linger // niall horan

two // a dó

niall's pov

"Thank you all for joining us for wedding preparations," Louis holds out his glass of champagne at the front of the plane, "Mia and I were losing sleep just thinking about getting this done all by ourselves," His free hand snakes around the waist of his fiancee who smiles up at him with those love drunk eyes, glazed over with romance - or perhaps that was the champagne, though knowing Mia and her alcohol tolerance, it was probably the first. 

"Oh shut up, we're not doing this for you," Harry shouts from the back of the plane, from his seat beside Olivia, "We literally would take any excuse to visit Ireland, isn't that right, Nialler?" 

I throw up a fist and let out an excited shout, causing everyone else on the plane to laugh. There was one thing you couldn't deny and that was that Ireland was the best place on Earth. 

"Well then I'll save the sappy speech and just say we love you," Louis laughs, raising his glass leading us all in a toast. 

We all coo a chorus of "awws", causing Louis to flip us off before taking his seat. I finish my flute of champagne in one gulp, my nose crinkling due to the bubbles. In less than an hour, I was going to be back on the home soil and could finally get a good pint to drink. 

The plane fell into hushed whispers as the lads all cozy up with their dates. I consider turning around to pester Zayn and Linley, as I often do, but I didn't even have the energy for that. 

I had spent half the night tossing and turning just thinking about going home. It's not that I was nervous to be back home, I've done that plenty of times since moving away. I actually quite like visiting my folks back home and it's been long overdue. No, I was nervous about everything else that involved going home. 

Perhaps I've had good timing all the other times I've stayed with my folks, or maybe it's just careful planning on my part, who knows. But the longer I avoided seeing them, the weirder it got, so being incredibly intelligent, I just decided to keep avoiding conflict. 

Well, Niall, now it's all coming back to bite you in your arse. 

What was I going to even say? 

"Hey guys, I know it's been six years, but bring it in for a hug for old time's sake!"

That might work on Shay, but Gus is a different story. I could just picture her freckled face turning a bright red before she bit my head off. 

This is exactly what kept me up all night. I'm not even sure what to expect when I see her. I have no idea if she's pissed at me, or if she's completely moved on. She was never predictable, that's for sure. 

But all I know is that I hurt her and we haven't talked since. Though that's not entirely my fault. I did try to call both of them after I left, and they were the ones who didn't pick up. 

I shake my head as I slip on a pair of headphones, hoping to drown out my own thoughts. No, I can't sit here and pass the blame. I was a right twat to them.

June 29, 2010

"If I give you a Guinness, you have to promise not to throw up this time, kid," Seamus smirks as he holds the beer bottle above Gus's head.

With one swift movement, Gus kicks the green lawn chair from beneath Shay and in a matter of seconds he's sent sprawling to the ground, just narrowly missing the bonfire.

"You crazy bitch," He shouts at her as she bends over and picks up the beer herself, that famous smug grin on her face. I can't help but to laugh as I relax in the comfort of my own chair, safe from Gus's wrath for the moment. Shay gives me the finger as he drags his chair a few inches away from Gus.