My One and Only

Nicole stirred the pot of her marinara sauce, making sure to move out of the way as it bubbled up and splattered in all directions. The delicious smell of garlic bread made her mouth water, letting her know it was ready. After putting on a pair of oven mitts, she removed the pan from the oven and set it down on the counter. Her stomach began to grumble as the delicious smell of Italian food filled the room, and she became quite happy that Niall would be over soon, so she could dig into the lovely meal she’d spent all afternoon making.

Sage entered the kitchen barely dressed, just waking up after spending her night and most of the early morning clubbing. She looked horrible and was visibly hung-over, making Nicole roll her eyes as she searched the refrigerator for something to drink.

“Italian food pregnancy cravings?” She mumbled, drinking milk straight from the carton. She wiped the newly formed mustache from her upper lip with the back of her hand as she stared curiously at Nicole. She was wearing only a bra and panties, her silvery-purple hair was up in a messy bun, and her mascara was smeared all over her face.

“No, I’m making dinner for Niall. He’s coming over in 30 minutes.”

“He’s coming here?” Sage demanded, almost spitting out her milk. Nicole assumed her dramatic reaction was because of her horrible appearance; even Sage liked to look presentable in front of guests.

“Yes,” Nicole spoke slowly as Sage slammed her carton of milk down on the counter.

“Thanks for letting me know!”

“I just told you.” Nicole replied, beginning to stir the sauce again.

“You could have given me some advance notice, now I have to get ready and find something to do for the rest of the night.”

Nicole sighed, knitting her eyebrows and looking at her mate through the corner of her eye. “You can stay for dinner, Sage. I’ve made more than enough food.”

Sage bit her lip, and Nicole raised her eyebrows, impatiently waiting for her to answer. “Yeah, alright.”

“You might want to change then. I don’t think Niall will appreciate your current attire.”

“That’s what you think,” Sage quipped, and Nicole hit her arm. Sage forced a quiet laugh before putting the milk carton away. “Are you making him dinner because you plan on telling him about the baby tonight?”

Nicole’s stomach lurched; for a split second, she’d almost forgotten that she was pregnant. She’d almost convinced herself she was making dinner for her boyfriend because that’s what normal couples do. She almost believed her life was normal, and she wasn’t having the child of a famous boy band member while dating another member of the same band.

“I’m not sure.”

“Then what is all this?” Sage demanded pointing towards the place settings Nicole was prepared to use. They were expensive China, and had been her mother’s; the pair rarely used them except for holidays and birthdays.

“I figured if I did tell him, food would be the best way to butter him up, but I still haven’t decided if it’s a good idea or not. Shouldn’t I tell Harry first?”

Sage rolled her grey eyes, sauntering back towards her room before turning sharply to look over her shoulder. “You never see Harry, and you owe Niall the truth. It’s rude for you to keep dating him while knowing you’re carrying another man’s baby.”

“So, you think I should break up with him?” Nicole asked loudly, not actually wanting to hear her mate’s response. Sage was completely against her relationship with Niall for whatever reasons, but Nicole wasn’t willing to break things off with him just because Sage continued to give her shitty advice. Nicole loved Niall, and she told herself every day that was enough to get them through even the toughest situations. It just so happened, she was pregnant with his best mate’s baby, and that seemed to be the most complicated situation possible, but they could do it. If he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him, things would work out, or at least Nicole truly hoped they would.

“I didn’t say that,” Sage whispered, slightly taken aback by Nicole’s reaction. Nicole wasn’t the type to yell, ever. “I just think you’re treating Niall poorly.”

Nicole sighed, upset with herself for shouting. Sage did have a point, and she understood her friend was only trying to help, even if her reasoning seemed a little screwed up. “I’m trying to figure things out, I promise. I have no intention of hurting Niall; I just want to tell him when the time is absolutely right.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand. Do what’s best for you, Nick.” Sage disappeared to her room, and Nicole shook her head, completely confused about her mate’s motives. Seconds later, the doorbell rang and Nicole quickly turned the stove to low before rushing to answer the door.

Niall smiled as the door opened, revealing Nicole’s beautiful face. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek before stepping inside. Nicole quickly noticed the 6-pack of beer hanging from his fingers, and took it quickly before placing it in the refrigerator. Luckily, she didn’t like beer, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to explain why she wouldn’t be drinking any alcohol tonight.

“Something smells delicious.” Niall commented, moving to sit at the kitchen table. Nicole smiled before gliding across the room and sitting in his lap.

“I made spaghetti and garlic bread.” She said, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him lightly on the lips.

“Yum, will there be dessert?”

“If you’re lucky.” She taunted, kissing the tip of his nose. He wrapped his arms around her waist, securing her, before nuzzling his face in her neck. She laughed loudly, snorting a few times, and then kissed him eagerly on the mouth before he had the chance to laugh at her. She slipped her tongue in his mouth, and he immediately responded, their tongues molding together as his hand ran up her back and knotted his fingers with her light brown hair.

