Canon

Niall’s Point of View

‘Lizette?’ I step back into the vacant hotel room, glancing around with confusion. ‘Liz.’ I practically yank my phone from my jeans pressing her name instantly. My heart swells with each passing ring that goes unanswered.

‘Hey.’ She answers with this heartbreaking tone, ‘are you back in the room?’

‘Yeah,’ I exhale with a sigh of relief, ‘where are you?’

‘I’m outside the hotel, in their lounge area.’

‘I’m coming.’ I utter before grabbing my shirt from the floor and pulling it over my head. I rock impatiently back and forth in the elevator. Lizette sits on the high wall rocking her feet back and forth staring at the set of stars in the air. ‘Baby, what are you doing?’

‘Just thinking.’ She turns around to briefly stare at me, ‘it’s cold, where’s your jacket?’

‘I guess I didn’t have time to grab one. You had me worried out of my mind when I came back to the room. What the hell are you doing out here?’

‘I just needed some air. The room seemed a bit stuffy.’ She speaks not bothering to look at me. ‘my mom called me after I talked to you.’ Lizette informs me as I sit down beside her, noticing how my legs extended further down than hers.

‘Oh really? What did she say?’

‘She just pleaded with me. She wants me to come back and fall under my dad’s authority. I told her that I couldn’t do it. It’ll never stop, he will always take it too far and try to dictate every aspect of my life.’

I don’t speak immediately. I allow Lizette to rant for a few minutes, nodding along as she spoke. She didn’t need to know what I thought about it all. She already made her mind up. She wanted to be with me and I wasn’t going to be the one to push her way and force her to go back to her dad’s. I wrap a protective around her delicate frame kissing her temple as she told me how much she loved me.

‘I love you.’ I murmur against her soft hair, ‘I have some Thai food in the room waiting for you right now.’

‘That sounds really good.’ She muses with a genuine smile, ‘what about that bath of ours?’

‘Come on – I’ll rerun the water.’

Lizette sits on the bed watching one of her many romance movies. I hear a small giggle escape as something happens in the movie. I couldn’t help but smile like an idiot just hearing her laugh a few feet away from me.

‘Lizette, it’s ready.’ I call leaning against the large counter of the bathroom.

She doesn’t waste any time entering the bathroom. Even though I’ve ever inch of her skin imaginable she still coyly strips from her clothes. I swallow eyeing as her body moved as her jeans pooled around her dainty ankles. I grab her from behind just as she goes to remove her bra and place her on top of the counter. I silently push her legs apart to stand in between them with a smirk eyeing her.

‘I couldn’t help it – you looked so good.’

‘I think that you should join me, don’t you?’ she whispers wrapping her legs around my torso and throwing her arms around my neck to lift herself in the air.

‘Uh huh.’ Was all I could manage to get out before filling the small space in between us with a kiss.

If someone told me six months ago that I would be sitting in warm bath in my hometown with some girl from my Trigonometry class back home in America, I don’t think I would’ve believed them. If they told me that I would run out every other night getting take out for our enjoyment while she found us a movie to watch back in my apartment while wearing one of my shirts, I would’ve laughed in their face. If they insisted that I would’ve fallen this in love with this girl who’s insanely out of my league, I would’ve tried to knock a few of their teeth out. I could not comprehend just how this one girl changed me completely. I didn’t care about a single thing before her but now she gives me a person to fight for, someone I never want to disappoint, and someone to be helplessly in love with.

Lizette’s Point of View

Niall and I sit on opposite sides of the tub in the warm water, wordlessly observing on another.

‘Come here.’ He insists reaching out for my hand.

I glide across the water, causing it to brush against the sides of the tub as I moved. I sit in between his legs resting my head back on his chest. He slowly uses a wash cloth to absentmindedly drip water down my spine.

‘I know that everything’s pretty screwed up right now but it’s going to get better.’ Niall encourages kissing my neck, ‘I promise it will.’

‘That feels really good,’ I gush using my toes to mess with the faucet in front of me.

‘Good.’ He speaks, cockily impressed with himself, ‘how about we go to the room for a second round?’

