NIALL’S P.O.V.

I wish I could go back to sleep, but now that my mind is racing again, sleep feels impossible. I feel relieved for a few reasons: Louis is letting me stay with him and Hannah knows about Allie and I. I just couldn’t tell her everything. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about the baby, or the possibility of a baby.

I don’t know what to think anymore, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her after she handled my first confession so well.

I glance down at Hannah’s sleeping figure and grin to myself. I can’t help it because she looks so calm when she’s sleeping. Normally she’s a little on edge, but with her eyes relaxed shut, she just looks beautifully at ease.

She’s been asleep for about an hour now and every once in a while, she nuzzles into my neck
a bit more. My fingers twirl through her hair and I continue to watch her un-worried disposition. I grin to myself and decide that watching her sleep is much more enjoyable than trying to face my newfound issues. Because even though the past few days have stirred up a lot of trouble, they’ve also brought me Hannah and for some reason, that’s the most important thing.

I can’t even make sense of it; I hardly know this girl, yet she’s the first person since I’ve moved to America that I feel a real connection to. Louis and Jessica are great, and I’m glad to have them as well, but Hannah is different. Something about her makes me want to never lose her and I haven’t even got her now. She’s not mine. I need to keep reminding myself of that before I get ahead of myself.

Hannah shifts a little and moves her head back to my chest, slowly opening her eyes. It’s pretty dark in here with the curtains shut, but I can tell her eyes adjust quickly when she smiles up at me sleepily.

“I’m hungry, Hannah.”

I really am. I honestly can’t remember the last time I ate something. I pout pathetically and she giggles, sitting up against her pillows.

“Then, let’s take care of that. I’ll make you breakfast.”

“You’re going to cook? You don’t have a chef or anything?”

I chuckle and she sticks her tongue out at me.

“No, we do not. I’m quite the cook myself.”

“You’ll have to prove it, babe.”

I scoot closer and peck her on the cheek as she giggles.

“Challenge accepted.”

She hops out of bed and walks over to a door in front of her bed, which I would imagine is her bathroom. I throw the covers off and walk over to my backpack, quickly finding a loose pair of joggers and pulling them on. I sit on the couch and look at my phone again. No new notifications. It’s not like I expect Greg to speak to me, but something deep within me hopes he at least acknowledges me. Something.

“Okay, what are you feeling like? Pancakes? Waffles? Bacon?”

I stand up and pocket my phone as Hannah walks out of the bathroom and takes a hoodie off of a nearby chair, slipping it on and zipping it halfway.

“Mmmm, I’ll have whatever you feel like making me, love.”

I approach her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. I place a single kiss on the back of her neck before she turns around to face me. She rests her hands on my bare shoulders and presses her lips to mine, taking my breath away for a moment. Hannah’s tongue slips through my lips and tastes like spearmint. I pull back and run my hands down her back, stopping just above her hips.

“See? This isn’t fair. You brushed your teeth and I still have morning breath.”

She giggles and kisses me one more time, pulling away with a smack.

“Well, you go brush your teeth and I’ll meet you in the kitchen. It’s just at the bottom of the stairs.”

“Alright. See you in a sec.”

She unlocks the door and slips out quickly. I gather my toothbrush from my backpack and walk into the bathroom, leaving the door cracked open. I take a piss and walk over to the sink, rinsing off my face and brushing my teeth. I need to take a shower after we eat. I sincerely wish Hannah and I were at the point where we could shower together, but I really want to stick to our plan. Hannah’s special and she deserves to feel that way.

Once I make it out of her bedroom door, the smell of bacon hits me and my stomach growls in response. I hop down the stairs and Hannah turns as I make it to the bottom.

“I hope you’re really hungry!”

I look at the stove and laugh at the large amount of food she’s preparing for the two of us.

“Extremely. It smells so good.”

I stand behind her and rest my chin on her shoulder, placing my hands on the front of her hips.

“Thank you. We’ve got bacon, eggs scrambled with cheese, pancakes, and some fruit.”

She points to each item as she speaks and I step aside, leaning against the counter and snacking on some grapes nearby.

“Coffee?”

“Wow, you really outdid yourself.”

She hands me a mug and points to a single serve coffee maker to my right.

“I didn’t say I’d make it for you. Creamer’s in the fridge.”


_______


We sit at the large wooden table in Hannah’s kitchen area as I dig in to my second serving.

“Alright, you’ve proven yourself. I want you to cook every meal for me.”

She laughs and takes a sip of her orange juice.

“I’m not your butler. You’ll have to cook for me next.”

“Hope you like cereal.”

She smiles brightly and I shove another forkful of eggs in my mouth as we hear a click of the front door opening.

“Shit. Niall, hide!”

I jump up and run through the nearest door I see. I don’t even know where it’s going to take me, but I can’t think straight. It must be her mum, right? Fuck, I forgot to grab my plate. I hope she doesn’t notice two plates on the table.

I find myself in a dark room, but the outline of large sofas tells me this is the living room. I stand behind the door, up agains the wall, silently listening for a conversation. I hear mumbling and I swear the other voice is deep like a man’s.

