Under My Skin

seventeen

“I can’t believe you made me come to work early,” Niall grumbles as he pushes the door open and steps aside to let Brooklyn walk into the building first. The weather has gone from tolerable to intolerable, and he looks forward to the warmth his office provides during this time of the year. He doesn’t deal with the cold weather well, which Brooklyn finds to be weird because he’s spent half of his life living in this city and yet he’s still isn’t used to it.

“You stayed over at my place so you gotta follow my rules,” Brooklyn tells him whilst they make their way to the lift. Several people are waiting in line and she appreciates that they aren’t crowding the door and making it difficult for the ones inside the lift to step out.

“So if we stay over at mine, would you—“

“No way,” Brooklyn interrupts with a shake of her head, answering his question before he can even finish it because knows what he’s going to ask – the smirk on his face gives it away. She doesn’t understand his obsession with wanting to see her being unpunctual.

“Please? I’d love to see you come to work late.”

“I… I have been to work late a few times,” Brooklyn admits. It’s like spilling a secret to an enemy so she expects mortification to wash over her, but the surprised look on Niall’s face makes her chuckle instead. “Oh c’mon. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

He continues to gape at her. “When did that happen? And more importantly, where was I when you sprinted from the lift to your desk?”

“I didn’t sprint,” Brooklyn counters and rolls her eyes. She did power-walk from the lift to her desk because she didn’t want anyone to notice her.

Niall gives her a look that says he doesn’t believe her so she tells him that the three times – only three, she makes sure to emphasise that – she was late to work, she was lucky enough to not have to deal with him making fun of her because he was late too, which explains why he didn’t know about her unpunctuality.

“Damn it,” he curses to himself.

His response makes Brooklyn laugh, but her laughter is cut short when a name that she hasn’t seen on the screen of her phone appears out of nowhere, signalling a call from said person. Brooklyn’s stomach sinks and everything around her fading away as she stares at the screen, unsure of what her next move should be.

“Bee?” Niall’s soft voice brings her back to reality. She blinks her eyes several times before she looks at him. A concerned look touches his face as he wraps his fingers around her elbow and pulls her aside so other people could step into the lift. “Is everything alright?”

Brooklyn blinks again. She thought she’s imagining it all but one glance at her phone confirms that it isn’t a dream. After not contacting her for almost a year, her mother decides that now is the best time to do so. “Unbelievable,” she mutters under her breath when the call ends before she gets to answer it, which is probably for the best because she doesn’t know what will come out of her mouth had she answered it.

“Who is it?” Niall asks.

“It’s… my mum,” Brooklyn answers as she sends a text message to her siblings. She has a feeling that her mother has reached out to Oliver first because there’s no way she’d call her unless Oliver didn’t pick up. Her older brother has always been her favourite.

“And that’s a bad thing?” Niall questions whilst his brows furrow in confusion.

Brooklyn forgets that he doesn’t know much about her parents – all that he knows is that they’re divorced and her father won the custody for her and her siblings. She doesn’t like to talk about them and he knows that, which is why he never pushes her to talk about it and she appreciates that. But maybe now’s the time to pull out that box and open it.

“Yeah,” Brooklyn admits as she rubs the back of her neck. After all these years she’s still having difficulties talking about her parents, especially her mother. You would’ve thought that once you’re an adult you’d get over something that happened when you’re younger but apparently that’s not the case with her.

Her phone rings again, the sound startling her so she quickly mutes it, not wanting to attract more attention. Niall casts her a questioning look, wondering if she’s going to pick up the call or not.

Brooklyn takes a deep breath and answers the phone call she’s been dreading. As she pressed the device to her ear, Niall takes her hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze. She thanks him with a small smile.

“Brooklyn? Is that really you? Why didn’t you pick up my call earlier? Are you trying to ignore me?” Of course her mother chooses to bombard her with questions instead of greeting her with a hi or a hello.

“Hi, mum. Yeah it’s me.” Whilst she says that, she has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother truly brings out the worst in her.

“I called Oliver a few times but he didn’t answer.” Figures.

Brooklyn looks at her wristwatch. It’s either her brother is avoiding the phone call or he’s got called for an early meeting at his office. Both are possible.

“He could be busy,” Brooklyn decides to cover for her brother. He owes her a lot, though.

“You’re right,” her mother agrees. “Anyway, I’m calling you to let you know that my flight leaves in two hours and I’ll need you to pick me up later.”

