Another update! Some of you might love this chapter, some of you might not. Either way, I still think that this is an excellent chapter, for the most part.
*****
A vast of nothingness was all Niall could see. His bare feet were slightly buried in the white sand. When he looked down, he noticed a hospital gown covered his entire body. He doesn't know how it got there. Niall glanced from left to right, up and down, looking for someone to tell him what was going on but it seemed like he was the only one there—in the middle of nowhere.
A blinding light appeared, giving the blonde difficulty of seeing things. He used his left hand to cover his eyes but a whispering voice startled him.
Don't go into the light...
He turned around but saw no one was there. Then, he heard it again.
Don't go into the light...
"Who are you! Show yourself!" Niall screamed but it echoed, hearing his voice over and over again. He realized that he was all alone and no one was going to rescue him. Niall bent his knees as he sobbed that his life might be over.
When he thought that hope was all gone, a hazy apparition was forming before his very eyes. Niall recognized the man—it was Zayn, crying his eyes out. What surprised the blonde was seeing his boyfriend crying his unconscious body lying on a hospital bed.
"Am I dead?" He questioned. The bad memories flashed in his head—the one right after he walked out on Malik's residence. Niall remembered how he sprint walk so Zayn wouldn't be able to catch up with him. But before he could do anything, his left arm became numb as his chest tightened, unable for him to breathe properly. And the next thing Niall knew was him standing right here in the middle of nowhere.
"Please, wake up, Niall... Don't leave me here... I need you, Pumpkin..."
Those words struck him in some way. Determination filled up in his existence. This was not the end for him, not just yet. His family needed him. His boyfriend needed him. It was too early to give in.
Niall closed his eyes, his fists were clenching on the side. All he had to do was to put all his energy and concentration on the one person that meant to him—Zayn.
And when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling, recognizing the beeping sound of machines behind him. Niall squirmed on the bed, feeling something in his throat. As instincts kicked in, he grabbed whatever on his mouth, trying to pull it out.
"Doctor! Doctor!" He recognized the panic voice from his boyfriend. Within seconds, a doctor entered the room, followed by nurses to check up on the patient.
"Mr. Horan, you have a breathing tube, helping you to breathe. We will take it out. Blink once if you understand," Niall did what he was told, wanting to get the tube out of his body because it was suffocating him. After a few minutes, Niall was breathing on his own, wiping the tears from his cheek.
"Thank God, you're alright!" Zayn interjected, caressing the blonde's hand.
"Mr. Horan, you had a heart attack. This is very alarming, considering your age. You seem awfully young to develop a cardiac arrest." There was nothing left to do but for Niall to stare at the doctor. It was all coming back to him. Niall had a heart attack because of the heaviness of the stress that he undergoes after his boyfriend's father accusing him of extortion. "According to your medical records, you have a heart condition called Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. It is triggered by stress, most especially, emotional stress."
"I know all about that, Doctor," Niall answered, not wanting to remember when a doctor from before explained it to him. He knew all about it. If only Niall could just pretend that he didn't have it, then everything would be a little bit better.
"It's very unusual for a young person like you to develop this. Are you dealing with emotional stress?" Niall glanced at Zayn and sees the guilty expression on him. Then, he looked back at the doctor and answered with a fake smile on his face.
"No, Doctor. I'm living a stress-free life," he lied. He would do anything just to get out of the hospital bed. Niall doesn't know how long has he been unconscious, delaying what must be done—and that would be to talk to Zayn and explained to him that he would be backing out on their business agreement with Mr. Carlton. In his defense, Niall wouldn't be able to forgive himself if Zayn's family disowned one of their own.
"When can I go?" Niall asked. "No offense, Doctor, but I'm not really a hospital kind of guy," he joked, making light of the situation.
"All your vital signs are normal so for now, I will let you go," Dr. Nassirio said. "But I would still recommend you to take things slowly. There's a reason why heart attacks are called the silent killer."
"I understand," Niall nodded, doing the best he can to get rid of the doctor. Once the physician left the room to get the release form, he watched Zayn closed the door. Those brown eyes held him captive for seconds. Everything must've happened so fast, he was bit startled when Zayn kissed him. Not just a regular, innocent kiss but a lustful, passionate, and burning kind of kiss. Of course, Niall reciprocated it with much greater intensity. When the urgency of air is needed, they pulled themselves apart.
