I Remember

Liam woke up in the morning and felt the pressure of someone sleeping on his chest. He looked down and smiled a bit to himself when he saw that Niall was sleeping peacefully; small snores escaping from his lips. Liam noted how much younger Niall looked when he was sleeping, his boyish features relaxing without the burden of these past couple of months to make them mature quicker.

Liam had a sudden idea, and leaned closer to Niall, singing softly. “It’s time to get up in the morning, got McDonald’s breakfast for you. I drove two miles to get it, so you better get up and eat it. Don’t be selfish, Niall.” Drawing out the ‘L’s in Niall’s name, Liam decided to skip to the last line of the song, not wanting to startle Niall too badly out of his sleep. “Geeeeeeeeeeet uuuuuuuuuuuuup.”

A small smile crept onto Niall’s face, and he turned his face towards Liam and yawned. “Time to get up!” He chimed, much like Harry had once before. Niall flashed Liam a sleepy smile and tried to bury his head into the covers drawn around them.

Liam’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Niall smile at him; it was the first genuine smile the boy had given him since the accident. He ignored the warm feeling that suddenly came over him, a blush creeping up to his cheeks as he realized that Niall was still incredibly close to him. It made Liam nervous and he wasn’t quite sure why. Suddenly self conscious, Liam nudged Niall with his elbow, trying to get him to move.

“Come on, mate. The cafeteria is only serving breakfast for another hour.”

Niall’s eyes shot open and he pushed himself up off of Liam and out of the bed. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” He bounded out of the room and down the hall, completely disregarding the fact that he was still in his pajamas.

“Niall? Don’t you want to put clothes on first?” Liam called out of the open door, scrambling to catch up with the excited imp he called his friend.

“I DON’T CARE, THERE’S FOOD. C’MON MAN, MOVE.” Niall exclaimed as he rounded the corner.

Liam couldn’t help but laugh at the blonde’s sudden burst of food-powered energy. Since he was essentially responsible for Niall, he had no choice but to take off after him. However, the hospital floors were slick due to being previously waxed, and Liam wasn’t wearing shoes. As he caught up to Niall, his socks caused him to slide out of control, and he went sailing past the Irishman and onto his bum. He quickly recovered and stood back up, stretching his arm behind his head to scratch his neck.

“I guess that’s why you shouldn’t run in socks, yeah?” Liam chuckled and Niall shot him a grin, suddenly ripping off his shoes and throwing them at Liam, winking.

“Oh for god’s sake, Niall!” Liam rolled his eyes as his best mate went sailing down the hallway.

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Once the boys finished eating, they arrived relatively safely back in Niall’s room. Liam strode over to the chair, plopping down and bringing his knees up to his chest. He watched Niall as he carefully climbed back onto his bed, leaning against the headboard and letting out a content sigh. Liam broke the silence by clearing his throat, and Niall looked at him expectantly.

“If you don’t mind me asking... What happened in your dream last night, Ni?” Liam tilted his head slightly to the side and blinked.

Niall paused and let out a sigh, looking straight into Liam’s eyes. “It was nothing bad, really... Just your traditional scare. I-I was just overreacting.” Niall shrugged his shoulders and looked down, crossing his legs.

Liam ignored Niall’s hesitation and shot him a side glance. “Well... if you want to talk about it later, I’m not going anywhere. So what did you want to do today?”

Liam wasn’t prepared for what Niall was about to ask.

Niall’s facial expression suddenly turned serious as he ignored Liam’s question, and he looked him dead in the eyes. “Am I important to you?”