I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I'm now on break and have a little time to write so there should be updates for the next couple of days. The bad news is that I'm leaving town on Monday to visit my brother, his wife and my nephew and I won't be back until late Friday evening. I'll possibly update during that time but it's extremely doubtful. Still what can you do?
Next: I need ideas as to what Niall and the boys can do on the island during their two month break. I need things that they can do as a family and when their families come to visit. I want them to be able to stay out of the public eye though so nothing too crowded please. Thank you. Please enjoy.
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Niall woke up screaming. It wasn’t really surprising that he’d had a nightmare; he’d actually been expecting it. As of late Niall’s nightmares had been tapering down but with the IQ test and the boys now knowing exactly how smart he was – well… it was bound to happen. First time he’s had a nightmare during his nap though.
Niall knew as soon as they had told him what the test was for that everything was going to change. Now that the boys knew the truth they wouldn’t want anything to do with him anymore; no one ever did once they knew.
Niall’s first week officially living on the streets (this not including all the nights that he’d had to find someplace else to sleep when he was kicked out) hadn’t been that bad. He had managed to get over to the largest city around and had found a group of about seven other kids who were already living on the streets. Niall had stayed with them for over a month before they found out that he was smarter than he said.
They’d all been hanging around the local bar – best place to ‘pick up’ some ‘loose’ cash considering most of the patrons were young adults in college and inebriated. A few of the college kids had noticed them and started to push them towards the alley in order to ‘encourage’ them to leave. The college pricks had been on them about being stupid and useless and somehow it had turned to either they can answer a few trivia questions or they get the crap beat out of them.
Niall had been trying to protect the others – he’d never thought it would end the way it did. Despite the college kids attempts to stump him Niall had been able to answer every single question asked and then some. In fact Niall had made the older boys look like morons. When they had finally turned and left Niall had looked back at his friends happily thinking that he’d done well.
The other kids hadn’t been as pleased as Niall had expected. By the end of the night Niall had limped away with a sprained ankle, two black eyes, one eye almost swollen shut, covered in bruises and a cracked, possibly broken rib. At thirteen years old Niall was completely alone in the world. Three years later he went on x-factor.
To say Niall knew the dangers of showing his intelligence was an understatement; he knew full well what this revelation will bring him.
Despite all his protests Niall would be the last to admit that he actually liked age play. There were a lot of aspects that he still despised the nappies, cot, playpen, highchair, etc; he actually did like all the attention and affection he received. It was the first time in his life that he’d ever had anyone actually care about him let alone cuddle him and make sure he was happy and healthy.
In retrospect Niall couldn’t help but think that it would be easier to have just been left alone because now that the boys knew they wouldn’t want anything to do with him. All of that love and affection would be gone and Niall would be fully aware of what he was missing. He’d break and he knew it.
“Baby?” Zayn asked as he bounced Niall a little trying to break the boy out of his trance. Niall looked scared and Zayn couldn’t blame him.
Niall looked at Zayn, he looked… concerned? Why would Zayn be concerned? Maybe because he didn’t know how he would break this to Niall. Well, Niall had enough experience to know how this worked, “It’s alright. I understand”
“Understand what love?” Liam asked as Zayn laid Niall down and he started to change the lad’s soiled nappy.
Niall sighed, “I’m sorry I screwed up”
Liam and Zayn were quick to reassure the teary lad. It took the rest of the day before Niall truly believed that the age play wouldn’t cease however no one was able to convince him that his intelligence was alright. Simon popped by the following day and gave it his best shot but even he had no success. Niall truly believed that they would stop loving him if he showed his true self.
The rest of their time in the country was… strange. Niall didn’t say much outside of interviews and concerts; it was reminiscent of the beginning, when they’d realized their mistakes. This time though instead of shying away from the boys and refusing help of any kind Niall was allowing the boys to do everything for him and he refused to be away from Liam or Zayn for more than ten minutes.
Niall no longer asked for alone time – ironically enough now that he didn’t want it Liam and Zayn were trying to encourage it because Dr. Collins had said it was good for him. Niall no longer showed any desire in feeding himself and pushed his fork towards Liam or Zayn instead. Niall wouldn’t let go of Stitch with the exception of bath time where he was given no choice (the stuffie remaining in a plastic bag whenever the boy was eating). One might view these changes as an improvement; Niall actually accepting the age play. In some ways it was, but more than anything it had the boys worried.
Niall didn’t play anymore. He didn’t show interest in anything other than Stitch, his dummy, Liam and Zayn. Niall had nightmares every time he slept unless either Liam or Zayn stayed with him the entire time. Niall wouldn’t speak to anyone other than the two boys and refused to say anything unless they were alone.
Dr. Collins said that Niall was going through severe separation anxiety and that it was made worse by the IQ test. He also mentioned that they should have waited until Niall was more comfortable but without knowing about the boy’s past it was a difficult decision to make. Unfortunately Niall absolutely refused to talk to Dr. Collins despite the man’s persistent tries. Eventually Dr. Collins suggested finding a new Dr. that Niall didn’t have any negative connotations towards – the IQ test had destroyed any possible chance of trust that Niall had with the man. Simon had promised then a new Dr. once they were on break seeing as they only had one more day anyhow.
The last day was simple enough. They had an early concert and then they were all loaded onto the plane. The boys would fly to the island of Rapa Nui or Easter Island, as it’s better known. Simon had purchased a vacation home for them there that was right up to their own private beach and was ten miles from the nearest town (five of those miles being their own property as well) in any direction.
The boys had climbed onto the plane quickly and had managed to get Niall to sit in his own seat during take off. The second the plane was fully in the air Niall unstrapped his seatbelt and bolted to Liam.
