𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 ✓

o-n-e

 ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶«̶ ̶̶̶ ̶　　 ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ ̶̶̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ ̶ 

nh

Live, Laugh, Love

Those are the words hanging over the fireplace in Niall Horan's house.

If only his family could do any one of those things, maybe then he wouldn't be so bloody miserable all the time.

Well, they do laugh.

Sometimes.

It's often directed at Niall himself, but it's laughter nonetheless. That should count for something, right?

Every single time Niall walks into the living room, his eyes are drawn to the gaudy sticker words that are stuck to the wall, and he has to avert his eyes so he doesn't stare at them too long. If he doesn't, he fills with discontent and has to fight the urge to peel the words off the wall in order to throw them into the fireplace and set them ablaze.

Instead, he simply squeezes his fists and walks out of the room, ignoring the urge to scream in frustration at the stupid words that are always taunting him.

With a roll of his eyes, Niall secures the tie around his neck and throws his rucksack over his shoulder before walking out of the house. It's too early in the morning to be dealing with his mother, so he avoids the kitchen where she is bound to be lurking, deciding to simply leave instead.

Niall's family consists of four people - Niall himself, his father Bobby, his mother Maura, and his brother Greg.

His father is the CEO of a major financial centre right in the heart of London. While his father deals with all associates, his mother tends to the wives. They plan the parties, teas, galas, and any social event throughout the year that has to do with the small circle of the richest in town.

Greg, being only three years older than Niall, is finishing up at University and studying business in order to follow along the path that has been laid out for him since the day of his conception - quite literally. Maura and Bobby decided their child was to take up the family business when the time came.

He has always been and will always be the golden child in the family.

And that just leaves Niall. In his last year of high school, Niall is the black sheep of the family, and it has haunted him his entire life - how he will never be able to measure up to his brother. Part of him hates it. The rest of him doesn't care.

It doesn't take too long for him to arrive at school, but once he does he already wants to leave, but he knows he can't so, instead, he parks the range rover he was gifted for his seventeenth birthday and climbs out, braving the rest of the student population.

Niall studies harder than pretty much everyone in his class, but he also cares less. He only studies hard so his parents don't have any more reason to scold and berate him. He's already eighteen and he can't wait to finish school and get the hell out of his house. Maybe he'll run away, go back to Ireland. He still has family there, maybe they'd be willing to take him in. Or maybe he and his boyfriend could just move there after they finish school. Anywhere is better than where they are right now.

Before Niall can get inside the doors to the school, arms are wrapping around his waist and pulling him aside. He's pinned to the wall and lips are pressed against his own, the smell of tobacco filling his lungs as a tongue invades his mouth and his lips work against the other pair.