‘Do you think you’re up for that?’ I tease playfully instantly feeling Niall’s absence from behind.

Before I knew it I was pulled from the tub and hiked over Niall’s shoulder. He wastes no time throwing me onto the bed carefully and sliding down on top of me with a low laugh, his wet skin brushing against mine.

‘You should not have said that.’

‘Oooh, I’m so scared.’ I continue to taunt him as he pins down my wet wrists against the warm bed.

‘Believe me, you have not seen anything yet smartass.’

I fall tiredly beside Niall, examining his tattooed chest as it rises then rapidly falls. A proud grin is spread across his face as he looks at the ceiling.

‘And someone said I wouldn’t be up for another round. I believe that was just the third round there.’

‘Shut up.’ I exhale shaking my head at him.

‘Don’t doubt me.’ He presses his lips to mine before tugging on the lamp’s cord to turn it off, ‘try to get some sleep – I know it’ll be difficult after that performance but it’s almost three in the morning.’

‘You are never going to let me forget this night, are you?’

‘Never.’ Niall rolls over in bed, causing it to squeak as soon as he did, ‘I love you.’ He seals the three words with a long kiss in the darkness.

‘I love you.’ I repeat before the weight of my eyes lids overpowered me.

The next morning, I wake up before Niall, as usual and crouch down on the floor to dig in my suitcase. He tosses and turns in the bed feeling my absence causing him to sit up uneasily in the bed.

‘No.’ he mutters, his hair cutely sprawled all over his head.

‘What?’ I wonder taking my eyes off of my clothes in front of me.

‘You always wake up so damn early but not today, come back to bed. Just come relax and lay with me for a little while longer.’ Niall speaks quietly, his accent even harder to decipher with the sleep laced in his voice.

‘Niall…’ I whine shaking my head at him from across the room.

Niall rolls out of bed with a short huff of his breath, hooking an arm around me to lift me in the air once again. He flops down into the bed with me right on top of him. He uses one free hand to keep me there with him and the other caresses my hair gently.

‘You’re cute when you’re mad.’ He admires before easily drifting back into another peaceful slumber.

It didn’t take long until I fell asleep once again, not knowing just how tired I actually was. When I wake again Niall is sitting right beside me with the remote wrapped firmly in his hand. He stares at the golf tournament attentively not even noticing my shift change in the bed. I move over slightly to lay my head on his lap staring up at him.

‘Good morning,’ he smiles, his deep blue eyes still very much focused on the TV.

‘I didn’t know you watched golf.’

‘Eh, when I can.’ He shrugs playing with my hair with a pleased look on his face.

‘With that phone call last night, I forgot to ask about yesterday. How did things go with Jack and Tara, is he yours?’ I hold my breath as Niall parts his pink lips to speak. Tara was a girl Niall happened to fool around with and her son Jack looked identical to the guy hovering over me.

‘Yeah, he’s mine.’ Niall answers finally placing his eyes on me, ‘I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you last night. I guess I was worried that it would be too much for you and you’d leave or something, I don’t know.’

I don’t respond immediately. I nod my head a few times, soaking this new information in as quickly as I could. Niall had a son, a son. As selfish as it was I couldn’t help but think of how this would change things for us. We talked about going off to college together this summer. We were going to finish our freshman year and get an apartment off campus together for our own privacy. We were going to leave both of our screwed up families behind with looking back. We had this whole thing planned out. I didn’t know whether Niall wanted kids one day and now he has one, with his ex-friend-with-benefits.

‘I’m sorry.’ Niall repeats himself after I take too long to form a proper response, ‘I know that you didn’t sign up for this. If it’s too much, I’ll understand. I won’t blame you, actually.’

‘I’m not going anywhere as long as you want me here.’ I finally chime grabbing his hands to hold them close to me, ‘I’m not going to leave you.’

‘Lizette, just because it affects me doesn’t mean it has to affect you too.’

‘Did you just hear what I said? Do you want me to be with you?’

‘I do.’

‘Then I’m not leaving you.’

Niall leans down with a grateful smile pressing his lips to mine. He murmurs an “I love you” before pulling away to study the screen once again. I just hope I knew what I was getting myself into.