“What?” Brooklyn splutters as she pinches the bridge of her nose. Niall raises an eyebrow at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re coming? I’ll be at work when you arrive.”

“Take a half day or anything,” her mother says simply. “Just make sure you’re here by the time I land. You know I don’t like being at the airport for too long.”

Brooklyn has to pull away her phone. It’s like her to come out of nowhere and expect everything to go her way. She wants her kids to bend over backwards for her when she hasn’t done a decent job at being a mother.

“You okay?” Niall whispers.

Letting out a sigh, she shakes her head. Niall offers her a sympathetic look, hating the fact that he can’t help much.

“Brooklyn?” Her mother’s voice rings out.

“I’m here,” she replies. “I’ll, uh, I’ll work something out.”

“Great.”

Brooklyn takes a look at her wristwatch. If she doesn’t end the call now, she might be late to work and she doesn’t need another bad thing to happen. “I have to go now,” she says. “I’ll see you later.”

As soon as the call ends, she screws her eyes shut and allows Niall to wrap his arm around her, pulling her to him. He rubs her back – up and down, up and down – and when she’s calmed down a little, she pulls back and tells him that they should probably stand closer to the lift so they could get on it.

Whilst they wait, Niall asks, “So you have to leave work early?”

“Yeah,” she answers. “I don’t know if I can do that—“

“I’m sure Dean will let you take half the day off,” Niall tells her confidently.

“You sure?” She quizzes as they step into the lift.

Niall clicks the button that indicates their level and nods, “Yeah. He’ll understand.”

“I really hope so,” Brooklyn sighs. If Mr Storm doesn’t let her leave early, she’ll have to ask Oliver or Beck to pick their mother up at the airport, which doesn’t sound like a bad idea. If they’re the ones who pick her up, she won’t have to deal with her mother in the car and the last thing she needs is to be alone with her in a confined space.

“Do you want me to come with you? I’m sure we can work something out with Dean.” Niall offers a really generous offer that gets Brooklyn thinking as they step out of the lift and make their way to their respective desk.

On one hand, having him with her means that she won’t have to be alone with her mother, but on the other, it means she’ll have to introduce Niall to her. Brooklyn has never introduced any of her boyfriends to her mother so she doesn’t know what to expect.

“Unless, uh, you don’t want to introduce me to your mum then I’m completely fine with that.”

“No, no, that’s not it.” Brooklyn counters. “If anything I don’t want to introduce my mum to you. She’s… a lot to handle, let’s just put it that way.”

To her surprise, Niall lets out a chuckle. “Bee, I’m pretty sure you just described all of my aunts and some uncles back in Ireland.”

Brooklyn wants to say that he’s exaggerating it, but the serious look on his face tells her that he’s anything but. Niall does seem like someone who could handle her mother. In fact, she has a feeling that he could even charm her, which is something that is considered impossible but Niall is always up to prove people wrong.

Besides, it’d be nice to see the look on her mother’s face when she finds out that her daughter has a boyfriend when she’s convinced that Brooklyn isn’t going to find anyone if she continues to put her work first. So she’d be killing two birds with one stone, really.

“You know what? I’d love it if you could come with me.”

&&

Brooklyn thought that she’d have to persuade Mr Storm to let her and Niall leave work early, but after telling him that she needed to pick her mother up from the airport, he was more than happy to let them go. She thinks it might have something to do with the fact that she’s never done this before – leaving work early, that is – or the fact that Niall was there with her.

Either way, she’s glad she didn’t have to entertain the idea of having to call her mother and tell her that she can’t pick her up. She suspects that it’d be even worse than sitting in the car with her.

Before they leave, Brooklyn makes sure to text her siblings and ask them if they could do this task instead. As expected, everyone tells her that they’re busy. Oliver has a meeting later today, Beck also claims the same thing which Brooklyn thinks is an excuse he comes up with a few minutes ago and Nadine has a class to go to and she can’t skip it because she’s skipped it a number of times before.

To make her feel better, her siblings promise that they’ll come over to her place so she won’t have to deal with their mother alone. She makes them promise that they will be there as soon as she arrives.

“So is there anything I need to know about your mum?” Niall asks once they’ve gotten inside his car. Brooklyn wanted to take hers but he insists that they should take his considering that they came to work together and taking her car means they’ll have to travel back to her flat. That’d be a waste of time and Brooklyn hates that he sees right through her – she is trying to stall.

