Under My Skin

Niall has groaned exactly five times in the past twenty minutes. Yes, Brooklyn has been keeping count of how many times he lets out a groan because each time that irritating sound leaves his mouth, she would get distracted. He’s got his earphones plucked into his ears so he can’t hear her when she tells him to shut up.

When he groans again for the sixth time, Brooklyn picks out her least favourite pen from the penholder and aims for Niall’s cheek. The pen hits his jaw, however, but that’s good enough for her. The last time she tried to do that, she had aimed for his shoulder but it ended up going over his head – Niall had a good laugh out of that.

Niall removes his left earphone and kinks an eyebrow at her. “What?”

“Can you stop it?” It is more of a demand rather than a request as she says it with a frown between her brows.

“Stop what?” Niall asks, confused.

“Stop groaning,” she tells him, annoyance lacing her tone. “It’s annoying.”

Niall leans forward as he takes off his right earphone. “I’ve been groaning?” He asks. Brooklyn nods. Looking around the office, he lowers his voice before saying, “Dean gave me this special assignment-“

“Why’d Mr Storm give you a special assignment?” She interrupts him with a question. The fact that she’s not chosen puts a pout on her lips. She’s certain that if he were to come to her and ask her to write something, she would take it seriously. Unlike Niall.

He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “That’s beside the point,” he replies before continuing, “I had to write a great review about this awful album by this new band.”

Brooklyn crinkles her nose at him. She’s sure it’s not that awful. Niall is being biased and he’s obviously exaggerating. So, she drags her chair to his desk and picks up his right earphone and shoves it into her ear. “Play one of their songs.”

He looks at her like she’s about to do something stupid. “Are you sure?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

“Okay then.”

He clicks the play button and immediately loud music starts invading her hearing sense. She can hardly hear the voice of the lead singer as it’s drowned by the sound of the electric guitar and the bass and the drums and the… keyboard?

Brooklyn pulls out the earphone before the song can give her a headache. Niall is giving her that look – the I told you so look – and he clicks pause.

“That’s… unpleasant to my eardrum,” Brooklyn concludes, still trying to be nice even though it takes everything in her not to say words like bad, horrible, awful, the worst song she’s ever heard this year.

“It’s awful,” he speaks the truth for her. Running a hand down his face, he lets out another groan. Now she gets it. She would’ve groaned every five minutes too if she has to listen to songs like that. “The worst part is that I can’t be honest about this review.”

“Why not?” Brooklyn asks. She knows how much he values honestly in an article – especially his.

“Dean knows the manager and he’s promised to write a good review about this album to boost sales and all that,” he explains. Dejection is written all over his face and Brooklyn feels bad for him. She’s capable of feeling that for Niall, apparently.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gives it a squeeze. “You know you could just write an honest review, say it’s, uh, awful.” She suggests, to which he shoots her a glare. She knows he won’t do that. Although he doesn't take most things seriously, he takes his work seriously, albeit the messing around.

“This is killing me,” he groans again, the sound is louder now that she’s sitting next to him and she realises that she’s lost count. “How am I supposed to submit this to Dean today if I haven’t written anything?”

“Today?” She asks. He nods. “You’re supposed to submit it today and you’re only starting it today?”

“Stop saying today, you’re giving me a headache,” he complains.

Brooklyn rolls her eyes. Maybe he does not take his work seriously, after all. At least not as seriously as she does. “So what’re you gonna do?” He shrugs and mutters an I don’t know. His stress is palpable, which is why an idea pops into her head.

She can help him seeing that she’s finished her article last night. On one hand, helping him means that she’ll be working with the enemy and this enemy will definitely get the credit from Mr Storm, the one person Brooklyn has always wanted to impress.

On the other hand, she truly feels bad for him. In fact, she’d feel bad for anyone who has to write a great review about a bad album. She hasn't seen Niall looking so stumped in a while and it’s doing a lot of things to the side of her that isn’t always so annoyed at him.

In her head, Brooklyn is beginning to create a list on the pros and cons of helping him. She’s probably going to regret this, but Niall helped her with her article a few weeks ago so it’s only fair that she returns the favour.

Turning to him, she takes a deep breath and says, “I can help you if you’d like.”

