He's Inevitable || N.H.

T H R E E

Slowly I start to make myself presentable, the headache not even close to subsiding. I willingly put on the daisy printed dress mum had picked out, only because I was so hazed and unable to think that I was literally impaired from the bloody hangover.

"Never again," I mutter to myself as I slip on the outfit.

I turn to look in the mirror and roll my eyes, realizing why she had chosen this particular outfit.

"I believe your Uncle Niall loves seeing you in this dress."

Of course. I restrain myself from ripping off the flimsy, delicate material and going downstairs in my pajamas. How she had found a dress similar to the one I had worn all those years ago had me gritting my teeth in pure anger. Only mum would put in this much effort.

"Ems, are you ready?"

I turn to the door and see her peeking in.

"I guess."

"You look amazing." She fluffs my hair and grabs a tube of lip gloss off of my dresser. She puts it in my hand and smiles at me.

The fact that mum was so obviously excited that Niall was back and here in our home made me wonder, would she be happy about what happened last night? Not the whole snogging a stranger in the loo part, but the fact that Niall and I had... I mean as twisted and ironic as the situation was, the fact of the matter is that we had kissed. It was simultaneously nothing like I had never expect and everything I had ever wanted.

Could she be happy?

Dad, dad would probably murder Niall. Their brotherly relationship would be irrefutably broken.

Because of me.

"Emma, come on!" Mum says snapping me out of my daze. "Here." She hands me a cup of bubbly water and aspirin. The bubbles burn my throat, but almost immediately I feel relief. "Ready?" She asks, looking at me with the most chipper smile on her face.

"As I'll ever be."

–--

"I'm sorry to hear that mate." I hear dad's slow drawl travel down the hallway as I shakily make my way towards the kitchen.

"It's fine, live and learn and all that shit." Niall says, I could almost hear the cocky smirk in his voice. I take a deep breath and will my self to stop shaking.

"Yesterday was a mistake." I whisper to myself. "It never happened."

I walk into the kitchen and stand in the doorway, dad looks up and smiles widely, "Look who's finally up. Good morning baby."

I force a smile and lift my hand in response.

Niall had feigned not knowing my presence, but at the this instant he chooses to acknowledge me. He turns around and loudly says, "Emma!? Wow!" He gets up and walks towards me, so closely that I could smell the cologne on his body. The smell that had penetrated my dreams.

He hugs me tightly to him, and his very touch triggers flashbacks of last night. His hands burned my lower back, his smell was dizzying. I try to push it out, I try to forget.

I look up and will myself to stop, and as soon as I look at dad over Niall's shoulder I could already sense he knew something was rather off. His smile had already turned into a straight line, and as he took a sip from his mug, his eyes kept a steady look upon Niall's hands and where they were placed.

"My princess is all grown up!" Niall says finally letting go and looking at me with an amused, knowing look.

"Yeah...she is." Dad says rolling his eyes, clearly unamused.

"Who told you that you could grow up so quickly?" Niall continues, wrapping an arm around my waist and looking at dad. "I bet you've gotten quite a lot of boys in trouble, haven't you Ems?"

"Why would you say that?" Dad says raising an eyebrow and keeping an eye on Niall's hand.

I remain silent, trying to forget that Niall was still holding onto me. His hand was on the smallest part of my waist, holding on tightly to the delicate material of the daisy printed dress. It burned as it clung to me.

"She so fit, Harry! So beautiful!" He looks at me and somehow manages to pull me closer to him, his cheeky smile growing.

"Alright, enough!" Dad gets up and pulls me towards him, sitting me down across from Niall's seat. "Can we just have a peaceful breakfast?"

"I was just telling the truth." Uncle Niall says sitting down once more.

"Keep it to yourself Niall, that's my daughter." Dad says in a lower voice.

"I know mate, calm down."

"Sorry." Dad says with an uneasy smile.

"Protective as ever."

"Have to be when my daughter grows up so beautiful." Dad says smiling at me.

I roll my eyes and pray the Niall would shut up the rest of the time he was here.

–--

"Bloody hell! Is this Ollie"

"Swear jar!" Mum says with a smile. Ollie looks up at her and then at Niall, who's face automatically turned into a grimace.

"You're kidding, you still do that? Isn't Ems already in college?"

"It's for Ollie's college fund." Mum says taking out the jar and waving it in front of Niall. He shakes his head, pulls out his wallet, and unwilling drops a few bills inside of it.

"This really better be for their college funds. I expect to be thanked when you receive your diploma, Emma. I'm putting you through most of college."

"If you didn't swear so much, you wouldn't have to." I jab.

He looks at me wordlessly with smirk, and I already knew what his look said.

Sarcasm isn't cute anymore Ems.

Ollie looks up at Niall as if trying to remember who he was, but he wouldn't. He was so small when Niall left.

"Hi." Ollie finally says, extending his hand to Niall. Niall ignores Ollie's hand and instead embraces him, running a hand through my little brother's mop of curls.

"You're the spittin image of your father, you know that?"

Ollie smiles excitedly, to him there was no greater compliment than saying he looked like dad. He idolizes dad like you wouldn't imagine.

"Let me show you my drum kit!" Ollie says excitedly, already accepting this once stranger as family. I smile to myself and follow them to Ollie's room.

"Oh." Ollie says looking around his messy room, "I left my sticks downstairs, I'll be right back."

I am left alone in the room with Niall, my heart beating wildly. "Smooth." I say trying to look cool, but obviously failing.

"What?" Niall says.

"The whole thing with dad?"

"Just havin a bit of fun is all, Ems. It's been eight years, I need to piss off your father at least three times a day to make up for lost time."

"You didn't have to lie." I say leaning against the wall by the door.

"About what?" He says stepping closer to me.

I swallow roughly before responding, "Everything." I avoid his stare, willing myself to look away.

"Princess?" He says taking yet another step closer.

"What?"

I look up, only to be met by his piercing blue stare, "I wasn't lying."