Drowning || niall horan au

seventeen

"When were you planning on telling me you had feelings for me?"

Hannah laid her head on a pillow, but let her legs rest on Niall's thighs. Their conversation had drifted from her past, and they've been at this for about an hour. When things got quiet and the mood had lightened, Niall decided to ask the question that he was most interested to hear the answer to.

His question came out in a joking tone, one that he actually chuckled to himself. It caught her attention since she had been watching the television for a little bit. She gave him a smirk, knowing he was going to ask sooner or later.

"When you helped me with my panic attack," She said, remembering the days that followed and how her heart swelled with adoration for him.

"You didn't even want me to come over." A smile was on his face when he answered.

"You not listening to me was probably the best decision you ever made." Niall didn't speak. Instead, he kept looking at her for her to continue what she meant by that. "I didn't trust you to make me feel better, honestly. It took a lot of convincing from my part to let you in and see me like that. All your gender has ever done was hurt me, and all I kept thinking was, if I show my vulnerability, I'm going to get hurt. And yet again, you came out on top with calming me down and proving yourself you were going to be there for me no matter what. That's what started my liking towards you."

"Keep going." Niall rested his hands behind his head, smiling in a prideful way. "I like where this is going."

"Shut up." Hannah laughed and nudged her foot into his side. "But if you insist, I scheduled an appointment with my therapist the next day. I had to make sure I wasn't going crazy."

That first appointment in a long time was still clear as day in her mind. She remembered how happy she was to see Hannah, glad to see she was continuing her education and making money for herself. Questions about her family came first, and Hannah spilled the beans about Corey making his way back into her life. They planned to save that topic for a rainy day because clearly her thoughts about Niall were bothering her more.

"But, on the days that you were real upset with me..." Niall trailed off.

"Those days were me being defensive and letting my past get to me, or so my therapist said. I told her I was capable of handling myself, and then you made so angry that I lost control. So, those days you didn't hear from me were days I cooled off and talked to my therapist, which was why I always came back to you in a better mood." Hannah confessed, not caring anymore how much she was spilling out of her mouth. Once she started letting the secrets fly, it was like she couldn't stop. The stress weighing down on her shoulders were suddenly gone. The way it felt to practically be free was addicting. "Why do you think I finally answered the phone today?"

"That makes sense." He nodded, turning to Hannah with a small grin on his face. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Everything is not going to be rainbows and sunshine, but it's a great feeling to not hide all that from you anymore." She said with her face turning to an uncertain expression. "There is something else I should tell you, but-"

"But, it can wait." Niall smiled, pulling on her hand so she sat up. His arm wrapped around her neck to pull her close to his side. "Let's be happy for a while, yeah?"

"Oh, I forgot to ask. How's your knee?"

They laughed together, knowing she was taking a jab at Niall's comment over the phone of how she never checked up on him after his surgery. It was quite painful if he didn't take the medication. It was quite annoying since he couldn't move around a lot. But, it was quite relieving now that Hannah was here and well.