I Remember

The doctor walked back into Niall’s room to find him still seated on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall.

“Niall... I'd like you to come with me, please."

He got up from the bed, expecting the worst to happen, and followed the doctor down the long hallway. Oh, great. Here it comes. They're going to lock him up like he’s mental and watch as his mind slowly deteriorates to that of a peanut. The doctor stopped outside a door and turned to Niall.

"Liam is inside this room. We will be in the next room over in case you need any... assistance. You need to speak to him about the dreams you've been having, Niall. It's not healthy." The doctor opened the door for him, and Niall slowly entered the room.

As soon as he passed through the doorway, the doctor closed the door with a small ‘click.’ Liam immediately stopped whistling, his hands shooting into his pockets and his head turning to face the ground.

“The doctor had told me you needed to tell me something... Is that true?” Liam sputtered in a tone just barely audible from across the room.

“I um, I-” Niall sighed roughly and instinctively began rubbing his arms through his sleeves, wincing when he came in contact with the tattered skin underneath. He folded his arms on the table, gripping the ends of his sleeves in his hands tightly. “I had that dream again, Liam.”

Liam slowly walked over to the chair across from Niall and sat down, still not making eye contact. “I-is that why you’re so shaken up?” His tone turned unnervingly serious, then he looked Niall dead in the eyes, his heart filled with dread and sympathy. “Niall, what happens in your dreams?”

Niall took a deep breath and started to explain the dream, looking down at his hands. “It's dark. Always dark. And at first it's quiet, but then I see Louis, Zayn, and Harry, and I try to call out to them but they disappear. And then you show up.” He took another breath, shaking his head as he got a sinking feeling in his gut. “You grabbed my shoulder and you were looking at me with this.. this look of just pure hate. And then you started squeezing my shoulder and it hurt. It hurt real bad. And then when I started to say something you were gone, but your voice wasn't. You kept telling me.. You kept telling me that I wasn't good enough and that I wasn't important and how no one cared and how I was worthless and that I should just stop trying to remember anything and stop trying to burden you all with my problems.”

Niall’s lip began to quiver and he started to rub my arms again out of habit, ignoring the dull pain it caused, and avoided looking Liam in the eye.

The more in-depth Niall explained his dream, the more Liam’s heart broke. It hurt him so much that Niall would ever think that he would actually hurt him like that. It was even more terrible that Niall had to go through that experience twice. All he could do was simply extend his hands towards Niall and say, “Niall, you know I care about you, right? I care about you more than anything else. I would never say anything like that, let alone think it. I would- could not ever do anything that would deliberately hurt you... You believe me don't you?” Liam stared pleadingly into Niall’s eyes, wanting nothing more than to hold him in his arms and comfort him.

Niall quickly drew his arms back from the table, his eyes widening. He licked his lips, staring at the table as he put his hands in his lap. Unconvincingly, he mumbled, “I-I 'spose so...”

Liam sighed and sat back in his chair for a few moments before he got up from his chair. “I guess I'll just go then... No point in me staying and causing you more pain than you're already in.” He started walking towards the door, reaching out for the door handle.

“Liam.” Niall quickly got up from his chair and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He opened his mouth to say something else but closed it again. He furrowed his eyebrows and just looked at Liam, hoping his expression would explain what he was thinking.

Liam stopped right before the door and turned around to face Niall, not able to read his odd expression. “Yes, Niall?”

Niall looked at the ground again and without warning, closed the gap between them, and wrapped his arms tightly around Liam’s middle, the top of his head resting just under his chin due to the awkward height difference.

Liam was completely taken aback by the sudden impact, but when he realized what had just happened, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Niall, resting his chin on top of the blonde mop of hair.