#the way my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when i refreshed twitter & saw who won best supporting actress

[cinnamonsikwate]

stephanie hsu and angela bassett i will avenge you

[artificialqueens]

Gigi Has an Intelligence Kink (Crystal x Gigi) - A-tresia

Life gets a little bit more interesting when Crystal fully embraces the fact that Gigi has a thing for her brain.

In the same universe as Slow Hands. But you don’t need to read it to get this.

The first time it happens, Crystal thinks it’s just Gigi rewarding her for a job well done.

Crystal is obsessively refreshing her Twitter feed, waiting for an announcement that the MCAT scores have been released.

Refresh.

Nothing.

Refresh.

Still nothing.

Refresh.

“Crys.”

“Hmm? What?”

Gigi gently takes her phone off her fidgety hands. “Just turn your notifications on, hun,” she says, doing it herself.

“But –“

“I know. It’s been a month and they’re scheduled to release today,” she repeats what Crystal has been telling her for the better part of the day.

“It’s been a month and they’re scheduled to release today,” Crystal sighs.

Gigi pulls her in closer and sets her phone under their pillow. “Now, try to concentrate on this instead,” she suggests, motioning to the laptop where an episode of Gigi’s new favorite TV show has been paused. Crystal nods in agreement, hits the space bar, and snuggles in closer.

It takes another episode and a half for Crystal’s phone to vibrate, making them both sit up quickly. If Gigi’s being completely honest, she’s just as nervous as Crystal. And she didn’t take the damn test. But she makes the conscious effort to be the calm one here. One of them has to. And it surely won’t be Crystal.

Gigi hits the space bar to pause the show while Crystal gets up from bed to pace while she loads her account. She watches Crystal, jaw slack in apparent shock, stare at her phone before she gets up on her knees to take a look herself. The torture is killing her. She pulls on Crystal’s shirt to maneuver her closer to the bed so she can peek to see.

521.

“Is that good?” Gigi asks.

Crystal hands over her phone to Gigi, still in quite a bit of shock.

“Crys, is this a good score?” Gigi asks again before looking through the lines and numbers on the screen.

Crystal points to the bottom of the screen. “I would hope so because a perfect score is a 528 and this score is in the 99th percentile.”

When she realizes what this means, Gigi drops the phone on the bed to jump on Crystal who stumbles backward, barely catching her. “Your brain, it’s amazing. I’m so proud of you,” she says in between dropping loud wet kisses all over Crystal’s smiling face. “It’s enough for your dream school, right? With your GPA?”

“More than enough, I hope,” Crystal says.

“Is Crystal happy?” Gigi brushes a thumb over the apple of Crystal’s cheek.

“Crystal is still in shock but Crystal is very, very happy.” The pride in her voice makes Gigi’s heart swell.

Gigi takes Crystal’s face in her hands to give her a proper kiss on the mouth — slow and wet and full of tongue and obviously leading to something else.

“Okay, med school talk later.” She slowly slides off Crystal, gently planting her feet onto the floor. She walks them back to the bed, pulling Crystal down with her when the back of her knees hit the edge. “I think you deserve a treat,” she says reaching up underneath Crystal’s shirt.

“I’m not a dog, Gee,” Crystal laughs.

“Shut up, don’t ruin the moment.”

The next time it happens, Crystal thinks it’s just Gigi being her usual clingy self.

She’s on the floor, as usual, three videos deep into her cadaver dissection videos, her anatomy atlas splayed open on her lap, and drowning in paper and pens and colored pencils. She’s struggling to draw and take notes and memorize all at the same time. Maybe, she thinks, she’s bitten off more than she could chew.

Crystal’s muttering anatomic structures under her breath when she hears Gigi whine her name from behind her. If she wasn’t busy, she’d drop everything she was doing to attend to that very needy whine. But she’s too busy, too tired to even think about doing anything other than studying. She doesn’t even have time to sleep. So she ignores it.

“Crystal,” Gigi calls out again. It’s longer. And breathier. And needier.

Crystal turns to look at Gigi, comfortably nestled on the other end of the couch, making grabby hands at her.

“Sorry, babe,” she says before turning back to her work. Her tone is regretful. The smile on her face is tired. But the feeling at the pit of her stomach is telling her to just go for it. It’s Gigi. And she can’t ever say no to Gigi.

