Intrepid » n.h. au

Chapter 14

"Are you gonna pick that up?"

I blink, and look away from my phone to look at Seth – has this annoyed look on his face as he eats his second donut, but I can't blame him. Anyone would, if they had to listen to someone's phone blaring for thirty seconds.

"Yeah," I respond, taking another few seconds to look at my phone. I just don't know what to expect when I click on the green button – there's a mild possibility that she had her phone stolen, because I know that she'd never make the first move and call me.

Despite my slightly irrational thoughts, I press the green button – as I hear Seth sigh, frustrated once again – and bring the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Niall? Hi." If I didn't know her voice like the back of my hand, I wouldn't be able to tell it's her. She's quiet, and sounds like her voice is going to crack any moment now.

"Hi," I greet her back, and wait for her to break the silence – that's slowly becoming a little awkward.

See, after she left my apartment about a week ago, I think I came to a realization; sure, I like her and all, but it doesn't look like we feel the same about each other. I, on one hand, want to be able to kiss her and hold her hand in public – and yes, I realize how that sounds – but I think she wants to mess with me in a different way. A way that I'm not really interested in. So the reason I didn't see her for over a week isn't because she listened to me and didn't pick up, it's because I didn't call her at all.

"Are you..." A long few seconds later, I finally hear her voice on the other line. "Are you busy right now?"

"I'm in school," I reply slowly, "Having lunch. So not really."

She sighs, and keeps quiet for another minute. I don't have a good feeling about this. "Could you come over today?"

I raise my eyebrows as she blurts the words out, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, it's Friday and I don't have work until nine, so..." She pauses again, "If you could... come over at around five, or six, or whenever you're free. I'd really like that."

She's either just woken up, or been crying or she's high as a fucking kite. But since it's half past one in the afternoon, I don't think it's the first or last one. "O-okay. How does six sound?"

"Great," I can hear her smile over the phone. "I'll see you then."

"Alright." Before she can say anything else, I press the red button and stare at the ground for a couple of seconds. Why didn't I tell her no? Why don't I feel bad because of it? And most importantly, why did she sound the way she sounded?

"Booty call?"

I look over at Seth, who doesn't look the least bit entertained, and snort; a booty call from Angel Healy. "I wish."

*******

A small smile appears on my face when Angel opens the door, her expression mirroring mine once she meets my eyes. "Hi."

"Hi," I reply, just as quietly, taking a few slow steps forward, waiting for her to take the hint and move so I can walk in. She, on the other side, takes it the wrong way – but not the bad kind of wrong – and comes in front of me to wrap her arms around my waist, slowly pulling me in a tight hug.

I smile wider, wrapping mine around her upper back – savoring the moment – and waiting for her to pull away first. "How are you?" I ask when I feel her place her hands in my sides, and then pull away completely, nodding as she walks into her apartment, me following her.

"I'm good," She sighs while locking the door, and all of a sudden I'm having a mild case of déjà vu. "How are you?"

"I'm good too." I rock myself back and forth as she turns to me, fidgeting her hands. We're definitely acting like a pair of kindergartners, but I can't bring myself to say anything to break the silence. It must be the good kind of silence.