STILL | 𝘯. 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯 (book 2) ✔

Chapter 100: Boom, Clap.

[Boom, clap
The sound of my heart
The beat goes on and on and on and on]

      Niall smiled as I looked up at him. "What now?" I chuckled. He shrugged, shaking his head. 

      "Nothing." 

      "Then why do you keep looking at me like that?" 

      "Because you're beautiful." Even after knowing Niall for so long, he still kept the same effect on me, sometimes even more than others. My stomach turned to knots and my hands always got clammy. My heart, most of all, was the most affected. It pounded like if I had run a marathon.

      "Jesus, can you guys do that somewhere else?" Louis joked, rolling his eyes. 

      "We're trying to watch a movie!" Harry complained. 

      "And I'm trying to be a loving boyfriend!" Niall said back in the same tone as Harry. I rolled my eyes with a smile and stood up, going to raid Harry's kitchen while they continued their bickering. I walked over to Harry's pantry, only seeing vegan snacks and foods. 

      "Harold, do you have anything non-vegan?!" I called him. 

      "I bought you Goldfish! They're in the cabinet!" He called back, continuing on with his small, harmless argument with Niall.

      I successfully found the snack that smiles back and grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator. I leaned against the door frame, watching the boys still bicker back and forth. I walked over to where they were and stood in front of them "Shh! I'm watching Nemo!" I scolded and plopped on the floor in front of them. I was entertained by the movie, in that I hadn't noticed the boys change their conversation topic.

      "It's alright, I understand. Why trust a shark, right?" I recited, tossing a goldfish in my mouth and chomping. I snacked on my Goldfish and drank my water, watching the exchange between Dory, Marlin, and Bruce until it came to the pledge. I raised my right hand, catching the attention of the three boys. "I am a shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change to this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food." I put my hand down and continued the mockery of the other two sharks. "Except stinkin' dolphins! Dolphins? Yeah... They think they're so cute. Oh look at me! I'm a flippy little dolphin, let me flip for ya, I know something!" I resumed my previous actions, by watching the movie while snacking. 

      "How many times have you seen this movie?" Louis questions. I shrug, not removing my attention from the TV. 

      "Eh... About six or seven-" I popped another Goldfish into my mouth and continued on with my sentence. "-million times."

      The rest of the night was spent joking around and throwing popcorn at each other. Don't know how, but we ended up having a Nerf war with pots and bowls on our heads for protection, which I ended up winning because I snuck up behind Louis. We ended up staying over at Harry's and having a dance party the next morning. Our night was fun, but it would've been funnier if Liam and Zayn tagged along. But they didn't, which was a little disappointing

A COUPLE WEEKS LATER

      Sitting on the bathroom floor at 3 a.m, emptying your guts out isn't the most appealing thing. And the one night that Niall isn't here, it happens. I didn't worry too much about it, though. I probably just ate something spoiled. After I had finished, I weakly flushed the toilet, closing my eyes trying to regain some energy. I used the toilet seat to help me get up and held the edges of the sink. I looked in the mirror, almost not recognizing myself. I was pale and little hairs stuck to my forehead. I turned on the cold faucet, rinsing my face and grabbing some medicine from the cabinet.