Bite {Niall Centric}

Day 158

It didn't hurt. Not really. Just felt weird. There was a lot of pressure against his teeth, but Niall didn't  mind it too much. He had gone through worse, like a broken ankle and an almost concussion.

The tools were familiar and just as weird to him, all going in and out of his mouth to remove his braces. Now, it should have been more important to Niall that he was finally being relieved of the thing that made him a mockery for so long and had fueled this whole search around England with his late family and new acquaintances. Yet, something felt off. It was the fact that nothing at all had or will change for him.

So what? No more braces? It's not like he can enjoy popcorn again; there are no such luxuries like that anymore. He had been deluding himself that the moment his braces were removed, life would be sweeter. Perhaps, even the end of the zombie apocalypse, as stupid as that sounded.

But Niall couldn't help the way he coped: delusions and sleeping. So as the 'orthodontist' (really, he was just a medical student that recently read up on dental care from a college textbook) finished up, Niall didn't feel as free as he thought he should have.

He looked into the mirror and smiled. Straight teeth. He ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling the foreign smooth texture of his mouth.

"How does it feel?" The med student asked, seemingly pleased with his work.

"Different."

"Ah, well," Gary (?) (Niall doesn't really remember) started. "Anyway, we need to make a mold for you retainer. Sit back down please."

~.~.~.

"Niall!" Louis rushed over to the blonde as soon as he stepped into the hospital room. "How did it go?"

Niall grinned big, showing off the clear retainer and his perfect smile. "It went well," Niall replied after closing his mouth. "Although, I'm back to slightly slurring my speech."

"I'll go get the rest of the lads," Louis informed lightly. "They'll be glad to hear everything went well for a change."

". . . yeah. . ." Niall trailed off in a whisper as Louis left. A heavy weight sat on his chest: guilt.

Now that he got what he came for, what was left? What purpose does he have now? A friend. . .? The lone survivor of the Horan family? It seemed like he was out of place in London.

He didn't need the boys anymore. They had accomplished their mission. It was time for Niall to be alone again. He hated the fact that he couldn't tell them that. He hated the fact that despite his obvious agitation towards them, he had grown fond of them. And he hated the fact that despite all of this, he would still leave like he had planned to do from the beginning.

Niall knew the boys would never accept that. So when they came in, he pretended to have fallen asleep, so he wouldn't cry in front of them. He was a big crybaby, and he knew it. He forced back the tears, the tremors threatening to shake his body, and the hiccups building up in his chest.

"Damn, that Blondie falls asleep fast." Niall recognized the voice as Zayn's.

"It's not fair though!" Niall had a feeling that was Harry whining. "That pyscho Louis got to see his smile, and I didn't!"

"Boohoo, Styles," Louis' laugh was the quintessence of insanity. Joker-worthy even. "I bet you wouldn't complain if I had my flamethrower pointed at your ass!"

"Fuck off, Lou!"

Niall suppressed his laughter as well as more tears - not from guilt, but because he would miss them. A lot.

It was a bittersweet moment for Niall. He didn't have to leave, but he knew it would be for the better.

~.~.~.

Seeing as how the blonde's ankle was broken, he was given something simple to do that afternoon while the rest of the boys did hard labor. It made him feel weaker than what he already felt. As he sat in the shade of a tree, Niall continued to pick the peas from the pods.

It was a thoughtless kind of work, so Niall worked automatically, mind somewhere far off from London and zombies and the lingering scent of death near the gates. The air was crisp and cool, proper spring weather before it starts transitioning to summer. Unexpectedly, his bubble of peace was popped by a blue-haired woman.

She was familiar, but Niall didn't have a name to her face yet. "Um, hello," Niall greeted, closed-lip smile on his face because for some reason, it didn't feel right without his braces.

"Good afternoon, Niall. I'm Missy, one of the scouts that brought you and your friends here," She had a lot of freckles covering her face and arms. It was cute. "I thought it would be nice if I gave you a tour seeing as you looked awfully bored."

"I appreciate the offer, but I won't be staying long enough for a tour to be useful."

Missy seemed surprised. "Well, why didn't the boys tell me you all were leaving soon? I wouldn't have given them so much work to do," She began mumbling to herself.

"That's because I'm the only one leaving. They don't know either, so please keep it to yourself," Niall spoke as he picked more peas. His fingers worked slower and slower until he stopped, unable to keep back his tears without use of his hands. He wiped under his eyes, sniffling. "C-Could you do me a favor?"

Niall looked up, staring into Missy's green eyes. She seemed uncomfortable that Niall was openly crying. "What is it?"

"Help me escape."

"I don't know. . ." Missy said unsuredly. "When do you exactly plan on leaving?"

"Tonight."

"So soon? But your ankle. . ."

". . . will be fine. I'll be fine, and so will they. I just need you to get my gun back and distract them for me. The rest will be up to me," Niall asurred her.

"Okay, but I do think that you should tell them. It isn't right to just leave without saying anything."

"It isn't as easy as it sounds. I would have told them, if I thought I could."

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Well, this update was long overdue. I would like to lie and say that it took me a month because I wanted to get the chapter right, but in actuality, I was being lazy.