Brooklyn lets out a breath as she tries to think of what to tell Niall.

“Let’s start with her name,” Niall suggests when she sees her struggling.

“Right,” Brooklyn chuckles, “Why didn’t I think of that? Uh, her name’s Catherine. People usually call her Cath so I think you can call her that or Mrs Hall if you prefer to be more formal. That’s her new husband’s last name.”

“Ah,” Niall clicks his tongue. “Any topics I should avoid?”

“My dad,” that comes easily. If anyone wants to start a war with Catherine Hall, mention Andrew Cooper’s name in front of her. “Just compliment her hair or her nails and you’re good to go.”

“Hair or nails,” Niall repeats with a nod of his head. “Sounds simple enough.”

Brooklyn can’t help but to scoff. “You’ll regret saying that as soon as you meet her.”

“I doubt it,” he responds as he reaches for her hand and intertwines their fingers.

Brooklyn turns to face her boyfriend, momentarily awed by his side profile. It’s so unfair that he looks good from every angle; it’s almost as if he can become a model if he wants to.

“What’s on your mind?” Niall asks, interrupting her thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“You’re awfully quiet,” he points out.

“I’m always quiet,” she counters, to which he responds with a pointed look. That’s not what he meant. “I was just thinking about how I’ve never brought anyone to meet my mum before.” That isn’t exactly what she was thinking about a few seconds ago but it is something has been plaguing her mind since the phone call earlier this morning.

Eyes fixed on the road ahead of him, Niall kinks an eyebrow, “No way. None of your boyfriends has met her?”

“Yes way and yeah, no one has met her,” she replies as faces of her previous boyfriends come into her mind. She pushes them away quickly. “I mean one of them has met my dad, but that’s only because I used to live with him so he had to see my dad whenever he picked me up for our date.”

Niall nods his head as he absorbs the information that she chooses to share with him. She’s come to realise that whilst he can read her like an open book and knows her better than anyone else, her past is something that he’s not familiar with.

Brooklyn figures the least she can do is tell him more about her life pre-Niall considering that he’s taken half the day off from work just so he could be with her when she picks up her unbearable mother. So she tells him what happened to her and her siblings after the divorce, what happened after she and Beck moved out when they got accepted to the same university and what happened before she started working at the company and became his colleague.

“I really appreciate you telling me about this, Bee.” Niall smiles appreciatively at her and she can’t help but to smile back. It’s contagious, really. “Now I understand why you four are very close to one another. I’ve never seen siblings who get along so well like you lot do.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what I’d do without them,” Brooklyn admits, allowing her vulnerability to make an appearance for a moment. She expects uneasiness to come afterwards because it’s not like to put her heart on her sleeves, but it doesn’t come. In fact, she feels quite the opposite. Which is why instead of leaving it at that, she adds, “They help me become who I am today. Not that I’m discrediting my dad, no, I mean I appreciated what he did as we grew up but it’s Ollie, Beck and Nadine who are always there for me. They’re… my world.”

Niall doesn’t say anything, simply smiles at her and brings her hand up to his lips so he could kiss her fingers, and that is more than enough. It feels good to be able to share this with him because back then she’s never thought that she’d find someone who could make her feel comfortable enough to open up and talk about her past. Someone whom she could share everything with.

She’s aware that she didn’t have a tragic past, which she’s very much grateful of, but there are certain things that the old her wishes could change. Now, however, she realises that had those things not happened, she wouldn’t be where she is right now, where she should be: in the car with someone who makes her feel something she’s never felt before, but instead of running away from those feelings, she decides to embrace them.

Brooklyn looks at Niall and in the silence, she knows.

&&

Brooklyn’s stomach is in knots and she’s not sure if it’s because of the realisation that dawns on her a few minutes ago or because her mother is making her way towards her, a dissatisfied look written all over her face.

“You look like her,” Niall whispers to his girlfriend who simply grunts in return. She likes to think that she gets her look mostly from her father, but since Niall isn’t the first one to say that, she has to accept the fact that she does look like her mother.

“You’re fifteen minutes late!” Her mother exclaims before she can even reach her and Brooklyn can’t help but to wince at the loud sound of her voice. It’s either she’s forgotten that she’s in public or she really is trying to attract people’s attention. The latter sounds more plausible when it comes to Catherine Hall.