"I am so glad that you're alright," Zayn smiled, pushing the loose blonde hair strands poking his boyfriend's hypnotic blue eyes. "I got really scared."
"I'm alright now, Zayn. I need to get out of here," Niall insisted, slowly pulling himself up. "Did you call my parents?"
"Uh... no," Zayn hesitated. Although, it was the first thing that he thought of when he received the disturbing phone call days ago. "Should I?"
"It's a good thing you didn't," Niall felt a sense of relief. He doesn't want his parents to worry about him. It's his problem and not theirs. Niall was sure that if they found out about it, they would drop everything to fly in here which Niall doesn't want to happen. "How long have I been out?"
"Three days," Zayn replied, seeing the blonde gasping. He could see the panic in those blue eyes, making more worried about his boyfriend's health. Stress was the one thing that Zayn didn't want for Niall.
"We have to get out of here. I still need to talk to Mr. Carlton."
"Don't worry, Pumpkin. I already notified him about what happened."
"And what did he say?" Fear was creeping on Niall. He doesn't want to get scolded again because of his weak, stupid heart.
"He gave us one more week to settle everything. Don't worry, Pumpkin. Everything will be alright," Zayn reassured his boyfriend that nothing would separate them and he wouldn't let anything or anyone stand between them. Zayn waited for a very long time to be with Niall. Even death won't stand a chance against them.
"No, I need to—" The door opened, revealing a nurse with the release papers and also to detach the IV needle on his arm. Both of them were quiet as the nurse was working on her duties. Zayn watched, putting his hands on his jacket but then he felt the same velvet box on one of the pocket, making him more anxious and nervous.
I have to do this. The mantra he kept telling himself. He almost lost Niall once, almost killing him in the process. Zayn doesn't want to go through that hellhole anymore. As of this moment, he wanted to show to Niall that he was in this for the long haul, spending the rest of his life until his dying breath with Niall. He gripped hard on the velvet box as the time felt like it stood still, thinking about how to approach Niall with this. Zayn was running scenarios in his head as his eyes were watching the nurse, taking off the IV from his boyfriend's arm. He doesn't even have a speech prepared, wondering if that was a good idea to just wing it. But once the nurse left the room, Zayn was observing carefully his boyfriend, his heart beating irregularly.
"Where are my clothes?" Niall asked, his eyes moved swiftly from left to right, looking for the desired items. He grabbed it as Zayn handed it to him. "I need to change."
"Okay..." The answer almost came out as a squeak. Zayn doesn't typically feel scared but at the moment, he was freaking terrified that he might screw this up. Now, he was regretting not having a speech prepared. A million of thoughts popped into his head. What if...
Niall rushed to the bathroom to change the hospital gown to his regular, casual clothing. As he was undressing himself, he was rehearsing in his head on how to say to Zayn that he was backing out on the agreement. And that could only mean one thing—that the two of them must break up.
Meanwhile, Zayn was pacing in front of the bathroom door. Both of his hands were trembling from the nerves. He even asked himself if he should just go down on one knee, offering the ring to Niall. Or was that too obvious?
"That's too common," Zayn hissed. "I need to come up with something." But the nerves got the worse of him when he heard the door was slowly opening. With no options left, Zayn went down on one knee, raising the ring in front of the door.
"Zayn, we have to—" There were no words to describe how surprised he was to see Zayn on one knee, holding up a diamond ring in front of him. Niall probably had his mouth gaping wide open as well his blue eyes widening in shock with his hands covering his mouth.
"Zayn, what are you doing?" Niall asked after recovering from the shock. It was a stupid question to ask. Of course, he knew what Zayn was doing. He didn't expect for his boyfriend to do some grand romantic gesture.
Zayn slowly looked up with both of his hands holding up the ring in front of his boyfriend. He stared at him with so many emotions, baring himself completely in front of the love of his life.
