Settle Down

“Niall! My boy. This is such a nice surprise. How have you been?” His father bellowed, wrapping his arms around Niall.

“Great, great. I’ve been good.” He replied after stepping out of the hug.

“And who’s this?” He asked, smiling towards me and holding out a hand.

“This is my friend Olivia.” Niall said as I shook his father’s outstretched hand.

“Come in you two.” He took a step back, opening the door invitingly.

“Nialler?” another male voice called out from the kitchen. Niall turned around, a huge smile sweeping across his face.

“Greg!” Niall beamed, striding over and enveloping the taller man into a hug. “When did you get here?”

“The other night! This is such a coincidence!” Greg laughed, “Who’s this?”

“This is my friend, Olivia. Olivia this is my brother Greg.”

“Older brother.” Greg grinned at Niall, elbowing him in the side. “Nice to meet you.” He greeted, shaking my hand.

“Niall, I’m afraid I only have one room though, since Greg is in his room.” Niall’s dad, Bobby, frowned as he picked a bag up off the floor.

“That’s ok. I can sleep on the couch.” Niall told his dad as Bobby led us up the narrow stairs.

“Niall, you don’t have to; I can stay on the couch.” I frowned, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Liv, your seven months pregnant. There's no way I'm letting you do that.”

“Seven months, huh? Why are you here and not with the father then?” Bobby furrowed his eyebrows, stopping in front of a white door.

“Dad.” Niall warned, shooting his dad a look.

“Sorry.” Bobby put his hands up in defense, opening the door. Niall’s old room was what I would have expected; Light blue walls, and white furniture. A shelf held textbooks, awards and a few random knick-knacks. In the corner sat a large desktop pc, covered in stick notes. A particularly faded one read ‘Don’t forget to hand in History homework for Monday’

“Well, get settled in now. Greg and I are starting dinner downstairs.” Bobby chimed, exiting the room and leaving the door open behind him.

“So, this is your old room.” I said, looking around and sitting down on the bed.

“Yeah. This was were I mainly lived throughout my teenage years.” He sighed, taking a seat beside me.

“Its exactly what I would have imagined it to look like.”

“I think we should tell them at dinner.” He changed the subject abruptly, turning to face me.

“If that’s what you want, then that sounds great to me.”

“Should we head down now?” He asked, standing up.

“Lets go.” I smiled, standing up and hugging him. “Thank you Nialler.” I whispered, resting my head on his chest.

Greg’s POV

“I’m just gonna go to the washroom, I’ll be right back.” I told my dad, placing the knife on the counter and making my way up the stairs.

“I think we should tell them at dinner.” Niall’s voice rang out from his old room.

“If that’s what you want, then that sounds great to me.” Olivia replied.

“Should we head down now?”

“Lets go.” I heard Liv say. I backed up slowly, acting as if I had just gotten up. After a moment of them not coming out, I walked by casually, shooting a quick glance into the room. Olivia’s back was to me, and she had her arms wrapped tightly around Niall’s neck. His eyes were closed and he was smiling, his arms wrapped around her petite waist tightly. As they began to break apart I dashed down the stairs, skipping steps and running like a madman.

“I think they’re together.” I whispered furiously in my dad’s ear as he chopped up vegetables.

“Who?”

“Niall and Olivia. They were hugging and Niall’s eyes were closed into the hug and- oh, here they come.” I finished abruptly.

I spun around just in time to watch Niall and Olivia walk in, laughing. Olivia had brought a hand up to her mouth and was grinning broadly. I smiled, trying not to laugh myself; her laugh was infectious. I looked over at my dad, who was smiling at the happy duo.

“I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” Niall walked up behind me, peeking over my shoulder at what dad was cooking.

“Your always starving, Niall.” I huffed, joking around.

Niall’s POV

“Your always starving, Niall.” Greg punched me in the arm lightly. I laughed, moving around to the other side of the counter where Liv was standing.

“You ok?” I whispered in her ear, standing behind her.