His eyebrow shoots up in surprise. “You’d do that?” He quizzes as he sits straighter, the stress that’s weighing him down earlier vanishes when a smile takes over his face. “You’d really do that for me?”

She looks at him, fashioning an unamused expression, though it’s quite difficult with him looking like a five years old boy who’s just been told that he’s getting a toy because he’s been nothing but a good boy.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

Of course he has to make her regret her decision as soon as those words leave her mouth – that’s in his nature, after all. He throws his arms around her and embraces her in a crushing hug. “Oh Cooper, you just made my day! I love ya!”

“What’s this all about?” Harry enquires nosily as he reaches Niall’s table. How convenient it is that he makes himself present when Niall has his arms thrown around Brooklyn.

Brooklyn looks at Harry, opens her mouth to answer his question – Niall’s being an annoying ass – but Niall beats her to it. “Cooper agreed to help me with this article.”

“The one about that God-awful album?” Harry asks and Niall nods as he unwraps his arms from her.

Brooklyn immediately creates a gap between them by rolling her chair away from him and making sure that she’s out of his reach. She’s not going to let him hug her again.

“That’s so kind of you,” he remarks, arching an eyebrow at Brooklyn, who has an annoyed look written all over her face. He talks as if she has never done anything nice before. Just two weeks ago she helped him score a date with Suki even though he refuses to call it a date. He wants to call it a ‘set up’ instead – that sounds stupid.

“You’re one to talk,” Brooklyn counters, suddenly remembering something Suki told her a few days ago when they were getting coffee together. Harry catches her grin when she turns her chair around so she can look at him and she’s pretty sure he goes pale immediately. He is silently begging her not to say a word, but she’s not feeling so kind right now. “I heard you helped Suki with her article last week.”

Harry’s eyes widen and he begins coughing into his fist when Niall turns around in his chair to look at him. Brooklyn doesn't have to ask to know that Harry hasn't told Niall about that. Probably because he doesn't want to be made fun of.

“That’s so kind of you,” Niall teases him, lips curling into a smirk. Colours return to Harry’s face, creeping across his cheeks and he bows his head a little to avoid eye contact. The table has turned and Brooklyn enjoys this more than she probably should.

“I heard that they even had lunch together,” Brooklyn adds. Niall looks at her, kinking an eyebrow as though to ask if it’s true and she nods. “And he paid for everything.”

“Everything?” Niall looks and sounds impressed as he repeats the word and nods his head approvingly.

Harry rolls his eyes. “I’m just being nice to a friend,” he defends himself. “Something that clearly both of you don’t know.”

“A friend,” Brooklyn and Niall say in unison before they start laughing.

Harry shakes his head, muttering something under his breath. Before either Brooklyn or Niall can make fun of him again, he leaves their desks, his long legs proving to be useful as he escapes from what he thinks is a form of torture – Brooklyn and Niall ganging up on him.

“Wanna bet on when those two are gonna get together?” Niall asks.

Brooklyn looks at him, “You’re kidding, right?”

Niall gives her a look that says ‘do I look like I’m kidding’ and for a moment she wonders if he’s ever made a bet about her before. That’s highly possible, she thinks, because if he can think of making a bet about his best friend, surely he can make one – or more – about her.

“It’d be a fun one,” he tries to persuade her. “Well, not as fun as ours, but fun.”

“Hard pass,” she replies with a shake of her head.

“Oh c’mon, Cooper!” His bottom lip juts out, then, in a way that she knows can convince anyone to give in to whatever he wants. But she’s not going to fall for it. She’s worked with him for years and she’s gone years without making a bet with him, so it shouldn't be difficult for her to say no this time.

“Obviously he’s going to take his time,” she finds herself saying. When Brooklyn sees the way Niall’s eyes widen, she knows what’s just happened. She’s just placed her bet. Shit.

“I’d say he’s not going to take his time,” Niall counters, a confident smile playing at his lips. “He’s waited for this to happen since forever so he’s not gonna waste his time.”

“Whatever,” Brooklyn replies. “Let’s just get back to work.”

