Look After You- Niam Horayne

Its Been Hell Not Having You Here- Chapter 27

Niall's POV

I awoke earlier than usual, wincing as a bright ray of sun crept through the crack in my curtains. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and rolled over, burying my face in my pillow. It was a Friday so I felt a pang of relief, but also annoyance. I hadn't spoken to Bentley since the incident, but the fact I had double Biology with him first and then double ART defeated my plans of ignoring him.

I wasn't going to fall out with him forever, I was still mad. I still found his questions unacceptable in all circumstances but I could see why he needed me. I just needed to talk to him, even though I was dreading it. I was never a talkative person, and I figured today I'd be the one speaking quite a lot. I didn't like that thought.

Though it was only half six, I decided to get up and get ready for school. I threw on a pair of dark blue jeans and a white jumper. Then, I tackled my mop hair into a casual quiff, not bothering much with it like Liam did. I packed my bag with my Art work and Science books, then flew downstairs for breakfast. Harvey got up every morning at six to make breakfasts and do some paperwork, so I was allowed down now.

I caught him cluttering around in the kitchen. "Hey, Harvey." I greeted simply, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard.

"Jeez! Niall, you scared me." He chuckled, clutching his heart. "So... You know what Johnny wants, huh? About moving you to Elm Tree? You know that you don't have to leave, you can always fight it. You're old enough to choose where you live."

I didn't answer for a moment. I just opened the fridge and retrieved the milk, pouring it in with the cereal. Then I sat down at my usual chair at the dinner table, popping a spoon of cornflakes in my mouth. I chewed, swallowed, and then murmured, "I'm not a hundred per cent yet."

"Johnny's always been pretty extreme. He just loves Kevin Care Home too much, I guess. He thinks we're gonna fall into real debt and have to shut down. I'm not too worried, because we have Liam. He's perfect for this place. You kids love him, he's so good with you guys. Helped you, didn't he?"

I nodded. Helped me in a lot of ways. Obviously I couldn't explain just how much Liam bought me to life, but Harvey probably had a good idea due to us always being together. He didn't look suspicious, and neither did Johnny. Ed knew I'd always liked Liam even though I'd denied it all before and Darcy knew anyway. Jace and Ella had no clue, the twins were too young to understand.

"I'm driving everyone to school today. Liam has a day off but I'm sure he'll turn up later anyway, and Johnny's in a meeting. Hopefully Darcy won't be attached to her phone speaking to that boy again. Ed does get rather unhappy about that, doesn't he?" Harvey rolled his pale blue eyes.

Ed did get angry about Alex, but I didn't really think much of it. Part of me told me that he still had feelings for her, but maybe it was just because she practically shoved her love life in his face. But, I got mad about Alex, too. He was going to hurt Darcy and even though she was a bitch, nobody deserved to be like Will was. What if he sold her for something awful like being a prostitute? Alex had the power to accomplish that.

I smiled at Harvey, watching as he clumped upstairs and yelled for everyone to get up. When I was left alone, my thoughts traveled back to Bentley. Oh, shit.

***

When I got to school, I saw Quentin leaning against the Science building talking to some girls. So many people were surrounding the buildings, in their own world. But when my eyes met Quentin's dark, narrowed ones, I felt a shiver go through me. His bruise had faded completely now, but mine was still there on my cheek. I watched as his smirked, my hands balled up in fists.

Walk past him. Just walk past him. I turned away and slid past him and his group of girls towards Biology but he grasped my arm, yanking me right towards him. Now we were both glaring at each other in the middle, now about fifteen people around us. Quentin was about half a head taller than me so he had to look down, his smug smile still plastered on his face. His hair was spiked up today, giving him the tougher look.