“I don’t want to have to deal with things on my own,” Gigi huffs.

“You know what to do with your hands.” She continues this conversation without looking up from her drawings.

Honestly, she doesn’t know why Gigi is even here in the first place. She knows it’s a busy night. She could be home catching up on sleep or hanging out with her friends. But she’s here. Doing what?

“Crystal.”

“Can I make it up to you tomorrow? Please?” She really doesn’t have the patience for this right now. She looks at the time on her phone, it reads 11:27 PM. “Look, I have less than 12 hours until this test and then I promise I’m all yours. I’ll come straight home after. I don’t mind if you do it right there on the couch if you really have to.” Gigi pouts at her so she reaches for Gigi’s hand to kiss her fingers. “Sorry, really. I am.”

She turns back to her notes before Gigi can make a face that she can’t resist. Suddenly, the dwindling time until her test gives her tunnel vision. Nothing else occupies her mind but this, Gigi’s whining is long forgotten.

Crystal doesn’t know what she expects Gigi to do while she studies. Scroll through her socials? Watch a movie? Online shop?

She doesn’t know what to expect.

But she didn’t think it would be this.

Not Crystal being pulled out of focus by the sound of Gigi’s moaning.

And that moan sounds like she just finished.

Crystal slowly turns her head towards Gigi, looking at her with narrowed eyes in disbelief. When she said she didn’t mind, she didn’t think Gigi would actually do it. “Gigi motherfucking Goode, did you just –“

Gigi looks at her smugly, raises a brow at her as she wipes her fingers on her shorts. “Yes. Yes, I did. You said you didn’t mind.”

“Really, Gee? Did the cadaver video do it for you?”

Gigi scrunches her nose at Crystal. “No, that’s gross. It was you studying and being smart.”

“What?” Crystal chuckles.

“It’s hot, okay? You’re hot. It makes me feel things.”

“What?”

“When you’re being your normal smart self – it’s a turn on, okay?”

“What?”

“Shut up!”

It happens again on Gigi’s birthday and Crystal thinks Gigi is losing her mind when she directs Crystal’s hands to her pussy and asks to be fingered while telling her about the cardiac cycle she was studying earlier today. Crystal thinks this request could have quickly pulled her out of the mood but oddly enough – with her whispering in Gigi’s ear, with her fingers inside Gigi, and with Gigi writhing and moaning and babbling against her – she finds that it makes her feel things too.

Life gets a little bit more interesting when Crystal fully embraces the fact that Gigi has a thing for her brain. Once in a while, when they’re bored of just moaning and groaning and panting their way through having sex, Crystal would look at Gigi – hair fanned out on the pillow, red in the face, chest heaving and sweaty – and lean closer to her ear and indulge Gigi in her ridiculous idea of dirty talk. She’d count the number of ATPs produced in the citric acid cycle, explain to her the mechanisms of action of cephalosporins, run down the cardinal movements of labor, practice on her techniques for a thorough physical examination.

When she passes major exams. When she aces her boards. When she graduates medical school with high honors. When she gets accepted to the surgical residency program of her dreams. Gigi is there – willing and ready and able to reward her, generously, for a job well done. Going as far as buying a new strap, saved and used only for occasions like these.

Crystal is in the middle of her orthopedic surgery residency training and there’s barely any time left for alone time. So Gigi takes what she can get. Even if it’s just a night out for drinks at the bar a couple of blocks away from the hospital with Crystal’s other doctor friends.

She listens to Crystal and her friends (Jackie, a urology resident, and Widow, an anesthesiology resident) exchange stories from their day in the operating room. Gigi is perfectly fine absorbing the excited energy they all seem to have; perfectly fine holding Crystal’s hand under the table; perfectly fine being close. She doesn’t mind that they go into graphic detail; doesn’t mind that they use medical jargon; doesn’t mind that they seem to have forgotten that they have a non-medical person in the group; doesn’t mind that all she is there is present.

When Jackie and Widow get up to get the next round of drinks, Gigi slips a hand up and in between Crystal’s thighs. Crystal catches her wrist before she can go further. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just playing,” she shrugs.

“I know. I meant, why?”

Gigi shrugs again. “You know shoptalk gets to me.”

Crystal knows but she still raises a brow at her. “That wasn’t too graphic for you?”