"Ever since I met you, Niall, my life changed completely in more ways that I could ever imagine. You are the beacon of light that shines my way every time I get lost in the dark. You guide me through the worst time of my life. You held my hand, never letting me go and to make sure that I will never give up on myself. When I'm with you, I feel whole and complete, something that I never felt with anyone before. You make me want to become a better version of myself. That's something I thought I could never want for myself. I wish I could give you the world but instead I am here down on one knee offering you my heart, body, and soul, only for you to take..." Zayn spoke the genuine words of his beating heart.
"I want you to know that You Mean The World To Me..."
(Author's Note: I'm sure by now you were screaming your lungs out. Some of you are rolling all over the floor. This is where I got the title of the book. Pretend that there's a music background on them—play the video on the top. I changed some of the lyrics :D)
If you could give me one good reason
Why I should believe you
Believe in all the things that you tell.
And I would sure like to believe you
My heart wants to receive you
Just make me know that you are sincere.
You know I'd love for you to lead me
And follow thru completely
So won't you give me all I ask for.
And if you give your very best
To bring me happiness
I'll show you just how much I adore you.
Cause you mean the world to me,
You are my everything
I swear the only thing that matters, matters to me.
Oh baby, baby baby baby,
Baby, cause you mean so much
to me.
Now its gonna take some workin'
But I believe you'll worth it
As long as your intentions are good
(so good)
There is just one way to show it
Pumpkin, I hope you know it
That no one could love you like I could.
Lord knows I want to trust you
And always how I'd love you
I'm not sure if love is enough, baby
And I will not be forsaken
And I hope there's no mistaken
So tell me that you'll always be true.
You mean the world to me
You are my everything
I swear the only thing that matters, matters to me
Oh baby baby baby baby
baby, cause you mean so much
You mean so much to me.
Oh you mean the world to me
You are my everything
I swear the only thing that matters, matters to me.
Oh baby baby baby baby
baby cause you mean so much to me
There's a feeling in my heart
That I know I can't escape
So please don't let me fall
Don't let it be too late
There's a time when words are good
and they just get in the way
So show me how you feel
Baby I'm for real
Oh baby baby baby baby!
Cause you mean the world to me
You are my everything
I swear the only thing that matters, matters to me.
Oh baby baby baby baby
Baby cause you mean so much to me darling.
Happiness filled up Niall; his blue eyes showed signs of it as tears were slowly flowing out, creating a glistening look on his cheeks. The thought he had earlier that breaking up with Zayn vanished in his mind. There was no way he could turn down the only person that gave him the joy that he was looking his entire life.
This is it. I want this for myself. Those words kept echoing in his mind. All of his entire life, it was filled with sacrifices after sacrifices, and now an opportunity was showing on his doorsteps, leading him to his happiness. What kind of person would Niall be if turned his back on the love of his life?
Niall slowly removed the hands covering his mouth. A real, genuine smile etched on his face directed at Zayn. Zayn mimicked the action. Silence filled the entire room as blue eyes met with brown, hazel ones. That one moment was all they needed to confirm their love for one another.
"Niall Horan, my Pumpkin, and the love of my life for eternity, will you do the honor of making me the happiest and the luckiest man alive by marrying me?"
The smile on grin morphed into grin one as the answer was about to slip at the tip of his tongue. But suddenly...
Suddenly, Niall noticed something in the ring. Because of the clear vision he had due to his reading glasses, he saw something on the ring that broke his heart into pieces.
Niall saw a cursive engraving on the ring, stating...
Zayn and Camille Forever...
*****
What do you feel of the chapter so far? I know the ending was a bit cruel.
What will you do if you are in Niall's situation when your special someone gives you something intended for his/her ex? I'm just curious about your insights and reaction.
A little preview for next week:
As Zayn read the inscription of Zayn and Camille Forever on the ring, the raven-haired lad felt his insides turned upside down as an intense cold shiver ran past through him. His hands started to shake, fearing for the worse. Zayn slowly looked up at Louis with a blank expression on his face.
"You do not, I repeat, you do not use a ring for an ex to your boyfriend," Louis emphasized every word of it.
"I... I..." Zayn stuttered badly as words literally vanished in his head. "I didn't know it's Camille's ring. I must've forgotten it."
"Must have?" Louis asked incredulously. "Are you freaking kidding me?"