the lonely hearts club || n.h au

five

Niall's brain is so scattered and it's making him feel unsettled.

Last night he was so close to saying yes to Alexandra's plan. To the arrangement. He was already on the edge, teetering and one push was all he needed. But Alexandra didn't push him. Instead, she pulled him back. Told him to think about it first.

So as per Alexandra's request, he fights the urge to be impulsive and tells her that he agrees to her plan without really giving it any more thought. Instead, he thinks about it — hard. In fact, it's all he can think about. The whole fake dating plan has been on the forefront of his mind since she left yesterday.

It's unnerving how his first instinct was to say yes when now that he's thought about it, this plan is massive. They'll not only have to pretend to date, they'll have to make people — so many people — believe them. And that's the trickiest, hardest part. Everyone in this town knows them — him especially — and they've dissected every aspect of his life so he has a feeling that they won't buy this so easily.

But this idea has an immediate appeal, he has to admit. It'll give him exactly what he's wanted for quite some time now. For everyone to stop setting him up on dates.

Sure, this plan is risky. It could blow up in their faces. Could make things worse for him and Alexandra. But if it works out... well, then, it'll possibly be the best thing he's ever pulled off. And they'll both achieve what they want.

Wrapped up in his own thoughts, the pros and cons of the arrangement, Niall fails to see Mrs Kelly approaching.

"Niall, dear," her voice snaps him back to reality.

Niall schools his expression and forces a smile. It's too late for him to walk away now. "Hi, Mrs Kelly."

Stopping in front of him, she peers at his basket and Niall feels exposed as she does so. Is she judging him for getting a few bags of crisps? Or is it the frozen food that she's judging?

"Shay loves flowers," Mrs Kelly tells him when her eyes return to him. No longer scrutinising his basket. But scrutinising him instead. Which is worse, he decides. "You should get her flowers. She'll love it."

Niall opens his mouth to say something — not that he knows what to say — but he's cut off with,

"Oh, she's really excited for the date. I think you two would make a great pair. Beautiful babies, too."

The last sentence was spoken with a nudge. A nudge that makes Niall jump. And a conspiratorial wink that sends shivers down his spines. He imagines that cold sweats would break across his skin if she continues, so he blurts out the first thing that comes into his mind.

"I can't."

Mrs Kelly's brows pinch together while her lips pout downward in a displeased frown. What do you mean you can't is what her face is trying to convey.

Niall swallows the lump in his throat. "I forgot to tell you that I actually have a date Friday night."

Mrs Kelly looks at him like he's speaking foreign words. Like she's not entirely convinced. And he doesn't blame her for that. No one would buy that God-awful lie. But he can't take back what he just said and he doesn't really want to. It turns out that the image that Mrs Kelly has just thrusted into his head — of him and whoever this Shay girl is having babies — is all the push he needed to do what he should've done. Telling people no.

"But I've asked Fionn," Mrs Kelly says, forehead creasing, "He said you're free Friday night."

Of course he told her that. Niall shouldn't be so surprised that everyone in this town knows his schedule too. They probably know what time he goes to bed, what time he wakes up, what he does in his free time. It's like he's living in a fishbowl.