Canon

‘Is it time?’ I mutter, biting on the skin of my thumb nail. ‘Niall is it time? What did the DA say again? Do you think that they’re talking to Damon right now?’

‘Jesus, Lizette it’s 7:30 in the morning. Damon is the last thing on my mind right now. Can you please lay here with me? Let’s just be here together.’ Niall complains as he sinks back down into his fluffy pillow. He gives me a quick yank so that I’m on his chest before closing his eyes.

I purse my lips as I study Niall. I could tell he was already on his way back to sleep. How could he be so calm at a time like this? It’s not like Damon’s world is about to come crashing in or anything. It’s just a matter of time before he comes back in retaliation. Here he was already snoring – without a care in the whole world. His dark hair sprawled over his head as his hairy chest rises before falling. Me on the other hand? I was sitting on pins and needles. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Damon was far from the type to take anything lying down. I furrow my eyebrows and attempt to roll from his now limp arm before being pulled by my wrist. ‘Where are you going?’ He questions, not bothering to open his eyes.

‘The bathroom.’ I lie and sit in silence before he finally releases me, ‘I’ll be right back.’ I give him a quick glance, watching as he pulls the thin white sheets over his bare shoulder.

I bypass the bathroom and slip out of Niall’s patio door to lean against the metal railing that overlooked the parking lot. I dangle my legs under the railing looking at how small the cars looked. I spot Niall’s mustang in its usual space, perfectly parked. ‘The bathroom, huh?’ He taunts, folding his inked arms over one another. His gray sweats hung low on his small waist as one leg is crossed over the other. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘You don’t want to talk about it.’ I remind him with a soft smile as he sits down beside me and puts an arm over my shoulder. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be.’ He corrects, running his free hand over the light stubble on his face. ‘I should be apologizing to you. I get that you’re freaked out by all this and I shouldn’t be shutting you down, especially right now. If you want to talk about it, then we can.’

‘This is supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives and I just feel like there’s this ginormous gray cloud floating over us, that cloud being Damon, and John, Louis, or whoever else he has in his corner. I know how insignificant it sounds but I want to go to prom, I want to spend our weekends studying for finals, and deciding what clothes I’m taking with me to college. I hate the constant looking over shoulders and the locked doors.’

Niall doesn’t say anything immediately, I almost forgot he was sitting beside me. He nervously flicks his cigarette lighter repeatedly with his thumb. Debating on whether he should smoke right now or not. He told me that he was trying to quit. Plus he cut back. His leg briefly brushes against mine each time I kick my legs towards the parking lot. ‘I want you to know that I never meant to get you involved in this part of my life. I thought I was past it when I met you. Damon was the last person that I thought I would see again. I know how ridiculous that this sounds but I guess part of me thought that I could keep you separate from my shitty past. By doing that, I got you on his radar. I do know this, he will never, ever touch you. I don’t want you to be worried, or scared, I’m gonna keep you safe. We will go to prom, I will complain the entire night, but we’ll be there. You can come over to my apartment and we’ll tackle that damn trigonometry final practice sheet together. You will be at Georgetown and I’ll be at NYU and we’ll spend our weekends deciding who visits who, we’re going to be just fine. Trust me.’

‘I love you.’ I murmur, nestling against his arm. Instantly feeling warm and at home.

I decide to meet Niall in the middle and not talk about Damon for the rest of the day. Instead, I curl up with him in his bed while watching the SyFy movies that he likes to complain so much about. The only time we get up is to go pick up our Chinese takeout from a small, hole-in-the-wall not too far from his apartment. We decided to walk since it was that close. I smile up at him and our wonderful height difference. Niall was barely inching 5’9 but thanks to me being 5’0, he felt giant to me. Niall holds my hand in his and stuffs his other down into his jacket’s pocket. Inside Niall is leaning against the counter as he specifically asks for extra duck sauce. I watch at how he slips a single ten-dollar bill into the tip jar after taking his card out of the chip reader. He hands me our drinks as he takes the bag in his hand. ‘Can we just stop here and eat?’ I muse, feeling my mouth begin to water.

‘We’re not that far away.’ He stifles out a genuine laugh, ‘but take an egg roll. Just one.’

‘Mmm.’ I beam causing him to tilt his head back with an even harder laugh. ‘So good. How do they make their egg rolls so good? We should figure out their secret so I can make some whenever I want. For example, what if I want one at four in the morning? I should be able to just wake up and go to the kitchen and make some. Wouldn’t that be the greatest?’