“Hey there little man” Liam greeted Niall as the lad made himself comfortable on Liam’s lap.
Niall looked around the cabin to make sure it was just him and his band mates before speaking up, “missed you Mummy” he said wrapping his arms around Liam.
That was another new thing; Niall was initiating almost all of the physical contact now. It’s not that the other boys wouldn’t do it; it’s just that Niall always beats them to the punch.
“I was only right across the aisle love” Liam assured the boy in his lap.
Niall shrugged, “Too far”
“I’ll never leave you baby. I promise” Liam said kissing Niall’s hair. Dr. Collins had suggested working on little separations, such as the one they just had, in order to get Niall more comfortable with being apart. Also it was good to praise and assure Niall every time, “You did really well though; sitting there by yourself”
Niall sighed; he didn’t like Dr. Collins or his ideas, “Stitch?”
“I’ve got him” Zayn smiled holding up said toy.
Niall smiled wide and reached out one hand for his friend while keeping the other one securely around his Mummy – he wouldn’t want to loose her now would he? His smile faded however when he realized that his Daddy wasn’t moving. “Stitch please”
“I think you have to go and get it love,” Liam said softly.
Niall frowned. Why would he have to go and get Stitch? His Mum and Dad always brought Stitch to him. His Daddy was all the way on the other end of the plane; he’d have to let Mummy go in order to get to his friend. Why were they doing this? Maybe Mummy was wrong; maybe Daddy just didn’t understand, “Bring Stitch please” he asked sweetly, flashing his best smile and puppy dog eyes.
Zayn’s heart just about melted at his baby’s cuteness but still, he had to be strong. Niall’s separation anxiety was really bad and even carried over onto the stage. That morning at the concert Niall had absolutely refused to move farther than arms length away from either Zayn or Liam. If one boy needed to go off to another part of the stage then the two would have to come together first so that they could ‘hand off’ their little boy. The choreography had been shot but they’d still managed to put on a great show.
“You can have Stitch; you just need to come and get him” Zayn informed his boy.
Niall about had tears in his eyes at that statement and he clung to his Mummy tighter, “No you come”
Liam’s heart just about broke; he hated doing this to his little boy but it was only for the best. “Ni, it’s alright. Your Daddy and I are right here on this plane with you, so are Uncle Harry and Uncle Liam and no one is going anywhere. Your Daddy’s just twenty feet away with Stitch.”
“But what if something happens?” Niall asked turning his teary eyes to his Mummy. In truth Niall’s greatest fear was that if he let them both go at the same time then they’ll realize how better things were without having him to care for and abandon him. The hardest thing to conquer was that it wasn’t an empty fear – both of his biological parents had done just that. Not that he’d ever tell this to his Mummy and Daddy though, no, that wouldn’t be safe.
“Nothing’s going to happen” Liam assured, “You’ll be able to see me the whole time. You’ll be watching your Daddy get closer with every step you take and then when you reach him you’ll have your Stitch”
Without giving Niall any further time to protest Liam stood the boy up and encouraged him on his way. Zayn started calling for Niall the second he was on his feet and Niall just stood there in fear.
Niall really, really wanted his friend and to be with his Daddy but at the same time it would mean going quite far away from his Mummy. Since his nightmare after the IQ test Niall had never been more than a foot away from at least one of his parents. He didn’t like this. He really didn’t like this. But he wanted his friend!
He turned back to look at his Mummy and received a kind gesture forward; turning to look at his Daddy he saw open arms, a warm smile and his friend. Decision made, albeit painfully, Niall took a step towards his Daddy.
It took thirty minutes, a lot of prompting and encouragement and a massive amount of tears but eventually Niall had reached his destination.
The second that Niall was within arms reach he grabbed onto his Daddy for dear life. Zayn happily scooped his baby boy up into his arms and praised him. All the boys surrounded Niall telling them how proud they were of him and how good he’d done; it really was a massive step forward though they still had a long way to go.
“Stitch?” Niall asked again once everyone had calmed down.
“Of course” Zayn said as he whipped out the toy and handed it off. Once Zayn had a free hand again he pulled out Niall’s dummy, knowing it would be asked for in mere moments anyway, and clipped it to the boy’s shirt before slipping it into Ni’s mouth.
Niall accepted the dummy readily having grown to enjoy the comfort that the item always seemed to bring. He happily sat on his Daddy’s lap with his Stitch while watching movies the rest of the plane ride. There was a small fit when it came time to land because once again the boys placed Niall in an aisle across from Liam but Niall came through it well enough.
Once they landed everyone looked around in amazement. Easter Island was incredible. The air strip they’d landed in was small, private (really everything was private when you’re on an island with a total population of 5,761) and allowed the boys room to breath. It was an hour and a half ride from the airport to their new vacation house which allowed the boys plenty of time to watch the scenery pass by.
Niall was extremely excited as he saw all of the trees and open fields. There was ocean everywhere, which excited him because he loved to be in the water.
The weather was amazing. It was always perfect, the temperature being between 18 degrees Celsius (64 Fahrenheit) and 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit). The beach was always available and they were told that they had a private indoor pool as well.
There was a massive wall surrounding their property, which kept gawkers, fans, and paps out and allowed them complete privacy. The property was also 25 square miles, which meant that they had a lot of space that they could explore without having to be shadowed by bodyguards. It was a change for all the boys seeing as they were almost constantly being guarded by someone – they were looking forward to having actual privacy. The best part of it all was that Paul and Simon had informed them incorrectly; they did not have a two-week break between this leg and the next they had a two-month break. They had two months in paradise.