Niall simply shrugs and does as she says. He figures that’s the least he can do since he’s convinced her to make a bet with him. “You know, I’m beginning to think that you’re not that boring.”

Brooklyn gives him a pointed look. That’s what she’s been trying to prove to him since, well, since they started working together.

“Still a loser, though,” he adds. Brooklyn nudges him in the rib – hard – and he winces in pain. Rubbing the sore spot, he obviously hasn't learned his lesson when he says, “Can’t believe you’re gonna lose two bets with me.”

If Niall’s going to keep taunting her, she might as well not help him. The sympathy she felt for him earlier has definitely disappeared. So, she begins to roll her chair to her desk, but Niall stops her, pulling her back to his desk.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing ya,” he says, groaning a little when she looks at him. “Please work on this review with me.”

Brooklyn likes the desperate look on his face, likes the begging tone he uses to say those words, so she pulls her chair closer to Niall’s desk and grabs the right earphone. “C’mon then, let’s kill our souls together.”

&&

Two cups of coffee and three packets of crisps later, Brooklyn and Niall are finished with the review. They still have about two hours before their shift is over so Brooklyn decides to proofread their review – for the third time. Niall is not having any of it so he gets up from his chair, wraps his fingers around Brooklyn’s arm and helps her stand on her feet. Her eyes are still glued on the screen of his laptop somehow so he drags her to the break room, away from their desks.

Brooklyn turns to him, brows furrowing. “I haven’t finished proofreading that,” she complains. “There could be spelling errors since you chose to type everything I said.”

Niall rolls his eyes and lets out a huff as he opens the fridge. He takes out two bottles of water and tosses Brooklyn one bottle. She obviously needs it. “Okay first of all, it hurts when you doubt my spelling,” he says, kicking close the door of the fridge. In her defence, she has a right to doubt his ability to spell. “Second of all, I’ve already emailed Dean the review. Sent it when you went to the loo.”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head, “No.” Good thing she hasn't taken a sip of her water because if she has, she’s certain she would have spat it out. But she doesn't mind spitting it out at his face. “Why’d you do that? Why’d you send something that’s only been proofread twice?”

Niall takes a sip of his water and shrugs. Brooklyn continues to look at him with such intensity in her eyes, but it doesn't seem to bother him. “I think it’s good enough,” he replies.

“Did you hear me?” Brooklyn quizzes, to which Niall ignores. She’s being her crazy usual self and he’s used to it. “It’s only been proofread twice! Do you know how bad that is?”

“No,” he answers honestly as he takes her bottled water and twists the cap open. He hands it to her then and says, “Drink the water.”

Brooklyn hesitates but when he gives her a pointed look, she brings the bottle up to her lips and takes a few sips. That manages to calm her down a little. She’s impressed that he knows how to handle her, but then again he’s seen this side of her a lot of times already. So it’s not a surprise that he’s figured out a way to calm her or shut her up.

“The review’s great,” he reassures her. “If it’s not, Dean would’ve told me to rewrite it by now.” He pulls out his mobile phone and opens his email. He shows his recent email with Mr Storm – thanks Niall! The review looks great! – which serves as another proof that the review is great. “See, he thinks it’s great.”

“Looks great, not it’s great,” she points out.

Niall lets out a huff and before he can say something else, Mr Storm walks into the break room.

“Ha, there you are,” Mr Storm approaches the two of them. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Just having a drink with Brooklyn,” Niall mentions as he raises the bottle.

Brooklyn straightens her back and makes sure that her posture is perfect with Mr Storm around now.

“So I showed the review to the band’s manager and he loved it,” Mr Storm says and Brooklyn almost jumps in excitement. But she remembers that that’s not exactly hers so she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and chews on it as she listens to whatever Mr Storm says intently. “He thought that the only way he could repay you is to invite you to the band’s gig tonight. You have to come, he said. The band wants to meet you.”

Niall’s eyes widen and he almost chokes on his water. Brooklyn’s pretty sure he doesn't expect that. Doesn't think that he’d have to listen to that awful band anymore after he’s finished with the review. She wants to feel bad for him, but she remembers that he tricked her to make a bet with him earlier so she considers that as a payback.