Instead of answering, Gigi takes Crystal’s hand and positions it underneath her skirt, letting Crystal trail her fingers upward, toward the seam of her underwear. Crystal’s fingers brush over a particularly damp spot. “Already?” Gigi nods like it’s nothing out of the ordinary. And Crystal thinks it really isn’t, at least for Gigi.

“I bet you are too.” And Gigi’s right; she’s always right.

Crystal looks up to see her friends walking back to the table so she signals that they’re going to the toilet. Jackie nods at her so she pulls Gigi up onto her feet and towards the back. It’s a one-person toilet and Crystal wants to thank all the gods looking down at her that it’s empty.

The door is barely locked when Gigi pushes Crystal against the wall and connects their lips and bodies together in a movement that’s demanding and hungry and contagious – hands tangling in hair, lips and tongues desperate to connect with the other, bodies arching and pressing.

“Listening to a story about me pounding at metal and bones got you this hot?” Crystal asks when she pulls away for a breath.

“I want you to pound me instead,” Gigi says, latching her lips onto Crystal’s neck and worming her hand into Crystal’s pants. Crystal moans and drops her head onto Gigi’s shoulder when she feels Gigi slip a finger into her. “But you can do that later.”

Gigi’s thankful Crystal isn’t wearing jeans; her slacks are loose enough for her hand to move freely. She slips another finger in and angles her hand so Crystal can grind against the heel of her palm while she pumps in. And out.

And in.

And out.

Faster.

And harder.

She nips at Crystal’s earlobe. “I expect a good pounding at home.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Crystal pants, head now resting against the wall, eyes now glazed over, breath now ragged, hips now following the pace that Gigi has set – slow enough that it builds, fast enough that it’s not frustrating.

Gigi concentrates on pumping and rubbing and kissing and licking and biting and making Crystal hum and moan and whimper. She feels Crystal’s body tense against her, feels Crystal getting wetter, feels her fingers slipping easier. Her muscles are strained but she speeds up the movement of her hand and Crystal speeds up the movement of her hips against Gigi’s palm.

“That’s it,” Gigi encourages as Crystal squeezes her closer and tighter, gasping and shaking as she comes. Gigi keeps a slower, gentler pace, shifting so she can rub her thumb against Crystal’s clit to drag out her orgasm.

She pulls Crystal in for a languid kiss as she waits for Crystal to stop trembling. When she does – it takes a little longer than a moment – Gigi pulls her hand out of Crystal’s pants and holds it up. Her hand is glistening in the low light, covered in Crystal’s slick. Crystal looks up in time to see Gigi lick her fingers, sucking them into her mouth with a sound so needy, Crystal is sure she needs to take care of it. Right now.

“Home time?” Gigi suggests as she straightens up Crystal’s pants.

Crystal manages to shake the clouds away. “There’ll be more later but I think I can get one out of you now,” she says, turning Gigi towards the sink and bending her over with a hand between her shoulder blades. Crystal leans over her to keep her bent, makes sure she’s braced herself on the sink, and slides a hand down the length of Gigi’s back to the curve of her ass, slowly lifting her skirt to expose her now soaking panties. “Missed you this week,” she says, dropping a kiss on Gigi’s jaw while she lets her fingers slip underneath the wet fabric.

Gigi wants to say she missed her too; wants to say she’s happy to have her at home for the next two days; wants to say they should just leave their friends so they can continue this at home. But Crystal is already on her knees behind her, not caring if the floor is dirty; already moving her underwear aside – one Gigi isn’t sure why she even wore in the first place; already burying her face into the heat between Gigi’s legs.

She puts both hands on Gigi’s ass to grope and fondle and squeeze and spread while she licks and nips and sucks at her folds. She feels Gigi squirm; arching and pressing back into her mouth, encouraging her to do a little more. A lot more. All of this is exciting and overwhelming and extremely naughty – a far cry from the white coat wearing, scalpel yielding, professional front Crystal puts on just two blocks away.

Crystal keeps her mouth on her clit as she presses two fingers into Gigi and lets her control the pace, lets her rock back and forth to chase her own pleasure. She feels Gigi contract around her fingers and she thinks it’s time to change things up.

Yes, Crystal thinks to herself, the bathroom of a bar you’re a regular at is the best place to change things up.

