A Fine Line [N.H]

5.3 - Impulse - Housebound

Ivy's POV

I feel a cold breeze, caused by Niall getting out of bed, waking me up, I turn to see him, well a blur of him, standing by the bed.

'Good morning princess!' He says, leaning it, kissing my cheek.

'Good morning!' I beam but then stir and whine cause sleep is hitting me again.

'What time is it?' I ask.

'7 in the morning. Go back to sleep you need to rest.'

'But you're driving me back home before you go to the studio.'

'No I'm not! Who said that?' He chuckles.

'What? I'm not gonna stay here. You're gone all day. This is your house. It would be wrong if I stayed here when you're not around.'

'Well, you should've thought about that before you showed up here at half past 3 AM. Besides, if you go back to your house, I won't see you for a while. And knowing that you're here waiting for me to get back from the studio, will motivate me to finish as soon as possible.'

He just casually exits the room and I tried to fight back falling back asleep but I'm too sleepy.

Niall's POV

I quickly get ready for my day at the studio, but before I leave I check on my baby one last time, to say bye. Aww, she fell back asleep! She's so tired, hopefully, she'll get plenty of sleep. I'm sure this mattress is comfier than hers. She'll sleep better here. I'm gonna leave her a note.

Good morning! Hope you slept well. I'll be back anytime between 6 and 10 PM. I'm not sure, so sorry about that, but I'll text you once I know more. Text me when you wake up. Feel free to do whatever you want, you can watch TV, read a book, if you need to use a laptop there's one in my office, the password is written on some sticky note around there somewhere. There's leftover pizza from yesterday when you're hungry, but feel free to order whatever you want. This is your house too. Hope it's okay. I'll be back as soon as I can.

I look back at her one last time, the comforter covering most of her face, I lean in kiss her temple gently, hoping it wouldn't wake her up before I leave for my long day at the studio.

Ivy's POV

I wake up, the first thing I do is reach out to my phone on the nightstand on my left. It's 1 PM wow, slept a lot! I grab my glasses and get out of bed. I notice a note with Niall's handwriting on it and so I read it. He's so sweet! I put on my jeans, and then after the regular morning routine, I go to the big kitchen and try to make myself a cup of tea. I text Niall while waiting for the water to boil.

'Good morning again! Just woke up! So lazy! I'm making some tea. Hope you're working well. Thank you for letting me stay here!'

By the time he replied, my tea is ready.

'Good afternoon! Did you sleep well? Did you find all you need in the kitchen? Work is fine, we're moving along well. Still don't know when I'll be done. What are you going to do?'

'I'm not sure, I'm just walking around, exploring, trying to find a secret passage into some hidden room or something.'

'😂😂 It's not some 19th-century castle! You're not gonna find anything!'

'Just kidding. I'm probably just gonna watch some Netflix while emptying your snack cabinet.'

'I know you're trying to piss me off but it's not gonna work. I'll pick some more on my way home.'

'Who are you and what have you done with Niall?'

'😂😂😂 Have fun! I'll be back as soon as I can. Text me if you need anything!'

I go back to the kitchen to put the mug in the sink when I notice it was full. I'm staying here, might as well benefit Niall with something. But I need music. I wonder what Niall listens to. Oh, I know, let's see the music on his laptop! I go to his office where he told me I'd find it. I look around in the mess of papers, I find the password and type it in. It worked. I can't believe he's being so reckless with his stuff around me. Why does he trust me so much? I mean it's not like I'm not trustworthy. But I wouldn't give him the password to my phone, at least not right now. Maybe later. I don't know. I take it back to the kitchen, connect it to the Bluetooth speaker and choose a random playlist from his music app. I finish the dishes, tidy around in the sitting room where I'm assuming he was hanging out with his friends. 

I look at the time, It's still 4 PM and no sign of Niall coming anytime soon. He'll be hungry when he comes back. I should probably cook him something. I'm sure he's sick of eating fast food. I open the freezer and find frozen chicken, perfect. I start with that. And while I wait for the chicken to be done, which would take an hour and a half at least, I check what else I can do. I find potatoes and all kind of vegetables. Why does he have all that if he doesn't even cook? Does someone come and cook for him? They seem fresh though. I guess he got someone to take care of the house while he's gone cause it's very clean, it should've been all dusty. Time goes by while I prepare a salad and some mashed potatoes. 

By the time all the food is done, I check the clock it's almost 7 PM and there's a text from Niall that I missed. 

'Hey, princess. Still at the studio, but won't be long. My phone is about to die. Are you okay? Are you bored?'

'Hey Niall! It's okay, take your time. I'm okay. Got myself busy. Lazying around, watching movies. You know me, binge watching and stuff.'

'Alright. Did you eat?'

'Yeah, just a bit here and there. And you?'

'Had a sandwich at lunch. Please eat something! I'm sending you my account info for the food delivery app I use. Use it, order whatever you feel like eating. You know I hate it when you don't eat.'

'Okay, I'll eat something. Finish your job and come back.'

'Aww, someone missed me, I see!'

'Maybe...'

'I miss you too. I'll just wrap up here and come.'

'Alright. See you in a bit.'

'Can't wait!'

I go back upstairs, I need to change, the smell of all the cooking is stuck to it. I don't want to look through his stuff. Like I'm invading enough of his privacy already. But I have to. I find another old T-Shirt of his. This will have to do. I go to the bathroom to put the top I just took off with the rest of the dirty laundry. The basket is overflowing. I guess he doesn't do his own laundry. I hate seeing this. Would it be too much if I put just one machine? I'm sure he'll need some of them. Fine, he can't be mad about that, can he? It's not like I'm ruining his clothes. I know what I'm doing here. 

Now that I've done everything I can possibly do around the house, I just sit down in front of the big TV screen and look for some movie on Netflix to watch. 15 minutes into "Easy A", I hear the front door opening. I pause the movie and run to the door.