feel well—a stomach bug, which isn't entirely too far from the truth—but promises to make it up to him soon. Her messages to him are very apologetic, but Niall says he understands and wishes her well as he leaves it at that.

Haley and Madi rush down to the pharmacy around the corner, Haley's heart leaping further and further into her chest with every step she takes. There's a minute outside the pharmacy when Haley thinks she might break down into tears as her hands shake and anxiety consumes her, but Madi holds her hand and reminds her she will be here to support her no matter what until she finally finds the confidence to walk inside.

Madi directs Haley towards the location of the pharmacy tests and takes charge of the situation, while Haley takes a passenger seat in it all. She feels like she's going to throw up, which only causes her even more fear as she wonders whether it's a symptom or simply just stress.

After a couple of minutes of reading the boxes and ensuring they had a couple of different tests for the best accuracy, Madi says, "All right, let's go."

However, as they both turn on their heels to make their way to the counter, they find their own surprise.

"Haley?"

Standing in front of her in the pharmacy aisle, right beside the condoms and feminine products and—most importantly—the pregnancy tests, is none other than Mr Niall Horan himself.

If Haley's complexion wasn't pale before, it most definitely is now.

"Uh, I—" she stutters, unsure how the bloody hell she's supposed to greet him. It's then she realises what exactly she's holding. "Shit," she curses, her eyes widening as she hides her hands behind her back.

Niall gulps. "I was just... I wanted to get stuff to make you feel better, but is that—" he pauses, gesturing his Ibuprofen clad hand towards the tests they're both holding "Are you..."

It's at this moment that Haley finally bursts into tears.

***

Three minutes has never felt so long in Haley's life.

With Niall on her left, Madi on her right, and her red-stained eyes, Haley waits impatiently as every painstakingly slow second goes by. In her mind, she doesn't think she's ever felt so low before in her life—not even when she got blackout drunk the night she broke up with Haley feels like it even comes close to this. After everything she's been through in the last six months and as her life has finally started to feel like it's getting back on track, it seems just her luck that it's about to be completely derailed once again.

"How long's it been?" Niall asks cautiously, rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans.

Madi looks at the timer on her phone. "Two minutes."

"Surely that's long enough to tell by now." He stands up to take a glance at the three tests sitting on the bathroom counter, and while Haley wants to tell him to sit down and wait until the full three minutes are up for the best results, she doesn't have the energy.

But it's when there's no response from him that she gives in and glances his way. "What's it say?" Haley asks quietly, terrified to know the answer. Madi squeezes her hand for extra support.