She licks long and hard from her clit to her hole, around her fingers, up her perineum, and over her asshole – something she thinks Gigi doesn’t know that she knows Gigi secretly likes. Crystal feels her freeze for a split second before reaching behind her to grab Crystal’s head to keep her in place.

“Fuck, Crystal,” she pants.

Gigi’s rhythmic movement is now jerkier and erratic and Crystal knows she’s close. Very close. Crystal continues to lick and pump and rub while Gigi continues to moan and rock and chase. She hangs her head between her arms and whines and pants and shakes as she comes.

Crystal gets up and leans over Gigi’s body, fingers still pumping inside – prolonging and intensifying. She’s wrapping her free arm around Gigi’s torso, nuzzling her nose into her hair to kiss the back of her neck when she feels her mewl and tremble and shudder into another one – unexpected but highly welcome.

“Love you,” she whispers into her ear.

Gigi turns her head to Crystal – her eyes are glassy, her forehead is sweaty, her cheeks are flushed. “Love you too,” she whispers back before catching her lips for a kiss.

They take their time straightening up; not worried about a line possibly forming outside, not worried that they’ve been gone from their friends for too long.

When they make their way back to the table, she sees Widow look at them with a knowing smirk. And Crystal can’t find it in herself to make up an excuse – there’s no excuse for being gone that long and they’re all adults here anyway. So they gather their things, say their goodbyes and see you laters, and rush home to give Gigi what she promised.

When Crystal graduates from residency, of course, she bags the outstanding resident award and the best scientific paper. All on top of being chief resident in her final year. Because of course, Crystal doesn’t do anything half-assed. Gigi decides, when they’re both stripped off their gowns and heels from Crystal’s hospital graduation dinner, that it’s an important enough occasion to use their special toy – there’s really nothing special or different about that strap; Gigi just uses it particularly on days when she wants to celebrate Crystal. It’s Gigi’s turn to prove that nothing in this house is done half-assed.

Gigi gives Crystal one final lick before trailing up her torso with wet open-mouthed kisses, lingering momentarily on her breasts, taking a nipple in her mouth – licking and biting and sucking. She drops herself onto Crystal’s side, hooking her legs over Crystal’s, and kisses her way up her neck, across her jaw, skipping her lips, and bumps their noses together, “Congratulations, baby.”

Crystal reaches up to cup her cheek and pulls her in for a kiss, tasting herself on Gigi’s lips. “You know I couldn’t have done all of this without you, right?”

“Nope, all you,” she says, nuzzling her cheek against Crystal’s palm before taking Crystal’s hand in hers and kissing the rings on Crystal’s finger – the rings she only usually wears around her neck when she’s at work are now on her left ring finger, where they’re supposed to be. “This is all you. I was just there. I’m just here.”

Gigi gets up to step into the leather harness – fastening the straps and adjusting the cock, all while watching Crystal rub at her clit, flicking back and forth lazily. There’s a satisfied smile on Crystal’s face that Gigi wants to keep there forever. She leans over Crystal, peppering her face with kisses, whispering how immensely proud she is of her, how she loves her dearly, how lucky she is to have her. She braces her arms on the bed, resting the length of the cock against Crystal’s wetness, just content with being skin to skin.

“What’s taking so long?” Crystal whines, breaking the little tender bubble Gigi created.

Gigi chuckles at Crystal’s impatience and decides, yes, okay, tonight is about her. She sits back on her heels and realigns her cock, settling the tip at Crystal’s entrance. With steady pressure, she presses inside; one hand guiding the dildo, the other stroking gently over Crystal’s clit. She stretches over Crystal, letting her weight rest on her when she’s buried deep inside. She pulls back a little and gently slides back in, hooking Crystal’s leg over her hip as she goes. Gigi keeps a slow rhythmic pace, hoping to stretch this out the whole evening.

Sure, the slow thrusts are good. Satisfying, even. But Crystal knows she could take more. And she knows Gigi could give more.

So.

Much.

More.

“This feels lovely and all but I need you to fuck me.”

Gigi thinks for a beat and reminds herself again that what Crystal wants, Crystal gets. At least tonight.

And Crystal will get all her favorite things.

“Up,” she instructs as she pulls out.

“What?” Crystal is confused at the sudden emptiness.