“I’m so—“

“That’d be my fault,” Niall steps in as he offers his hand to Brooklyn’s mother. Taken aback, she frowns at him whilst also giving him a once-over. She doesn’t even try to be subtle about it. When her eyes meet Niall’s, he smiles and sticks out his hand. “I’m Niall. It’s a pleasure to finally be able to meet you, Mrs Hall.”

Her mother is still confused – that much is obvious. She accepts Niall’s hand for a shake but she still has the seemingly permanent two lines between her brows as her eyes dart from Niall to her daughter. “Niall?”

Brooklyn steps forward as she figures this is when she introduces Niall as her boyfriend. “Mum, this is Niall. My boyfriend.”

“Is that so?” Is her mother’s response. “I didn’t think she’d date anyone other than her job.”

That is one of her concerns for as long as Brooklyn could remember. She keeps telling her that there’s nothing bad about her loving her job, but of course her mother sees it as a hindrance to her truly living her life.

“Can I get your bag for you?” Niall offers, to which Brooklyn’s mother accepts without hesitation. She hands him the small bright pink luggage that she’s brought with her and whilst he takes it to the car boot, Catherine turns to her daughter and raises an eyebrow.

“Were you ever gonna tell me about him?”

“Eventually,” Brooklyn answers, though if she has to be honest, she’s never entertained that particular idea. She has considered calling her father to tell him about Niall, but not her mother.

“We’re all set to go,” Niall announces as he returns to his spot next to Brooklyn. She visibly relaxes and he must’ve noticed it as he shoots her a knowing smile.

“That’s good. I’ve wanted to leave this airport since twenty minutes ago,” the older woman complains, her eyes fixed on her daughter as those words leave her mouth. Even though Niall took the fall for their delay, she’s still convinced that it’s Brooklyn’s fault.

Niall simply chuckles as he opens the door for Catherine and once she’s inside, he closes it and turns to Brooklyn. “She’s not a fan of airports?” Brooklyn shrugs. For all she knows, her mother is just trying to be difficult. Taking her hand in his, he gives it a squeeze. “We’ll go through this together.”

Brooklyn lets out a relieved sigh. “I’m glad I didn’t turn down your offer,” she admits. Niall grins and kisses her forehead. As he opens the passenger door and helps her climb in, Brooklyn can’t help but to wonder what did she do to deserve someone like him. That thought is immediately interrupted by her mother’s remark.

“He’s a gentleman. That’s one good thing about him. Wish he knows how to be punctual.” Thinking that her mother can’t see her, Brooklyn rolls her eyes. She knows nothing about her boyfriend and yet she has no problems passing judgments – classic Catherine. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn huffs and shakes her head. She can tell her mother that she didn’t roll her eyes, but she’d rather not start a petty argument if she has to sit in the car with her.

Niall gets into the driver’s seat and before he can manoeuvres his car out of the parking spot, Catherine bombards him with questions. “Where are you from, Niall? Because you don’t sound like you’re from around here. And you certainly don’t look like you’re from here either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brooklyn quizzes. Now she regrets bringing Niall with her because her mother has the habit of speaking before thinking. He should’ve just stayed at the office, away from Catherine Hall. If only she could turn back time.

“It’s just a question,” she shrugs.

“You don’t go around telling people that they don’t look like they’re from this place,” Brooklyn argues.

“Hey, s’fine,” Niall chuckles as he places a hand on her thigh. He glances at Catherine through the mirror and answers her question, “I’m originally from Ireland, but I’ve lived here since I graduated high school so I’d say this place is more home to me than Ireland is.”

“So you’re not going back to Ireland this Christmas?”

“I am actually,” Niall replies. “I’m leaving in a couple of days and I’ll be there for about a week.”

Brooklyn is about to let out a relieved sigh when her mother doesn’t say anything, but it turns out that she’s just thinking of another question to ask. “So, how’d you meet Brooklyn?”

“We meet at work,” he answers.

“Is that so?” Her mother’s tone suggests that she’s surprised by that revelation. Maybe now she’d realise that the hours Brooklyn spends at the office don’t go to waste after all and that it is possible for someone to have a love life even if they spend a lot of time at work.

“Mhmm.” Brooklyn doesn’t know how Niall is so calm because she’s so close to losing her mind even though the interrogation has just started. Maybe he wasn’t lying when he told her that he’s dealt with someone much worse.

“Did she play hard to get with you? ”

“Mum…” Pinching the bridge of her nose, Brooklyn swallows the groan that’s threatening to leave her mouth. Why her mother feels the need to ask that question, she hasn’t a clue. But then again, she shouldn’t have expected less from her.

