Keep Me From Falling Apart [Niall Horan]

Chapter Twelve

“Okay, I don’t wanna watch anymore,” Nicole said switching Paranormal Activity out for one of the Lord of The Rings.

She left the room as I played the movie. 

I hadn’t said anything about her scars. I didn’t like it when people mentioned my problems, so I wasn’t going to bother her. She came back with a basket of hair stuff.

“Oh gosh.. really?” I asked leaning back on the couch in a tired manner.

“Yes, really. You’ve got your nails and your makeup done, now time for your hair,” she said sitting down and putting the basket on the table.

“You’re evil,” I mumbled sitting up.

“Get in the floor, it’ll be easier to reach your hair,” she said digging through the basket.

I followed orders and sat down on the carpeted floor in front of her. She pulled my hair out of the messy bun I had it in and started combing through it. She started grabbing things out of the basket and separating my hair.

“Okay.. I really wanna ask you a question,” she said after a few minutes.

“What…?” I asked quietly.

She yanked a part of my hair and then continued to do whatever she was doing.

“Well… before you left last month.. Niall kind of had a heart attack trying to catch you before you left..” she said pinning a part of my hair back.

“Yeah..” I mumbled crossing my legs.

“What happened?” She finally just blurted out.

“Nothing,” I said. 

I wasn’t sure if it was the truth, but I really wasn’t sure if it was a lie either. Could go both ways, I guess.

“Just a plain old ‘goodbye’?” She asked.

“Kind of..” I replied.

“Okay.. well.. I’m gonna bother you until you tell me what happened,” she said laughing.

I would’ve shook my head if I didn’t fear that I could rip all of my hair out. 

I proceeded to tell her what happened, leaving out a few details, but getting the story across. The meeting in the lobby, the hug, all that. Now that I actually said it out loud, it wasn’t much, but it meant something me.

“Soooo…. I just wanna ask..” she started.

I waited. Guessing what she was going to ask.

“Are you guys friends, best friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, what? Because I seriously wanna know,” she said pinning another piece of my hair up.

I thought for a second. I hadn’t actually thought about what we labeled ourselves. Definitely not girlfriend/boyfriend. We didn’t speak enough or talk about things to each other enough to actually say we’re best friends. Friends. Definitely just friends.

“Friends,” I stated.

Nicole was silent for a few seconds.

“Oh..” she finally said.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just turned my attention to the TV. But I couldn’t pay attention. Nicole continued to fix my hair, but I was thinking about her question. 

What would Niall have answered with? Best friends? Friends? Surely not girlfriend/boyfriend. Did he want to be that? Did he like me that way? 

He kissed me. But he also took a picture of it, so he could’ve been joking. Of course we’re just friends. But did he want more than just a cheek kiss and a picture with me? Did I? Did we both want each other the same way?

Back home, I had wanted to see Niall. I had wanted him. But I wasn’t exactly sure of what way I wanted him.

The movie was almost half way over with. I glanced at my phone for the time. 8:23pm.

Nicole was taking her time with my hair, but she kept saying ‘almost finished’ when I said something. I finally just watched movie and let her do whatever with my hair. I didn’t ask questions or how much longer she’d be. But I was getting sleepy, so I was hoping she’d hurry up.

“I’m sleepy,” I finally said towards the end of the movie.

“You should stay here tonight!” She said, her tone indicating she was pleased with her idea.

“You think Harry and Louis would mind?” I asked unsure.

“Nah! They’ll probably be drunk when they get home anyways. We could get to the hotel and get your things so you wouldn’t have to worry about them tomorrow for the airport,” she said.

“Okay then..” I said shrugging.

“Okay! I’m finished with your hair! We can go ahead and get your things from the hotel, so we won’t have to worry about it later,” she said patting my shoulder.

I got off the floor, stretching, my butt numb from sitting down so long.

Of course, Emma was out with Zayn, it being the really only last free day they had together. I texted her and told her I’d be staying with Nicole. After we brought my things back to the apartment, Nicole decided to order Chinese take-out.

“Isn’t that like a New York thing?” I asked leaning against the kitchen counter.

“You can order Chinese take-out anywhere, but it is a bit different here,” she laughed, the phone still to her ear.

She finished ordering and then we went to turn another movie on in the living room, though we didn’t watch it. We talked until our food came. Then we talked and ate through the entire movie. This time, not being as hungry as we had been earlier, we had left overs. Nicole put them in the fridge, saying the boys would find them later and finish them off. It was almost eleven by that time.

“Let’s scare the living shizzle out of ourselves so we can make of each other on how we look when we’re scared,” she said grabbing the second paranormal activity.

“Sounds appealing,” I said as she flicked the lights off.

“Really?” I asked looking at her in the blue-ish light of the TV.

“All the more scarier,” she said laughing as she pressed play.

We had run out of topics to talk about, or maybe we had just gotten too caught up in the movie, so we didn’t talk much through it. A few comments, or whatever, here and there. 

I looked over at Nicole half-way through the movie. She had her head propped up on her hand earlier, but now she had dropped it to the armrest. I nudged her with my foot, but she didn’t move.

I was suddenly really freaked out. I hadn’t been very scared because she’d been awake talking to me, but now that she’d completely zoned into dreamland, I was creeped out. Whatever happened on the TV started happening behind me, it seemed like.

I kept glancing behind me, thinking someone was breathing down my neck. Each time I glanced over at Nicole, feeling stupid for being paranoid and hoping she hadn’t seen me. She hadn’t. She was still sound to sleep.

I finally decided I’d try and go to sleep, but I got more freaked out as the movie played.

I had good reasons too.

I was almost asleep, I was inches from slipping off, when the light from the TV disappeared and the bit of light, making its way through my thin eyelids, went out.

I jerked upwards, making my neck pop from the awkward way I had been laying against the armrest, and I let out a small gasp as I saw a tall figure standing in front of the TV.

I stared at it for a second, trying to decide it if was real or not, in my sleepy state I could imagine and see anything. 

Before I could make up my mind, a laugh sounded through the room.

I let out a sigh of relief and leaned back into the couch.

“What are you doing?” I asked groggily as Niall sat down on the couch between me and a still sleeping Nicole.