Climbing the Walls (a Niall Horan love story)

Chapter 18

Chapter 18








*Haley's P.O.V.*


By the time we reached the house, it was about four o'clock and we were both drenched to the bone. Niall opened the door for me like the gentleman he is, and I thanked him as we entered the foyer, taking off our soggy shoes. When we walked into the living room, everyone was there in the usual spots: Sydney in Liam's lap in the recliner, Derek and Zayn on the floor leaning against the coffee table, Dani and Louis on either end of the couch with Harry in the middle, and an empty loveseat beckoning Niall and me. Harry looked up from the TV at the sound of us entering and looked at us as though we were completely mental.

"What were you two doing, swimming in the pond at the park?" he asked incredulously. I giggled, remembering what we had actually been doing. I looked over at Niall, who was smiling down at me.

"Just walking," I answered, still grinning into Niall's amazing eyes. This was all a dream, wasn't it? Yup, I was going to wake up any minute now. Well, maybe I could sleep for a little longer...

"You two should dry off," Liam instructed fatherly. I rolled my eyes, but obeyed.

"Okay, Daddy," I replied in a high-pitched voice, mussing his hair as I past behind the chair on my way to the stairs. Sydney giggled and winked at me as she fixed the stray pieces I had misplaced.

I heard Niall behind me, and as soon as we were no longer in sight of our friends, he pulled me into his room. I happily agreed, letting him guide me to his bed. (No, this was not a sexual moment, thank you very much.) We lay down on the soft sheets, our lips meeting again. The lightening that flashed in the sky outside the window couldn't even compare to the electricity between us. Just we started deepening the kiss there was a knock on the door.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Liam meant you two should dry off in your own rooms," Louis' joking voice came through from the other side of the door, making us jump apart. Stupid Louis. Naw, I love him. Oh right, I have to tell him! And Dani! I thought excitedly, almost proudly.

"Well, he could've been more clear," Niall called back in an equally playful tone. I smirked and got up, heading over to the door. Niall frowned as I left him on his bed, but I blew his a kiss and mouthed, 'later' before opening the door. It swung open, revealing a smugly smiling Louis who had his fist raised, ready to knock again. He raised his eyebrow when he spotted Niall lounging on his bed, but I just smiled.

"Excuse me," I said sweetly. He stepped aside, grinning knowingly at me. I walked past him and across the hall into my own room, seeing him enter Niall's room and close the door behind him out of the corner of my eye. Unfair! I thought indignantly, I wanted to tell Louis! I sighed and shut the door to my room, walking over to my closet. It was only about 67 degrees (Fahrenheit), neither hot nor cold, so I switched my shorts for light pajama pants. They had cartoon owls on them, and I absolutely loved them for reasons I'm not quite sure of.

I stripped off my shirt, tossing it in the laundry pile. I switched my strapless bra for a normal one and slipped on my red Taylor Swift shirt that I got at the Speak Now tour, crossing the room to my bathroom. I brushed out my dripping hair, but just ended up throwing it in a makeshift bun on the nape of my neck. Not caring about the fact that I looked like a piece of shit, I walked down stairs where there was now not only an empty love seat, but an empty seat to the right of Harry as well. I took my seat on the loveseat, smiling when I saw High School Musical 2 on the screen, knowing Harry let Dani pick the movie.

"You look hot," Dani laughed sarcastically. I faced her and struck a pose in my seat, making her shake her head.

"I know," I joked, giggling. She turned back to the movie, but she must have felt my eyes on her, because she turned to face me. I was staring at her, smiling. Niall might be the first to tell Louis, but I was going to be the first to tell Dani. Niall and Louis came back down, both smiling like idiots. Niall took his place next to my, draping his arms around my shoulders and kissing my cheek. Dani smiled at me, but I gave her a different smile. Once Niall's focus was on the television, I slightly puckered my lips for a split second. Dani's eyes widened slightly, questioning me, and I lifted my eyebrows once as a way of confirming.