A forced cough interrupted them, and the pair harshly pulled apart to find Sage starring awkwardly at them. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her hair was dripping wet, soaking the fabric of her white t-shirt. It was clearly evident she wasn’t wearing a bra, and her sweat pants fell so low on her hips, Nicole could practically see her vagina.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. “When will dinner be ready?”

Niall squirmed beneath Nicole, and her gaze shot towards him quickly, he looked suddenly uneasy. “Sorry, babe, I forgot to mention Sage will be joining us tonight.”

“Er, okay.” He said quietly, and Nicole cocked her head to the side, silently questioning his uneasy response. “That sounds lovely.”

Nicole shrugged her shoulders, tired of worrying over everyone else’s feelings. She stood up from Niall’s lap and walked back into the kitchen to finish the last preparations for the food, so they could eat. Sage sat quietly across from Niall, the two not daring to make eye-contact. Nicole gathered everything together, pouring the sauce over the noodles, and arranging the garlic bread on a serving plate before bringing it all to the table and taking her seat.

They all ate silently, and Nicole felt a large amount of tension filling the room, but she wasn’t the least bit sure of the cause. She’d always thought Sage and Niall liked each other, but that was clearly not the case. Both of them kept their eyes glued to their plates, and whenever Nicole tried to strike up a conversation, the only responses she got were grunts and head nods. Something was obviously going on, she just wish she knew what it was.

Abruptly, her phone began to buzz against her thigh, and Nicole quickly removed it from her pocket, thankful for the distraction. It was an unknown number, so she quietly excused herself from the table and found her way to her bedroom before answering the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, may I please speak to Nicole Wood?” a woman’s voice greeted her ears, and she bit her lip, unable to place the voice.

“This is she.”

“Hi, Nicole, this is Dr. Moore. I just wanted to confirm the details of your appointment tomorrow at 5:00 o’clock.”

Nicole began to feel queasy, she’d completely forgotten about her first prenatal care appointment. She had so many other things on her mind lately, the health and safety of her baby had been put on the back burner, which made Nicole feel horrible.

“Right, okay, sounds good.”

“You’re my last appointment, so if you’d like to come a half-hour earlier that’d be great, and we can get you out of here before six.”

“Oh alright, yeah, that should work.”

“Brilliant. Lovely talking to you, Nicole. Can’t wait to meet you tomorrow. Have a good night. Goodbye.”

“You too, goodbye.” The line grew silent, and Nicole slipped the phone back in her pocket. She leaned backward, letting the nearby wall support her weight as she had a temporary breakdown. She needed to tell Niall, Harry, or someone soon about the pregnancy. Sage hadn’t been helpful at all and she needed a support system. She needed someone to hold her as she freaked out over having a baby in roughly six-seven months. She needed someone to tell her she wasn’t the biggest idiot ever for getting herself in such deep shit at 19, but sadly, she didn’t have that.

After a few more minutes of self-loathing, Nicole picked herself up and gathered her composure before returning to the kitchen. Something immediately felt wrong. Niall’s pale cheeks were flushed, and Sage was starring so sharply in his direction, it seemed like she was trying to burn holes through his skin.

“Hey, is everything alright-?”

“Fine, Nick. I’m going out,” Sage snapped, pushing her chair away from the table and jumping to her feet. “I’m going to get really drunk and have sex with as many blokes as possible, so don’t wait up.”

Sage stormed out of the room, and Nicole turned sharply to Niall, unsure of what exactly was going on.

“I think I should leave too.” Niall said, and Nicole’s olive eyes grew wide; she was completely in shock.

“W-what? Why?”

“Um, Paul—he ugh, texted me. I forgot the lads and I have an interview in er Leeds tomorrow. We have to get up early.” He started walking towards the door, and Nicole remained stationary, not sure what to do.

“Did something happen when I was on the phone?” she asked finally, just as his pale fingers slid around the door knob. He came to a halt before looking over his shoulder and Nicole quickly ran to his side, eager to say something, anything to keep him from leaving.

“No,” he replied quietly, and Nicole began chewing on her bottom lip, for the oddest reason, she didn’t believe him.

“Can I see you tomorrow? I need to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah, of course babe.” He kissed her forehead, and she grinned sheepishly, peering up at him through her eyelashes. “I’ll call you when we get back.”

“Awesome.” He kissed her once more before opening the door and leaving. Nicole didn’t bother trying to talk to Sage. Lately, her mate had more problems than Nicole could ever attempt to fix, so she decided against trying to help for the moment, and instead found her way back to her room, deciding to clean up the food later. She crawled into bed, bringing her legs to her chest, and letting the tears fall rapidly from her eyes. Every day, she felt more and more horrible about herself for keeping the baby a secret. She needed to tell Niall because it was obviously hurting their relationship; she’d save Harry for another day.

Right now, Niall and the baby were all that mattered, or at least that’s what she told herself. Lately, though, her life was full of lies, so it wouldn’t surprise Nicole in the slightest if everything she was telling herself was a fucked up lie as well.