Bite {Niall Centric}

Day 211

Niall woke up to the feeling of something chewing at his hair and the smell of garbage breath. He groggily blinked his eyes open and yawned, barely acknowledging the presence of a baby goat eating his hair for breakfast. Niall swatted the kid away before sitting up and noticing the weight in his lap.

He looked down to see the piglet had curled up in a ball and used him as a bed. He couldn't really say he hated it; the piglet was too adorable. Sliding the piglet to his side, Niall stood up and placed a blanket over the sleeping form.

Niall used his bat to balance himself as usual, shuffling outside to see what Louis had done in order to "protect the animals".

The mostly brunette was impressed to see a large dumpster on its front with the lid propped open by two wooden posts. Littered inside was dry tall grass and the three chickens nesting inside. Bessie was tied to a fence post with enough slack in the rope to ensure a good area of meadow for grazing.

Louis, much to Niall's hidden delight, was shirtless and sweaty from kicking around a soccer ball with Harry who, much to Niall's hidden dismay, still wore a shirt despite the wet fabric sticking to his a- Wow.

Niall's staring was way too intense, so he looked back to Bessie. She stared back at him as if knowing how bizzare Niall's thoughts had gotten. He looked away in guilt, wondering why a cow was making him feel like that.

Before he even realized it, his eyes had traveled to Zayn and Liam walking his way. Zayn smiled and waved while Liam only winked in what Niall guessed in a psuedo-friendly way; he was hoping it wasn't flirtatious so it would be easier to put off his decision to suggest polygamy.

Besides, it wasn't good for Niall's health to start noticing things about them. It meant no turning back for Niall. He wouldn't simply be able to just forget how fit Louis looked and how the shirt clung to Harry. . . He couldn't forget Zayn's enchanting smile or Liam's delicious physique. . .

Niall shook his head and groaned as he plopped himself down on the curb. It was terrible and frightening. He hadn't ever felt like this before, and he didn't think he ever would. These boys were changing a lot about him, and Niall was hoping there would only be one more change left.

Should he not be simply content at where they stood as he had requested many days before? Friends was more than he could ask for when he had lost his family. The apocalypse had been so unkind until now. Should he even really yearn for something he didn't quite understand?

Niall was certain he was a hypocrite at times. He was also certain he was indecisive. And stupid. And lacked proper social experiences that could have gotten him further along.

Niall thought too much, he realized as another headache was brought upon him at his own expense. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back so that his face absorbed the sun's warmth.

"Mind if I join?" Liam asked before sitting beside Niall.

Niall obviously didn't mind so he said nothing and merely stretched his legs out in front of him so as to get more comfortable. Niall wouldn't be moving for awhile.

Niall was so lost in daydreaming, he hadn't noticed the other boys joining the two until his stomach rumbled with hunger and he took a glance around. They all seemed to be lost in their own heads like him. He smiled fondly.

He was content with this.

"I can't stand it anymore!" Louis suddenly blurted. The other boys seemed to have snapped out of it and joined Niall in looking strangely at the crazy one in their group.

"What?" Zayn inquired.

"This friendship bullshit Niall wants. When I was alone yesterday, I was thinking about how life is uncertain," Louis began, Niall's stomach twisting into knots in anticipation of what could leave Lou's mouth. "A zombie could end me or any one of us at any second without a single warning. I don't want a life full of regrets, and I regret letting Niall decide none of us."