The Weekend (Narry)

aon déag

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself, and no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."
'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho

"Will."

"Like the Prince." Harry smiles, and the boy shakes his head.

"No. Like Granda."

"His granddad." Niall explains, even though Harry didn't necessarily need him to.

"Is it your birthday today?" Harry asks Will, the young red head, who he figures is probably Ainsley's son. He nods. "How old are you?"

"Five." He holds up his hand to show Harry five fingers, and Harry grins.

"Whoa, you're so old!"

"No, you're old!" Will whacks Harry's shoulder and Niall laughs from his spot on the floor, playing Go Fish with three little girls.

"I am old, you're right." Harry agrees.

"Are you five?"

"Do you think I'm five?"

"No." Will holds the vowel until he's out of breath.

"I'm twenty seven."

"Little William," a British voice sounds from the doorway, and Will wiggles off of Harry's lap.

"Da!"

"I'm sorry the rain spoiled your campout." Will's dad bends down to Will's level to speak with him. "How about I set up the tent in the basement for you and your mates instead?"

"Do we still get sausage in the morning?"

"Sure."

"Then okay, Da." Will smiles and leaves his dad to rush back toward Harry. "Are you staying for the campout?"

"No, I'm not. I've got to get to Dublin."

"You're going to miss the sausage then." Will seems sad, and Harry smiles to cheer him up.

"Niall and I will get sausage somewhere else, I'm sure."

"I'm not buying you sausage." Niall butts into the conversation, and Harry shakes his head, whispering loudly to Will.

"Don't mind him. He's a spoilsport."

Will laughs and leaves Harry to find someone else to talk to. Harry makes his way to the floor to play Go Fish.

"I'm not a spoilsport." Niall says as Harry sits down crosslegged. "I'm a businessman."

"You're a cheat. I see you looking at Beckah's cards." Harry points to the brunette sitting beside Niall. He watches as she quickly turns her cards away from Niall, and shakes her finger at him.

"No cheatin'."

"M'not." Niall argues with her, and she scoots over further, closer to the little blonde girl who Harry thinks is named Sadie.

"I think you guys should kick the cheater out, what do you say?" Harry conspires with the three girls, and they all nod their heads in a serious way. "Nobody likes a cheater."

"Yeah." They all agree, and Harry sighs, looking at Niall.

"You seem to be out of luck."

Niall sets down his cards, and stands up. "I was losing anyway."

The girls giggle, grabbing his cards and mixing them back into the pile. They continue playing their version of the card game, and Harry stands up.

"We should ask about a ride." Harry says. "It's nearly nine."

"Right." Niall nods. "I think Ainsley is helping set up the tent downstairs."

"Have you talked to any other adult?" Harry asks, rolling his eyes.

Niall raises his eyebrows as a challenge. "Have you?"

"I was sidetracked by the children."

"Hey, lads." A man neither of them have spoken to yet greets them from the dining room. "Name's Derrick."

"Niall."

"Harry."

"Did you two need a ride somewhere? Or did I miss hear ya?" He asks, friendly.

"We do, actually." Harry answers. "Dublin."

Derrick whistles lowly. "That's a long journey."

"How long from here, would you say?"

"Probably about five hours on a good day."

"Is there a bus station nearby? Or a taxi? Or a train?" Niall asks, and Derrick nods, taking a sip of his drink.

"Train station on the other side of town."

"Train station." Harry repeats, then looks at Niall. "Trains are fast."

Niall nods. "Trains are fast."