Imagine [UNEDITED, ON HOLD]

Chapter 9: Niall

I sat there for a long time, my knees tucked up, shoulders parallel to Jade's. She'd gently laid her head on me, her hair burrowed into my neck. I had a strong urge to cry.
It reminded me too much of her childhood.
I could feel Leigh-Anne and Perrie watching us, but pretending they weren't. Jade still smelled like alcohol, and I knew she'd have a killer hangover.
I felt her head increase it's weight a bit, and realised that Jade had fallen asleep. I smiled softly and kissed the top of her head, her blue locks soft and freshly dyed.
I shifted my body so I was able to pick her up, my hands sliding under her knees, carrying her bridal style. I deposited her into her room. She stayed asleep. I tiptoed back out to the living room. "Er, if one of ya wants t' change her clothes or somethin'," I said, "now would be a good time."
"I'll go," Perrie said.
I sat next to Leigh-Anne and put my head in my hands. It felt good for Jade to want me again, to need me, but I wondered how long it would last. She was drunk, but when she was sober? Then what?
"So...Jade has a boyfriend?" I asked nonchalantly.
Leigh-Anne smirked. "Yeah. Sam Craske. He's a dancer from the group Diversity."
I wrinkled my nose. I didn't like him. "Ugh."
"Oh, Niall. Come on. He's not bad," she said. "He's good to Jade."
"Yeah, duh, 'cos if he isn't, I'll go beat the crap out of him," I muttered.
"What, jealous?"
"No way," I said. "Jade's just a friend."
"Yeah, about your friendship, how'd you two meet?" Leigh-Anne got up and went over to put the kettle on.
"I moved to South Shields for a bit. Then I moved back to Ireland," I said, sticking with the same story I'd told the boys.
"How d'you know so much about her?" she asked.
"Um...I don't know," I said honestly. It was a miracle I remembered half the stuff of learned.
"Tea?"
"Sure."
"She's still sleeping," Perrie told us as she returned. "I bet she'll be sleeping a while."
"Was it bad? You know, her teenage years?" Leigh-Anne asked hesitantly.
"Yeah. Yeah, it was," I said. I rubbed the side of my head as she set a cup of hot water in front of me, plopping a tea bag into it. "She was really unhappy. Really really unhappy."
"Well, to be honest, it looks like she's still unhappy," Leigh-Anne said quietly. She set a dish in front of me, and I fished the tea bag out and into the bowl. I stirred in a bit of sugar and cream.
"She's got a good relationship with her mum now, though. What changed?" Perrie asked. She put out a plate of biscuits and cookies.
"Her mum was able to quit her jobs, spent more time at home with Jade, ya know. I guess Jade realised how much her mum cared, and her mum realised how much Jade cared," I said. I shrugged a bit. "She's spent the last years fixing everything with Karl as well."
"What changed there?"
"Leoni and Karl," I said. "Jade always wanted to be an aunt. Said it was better than bein' a mum 'cos she could be the one to give them all sweets and take them to the shops and let Karl be the one to tell them off."
"Sounds like Jade," Leigh-Anne said with a laugh.
"I do wish Jade had told us all this before," Perrie said.
"Well, you see how it is. One thing reminds her and then comes the drinking which surfaces more memories which means more drinking," I said. "I don't blame her."
There was s long silence in which all three of us were lost in thought of different things. It was broken by the muffled sound of crying and screaming. I jumped up and sprinted to Jade's room, catching her in a nightmare.
I climbed into bed with her and gently shook her. "Jade...Jade wake up."
Her eyes snapped open. Her breathing started regulating as I hugged her, playing with her hair. I started singing softly.
"When you try your best, but you don't succeed. When you get what you want, but not what you need. When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep. Stuck in reverse...if you never try you'll never know just what you're worth...and I will try to fix you."
"Niall?" she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me."
There was a long silence, our energy buzzing around the dark room. Then, she hesitantly asked, "Will you stay?"
"Of course."

A text awoke me the next morning. I blinked my eyes open, the sun blocked my Jade's pull down blinds.
I checked my phone.

New message!
From: Louis Tom
hey where are you?
we really gotta go man
recording today???