“What? You do like to play hard to get with the boys. That’s why you haven’t got yourself a boyfriend until now.”

Brooklyn wants to point out that her mother is wrong, that she’s had a few boyfriends before Niall but since she doesn’t know about it, she prefers to keep it that way.

“Brooklyn has every right to play hard to get because she’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” Niall glances at her as he says that and she has to suppress the smile from splitting her face into two. Whilst her mother has been stressing her out, he’s been doing the complete opposite. “I’ve always thought that whoever gets to win her heart is a very lucky person. Never thought I’d be the one.”

Okay now he’s being a real charmer – not only to her mother but to her as well. Brooklyn makes a mental note to tease him later on because who would’ve thought that Niall could be this sweet? Not her, obviously.

“Well, aren’t you a sweet talker?” Catherine comments, to which a flush spreads over Niall’s cheeks. Brooklyn presses her lips together and prepares to hear whatever it is that’s about to come out of her mother’s mouth because she doubts she’s going to like it. Especially when her voice has changed to one that is lilting with sarcasm. “Be careful, Brooklyn. A sweet talker is the most dangerous person you’ll ever meet. They’d tell you everything you want to hear now but that won’t last. It never lasts. I just don’t want you to fall for someone like that and get your heart broken when he’s found someone else.”

Burning rage hisses through her body like a poison, demanding a release, but she’s not going to give in to that. Brooklyn grits her teeth as an effort to remain silent meanwhile her face turns red with suppressed anger. It’s one thing for her mother to criticise her, but it’s a completely different thing for her to criticise Niall. She’s only met Niall today and she already has the audacity to have a go at him like she’s known him as long as Brooklyn has, spouting assumptions that no one asked for.

Brooklyn shoots Niall an apologetic look, wishing that he’d forgive her for dragging him into this mess, because she’s being completely selfish when she asked him to come with her. She completely understands if after today, he doesn’t want to see her anymore, doesn’t want to be associated with someone who has an issue with her own mother.

“I’m just looking out for you, Brooklyn.” Her mother squeezes her shoulder and it takes everything in her not to push it away because against her better judgment, Brooklyn still has a tiny bit of respect for her mother.

In a way, she does see Catherine as her mother even though she hasn’t done a decent job at being one because despite everything that has happened and has been said between them, she is the one who gave birth to her and looked after her the first few years of her life before things went sour.

“I’ve been doing that my entire life but thanks, I guess,” Brooklyn says before she mutters under her breath, “Nice to know that you’re looking out for other people than yourself.”

“What was that?” Brooklyn knows she hears her, but she’s giving her a chance to retract her statement – it’s not going to happen because that’s the truth. Catherine is the type of person who only looks out for herself even though she has two sons and two daughters whom she should be looking out for. “I don’t know why you’re so against me, Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn lets out a scoff. “Take a wild guess.”

“If it’s because your father and I divorced decades ago then I don’t know what else you want me to say.” Although Brooklyn can’t see her mother’s face, she knows her face is twisted in disgust upon the mention of someone she once considered her life partner. “You should know by now that not all relationships can last. Maybe you’ll understand me better when you and Niall have broken up.”

There are so many things wrong with what her mother has just said.

Brooklyn is not ‘against’ her mother because of the divorce. Sure, it contributes a little to it but the problem lies in this: Catherine always fails to see the larger picture, the wrongs she’s done and she’s not once apologised for the hurtful words thrown to her kids – the list can go on and on but she chooses to stop there – because the way she sees it, she’s in the right. Brooklyn has made peace with that, truly, but sometimes it’s easy to get blinded by the feelings she’s kept locked in a box.

And as for the latter statement, she doesn’t even know where to begin. It took Brooklyn years to believe that failed relationships aren’t hereditary, that just because her parents didn’t work out that doesn’t mean hers won’t too, but here her mother is, trying to destroy that belief.

One would think that she would’ve changed her perspective on relationships when she got married for the second time. Apparently neither time nor a presumably happy second marriage could change her or at least inject some optimism into her. Maybe it’s Brooklyn’s fault for expecting for such things from her mother who’s done nothing but disappoint her. It’s time she learns her lesson: she must not expect anything from Catherine Hall anymore.

Niall, who must have sensed that something is off, reaches for her hand and gives it a squeeze. He does that a lot today and Brooklyn can never thank him enough because it helps to calm her down. He’s her rock.