She let out a scream and jumped up. I giggled as she ran over to me, grabbed my hand, and towed me up the staircase, leaving everyone, even Derek, looking confused. "What just happened...?" I heard Harry wonder as Derek shrugged. Dani led me into my own room, slamming the door shut behind us. "Seriously?" she squealed excitedly. I nodded ecstatically, grinning like an idiot. She shrieked again, engulfing me in a huge hug. I squeezed back as tightly as I possibly could. Literally, I felt like I was going to squish the life out of her. "How was it?" she demanded.

"Magical," I breathed out, my cheeks hurting from how much I was smiling. That was the only word I could use to describe it. She smiled back at me, and I knew how happy she was for me. Which I appreciated.

"Well, we better get you back to him, shouldn't we?" she asked teasingly. I rolled my eyes, but agreed.

"Plus, you want to get back to Harry," I added. She smiled bashfully, which was not something that Dani did very much. And then she did something I'm not sure I've seen her do more than twice: she blushed.

"I actually do really like him," she admitted to the floor quietly, playing with her hands. This behavior was so out of character for her. "And not just like in a fan way, I actually like him," she said honestly, warming my heart. She barely ever got this way about guys, so I knew she must have some pretty serious feelings for him.

"Aww!" I responded mutedly, knowing she would yell at me if I talked at normal volume. She just rolled her eyes.

"But he wouldn't feel the same way, he probably just thinks of are flirty banter as a playful, friendly joke," she sighed sadly. I just crossed my arms and looked at her.

"Since when does Dani Manchester think a guy won't like her? Just because he's famous and British doesn't mean he won't fall under your spell!" I replied, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled a bit, but she still looked doubtful. "Dani, Harry only flirts with girls he's interested in. He'll just be normal around girls he thinks of as friends, but flirting is the only way he knows how to talk to girls he likes. And I see the way he looks at you, there's definitely something there. And you can't just brush it off and say 'whatever', because you really care. I can tell by the way you're acting." She looked up at me, hope starting to sparkle in her eyes.

"It's scary how well you know the both of us," she said back. I smiled.

"Yep!" I cheered, linking my arm through hers and leading her back down stairs. We took our seats again, smiling at each other. I loved how we were probably the only ones who were actually enjoying the movie that was playing and we had just left. But we returned just in time for Gotta Go My Own Way. We squealed excitedly; this was our favorite scene.

"Troy, listen..." We started serenading each other from across the room.

"Oh, god..." Derek groaned, making Dani and me grin.

"I gotta say what's on my mind: something about us doesn't seem right these days." We sang through the first verse, reaching our hands out for each other. When the chorus began, we hopped up and ran to each other, holding hands as we sang. Everyone but Derek was looking at us very questioningly, but we just continued until the song ended. Then we took our seats again.

"Thank god," Derek muttered under his breath, earning a chuckle from Zayn. I took a pillow from the couch and threw it at his head playfully.

"Sorry," he apologized with a teasing smile. I returned it and sat back down.

Niall was smiling and clapping his hands lightly. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Then, I guess he decided to tell everybody, because he placed me in his lap and dipped me over the edge of the loveseat, putting his hands supportively on my back as he planted another kiss right on my mouth. I smiled against his lips as we received a chorus of cheers and whistles. He pulled me back up, grinning wildly just like I was. I looked over at Louis and Harry who both winked at me. Dani was just smiling knowingly and bouncing up and down. Liam was shaking his head while smiling as Sydney mouthed, 'awww'. Zayn and Derek were applauding us approvingly. I giggled, blushing as I turned back to the movie. Well I suppose that's a way of telling them.



*Dani's P.O.V.*

The movie ended, and by then everyone was pretty hungry. They demanded Harry make dinner, since he's the best cook (how attractive is that?) and I offered to help as we entered the kitchen together. He put a pot on the stove and pulled out a box of pasta, still scouring the cabinet. "Hey, do you want to run to the store with me to pick up some sauce?" he asked in response to the lack the ingredient in the cabinet. I smiled at him.

"Of course! Under one condition." He raised his eyebrow at me questioningly and I grinned. "No sauce out of a jar. I'm getting ingredients to make real spaghetti sauce," I bargained. He smiled.