She excuses herself to get back to her desk but two steps are all she manages to take before Niall pulls her back to him. He drapes an arm over her shoulder and says, “You know, Brooklyn helped a lot. Honestly, couldn't have finished the review if it weren’t for her.”

“What’re you doing?” She whispers to him. He ignores her. She nudges him again and again, but when Mr Storm gaze lands on her, she stops and smiles. “Niall’s overstating it, Mr Storm. I didn’t help a lot. It was all him.”

It hurts her to say that, but for the sake of getting herself out of an evening listening to a band she doesn't even like, she pushes aside her ego.

“Ah, no wonder. The review does have Brooklyn’s voice,” Mr Storm mentions. If she were not overjoyed by the fact that he can recognise her writing, she would’ve denied it because she’d do anything to just stay at her flat tonight. “Well, consider the both of you invited. Say hi to me when you’re there.”

“Will do, Mr Storm,” Brooklyn says out of respect. “Looking forward to seeing you there.” And that, well, she doesn't know why she says that. It probably has something to do with her always wanting to impress Mr Storm.

Once their editor-in-chief is out of the break room, Brooklyn turns to Niall and shoves him. “What the hell, man?”

“What?” Niall asks, offended. “What about ‘let’s kill our souls together’?”

“That applies once,” she replies, frowning. “Ugh. You’ve ruined my night.”

“Maybe it won’t be that bad?” Niall says, trying to make her feel better about this. Brooklyn glares at him, certainly not falling for that. “I’ll buy you drinks – as much as you want.”

She finds it hard to believe that he’d buy her drinks when he complains about having to buy her coffee. So she squints her eyes at him to see if he’s telling the truth.

“You wouldn't want to disappoint Dean, would you?” He asks, smile tugging at the corners of his mouth because he knows there’s no way she’d say no to that.

“I hate you,” she mutters.

&&

Brooklyn is surprised that she hasn't lost her hearing, but she’s more surprised by the fact that nearly everyone in this pub seems to be enjoying this band. Apparently this band performs every Thursday and seeing that they’ll be off touring next week, today is their last day performing here – that’s what the bartender told Brooklyn and Niall. Which explains why the pub is filled with their fans.

By the time the band finished their first song, Brooklyn and Niall were more than ready to leave. Unluckily for them, Mr Storm was standing a few feet away from them and there’s no way they could escape without him seeing them. He’d expect them to stay until the gig is over – that’s what he said when they said hi to him – leaving Brooklyn and Niall with no other choice than to stay.

“Do you think he likes them?” Brooklyn questions as her eyes land on Mr Storm who’s got his eyes fixed on the screen of his mobile. He bops his head every now and then as if to show that he’s at least paying attention to the band.

“Dunno,” Niall answers as he calls for the bartender and asks for two pints of beer.

“I think he doesn't like them,” she assumes. If he does, he wouldn't be too focused on his phone.

Niall follows her gaze and nods, agreeing. He hands a pint to her before taking a sip of his, a relieved sigh leaving his throat almost instantly. “I’m pretty sure I died a little.”

Brooklyn lets out a laugh and pats his hand. “Same, my friend, same.”

The two of them continue to drink their alcohol whilst trying their hardest to pay no attention to the awful live music playing in the background. Eventually, the band gets off the stage and Brooklyn feels like she can finally think.

“I think Dean’s just texted me,” Niall mentions as he pulls out his phone from the pocket of his jeans. “Yup. It’s him. The band wants to meet us.”

“What?” Brooklyn groans as she puts down her glass.

“C’mon,” Niall grabs Brooklyn’s hands and leads them to Mr Storm. He apologises each time they bump into someone and Brooklyn decides then that she prefers the pub she, Niall and Harry usually go to than this pub. This place is… bad.

They reach the side of the stage where a few people are lingering around, waiting for their turns to say hi to the band members. Mr Storm is talking to, Brooklyn assumes, the manager of the band so they wait. Brooklyn looks around and she catches a sight of a familiar face.

“Beck?” She can’t quite believe her eyes, but when the person responds to the name, confirming her suspicion, she lets out a gasp. She makes her way towards him. “What’re you doing here?”

Beck points at one of the band members. “He’s my mate.”