“He’s kicking hard. I’m just out of breath.” She breathed, her hand resting on her hip.

“If your back is hurting later I can get you a hot compress.” I looked up and noticed my brother eyeballing me from the other side of the room. He immediately looked away, elbowing my dad in the side. My dad then turned around slightly, only to turn back around quickly when he noticed me looking.

“It’s ready!” Bobby called out, turning around with a dish of food in hand.

“Do you need any help?” Liv asked, walking over to Greg.

“No, its ok, we’ve got it.” Greg replied, taking the last dish over to the table. I made my way over to Liv, taking a seat beside her.

“Dig in.” Bobby bellowed, shooting a crinkly smile towards me. I smiled back, accepting the bowl of pasta and scooping some onto my plate.

“Would you like some?” I asked Liv, turning to face her.

“Yes, please.” She replied with a trace of a smile. I put some on her plate, before setting the large bowl down in the middle of the table.

“So, what brings you here Greg?” I asked my brother, who was just placing his glass of water down on the table.

“Just wanted to check up on dad. I had a week off work so I drove down to check the place out. How about you?”

“Well, actually. I wanted to tell dad something.” I smiled, placing my fork down onto my plate. I could hear Olivia’s breaths get shallow, and her chair creaked as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“And what would that be?” Bobby puzzled, his eyebrows furrowing.

“I- uh; I’m going to be a dad.” I beamed, watching their expressions carefully.

“Olivia- is that why? How? Are you dating?” Bobby responded, putting his cutlery down.

“Yes, that’s why I brought Liv.” I replied calmly, reaching under the table and taking her hand in mine.

“I thought you said you weren’t dating?” Greg shot, his gaze moving between Olivia and I rapidly.

“Were not.”

“So this is a- an accident?” Bobby spat.

“Dad, I would have expected you to have been happier, you’re going to be a grandfather for god’s sake!”

“Why on earth would I be happy when I knew my son was going around screwing sluts and getting them pregnant? I knew the fame would get to your head eventually.” He announced, backing up his chair and standing up.

“Where are you going?” I growled, standing up and watching my father closely.

“A house where I don’t have to be in the same room as some whore who’s claiming to be pregnant with my grandson and the man who was stupid enough to get himself into this mess.” He roared, as he stomped down the hall, grabbing his jacket off the coat hook and storming out. He slammed the door shut behind him, eliciting a large noise. My hands instinctively made their way up to my hair, running them through once, twice before collapsing into the chair.

“Liv-“ I groaned, turning to face her. Her hands were shaking, and her eyes were wide and slightly teary.

“Excuse me. I-I just need to use the restroom.” She whimpered, standing up and shuffling around the corner.

“I'm sorry mate.” Greg whispered, making his way over and enveloping me in a hug. I breathed deeply, shutting my eyes tightly and trying not to let the tears fall. “If it’s any condolence, I fully support you.” He murmured into my ear quietly.

“Now go, talk to Liv. She seems like a sweet girl. You’re an arse for knocking her up.” He laughed slightly, motioning for me to go.

“Thanks.”

“But Niall?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks mate.”

“No problem.”

I padded down the hall, turning the corner and making my way up the stairs. I heard her soft sniffles the moment I made it up the stairs. The door of my room was open, and she was sitting on the side of my bed, looking down at her hands.

“Liv.”

“Do you think I’m a slut?” She frowned, looking up at me sadly.

“You’re the opposite of a slut.” I sat down next to her, rubbing her bare arms comfortingly. She leaned into my touch, resting her head in the nape of my neck.

“So I’m a nun?” She laughed lightly, leaning back and smiling at me.

“You never stay down for too long, do you?” I smiled back, her suddenly happy energy latching onto me quickly.

“I read somewhere that being upset or depressed was bad for him.” She whispered, rubbing her abdomen lovingly. “Since then I’ve tried so, so hard to stay optimistic. But it’s just so tiring.”

“Not anymore.”

“Why not anymore?” She worried, leaning out of my grasp to face me.

“Because from now on, I’m taking care of you.”