Keep Me From Falling Apart [Niall Horan]

Chapter Thirteen

I woke up to the smell of alcohol. It was burning my nose. I remembered Niall smelling of beer the night before, but not like that. Someone had to have had straight vodka somewhere. My eyes were watering from the smell. 

Someone gave a slight snort in their sleep and my eyes shot open. It was still dark, or maybe someone had just closed all the curtains in the apartment. 

The TV was off. I was still on the couch. Along with someone else. I could hear heavy breathing very close, and distantly too. I tried moving my legs and realized someone was laying on them. Someone was actually laying almost all the way on top of me. I let out a frustrated huff of breath. I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t move, but I could still smell the horrible vodka stench, but also something else.

Suddenly, someones arm wrapped around my waist. I tried squirming away, to get off the couch, but their grip tightened on me, and I was also against the back of the couch, I wasn’t doing very much good moving backwards. I turned my head to see if I could see anything in the room and I bumped noses with whoever was holding onto my waist and was half squishing me.

Considering I was squished against whoever’s chest, I was overwhelmed with their smell. But it wasn’t the vodka stench anymore. Honey and woods, also mixed with a little of Corona beer. The legs squishing mine shifted, but didn’t move off of me. Niall was just about squishing the life out of me. He knew he was close to the edge of the couch and scooted closer to me, his body pressing against mine.

I couldn’t very well move without waking him. I made a mental note to thank Harry for telling Niall to come check up on us last night. Now I was being squished by the Irishmen because he wanted to stay and finish watching Paranormal Activity. 

I wondered what time it was. The sun hadn’t come up. I fell asleep about 1 or 2 AM. I guessed around 4 or so. Niall let out a huffy breath in his sleep. His dreams must’ve been annoying him. He then started snoring and I had to resist the urge to smack him, though it would’ve been hard to do considering my arms were practically pinned under him.

I listened closely and I could hear someone else breathing. I wondered if Niall had kicked Nicole off the couch and she was now sleeping in the floor, but then whoever it was gave the same snort/snore and it sounded like something Louis would do.

He must’ve been the source of the vodka. My eyes and nose weren’t burning anymore, now that all I could pretty much smell was Niall. My neck started cramping from the way I had been holding my head up. I hadn’t realized I had been doing it. Normally, I would’ve propped my chin up on my elbow, but my hands weren’t usable at the moment. I finally gave in and dropped my head.

Niall’s face was now even closer to mine. There was absolutely no space between our bodies. I realized I wasn’t even really bothered by that fact. I felt my left arm start to go numb. I was afraid to move, I didn’t want to wake him, but my arm was also aching. I took a deep breath and turned my body a little, pulling my arm out from under him.

Thankfully, he just let out another huffy breath, not snoring anymore, and continued to sleep. I was now almost all the way out from under him, but I was still between him and the back of the couch. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get up anymore. I was still tired and the steady rise and fall of Niall’s chest next to me was comforting. Before I could think on it anymore, now realizing I had moved away from him, Niall’s arm slung back over me.

Does this boys arm have a mind of its own?

Somehow, on this leather couch, I had slid down when I moved out from under him, and my head was now even with Niall’s chest, instead of his face. That being, with his tight grip on me, I was now completely against his chest. My eyelids were getting heavier. Niall started snoring again. I gave in. I yawned and let him pull me closer. I snuggled into his chest and soon fell back asleep, his heart beat echoing in my ears.