Leprechaun (Niall Horan x reader)

She's Not Afraid

Niall's POV

A few hours later (when he goes to meet y/n at the hospital)

I parked the car and made my way to the bright red cross hanging like a glowing burden of death. It reminded me of something almost ironic, but I couldn't quite place it. I looked around the parking lot, expecting to see y/n's car. It wasn't there. Strange. Maybe she's just late. Or her boss kept her too long. Or she has a private parking spot only for family members. Or... I thought about all the different possibilities that would explain the absence of the car. Maybe she was attacked by flying hot dogs. No, that wasn't it.

The nurse at the front desk showed me to Sam's room, although I remembered it's placement from the first time. Walking down those pale corridors gave me a sense of grief. Grief for people I didn't even know. But I did know their pain, and their loss. I had felt these exact things before, and witnessed first hand others go through the same horrible trauma. It was exhausting.

I expected to find y/n already in the room with Sam, but as I entered I realized that was not the case. The room was spotless, as if it were all covered in dust repellent. It looked uninteresting and bland. Poor Sam. If I was in a coma, I would not want to be stuck in this coffin-like room. That's for sure. I thought about maybe decorating. Then I saw these flowers in the corner. They had long since wilted and died, but they stood as the faintest reminder of his family. The flowers had definitely not been updated in weeks, so I took it upon myself to get new ones. Careful not to take too long, I sprinted to the hospital's shop and bought some red roses. y/n's favourite. Maybe they would restore some hope and a feeling of safety for not only Sam, but also his family. I also picked up a few cleaning supplies and bandaids for y/n's cuts.

I felt for them. I wished I could take y/n's pain on myself just to protect her. She used to be so happy and innocent, but just by looking in her eyes, you can tell that excitement and wonder had been lost. She was only a pale shadow of her old self; only still alive for the sake of living. Her only purpose in life was Sam. It was as if she too was in a coma. That same irony I felt minutes ago arrived once more. The feeling of dread surrounded this whole building, and it felt suffocating to be in it.

I saw that it was long past the time we were supposed to meet, and I felt off. Something was wrong. She wouldn't be late otherwise. It was Sam, nothing could keep her away from him unless it was something bad. I hurried to my car and decided to check her work first.

I got there quickly, and went in. I asked the person at the counter if she was still here. The woman didn't know but let me check myself. I headed into the back. I didn't see her but I called out a few times. Once I was sure she wasn't there, I decided to check her house.

It didn't have her car in the driveway, but you can't be too careful. I knocked, worried her mom or dad would open it and send me away because of y/n's anger the last time I saw them. Her mom opened the door. I sucked in my last breath. And y/n's mom...hugged me?

"Niall!! Oh, honey, how are you? We haven't seen you in forever! How's that amazing voice of yours?? Still showing it to the world I hope?" I was so shocked I stood there in silence for a moment.

"Oh, um, thanks. We are still on tour but that's not why I'm here. I need to see y/n. And I'm doing fine, thank you." Her mom rushed me indoors, muttering something about getting a cold in this frightful weather.

"Oh no no, I'm fine Mrs. l/n. I was just wondering if y/n's home, we were supposed to meet at the hospital a while ago. Have you seen her?" She shook her head. My eyes dropped. "Well thank you then. I've got to go now. I need to find her." Y/n's mom looked at me with clear understanding in her eyes, and kissed my cheek goodbye. Blushing, I jumped into my car and started to drive away. Waving goodbye, I subconsciously wondered why she had been so nice. Especially after y/n, her own daughter, had yelled at me the last time I was there. Consciously, I was just worried for y/n, and I started to patrol the town, desperate to find her.

I drove around the town, in search of her. It had been an hour or so, but I hadn't given up. I was about to go home when I heard a familiar voice. I hopped out of my car and walked towards it.

On the other side of the street there were two people sitting on a bench. One I recognized as y/n. The guy beside her moved his hand onto her knee. She moved it away. I walked forward, seeing him touch her again. She removed his arm from her shoulder and I could see the disgust in her eyes. I paused, realizing this was her fight and she could handle it herself. I recognized from his looks that he was her ex. Of course, if I saw she was in danger I could easily knock him out. I almost wanted to.

I focused back on the scene before me. Y/n swung her fist forward, slamming him in the face and knocking him down. The space around his eye was lined with blood, but y/n shook her hand with a look of satisfaction. Her ex got up and ran away before she had a chance to hit him again. Good judgement on his part as she looked ready to murder someone. Preferably him. I approached her slowly, careful not to scare her into punching me as well. But once she noticed me she ran to hug me, apologizing for being late. I told her I understood and we sat down on the bench. Her arms and legs hadn't been treated since she cut them, but she had moved her sleeves down to cover them. I held out the cleaning wipes and helped her disinfect them. She winced but nodded to keep going.

Once I had finished I put small band-aids across the red slashes, and looked her in the eyes. For the rest of the night we sat on that bench, like best friends, and caught each other up on what had been going on in our lives. She loved hearing about the tour and the fans and said she missed it. We talked about everything, including the problem with Sam's hospital needs and the money they needed. It was why she had to work so hard and so much. Then I had a brilliant idea.

"What if the lads and I put on a fundraiser and did a concert?"

"That would be nice Niall" she said, "Who would you donate the money to? Maybe the children's hospital or something like that? Or the BDFA? Or maybe-"

"No, y/n." I laughed at her ignorance. "The money would go towards Sam's bills." She stared at me blankly for too many seconds. Then all of a sudden she was crying and hugging me tighter than she'd ever before. Once she pulled away, I could see light in her eyes again. I had brought some tiny particle of hope and it was just enough to light a sparkle in her once again.

"Thank you so much Niall, I love y- that idea." She coughed and nervously looked away, but in another second she was hugging me again. I could almost feel the energy radiating off of her and it seemed like it was shared with me. Her spark was back, and this time I was determined to keep it that way.

End of chapter

A/N hey y'all I'm already working on the next chapter so stay tuned ;)