“If I may interject,” Niall says suddenly after clearing his throat and taking his hand away from Brooklyn’s. The nervous glances he’s casting to her and her mother suggests that he’s not sure if he should say what he’s about to say. But when he receives a nod from Brooklyn, he continues, “I know not all relationships can last and that’s scary, really, but relationships aren’t for cowards, y’know? If you want to keep being scared, then you shouldn’t date anyone. Save your time and other people’s time. No one knows if it’s gonna last, but we’re here to find out and-“ he pauses to look at Brooklyn and a smile spreads across his face, “-that’s why we date. And I’m the luckiest because Brooklyn wants to give me a chance.”

Brooklyn stares at Niall in awe, wondering how he knows just the right words to say. She realises then and there that she’s the luckiest woman on earth and she’s not about to question why God decides to bless her with someone like him. Maybe the universe finally thinks that she deserves a good relationship after the bad ones she had to go through prior her relationship with Niall.

“Thank you,” she mouths to him.

At the same time, Brooklyn’s mother says, “Can we listen to the radio or something?”

Brooklyn has never moved faster. She turns on the radio and when the music replaces the silence in the car, she feels a smile tugging at her lips. Her mother has raised a white flag – for now.

&&

The rest of the car ride lacked conversation. If it weren’t for the songs playing on the radio, it’d be complete silence, though the tension was palpable. That must have explained why as soon as Niall’s car is parked, Catherine left the car, leaving Brooklyn and Niall alone. Instead of going after them, Brooklyn suggests that they should stay in the car for a few minutes and let her siblings deal with her mother since they’re already in her flat.

“Well, your mother probably hates me now,” Niall says as he unbuckles the seatbelt and shifts a little in his seat so he can face Brooklyn, who then does the same. “I’m sorry, Bee, I thought I could get on her good side and tried to get her to like me, but when she said that we’d break up someday… I-I don’t know. I couldn’t stay quiet.”

“Hey,” Brooklyn reaches for his hand and intertwines their fingers. A smile tugs at her lips when she sees how nicely they fit. “You have nothing to apologise for, okay? To be fair, no one could get on my mum’s good side. I mean even I couldn’t get her to like me and I’m her own daughter.”

Not getting her mother’s approval used to kill her but as a chuckle leaves her mouth, she’s come to a realisation that she’s no longer that person. She no longer cares what her mother thinks of her or her relationship and that is such a freeing thought. It’s like those tonnes of bricks that she’s been carrying on her shoulders her entire life have finally been lifted and she can breathe. God, she can breathe.

“Why’re you smiling?” Niall asks, concern lilting his voice and materialising on his face. She must seem like a maniac, smiling despite the rather sad statement she just made.

“Would it be extremely cheesy if I say that I’m happy you’re here with me?”

“Definitely,” Niall grins as he nods. “Mostly because that’s more of my thing but I don’t mind switching the role with you every now and then.”

“Thank you,” Brooklyn says.

“What’s that for?”

“For just being you,” she replies with a shrug. “And for standing up for me. That means a lot.”

“Bee,” Niall breathes as he leans forward. “You don’t have to thank me for that. I’m on your side and I’m here for you, always.”

“You’re the best.”

She closes the gap and kisses him first, relishing in the way his lips stretch into a smile when her hand moves to his neck. But that smile disappears immediately when he deepens the kiss, leaving them both breathless. When they pull away, Niall rests his forehead against Brooklyn’s with his eyes closed.

Brooklyn opens her mouth to say the words that have been sitting heavily on the tip of her tongue ever since this evening but she swallows those words down, deciding to wait for the right time. But when Niall opens his eyes and she finds herself staring at the bright blue eyes that she’s grown to love, she feels the words threatening to leave her mouth.

Brooklyn doesn’t know what’s going on in Niall’s mind, but he looks like he has something to say as well because much like her, he opens his mouth only to close it a second later when the sound of her ringing phone interrupts them. A silly picture of Beck appears on the screen. There’s no doubt that he’s wondering where she is and they probably already need her up there.

Taking a deep breath, she shoots Niall an apologetic smile and picks up the call.

“If you and Niall are bonking in his car right now, you better hurry up and finish up. Mum’s losing her mind because apparently you forgot to stock up a box of her favourite tea and she really needs a cup of tea after she said and I quote, the worst car ride of my life.”

And just like that, the moment is ruined.