Better Than Words

Finally

Sunday comes around and we have to go back to Santa Barbara, unfortunately. We all finish our saddened goodbyes and pile into the car once more.

Since Thursday, I haven't heard much from Niall. I felt bad later that night and apologized for being so snappy, and although he said it was fine, I could tell his feelings were still hurt. I'm half-dreading seeing him this afternoon, because I don't know if he's still upset. I'm also half-looking forward to it though; I really do miss him.

We go to pick up Zayn at the airport and go back to his and Niall's apartment. In the middle of pizza, Niall comes through the door with his bags, looking exhausted. He drops them on the floor and instinctively I get up to greet him. He opens his arms willingly and wraps me in a fierce hug.

"I'm sorry," I say muffled against his chest. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was stressed, and I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"I forgive you. I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to take away from your time with your family--I guess I'm just used to always being near you now and it was hard. This is home for me now, with everyone here and with you, and I didn't like being away." He pulls away so he can kiss me, and I welcome the soft pressure of his lips. I nearly forget that everyone else is around until Zayn clears his throat loudly.

"Come on lad, we're having dinner, can't it wait?" He pretends to be disgusted and makes a face.

"Shut up, Zayn," we say in unison, and Niall steals another quick kiss.

Full of food, worn out from the break, and groaning about having to go back to school tomorrow, we all turn in early. Liam spends the night with the boys and the three of us go back to our dorm. The next day of classes, we are horrified to learn that our professors are hitting the material even harder in order to get everything covered before finals. There are only three weeks left in the quarter: one week of material, then "dead week" to review, and finals right after that. We thought midterms sucked, but it's nothing compared to the stress we're facing now.

Halfway through dead week, I nearly have a mental breakdown. I skip all of my classes, sleep in late, and watch an entire season of Supernatural on Netflix. Niall finds me holed up in my room, wrapped in a blanket with a bag of popcorn at the foot of my bed and three empty cans of Arizona iced tea on the floor. He holds takeout sushi in his hands and turns on the light when he walks in.

"Owwww, turn it off!" I whine, pulling the blankets over my face and falling backwards on the bed. He turns the light off and turns my desk lamp on instead, which is less harsh.

"Better, you creature of the night?" Niall pulls the covers down so he can see my face. "How was your day?"

"Miserable," I pout. "I'm dropping out. I can't handle school anymore."

"You can't drop out, nerd, we're almost done with this quarter." He puts down the sushi and cuddles up next to me. "One more week and we get a break."

"Nope, it's final. I'm dropping out."

"Come on, love. Make it to the end of this week for me?" He looks at me with his big eyes.

"What's at the end of this week?" I ask as I eye him suspiciously.

"You'll see..." he grins devilishly.

"Tell me!" I yell and climb on top of him so he can't move.

"Never!" Niall yells back dramatically and laughs.

"BUT I WANT TO KNOW!!" I start to tickle him and he laughs even louder, throwing his head back and shrinking underneath me.

"Okay, OKAY! ALI I'LL TELL YOU!!" he gasps.