Monster || Narry AU

04- Dread

Another update, yay!!

I'll be going on vacation on Friday until the 13th, so bear with me yeah?

I love you guys!

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Niall didn't really know what to do with the new information. So the thing before him certainly was a he, and he could speak and think and chuckle and remember. But what really did this information mean to him. Harry seemed to be curious of him- he was in fact very curious of him- his head cocked to the side watching the blonde with a burning curiosity. What had made him different, what had made Harry spare his life when he had done no such thing to anyone else that had swaggered into his home? Harry didn't know, and it would drive him mad, but for some reason he could not bring himself to kill this small little lad that was cowering against the wall despite saying he wasn't scared of him.

Niall too was curious, unsure of what was actually happening anymore. His whole world and thought process was just blown to smithereens. He had learned the monsters were real now, at least, people that looked like monsters. Now everything was different, now there really could be things lurking in the dark. Now Niall was worried of what he could find, worried of the things that went bump in the night and slinked from the darkest corners of the room. But he imagined that could just be his imagination, he thinks that maybe he had fallen asleep now, maybe this was all just a surreal nightmare taking place in his mind from the taunts and teases that his mates threw at him.

His heart was racing, and Harry could hear it. Harry could see the way his chest had begun to rise and fall with a faster paced rhythm, how his eyes darted around the room, how his hair was beginning to stick to his forehead. He could see the anxiety and fear in his eyes, but for the first time, he reckoned it wasn't necessarily because of him, because of what he did and what he looks like or what he is. This reaction hadn't been because of him personally, and that lifted a weight from his shoulders. But now there was a new feeling of worry, dread, for this lad. He was scared he was in need of help, scared he would die so easily, in this blasted house like many others before him, yet nothing like them at all.

Niall's eyes rolled back and his consciousness was lost, he fainted, slumping against the wall behind him. Harry panicked for a brief second, but calmed when he heard the steady ba-dum-ba-dum of his heart, no longer racing, but not stopped either. Harry had never feared for another, not since he had been trapped in this house and people had come in to show how strong and fearless they were. Not since he had begun murdering those same people. He hadn't cared for someone else in so long that the feeling was almost foreign to him, and the thought of actually feeling something that wasn't the burning desire to claw his throat out, well that scared him. And at this point, there was nothing that actually scared him anymore, at least, that's what he had thought.

Harry carefully moved to squat down in front of him, carefully watching the boy who looked quite peaceful, as long as he imagined that he had been sleeping rather than he had fainted. But he looked like he was uncomfortable which -okay- that was reasonable. Harry thinks that yeah, he didn't really have time to find a comfortable position before his eyes rolled back and his mind shut down. Carefully, he reaches over to gently guide him to the ground, lying his head on the duffle bag he had brought with him. Niall reminded him of a newborn baby almost, neck flimsy, soft and squishy and needed to be handled with care. Like if he made one wrong move the lad would snap, and that frightened him more than he would have liked to admit. He was careful in his movements, something that rarely came with anything other than the slaughter of trespassers.

By the time he had finished moving the lad, he looked like he had curled up and fallen asleep. Harry hopes that's what Niall will think when he wakes up, he hopes that the lad forgets him. It was always easier that way, and maybe then, people will stop believing in him, in 'the monster in the house on the hill' and move on with their lives. Maybe then he'll have his peace, maybe then he'll forget what he was- is, what he is.

He thinks back to the last time he had let someone leave, and remembers that everyone had called her crazy. They had sent her away, and she had killed herself. And then people came in, group after group, man after man, trying to find this 'beast' and soon he grew weary of it. Then they had become less and less, making it a weird abandoned home, but then people came at night, and when they had found him they had screamed and ran, and he had killed them out of anger. That was when everything started, and everything ended all at once.

He steps back, hoping that this time may be different. That if people see a survivor, someone who didn't disappear after a night in the house, then they would stop, and they would leave him and the house alone. He didn't mind being alone, not anymore. In fact he craved it. He would rather be alone then stared at like a freak, rather be alone than have to see the disgust and fear in people's eyes. He used to hate being alone, now he wishes he could go back to being alone, go back to before his life changed.

He slinks back into the shadows, quiet, watching over the blonde to make sure he was okay, to make sure he was breathing, his heart beating. The feeling of dread dissipating, leaving him with a calm sense of accomplishment. It was again, an emotion he wasn't all too familiar with, one he hadn't felt in what felt like ages. He watched the lad, staying silent and hidden in the dark corners of the room. He watched until the sun began to rise and the shadows shied away from the light, and then, when the risk of being seen grew too high, he left, retreating back to the room on the second floor, listening carefully for a sign of movement.

Niall woke up to someone shaking him, their hands rough and urgent, shaking slightly. When he opened his eyes, it was light, the sun illuminating the whole room, although he can't remember when the curtains had been opened. He was confused, his dream from last night seeming so real. Harry had seemed so real. But when he looked around, there was no sign of him, only a frightened and relieved looking Liam, his hands shaking, and Louis who was smiling widely at him. He cursed himself under his breath, wondering how he managed to fall asleep, and curious as to why he had dreamed of a monster when he didn't believe they existed.

He was helped up by Liam, who then pulled him into a hug, muttering about how happy he was that Niall was safe. Louis grabbed his bag, and his guitar, following close behind the pair as Liam guided him out of the house. For some reason, as Niall stepped through the doorway and into the world again, a sense of dread consumed him, like he was leaving behind something important, although, he had no idea what that happened to be.

They continued walking however, Niall not voicing his mind. When they reached a fourth of the way down the hill, Niall could swear he felt eyes watching him. As he turned back, he caught just a flash of movement in the second story window, and then the feeling was gone.

Harry watched the lad leave, hoping to never see him again, but wishing –for some reason he couldn't fathom- that he would anyways.

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What do you guys think?

Why was Niall feeling the way he was?

Why was Harry?

Do you think they'll meet again?

Is Harry a monster?

Will Harry regret letting him leave? (Will it be for good or bad reasons if so?)

(20 comments for an update?)

Val xxxx