A/N- shoutout goes to AwaseIyol thank you so much, your comments mean a lot!
WARNING self harm scenes in this chapter
Zoe's POV
I was just drifting off to sleep for the first time when Niall's alarm clock went off and he woke up sleepily.
"Morning" I said tiredly.
Niall's made a small unaudible noise but it didn't sound very positive.
"Cmon Niall you've got to get up" I said, patting his shoulder slightly.
"Why? Things will only go wrong" he mumbled.
"No they won't, you've got an interview today haven't you? They're always fun" I pointed out.
"But I'll mess up"
"No you won't, you're brilliant at that kind of thing" I said and got out of the bed. "I've got to get ready for school"
"Wait, Zoe" Niall called after me, sitting up in bed.
"Yeah?"
"It really is hard, to get out of bed in the morning. Sorry if I give you a tough time" he apologised.
"Why is it so difficult?"
"I don't know...it's like my brain is telling me if I get out of bed something is bound to go wrong. I am safe here, nothing can hurt me" he said softly.
"Niall, no one is going to hurt you. Now when I come back I expect you to be dressed and ready for the interview" I smiled at him and he obviously tried to smile back but I could see the pain in his eyes.
I sighed and walked into my room, bumping into Liam on the way.
"Hey Zo...you were staying with Niall last night?" He asked.
"Yeah...I needed to ask him about, ummm, about guitar and we fell asleep talking" I made up on the spot.
"Okay" Liam looked unsure but let it pass. "You walking to school?"
"Yeah" I nodded and carried on walking towards my bedroom.
I quickly changed out of my pyjamas and brushed my teeth. I brushed my hair before going back to Niall's room. He had changed into some skinny jeans and a grey jumper. The sleeves were up slightly and he was playing with the bandages on his wrists.
I walked over to him and sat down next to him.
"Hey" I said softly.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like that last night" he said sadly.
"At least I can now help you" I pointed out.
"I hope you can help me Zo, because I can't fix myself anymore" he looked down and pulled the sleeves over his arms. "You won't tell anyone will you?"
"Of course not, not if you don't want me to. But if you want to keep it a secret you better keep those sleeves down during the interview"
He nodded and I checked my watch and realised I was late for school. I stood up and kissed the top of his head.
"I promise I'll be back soon" I said.
"You'll be here when I get home then?" He asked hopefully.
"Promise" I said and hugged him tightly before waving and leaving the room.
I walked quickly out the house and to school. I was a bit late and everyone stared at me as I entered the classroom. Cmon, I'm five minutes late. You don't need to stare at me like I just killed five people.
"Zoe Malik, nice of you to join us" my tutor said, motioning for me to sit down.
"Sorry I'm late miss" I mumbled and sat in my seat next to Nicki.
Miss nodded and carried on with the tutor session until it was time for first lesson. Nicki went in a different direction to me so I walked with Cameron instead who was in the same class as me.
"Zoe?" He asked.
"Yeah" I smiled at him.
"I was just wondring, if it's to soon just say that is absolutely fine. But...would you like to go out with me?" He asked nervously.
I was taken aback by this. I mean, I was flattered and it was sweet how nervous he was. But we had been best friends for a while and I wondered how it hadn't slipped out before.
"Cameron I... I'd love to. But can we just wait a couple of weeks before we actually go out? I mean, I only just broke up with Joe and I wouldn't want to come across as a complete misery" I chuckled half heartedly.
"Thanks Zo, that means a lot" he said and hugged me.
"It means a lot that you would want to go out with me" I said.
He laughed and we talked normally until we were called into the classroom. The teacher was boring. He was the kind of teacher that made the lesson less exciting than watching paint dry.
I was just falling asleep on the desk when someone clapped there hands in front of my face.
"Zoe! Time to wake up this is school not your bed" the teacher snapped.
"Sorry sir" I sat up and picked up my pen to start writing.
"Sorry is not really good enough. What kept you up so late?" The teacher asked.
Trying to stop my brother from cutting his wrists.
"I just watched TV late" I lied.
"That's really not good enough, you can stay an extra half hour after school to catch up with the work" he instructed and then walked away.
"What? But sir seriously" I started to argue.
"No arguments or it will be even longer" he said and I shrank back in my chair.
What was I going to do? I promised Niall I would be home before him and now I didn't know what was going to happen. I couldn't break my promise to Niall, he was broken and the last thing he needed was for me to let him down. God knows what he might do if I'm not there.
At the end of the day I walked to my science classroom to start the detention. The teacher was sat at his desk already marking some work.
"About time. Sit there and complete all of the work. No matter how quickly you finish it you will still have to stay for half an hour afterwards" he pointed to a desk.
I nodded and inwardly groaned. I took out my books and completed the work quite quickly. I then had to watch the clock for fifteen minutes, the ticking sound making me feel hypnotised.
"Ok, you may go now" the teacher looked up briefly but barely saw me as I sprinted it of the room as soon as he said I could leave.
I ran all the way home and my heart dropped as I noticed the boys cars in the driveway and lights on in the house. I opened the front door and slammed it shut behind me as I ran upstairs to Niall's room.
"Niall?" I knocked on the door.
Like yesterday there was no reply and I knew exactly what was going on. I burst through the door and noticed Niall stood in the bathroom. His bandages were off and a blade was pressed to his skin but he had already cut a couple of times before as there was blood dripping into the sink.
"Niall..." I said sadly and walked forwards.
I took the blade from his hand and threw it in the toilet, flushing it quickly.
"You were here" he sobbed. "I really needed you, but you weren't here. You promised"
"I'm so sorry" I felt even worse. "It's my fault I'm sorry"
"Why are you late?" He asked as I washed his wrists and put bandages on them again.
"I had a detention" I mumbled.
"What for?" He sniffed.
"Nothing to worry about" I lied and looked up at him. "You want to come down for some dinner?"
He looked like he was about to shake his head but then sighed and nodded.
"Good because I want you with us" I said and took his hand, walking downstairs.
The smell of roast dinner wafted through the whole house and Niall even looked peaceful for a few seconds. The other boys were already sat at the table apart from Liam who was serving up the plates.
"Oh hey guys, I set places for you just in case" he said and I smiled and sat down.
Luckily he had sat Niall next to me and I could see how nervous Niall was already. His hands were clenching and unclenching under the table and he was biting his lip nervously.
"You alright Niall?" Elliot asked curiosly.
"Um, yeah, just tired I guess" Niall scratched the back of his neck.
The rest of the dinner went by without any awkward questions and I noticed Niall even smile once or twice. It was when the washing up came that there were problems.
"Right, Niall can wash and Harry can dry" Liam instructed as he started to wipe down the surfaces.
Niall looked worried and I knew why.
"Come on Niall, role your sleeves up" Harry said.
"Um..." Niall looked desperately at me for help.
"I'll do it Niall, we had that deal remember. If you helped me with my music homework I'd do the washing up for you" I said and he nodded at me gratefully.
Harry looked at us confusedly but I gave him a reassuring smile and he shrugged.
Niall and I went straight upstairs after that and got changed into our pyjamas. I laid next to him, playing with his hair while he fell asleep. Time for another sleepless night...
A/N- sorry you had to wait so long for the chapter! I was really busy the last couple of days and didn't have anytime for writing but here you go, I hope you liked it! 7 comments and 7 votes for the next chapter?
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