untitled |h.s|

nine

Ariella

"Ready?" Niall asks as soon as I reach the end of the hall. I nod, unable to stop the genuine smile that's now taken over my face. "Let's get going then," he says, gesturing toward the front door. He pauses as his hand is about to twist the door open, looking over to where Harry sits.

I let my gaze follow, seeing Harry perched on the couch with a notebook splayed on his lap and a guitar in his arms. I flash a small smile at him when I meet his eyes, a small part of me wishing I could stay and listen to him play.

"You coming with?" Niall asks, breaking my attention from Harry.

"Nah," he brushes the offer off, "go hang out with your sister. I have some shit to work on anyway."

Niall shrugs his shoulders, finally pulling the door open, "alright then, off we go."

I give Harry a small wave goodbye before following Niall out the door, pulling it closed behind me and hurrying after Niall as he takes long strides towards the elevator.

We make our way to the car, the short walk filled with me pestering Niall about his plans for the day and him refusing to tell me anything. I let out a huff as I plop myself down into the passenger seat, earning a short laugh from my brother.

"Keep up the attitude and I'll explore the city alone," he teases as he pulls out of his parking spot.

"Nooo," I whine, half-jokingly, "I'll stop, I promise. Just tell me one thing at least?"

"Just let me surprise you for once Ri," he says softly, using the nickname he gave me growing up. He hasn't called me that in years, but I can't help but smile at the sound of the childish nickname.

"Fine," I give in, shifting in my seat to look out the window so I can watch the city passing by as Niall drives us to our mystery destination.

We're stopped at a red light when his phone rings, the ringtone filling the car from where it's connected to the speakers. Niall lets out an annoyed groan at the sight of the caller ID, pressing a button on the screen and pulling his phone from his pocket to answer the call.

He continues driving with one hand, my attention now drawn to him and the phone call that was apparently urgent enough to answer, but private enough for him to be secretive about. My heart drops as I watch his face while he listens to whoever's talking on the other line.

"I told you I can't-" he sighs in annoyance, probably getting cut off through the phone. "Really? Why can't you just- fuck, fine." He huffs, hanging the phone up and almost slamming it into the cup holder out of frustration.

As soon as he turns to look at me, I know what he's about to say. I turn away from him quickly, already feeling my emotions creeping onto my face and refusing to let him see me get upset over something he can't control.

"Ari," he says quietly, desperately trying to get my attention back to him. I shake my head, not wanting to hear what I know is inevitably coming next, "I'm sorry-"

"It's fine," I cut him off, forcing myself to swallow my emotions, "I'll just have to come back another time."

I shift my focus to my lap, mindlessly picking at my fingers to distract myself as Niall turns around, navigating back toward the apartment. Eventually, I dare to look at his face again, seeing anger and annoyance clearly taking over his expression. I know he's frustrated too, but for some reason that doesn't make me feel any better knowing today was my last full day to spend with him.

The rest of the drive is silent. He pulls back into his parking spot, both of us quietly getting out of the car and making our way back up to the apartment. He walks me up, unlocking the door for me to enter his house. As soon as I'm inside, I walk straight to my bedroom, quickly shutting myself in there before finally letting the tears fall.