The One You Call | horan au

seven

the gif tho

this chapter is long and kinda smutty, i'm sorry.

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Christmas was kind of a bust. I go home the next day with a gap in my heart the size of Texas. Watching my two sisters unwrap expensive jewelry from their husbands was quite painful. After rolling my eyes at the overdone gestures I found myself green with envy as I unwrapped an informative book, from my mother, that is supposed to aid me in the search for 'the perfect man'. She's no longer being subtle, she is full-on attacking me.

I've wrapped up the overpriced watch my father gave me, the same gift he gives me very year, and prepare to give it to Niall. I hope he'll put it to use, but most of all I hope he won't feel weird about me giving it to him.

I knock on Niall's door and wait patiently for him to answer. I hear him clear his throat from the other side as the knob begins to turn.

"Pheobe?" he says. I nod and greet him with a smile. His eyes travel down towards the neatly wrapped gift in my hand before looking back at me.

How do I manage to continue being this nervous every time I see him? I should have gotten over the butterflies months ago. But even now as I watch him clad in the light grey sweatpants that I've seen him wear dozens of times, I still have to remind myself to breathe.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Well." I say. "The holidays aren't over yet."

He steps back a few inches so I can come inside. I set his present on the small table next to the door and I look around the apartment, frowning at the lack of holiday décor. I guess Niall didn't see a point in being festive.

"You want a drink?" he asks, gesturing toward his near empty Budweiser on the coffee table. I nod.

"I don't think I have any whiskey," he chuckles before walking towards the kitchen.

"Bummer." I smile and watch him throw his head back in laughter.

I take a seat on the couch, shrug off my coat, and wait for him to join me.

"I usually manage to keep myself quite busy during the holidays. There's lot's of parties, and requests for DJs during this time of year," he rambles from the kitchen as if he owes me some kind of explanation for him being alone. "But for some reason the phones haven't been ringing."

I simply nod and offer a small 'oh' in response.

Niall comes back into the living room with a beer bottle in each hand. I watch him pop the cap off of his with ease before taking a swig from it. I stare at the unopened bottle in my hand and wonder how I'm going to open it without embarrassing myself.

"Here," Niall says, obviously remembering that I have no clue when it comes to pull off caps.

"Thanks," I say once he's handed it back to me.

After about four or five beers, I must have lost count, I'm near drunk off my ass. I only intended to drink one beer, if that, so I could get myself back home in one piece. But after my second one I had started to put them away like soda. Niall is hitting the sauce hard as well. This is the longest time, in a while, that we've been in each other's presence with our clothes still on.

"Why are you here again?" Niall asks again, reminding me that I hadn't exactly answered him before.

I shrug.

"Did you come here to drink up all my beer?" He chuckles.

"I don't know," I admit looking at the beer bottle that I swear was full just a second ago. "I guess I didn't like the idea of you spending Christmas alone."