little do you know // niall horan au

chapter 23; little talks

Mona really needed to go grocery shopping.

There was nothing in the apartment. No milk, no bread, no fruits. Nothing. She couldn't believe she'd put off doing something so essential for so long. And the fact that Harlow didn't even have the courtesy to do it either grated at her nerves.

Getting out of a funky headspace was such an odd experience. She realized how messy she'd left everything when she was so caught up in her thoughts that she got stuck in her head. Her room had been a disaster, her clothes were all over the apartment, she desperately needed to do some laundry, and the kitchen was empty. It was bizarre that she'd ignored all of these basic household chores in favor of sulking around like a zombie.

She grumbled to herself as she filled up a bowl with the last of the cereal they had, hoping that one of the boys had some milk she could use. She also hoped one of them had coffee. She really needed some caffeine in her system. After slipping her feet into some slippers, she walked across the hall to Liam and Niall's apartment, letting herself in with her spare keys.

"Liam," she called out, belatedly wondering if he was even home. She placed her keys on the coffee table, stopping for a moment to listen for any sign of life before she heard him answering her call from his bedroom. "I'm stealing some milk!"

"Whatever," she heard him call back, his voice muffled from his distance and the walls between them. She headed to the kitchen, placing her bowl on the countertop before checking the fridge for milk, and, surely enough, there was just enough for her to use. She made a mental note to pick up some more for him when she went on her grocery run later in the day.

As she poured the milk out into her bowl, she heard his footsteps behind her. "You know," she said, not bothering to turn around to look at him, "I can't believe your kitchen is better stocked up than mine. There is literally nothing in my fridge." She turned him to give him an annoyed look only to find that it wasn't Liam standing behind her at all. Instead, she was looking into a familiar pair of bright blue eyes that she loved so very much. "Oh," was what she blurted out at the sight of him. He looked great, for someone who spent the past couple of days in the hospital. His knee was in a cast and he was on crutches, but for the most part, he looked perfectly fine. That sunshine smile still lit up the whole damn room. "I didn't know you were coming home."

He shrugged, hobbling further into the room to sit at the kitchen table, resting his crutches against the edge. "Yeah, got out this morning."

This morning? No one had stopped in to tell her. "Damn, how long did I sleep?" she muttered, more to herself than anything. She glanced back to check the time on the stovetop clock only to find that it was nearing noon. "Jesus."

Niall chuckled and a warmth bubbled up her spine at the sound of it. She'd missed that sound and how it reverberated off the walls of the kitchen. It made her smile. Neither of them were able to say anything else before Liam was strolling into the kitchen, dressed quite nicely for it being a Thursday.

"You look nice," she told him, and he grinned at her in response. "Also," she held up the empty milk bottle, giving him a sheepish smile. "I used up the last of your milk, sorry. But I'm going on a grocery run later and can pick up some more for you, and anything else you need."

Liam shrugged, walking over to the coffee maker to pour himself a fresh cup. She hadn't even realized that he'd been brewing some. "Sure, I'll text you a list." He spooned some sugar in and stirred, humming something under his breath. "Guess I'll have to drink my coffee black then."

Mona tossed the empty milk bottle into the recycling bag before grabbing her bowl of cereal and spooning some into her mouth. "Can I steal some of that too?" she asked after swallowing, grinning at the look he gave her.