Mona knew eavesdropping was bad. It was very, very bad, but she could not help it because, never mind how much she denied it, she was naturally a nosey person. And besides, Harlow and Harry had dragged her outside again, and she needed something else to focus on besides the wretched cold. Whilst Liam, Harlow, and Harry were busying themselves with making a snowman, Zayn had quietly approached Niall, who'd been sitting next to her and programming his new phone.
He pulled Niall aside, a couple ways away from Mona, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, kicking at the snow. Mona had fixed her gaze on the rather lopsided snowman Harlow was now smoothing out, but her ears were intently listening on the conversation between the two boys.
"Mate," Zayn started, voice clouded with guilt as he spoke. "I feel proper bad about...you know, what happened last night. Like, it was wrong of me to say that to you, and I feel as if I can say sorry a million times and it won't be enough."
"Zayn, it's—"
"No, mate. Don't say it's okay because it wasn't. I was being a twat, I realize that. And when Mo brought you back and your lips were all blue...I was so angry with myself."
Mona allowed herself to smile a little at Zayn's admission. She knew he probably wasn't able to sleep with Niall's angered face flashing in his thoughts. He would probably apologize profusely in the weeks to come. That was just how he was.
He may be a bit of an impassive jerk sometimes, but Mona knew that behind that cold demeanor of his was a kind heart and a warm soul. She snuck a glance at the pair and saw that Niall was now looking at his shoes, Zayn biting his lips as he waited for a response.
"I shouldn't have blown up on you like that," Niall said quietly, his voice so soft Mona had to strain to hear it. "I was...I was in a bad mood and—I dunno. I guess I just snapped. I wasn't...it wasn't entirely your fault."
There was silence for a few moments, except for the sound of Zayn's boot scraping against the snow. Finally, he spoke. "I—erm. I saw you and Mona on the couch last night. I was going to get water and I saw her comforting you. Mate, I really didn't mean to upset you like that. I really do feel like such a wanker, I—"
"It's fine. Really," Niall said when Zayn must've given him a look. "Let's just forget about it, yeah? Like a bad dream." Mona heard Niall chuckle and she knew he must've given Zayn a hug, her heart warming at the entire conversation. Before she had much time to dwell on it, however, Niall was beside her in a heartbeat, flicking her cheek and giggling at her scowl.
"Mademoiselle Shaw," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "You know it's bad to eavesdrop, right?"
"I, um." Mona was at a loss. She didn't know he'd noticed. Had it been that obvious? "I wasn't listening," she huffed, though the end of her statement lilted up a couple of octaves, sounding more like a question than anything.
But Niall was smirking and Mona wanted to flick it right off his face. "Yeah. Okay." She narrowed her eyes at him, but his hand was closing around her wrist. "C'mon!" he exclaimed. "Let's go help them with the snowman."
"But I don't like snow!"
He scoffed, tugging on her arms anyway. "Let's go! It's not that bad. Get over yourself and live a little." She narrowed her eyes in his direction, pursing her lips into a thin line, except he was determined, pulling on her arms until she was standing up. "That's it! Come on." Before she could get a word out, he was starting towards the rest of the group. And it wasn't like she could refuse. Not because he was basically dragging her, but because who was she to say no to those bright blue eyes and smile that could light up the entire world?
So, she tried not to think about her hatred of snow, and pulled on Niall so he was falling to the ground, tossing a bunch of it onto his chest, cackling at his cry of surprise. "Get over yourself and live a little!" she mocked, running away from his hilariously indignant expression, watching as he regained himself just in time to get up and run after her.
"I'm gonna get you for that!" he called out from behind her, voice echoing around them.
Mona laughed, feeling as if this was the most fun she'd had in years, and she had the same thought she seemed to be having over the duration of this trip: she didn't want this moment to end.