Flicker of Hope || Niam Horayne

Wonder

Warning: Curse words, Violence

Hands deep in his pockets, Niall walked down the quiet street. It was late at night - no wonder it was so quiet. No one would want to be around on the streets at night. It was rather dangerous, Niall knew that - but he wanted some time to clear his head, especially after what Liam had said at the pub.

Although, his thoughts had been cut off short when he saw two men coming toward him. They looked quite intimidating- tall, muscular, wearing dark clothes - seemed like typical criminals. Niall was concerned for his own safety.

The men hardly said anything - just started hurting Niall in any way they could. (Ehm- definitely not me just being lazy with this) Niall didn't know what he did to deserve it. He had just been minding his own business, walking, and those guys just decided it would be a good idea to attack him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

When Niall heard the voice, he figured he was saved. What were the chances? Liam had been walking, apparently, and found Niall there, blood dripping from his lip, bruises and cuts in different places on his body. He looked rather rough.

Liam seemed furious, Niall realized as he looked over, tears blurring his vision as they welled up. Niall had never seen Liam this angry at anything - even if he had only known the lad for a bit.

The look on Liam's face was unmistakable. He was going to kill the men if no one stopped him. Niall was worried - not for Liam as much as he was for the two guys. Looking between them, Niall realized that Liam was more muscular than the two, and a couple inches taller. Although it was two against one, Niall figured Liam could take them if he really wanted to. And it was obvious he did.

Niall closed his eyes when Liam walked up to the two, although, to his dismay, he could still hear. He had never heard Liam use harsher language than this. It was a bit scary, now knowing the man he had considered harmless (Niall didn't know why he had thought that when he first met Liam. The lad just seemed nice.)
was able to knock down two guys in minutes, as if they were middle schoolers trying to start a fight.

-

Niall opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He partially regretted doing that, though, when he saw what shape Liam was in after the fight. Bloodied knuckles clutching onto the fabric of Niall's shirt gently, small cut on his upper lip, and his left eye looking beat up. Niall felt terrible that it was Liam who had to come save him.

"Sorry," Niall croaked out. His voice sounded worse than he thought it would. "Don't you dare apologize for this. You weren't the one who fucking decided to beat up a guy in an alley," Liam stated firmly, leaving no room for protest. "I'll take you back to my apartment to get cleaned up, yeah?" Liam said, tone much softer now. Niall was about to protest, until he saw a small puddle of blood on the ground beneath him. It wasn't bad, but Niall wasn't a fan of blood at all. He nodded, starting to stand up, but fell back down. Liam shook his head, saying nothing as he helped Niall up, then carrying him over his shoulder like some fireman. It was nice, Niall figured. He felt safe at the moment, despite what had just happened.

He started to wonder why Liam was so kind to him, even if he hardly knew Niall.