‘I love you, Matthews – you know that?’ He speaks up after I catch him staring at me with an amused smile from the corner of my eye. ‘I gave my mom the okay by the way. She’s coming to graduation with her husband and their daughter and stay in the area for a week. And before I forget, she wants at least two dozen prom pictures. Not joking.’

‘I can’t wait to see her again.’ I muse after swallowing the piece of egg roll stuffed in my mouth. ‘Do you think that she’ll try to patch things up with Bobby again? I can’t imagine how he’d react if he saw Maura with a new husband and kid.’

‘I’m sure she’ll stay clear away from that shithole after the last performance. If she does, I won’t be there. The last thing that I want to do is sit in a room with Greg or Bobby. Fuck both of them.’

‘Speaking of prom,’ I interject, trying to divert Niall’s attention off of his brother and dad. Knowing that it would ruin his mood for the rest of the night. ‘When are you getting your tux?’

‘A tux? Oh this night gets better and better.’ He says, scrunching his nose in disgust. ‘I guess I’ll do it soon. Do you want to go with me next weekend?’

‘I think Rose mentioned something about Zayn still needing to get his too. Maybe you guys could go together?’

‘Please tell me that is one of your jokes or something. You did not just suggest that I go anywhere with fucking Zayn.’

‘Aw c’mon. Just try. If you can’t get through the day, I will be on standby and we’ll go get a tux.’

‘Whatever.’ Niall grumbles in return, still not convinced.

The moment that Niall unlocks the door to his apartment, my fork is stuffed down into my chow mein. Niall flawlessly uses his chopsticks to stab at his kung pao chicken, after coming to a stop on some movie with Ryan Gosling. ‘How do you use those? Oh wait, that’s right, you are naturally amazing at everything.’

‘No,’ Niall smirks looking down at his chop sticks, ‘you just have zero patience.’

Once the movie is over, I decide to clean up our leftovers. Making sure to put everything that’s worth it in the refrigerator for tomorrow. As I’m washing out the glasses, Niall lifts me over his shoulder and heads down the dark hallway. ‘You could’ve waited.’ A loud giggle falls from my mouth as he flops me down into his bed. His sheets were soft and inviting. I could sleep in his bed for days.

‘Hey, I guess I have zero patience too sometimes.’

Niall presses all of his weight on me, I didn’t mind. I found it comforting most of the time. Just to feel him. Just to be there with him. Our lips fit together like perfect puzzle pieces. I feel him smile against my mouth and I get butterflies. My hands find their way under his shirt and feel the warmness of his skin. My hands go up near my head and he carefully eases my shirt off. By the nape of his neck, I pull his lips back down to mine. He manages to kick out of his sweats while keeping his lips connected to mine. I lift my back and my bra is thrown across his room. Niall’s phone lets out an unusual loud ringtone that I never heard before. He tenses up and furrows his dark eyebrows. ‘Who is it?’ I mutter, our lips still attached. He slaps around until he grabs his phone from the nearby nightstand.

‘Your dad.’ He groans, and I knew the moment was gone. For some odd reason, I feel the need to push Niall off of me and cover my chest as if my dad could see in his apartment. ‘I set it just for him. Clearly my relationship with him is making progress.’

Suddenly Niall is leaning against his dresser as he takes a deep breath before saying hello. I roll out of the bed before pulling one of Niall’s shirts over my head. He grabs a hold of my wrist and pulls me into his bare chest. A feeling of guilt washes over me as I hear my dad’s voice on the other end of the phone. He thinks I’m at Rose’s house for last minute prom prep. Niall’s presses his lips against my temple and I almost feel less guilty. Almost.

‘Will do.’ Niall nods, as the conversation drags on for at least ten minutes. ‘Thank you for letting me know. You have a good night. Yeah, see you then.’

‘Good news?’ I wonder as he stabs at his screen repeatedly. Making sure he hangs up before talking.

‘Not exactly. They went by Damon’s and John’s, both empty. There’s no way he could’ve known they were coming today, at least I don’t think so. Anyway, he’s going to try again tomorrow. Apparently, there’s officers outside their houses for the moment they come back. Typical bullshit.’ He tries to smile but instead buries his face in the crook of my neck. ‘He knows how to ruin a moment, doesn’t he?’

‘Yeah, I’m afraid as soon as he called, the moment was dead on site.’ I laugh, losing my fingers in his dark hair.

Niall groans with a smile that made me feel weak and warm all over. I collapse beside him in bed and just listen to his breathing. Just like I do every night I can. I hold his hand in between mine as he stares at some movie on the TV. Intertwining and bending his fingers absentmindedly. We didn’t have to say anything for the night to be perfect. Just him. His slow and steady breathing. His hands. Occasionally his mouth. And me.