"Sounds good," he agreed, leading me out to the foyer. "Dani and I are going to the store to get sauce!" he called, informing our friends as we slipped on our shoes. They mumbled their acknowledgements, obviously not caring at all. Harry opened the door for me and I thanked him graciously as he led me to his car. He had one damn nice car. He laughed at me as I went around to the right side of the car. "You planning on driving?" he asked in amusement. I looked at him like a confused puppy, making him chuckle again. "You're in England now, love," he reminded me.

"Right," I blushed, walking around the other side of the car. Wow I felt stupid. He held the door open for me, clearly still mocking me. But I'd seen that look in guys' eyes many times before, so I knew he thought it was cute. Thank god. He closed my door and slid in the driver's seat, starting up the machine and backing out of the driveway. I turned on the radio, and the sound of Ellie Goulding's one-of-a-kind voice filled the car. I smiled, sitting back.

"So, speaking of how you're in England now, how are you liking it?" he asked.

"It's amazing," I answered without hesitation. It was more than amazing. It was my savior. It was my escape from my abuser. He didn't even deserve to be called my father, our DNA might say he was but his actions said differently. He was nowhere near being my father anymore, and he was definitely not my Dad. I closed my eyes, feeling pressure in my temples as memories of me as I child running into his arms, calling him Daddy. I remembered him breaking up the petty little fights Derek and I always got into, kissing my mother lovingly, picking me up and spinning me around. I remembered him sober. I remembered life before it fell apart.

"Well that's nice to hear..." Harry responded, his voice tinged with suspicion. I nodded and forced a smiled, trying to fight back the demons of my past. I opened my eyes, not allowing tears to fall from them. "Are you ok?" he asked as we pulled into a parking lot. I looked around and saw that we weren't at a grocery store. This was an empty gravel lot on an abandoned street. It was a beautiful spot, especially since dusk was settling over the evening. I nodded, trying to seem convincing.

"I'm swell." But my stupid voice had to crack. Harry unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over, wrapping his arms around me. I squeezed my eyes shut and grinded my teeth. I wasn't someone who liked crying in front of people. I didn't like people knowing how weak I actually was.

"What's wrong?" Harry whispered soothingly into my ear as he comfortingly rubbed my arms. I took a breath, not letting sobs form. My breathing was shaky, but at least I wasn't crying.

"Derek moved me here for a reason," I started softly, "And not because I missed Haley. My dad... Ugh, he's not even my dad. He's the ma- thing that conceived me," I spat in disgust, keeping my eyes closed. I didn't need to see how Harry was reacting; I was too scared to find out. So I continued, staring into the backs of my eyelids. "My mom died when I was eleven, and so he stopped caring about anything, including Derek and me. All he began to care about was sports and alcohol, and he started getting all of his angst and frustration out on his own children." My voice was filled with revulsion and betrayal, my body shaking in Harry's kind embrace as I confessed my secret. "I'm not a virgin. But it wasn't by choice. And it didn't happen the way it should ever happen," I finished, still refusing to cry. I took more air into my lungs, trying to calm myself down. I finally opened my eyes and dared to look at Harry.

He looked sad. He unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me into him, not saying anything. And it was exactly what I needed. I didn't need anyone to say everything was fine or some cookie-cutter shit like that, I just needed someone to hold me, to give me genuine strength. He put his lips to my ear and whispered, "You're safe with me." I latched onto him, biting my lip as the stupid moisture welled up in my eyes.

"Thank you," I breathed, pulling away as I caught my breath and blinked the tears away. He looked at me cautiously as I clicked my seatbelt. "Well, we have some sauce to buy," I said, my voice sounding as though nothing had happened. But it had. Harry put his seatbelt back on and continued driving to the store. I smiled, because I knew his beautiful green eyes were flickering protectively over to me every five seconds. But I wasn't just smiling for him, smiling helped me feel like I was actually happy, gave me some sort of strength. Harry's words had also made me feel much better, knowing I was safe with him.






A/N***

Hay !!

So who would've thought one trip to the grocery store could be so eventful? lol

Thank you so much for reading! I love you guys!♥

Have a lovely dovely dayyyy(: