Cigarettes and Hickies [n.h]

dix-huit

After some time, Niall drifted off to sleep. He had tried to see more of her room, but it was dark and the curtains over her windows were so thick that they hardly let any light in, so he ended up just sleeping. It wasn't until a kick on the side of his thigh awoke him later that night. His eyes shot open and his head snapped to the side to find that Ocean was clearly having a nightmare.

Her mouth was slightly parted and shaking breaths were inhaled into her mouth, as her eyelids were fluttering even though they were shut and her legs were kicking the covers away.

"Ocean!" Niall whispered as his hands fell on her shoulders and began to shake her slightly. Immidiately she awoke and gasped as she looked around her abruptly with the webs of her nightmare still clouding her mind. Once her eyes landed on Niall, reality kicked in and she scrunched her nose up in confusion as she automatically brought the covers up to her neck in reflex.

"Niall?" She said bewildered to find him in her bed, her startled eyes remained fixed on him as she added, "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Uh..." Niall rubbed the back of his neck as he began to think about how the situation might look. She clearly had no recollection of the earlier events. "You asked me to stay..."

Ocean's lips formed a small 'o' as her eyes blinked several times in attempt to remember if that was in fact true. After a minute or so, she settled on believing him as she fell back on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling, her mind lost in thought about the torments of her dream.

Niall figured she may be thinking about that, and decided to ask her what it had been about.

"I-" She mumbled in response as a hesitating sigh left her rosy lips, and her eyes fell on Niall debating whether or not if to actually tell him. Niall noticed a small bead of sweat running down the side of her forehead, and that her eyes were wide in recollection. The ocean of blue of her orbs were taking his breath away, and the way her chest heaved up and down, still exhausted by the hauntings, caused the Irish man difficulty in keeping his eyes on her face.

"You can tell me, Ocean. I won't judge ya." He said once he saw the colour of her eyes change. It always fascinated him how each time he looked at her, he would see them differently. The moisture on her face and how awake her feautres looked, made the blueness catch a slight bit of grey as a flame of uncertainty shadowed over her eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it," She mumbled sadly as her eyes hung onto his for a moment, before chosing to divert them and turn her face away.

However, Niall's hand extended out in reflex, his body already working on trying not to make her slip away, as his fingers curled around her chin and turned her face towards his again.

"Okay." He agreed with her words. He knew it may be none of his buisness, and he respected her privacy, "Ya don't 'ave to tell me, if you don't wan' to. But, I want you to know that ya can." His words were firm, as his eyes held a grip over hers in attempt to emphasise his words. "I'll always be 'ere to listen to ya, no matter the topic or the time. You can count on me, yeah?"

A tear snaked down Ocean's reddened cheek, as she heard his words, and settled just on the top of his thumb.

"Don't cry, Ocean." His tone was begging as his fingers tightened around her chin to try and reassure her of it. "---You'll be a sucker if ya do." He joked half-heartedly but then added, "Ya shouldn't waste your tears on 'im, especially when he's fuckin' sleepin' with another! Yeah, I was there when ya asked 'im who the girl was, so don't look at me like that. Ya don't deserve him, Ocean; he's such a dick. Ya deserve so much bet'er."

A small laugh spilled from Ocean's lips as her gaze on Niall soothed and her eyes were kindly hovering over his features. His words had struck a chord and had warmed her heart slightly, and Niall was returning the gesture by offering her a warm smile which made his eyes twinkle in the dim light.