“Niall! You can come out, it’s just Joe!”

I let out a sigh of relief and reappeared in the doorway, sort of wishing I had put on a t-shirt upstairs. Joe is standing in the kitchen, making his own cup of coffee. When I join them, he shakes his head and laughs.

“You could have at least been wearing a shirt, man. Charlotte would have flipped if it was her and not me.”

I assume Charlotte is Hannah’s mum.

“Oh, I’m glad you find it humorous! Ya scared the shit out of me.”

“Good! Maybe you two should be more careful. What are you doing here anyway?”

He picks up a piece of fruit from the bowl and leans his back against the cabinet.

“Uh, my brother kicked me out. I didn’t know where else to go.”

He nods a simple sign of apology.

“Well, I wouldn’t make a habit of it if I were you. You’re just lucky she’s out of the house all day.”

Hannah gathers our mostly empty plates from the table and carries them to the sink. I can tell she’s still a bit shaken up.

Before I can say anything else, my phone starts to ring loudly, making me jump before pulling it out frantically. I hope that it’s Greg, but that prospect also terrifies me. My heart settles down and sinks when I see it’s not him.

“Hey, Louis.”

“Hey, man! I can come get you in an hour if you’ll be ready. I’ll show you around town.”

“Uh, alright. Yeah, I just need a shower, but I’ll be ready.”

I watch Hannah’s faint smile slowly fade, but I really can’t turn Louis down when he’s letting me
stay with him.

“Sweet. See you in a bit.”

“Thanks, mate. It means a lot. Bye.”

“When will he be here?”

Hannah finishes rinsing a plate and forces a tight grin.

“Um, in an hour. Do you mind if I use your shower?”

She dries her hands and meets me on the other side of the counter.

“Of course. I’ll go up with you and give you a towel.”

I nod and grab her hand as we walk toward the stairs.

“No funny business, guys! Not while I’m here.”

Joe hollers up the stairs and we both laugh. I really admire Joe. I think he’s a really important part of Hannah’s life, whether he realizes it or not. She really looks up to him and values his opinion and I can tell that he honestly cares about her feelings, not just her social status, like her mother.

Once we make it to Hannah’s room, she releases my hand and walks into the bathroom. I follow her and pull my sweats off, letting them pool at my feet. I step out of them as she stands up from the cabinet under her sink, holding a fresh white towel in her hand. Hannah clears her throat, trying desperately not to look at my underwear. She hands the towel to me and I hang it on the wall. I step inside the tiled shower and look at the silver knobs.

“So, how exactly does this work?”

Hannah walks in and stands next to me, trying to push me aside.

“Uh, let me show you-“

As she speaks, I turn the knob on warm and water rushes straight out of the shower head, onto
Hannah and I both.

Her mouth gapes open and my eyes open wide, worried as to how she’ll react. To my relief, she starts to laugh loudly as the water falls onto her head. I chuckle when she does, glad that she’s laughing and not yelling at me.

“I’m so sorry. That was entirely by accident.”

She slips off her hoodie and tosses it into the corner of the shower.

“Sure it is. I think you just wanted to get me in the shower with you.”

She turns and wraps her arms around my neck.

“Well, that wasn’t the plan, but I’m definitely not complaining now.”

I hook my thumbs into her shorts, resting the palms of my hands on her bum, keeping them on top of the cloth.

“You’re breaking the first rule.”

I scoff and lean in closer, until my mouth is practically on hers.

“Can we forget that rule? I regret making it alre-”

She crashes her lips into mine, not letting me finish my sentence. Her back arches as our kiss becomes more heated, pushing her hips involuntarily into mine. A small moan escapes my lips from the close contact and she breathes heavily through her nose, clutching onto the hair on the back of my head.

I forget about any decency I intended to have and slip my hands into her tight shorts. I claw at her bum, desperately trying to pull her closer to me, even though that’s impossible. Hannah bites on my bottom lip and pulls it toward her as she moves her face away from mine.

“I should probably leave you to it so Lou isn’t waiting.”

I pull my hands away and she steps back, pecking me on the lips once more before leaving the shower completely. I hear her get another towel and I peak my head out as I slip out of my boxers, which are quite tight as my length hardens from her touch. As Hannah dries off and makes her way to the door, I call out after her.

“Does this count as the second date?”

“Sure does!”

She turns and winks at me before disappearing behind a closed door.
I mentally slap myself. I’m rushing this. The point of our deal was to take things slowly and I’m already ready for our five dates to be over. I decide I’m going to have to make the last three good. Not just good, amazing.

Right now, though, I really just feel the need to relieve the stiffness in my lower region and get out of her house before I really screw everything up.

Notes

Hello! Sorry that this is kind of just a filler chapter, but I didn't want to skip around too much. xx
I'm so tired. It's 4 am, so I should probably get some sleep. But, thank you for reading <3 Please comment/rate/subscribe. Love you guys! :* I would say a little something more, but I'm about to fall asleep in my chair haha.


hehe I couldn't resist