Reason To Be (A Zouis Family AU)

Part Three, Chapter One

Niall's fingers tap against his desk in time with the seconds that drag by, eyes focused on the clock but sort of...staring through it. The hall is otherwise silent, except for the scratching of one girl's pen as she attempts to engrave her name into the wood.

Someone huffs a sigh and Niall glances across, catching his friend's eye so that both of them have to press their lips together in an attempt not to laugh.

Niall fails terribly and the teacher raises an eyebrow at him from the front of the room.

"Care to share what's so funny, Mr Malik?" He asks, and Niall gives half a shrug. The teacher in charge of the room of thirteen to fifteen year old detention-ees just glares straight back at him. "So I suppose you won't mind staying an extra ten minutes?"

Niall jumps at that. "What? Sir, I wasn't even -"

"Quiet!" The man demands, and he sinks down in his seat with a huff, pencil twiddling between his fingers and cheeks burning with everyone's eyes still on him. But then he glances across the room and meets eyes with James again, and his lips twitch. "Another peep out of you and it won't be just a warning."

Niall gives a quick nod at that, trying to straighten out his humoured expression and turning his eyes back to the clock, mind whirring at a million miles an hour again.

He's used to it by now. He's thirteen and his brain never stops. It's here one minute and there the next and he can't even keep up with it so he's stopped bothering. Hence why he's in detention yet again for failure to pay attention in class.

James is here with him for disruption. He'd been standing on the windowsill and pretending to swan dive from it when their third period English teacher had walked in and reprimanded him for it. Niall had thought it was hilarious.

His parents aren't quite on par with what Niall finds funny. It puts a real downer on the whole mood when they constantly lecture him about the number of detentions he's been receiving lately.

Niall's sure they ought to be used to it by now. It's not like he's ever been any different - he's just rubbish at school. He isn't sure why they can't just accept that.

Even Harry, at sixteen and in year twelve, takes it upon himself to lecture him, and he really can't be bothered to deal with it all any more. If anything, the detentions are an escape from home.

Liam's too busy with Emily since the two of them moved into their apartment together to even know half of what goes on in Niall's life anymore.

A pencil clatters to the floor somewhere in the room, and it catches his wandering attention. He smirks when he sees James leaning from his chair to reach for the object rather than getting up and collecting it like anyone else. Then he dramatically tumbles to the ground with a groan before the teacher is standing up.

"James Michaels, what exactly are you doing?" He demands, and James scrambles up from the ground as a scattering of laughs fill the room.

"Sorry sir," he begins, holding up his pencil. "I dropped my pencil."

Niall snorts at that, ducking his head when the teacher turns to glare at him.

"Right. Niall, James. You just earned yourself another ten minutes," the man says, then glances at the clock behind him. "The rest of you are free to go."

Niall stands up as the handful of other students filter out of the room, mouth open.

"Hey! That's unfair, I didn't even do anything!" He argues.

The teacher raises an eyebrow before letting out a deflated sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. "It never is fair when it comes to you two," he mutters before going back to sit at his desk and shaking his head. "Just go, before I change my mind."