“The lead singer?” Brooklyn arches an eyebrow. He nods. Somehow she’s not surprised that he has a friend in a band. “So this is where you spend your Thursday evening?”

“You got it,” he replies as he brings his beer up to his lips. His eyes fall on Niall and a smile takes over his face. “Niall!”

Niall stalks forward and gives Brooklyn’s twin brother a hug. “Beck, mate. It’s been a while.”

“It’s Bee’s fault,” he replies. Brooklyn shoots him a glare, which he ignores as usual. “She doesn't let me hang out with her friends.”

Niall looks at her, brows furrowing. “That’s so mean of you, Bee.”

Brooklyn throws her head back and groans. If she thinks a combination of Niall and Harry are bad enough, she’s clearly mistaken. Niall and Beck are the worst. The two people who like to give her shits on a daily basis.

Luckily for her, Niall and Beck don’t get to chat for long before Mr Storm calls out their names.

“This is Niall and Brooklyn,” Mr Storm introduces them to the manager and the band members. “They’re the ones who wrote your album review.”

“Wicked,” the lead singer – Rick – whistles as he shakes their hands. “I haven’t read anything, but I’m sure it’s great.”

He sounds so much better when he talks, Brooklyn thinks.

The guitarist steps forward next and shakes Brooklyn and Niall’s hands. His fingers are so calloused she could feel it. “I respect the two of you. Writing is not easy.”

“You’re right,” Niall agrees with him. Brooklyn wants to roll her eyes because she’s pretty sure he considers writing easy. She hardly sees him struggle except for today.

“If the sales go up, we have you two to thank,” the manager chips in.

“Be sure to send us the royalty check,” Niall jokes, making everyone around them laugh.

Brooklyn wishes she knows how to chat with people like he does because right now she’s struggling to get a word out of her mouth. He makes it seem effortless. Sure, she’s great with communication when it comes to work but outside work? She’s hopeless.

“Well, thank you so much for the review. We appreciate it,” the manager says again.

Niall shrugs. “Like I said to Dean, I couldn't have done it without Brooklyn’s help.” He throws an arm over her shoulder and pulls her to his side.

Everyone thank her and she smiles. “It’s an honour to write a review for your album.” God, she’s going to kick herself for saying that. An honour? More like a torture.

They continue to chat for a little while until the manager decides that it’s time for them to leave, as they’ll have a rehearsal later on. Niall and Brooklyn return to the bar where Beck is waiting for them.

“They’re cool, aren’t they?” Beck asks.

“Yeah,” Niall answers. “Nice guys too.”

Beck agrees before he turns to Brooklyn. “You don’t like them, do you, Bee?”

She lets out a sigh. “S’it obvious?”

“To your twin? Yeah,” Beck replies. Brooklyn sighs again. “Let me guess, you can’t look at them the same way because you hate their songs?”

“Get out of my head!” She hits his arm. He chuckles. “I can’t stop thinking: how can someone this cool write shitty songs?”

“That’s harsh,” Niall comments. She glares at him. For someone who said the album is the worst he sure has a lot to say. “Not that I disagree.”

Beck laughs. “To be honest, I’m not a fan too. I’m only here for a drink or two and to support Rick.”

“You’re both a good and a bad friend,” Brooklyn concludes.

Beck hops off the stool. “I’m gonna go home now,” he states. “You two staying?”

Niall looks at Brooklyn for an answer. Brooklyn shrugs. “Yeah. Think I need one more drink after all the lies I told back there.”

Beck chuckles before he leans forward and pecks Brooklyn on the cheek. He gives Niall a brief hug and makes sure to exchange phone numbers in case Brooklyn tries to not let them see each other again. At least now that they have each other in their contacts, they can go out behind her back.

As soon as Beck’s out of the pub, Niall returns his gaze to Brooklyn, “Hey, do you wanna-“

He doesn't get to finish his question as Brooklyn’s phone lights up. A smile touches her lips when she reads the incoming text message. “Louis wants to meet up for dinner. Is it okay if I leave now?” She asks Niall.

He nods. “Yeah, of course.”

Brooklyn gives his arm a squeeze. “You’re staying?” He nods. “See you tomorrow then.”

“See ya.”