I don't remember exactly what he'd said that made me laugh, but it stopped when I heard the scream. It came from behind me, and I dropped the groceries in my arms onto the floor right inside his door and bolted down the steps and towards the sound.
I heard him calling my name, but I ignored it. The streetlights didn't do much for me because when I saw that man pushing that woman against that building, I didn't hesitate even though I couldn't see their faces at all.
He turned towards me, and I calculated the number of steps until I would be close enough. Three, two, and I punched him in the face so hard he stumbled backwards and fell. I towered over him, not sure what to do next but defend both of the women in that situation.
Niall ran up, and the man on the ground took off. All three of us were breathing heavily, but before Niall could get a word in, I turned to the woman.
"Are you alright?" I wondered, and she wiped a few tears from her cheeks. I stepped closer, making sure she wasn't bleeding or hurt badly.
"Thank you so much," she sobbed, and I smiled lightly. If I could save a life, I was happy. When we made sure she would be safe getting home, we walked back to Niall's house, thankfully only a few blocks down.
I picked up the groceries once more, feeling my knuckles ache slightly more than I'd anticipated.
"You're always being so reckless," he spoke up, not having said a word since I'd taken off. I shrugged.
"She could have been seriously hurt," I reminded him, starting to help him un-bag. We'd gone shopping for the vacation that we, including a few friends, were taking that next week and brought all the items back to his house since it was nearby.
"And what about you?" he wondered, stopping to stare at me. I glanced at him, taking the pair of headphones I'd bought for myself and putting them in my pocket.
"I could have taken him," I told him, gathering all the plastic bags into a ball.
"Don't forget that you're a girl!" he yelled, and I missed the shot I was making towards the garbage.
"It doesn't matter that he was a guy and I'm a girl, Niall. She was in trouble," I told him sternly, confused as to why he thought differently.
"You take men too lightly! You could have been--" He stopped there, looking up at me staring at him with no clue as to why he was thinking that way.
"You really don't understand," he sighed, rubbing his forehead. I watched him broaden his shoulders, trying to see past his hard eyes and find the Niall that had just made me laugh.
"Until you admit you're wrong, forget about coming over." I took one look to make sure he wasn't joking, but I didn't like what I saw.
I mashed my lips into a line to keep my tears in, grabbed my purse and walked out. I didn't understand why he was so mad at me when I'd saved someone. I was completely capable but his image of me seemed to have reduced to a little girl.
Niall had picked me up in his car, so I walked home that night as it began to rain. I was really ticked off and really starting to regret punching that guy right on his cheekbone.
.
I woke up the next morning to a loud crack of thunder, startled. It was still raining out. I checked the time, making sure I wasn't too late for breakfast.
As I sat on my couch as it poured outside, Niall's eyes returned. He had been so mad.
Ah, who needs him, I sighed to myself. I ate my cereal a little angrily, hearing the thunder rumble outside. I curled up on the couch and watched some television for a while until it started getting really windy and the news channels made my screen beep at me to tell me about the tornado watch.
I sighed for a minute but knew I would give in, fighting it until the sun set behind the clouds. Before I knew it, I was hopping in the car and heading over to his house. I ran up the steps, shaking the rain from my hair under the porch. I looked at the door, remembering how he'd told me not to come over. I was getting mad again, annoyed at how rude and ignorant and confusing he was being.
I knocked on the door quite hard, not bothering with the doorbell. I felt like he knew that it was me by the way he opened the door. He pulled it open slowly, giving me a cold stare as we both stood in the doorway.
"What do you think you're doing here?" he asked, and I sighed.
"I-I'm afraid, Niall," I spoke, hoping he would let me in, and I could get some non-confusing answers out of him. But truthfully, I kind of was scared. I expected him to let me in with a smile, telling me that he had been stupid, but the anger on his face suggested otherwise.
"You came here alone on a night like this?" he asked, letting go of the doorknob and folding his arms across his chest like it was gonna make him look intimidating. "Do you know how easy it would be for me or anyone else to assault you?" I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to imagine him pinning me down. I planted my feet on the ground, inhaling quickly.
"Niall, I'm sick of this crap! I did what I had to do and--" Before I could finish yelling at him, he stepped forward quicker than I could follow, ramming into me and slamming both of us into the wall to the left of the door.
I was caught off guard, but I knew I could get out. He had both of my hands by the sides of my head, gripping my wrists, and I smirked, trying to wriggle out of his grip. When I couldn't, it wasn't the thunder that was scaring me anymore.
"You may know how to defend yourself, but you're not as strong as you think you are," he spoke, his face so close to mine. I tried again, but he was really strong. I was desperate, scared of what he was going to do to me. I had never seen that side of him before.
I went to knee him in the groin, but he was one step ahead. He slammed his body into mine, forcing my knee back down against the wall and his ear on mine.
"Do you get it know?" he whispered, and I didn't know what to do anymore. I felt so powerless, so my body produced tears that didn't have the choice but to flow.
The first audible sob I let out seemed to hit a switch in him because he immediately let me go and hugged me instead. I was still mildly afraid of him, but I was too busy crying to push away.
"I'm sorry, okay?" I whimpered. "I'll be more careful." I didn't get to see his face as he walked me inside and sat me down on the couch, wrapping a blanket around me. When he sat down next to me, I was mostly done crying.
"I understand why you did that, but. . ." I trailed off, putting my fingers to my heated wrists. I sighed, looking down at the blanket I always loved to use at his house.
"I'm sorry I scared you," he spoke softly. "I won't do it again." He kept to himself on the other side of the small couch, looking away from my gaze. I turned and pulled him into a hug, sighing against him. I still was a little on edge at how aggressive he'd been. He pulled away, staying close to me and finally meeting my gaze once more.
When I realized how close we both were, it was too late to stop, but he thought differently.
Niall turned his head, sighing loudly towards my right ear. I was torn; I wanted to kiss him but I didn't know how sure I was of him anymore. He let go of me, a hint of red in his cheeks and a small smile on his lips.
"I won't do this right now, I'm sorry," he spoke, and I realized how much he respected women and their vulnerability, me especially.
I hugged him again, tighter and closer than before. I let the smile on my face widen, knowing that Niall was the one I wanted.
Feeling his strong arms around me, I could only think one thing before falling in love with him completely.
I'm so glad I'm a girl.
.
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thanks to chxrleneelizabeth for requesting this! i hope you liked it and I'm so sorry for the wait :(
I hope you all liked it, as well! i didn't work hard enough to get it out earlier today, but i'll definitely work harder and get one out on Monday. I don't like to write on Sundays, sorry.
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND I'LL HAVE A NEW BOOK OUT SOON OKAY? it's for someone really special to me, but it will be a niall book, hopefully with short, frequent chapters
OKAY HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY
Mel xxxxxxxx