She pulls Crystal up from the bed and pushes her on her knees on the floor. Understanding dawns on Crystal’s face as Gigi steps forward, gripping the base of the cock – still wet with Crystal’s slick, guiding it towards Crystal’s mouth.

“I want to see you take it all.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Crystal murmurs, her eyes locked onto Gigi’s as she takes the dildo inside her mouth, slowly working her tongue along its length. Gigi groans at the sight of Crystal taking a silicone cock all the way to the back of her throat without gagging. She remembers asking Crystal why she likes doing that. All she got was a vague answer about liking the force. Whatever that means.

Crystal makes a show of licking and sucking and deep-throating. The way the harness rubs against her is not enough to tip her over the edge but it’s there and looking at Crystal taking it all oddly makes Gigi feel like this appendage is hers.

Gigi groans a she watches Cyrstal swallow the full length of her cock. “God, baby. That’s so fucking hot.” Crystal responds by making sure she’s tugging at the base harder so whatever part of it that’s brushing against Gigi is hitting her right. She grits her teeth and buries her hands into Crystal’s hair as Crystal slips a thumb beneath the harness to press on Gigi’s swollen clit.

“You’re going to make me come,” Gigi breathes out.

And she does.

Her body really doesn’t give her a choice.

When Crystal presses particularly hard on her clit, her thighs tremble and she thrusts forward and tightens her grip on Crystal’s hair.

And Crystal is quick to grab onto Gigi’s ass, clutching and pulling, keeping her there – nose pressed against Gigi’s pubic bone – as she rides it out.

Gigi pulls back quickly, aware that she’s cutting off Crystal’s air supply. She looks down to see Crystal reluctantly let go of her cock with an exaggerated slurp, looking up at Gigi with needy eyes and pouty lips, blinking away involuntary tears.

She helps Crystal to her feet and kisses her senseless, not minding that saliva has dribbled down Crystal’s chin.  Crystal grips Gigi’s side for balance as Gigi walks her backward against a wall.

Crystal is startled out of her daze when Gigi grips her waist and turns her around, effectively disconnecting their lips and pushing her flat against the wall. She looks over her shoulder to see Gigi squat, suddenly she’s very aware of the very aroused state of her pussy.

“Always so wet for me,” Gigi says, running a finger over Crystal’s lips. Crystal bites on her lower lip as she resists the urge to quote WAP lyrics and for good reason – Gigi hates that song. She, on the other hand, secretly loves it – the OR nurses may or may not have caught her attempting to do the dance in the dressing room.

Gigi spreads her lips apart, a moan stuck in her throat when a string of clear juice dribbles down her finger and onto the floor.

“Crystal, you fucking just dripped on the floor. Jesus fucking – “

Crystal shakes her ass in Gigi’s face. “Please, fuck me. Please.”

And Gigi gives her what she wants. Gigi gets up and slides the full length of her cock easily inside Crystal in one quick fluid motion. She’s rewarded with a deep moan and expletives begging for more.

Crystal’s pussy clamps down on the dildo when Gigi moves to give her a short quick thrust. “Yes, more, like that.” She isn’t sure where this savage need to fuck Crystal like this is coming from but she decides to embrace it. So she grips Crystal’s hips tighter and slams hard repeatedly, making them both grunt. She would have been worried that she’s being too rough if Crystal hadn’t instantly pushed back against her with a very enthusiastic, “Fuck, yes!”

It’s a pace they’re both surprised they both can keep up with. And they’re both determined to keep going. The jumbled words and incomprehensible sounds coming from Crystal’s mouth spurs Gigi on – orgasm after orgasm stealing her words from her.

Gigi is getting frustrated trying to chase an orgasm of her own. With a yelp from Crystal, she pulls completely away and flips Crystal around so her back is against the wall. She hikes a leg up, hooking it over Gigi’s hip. Crystal reaches between them to guide the cock back into her pussy and encourages Gigi to keep on pounding into her. She coos in Gigi’s ear, her hands groping Gigi’s breasts, her lips busy kissing Gigi’s face and neck. Soon, their sounds turn into whimpers and pants and sharp moans as they both race towards another orgasm.

Gigi gropes Crystal’s ass hard and leans to bury her face in Crystal’s neck as a strangled moan works its way from her throat. She thrusts one last hard thrust up into Crystal before she comes. Hard. Leaving them both trembling against the wall.

Gigi shifts to help Crystal regain solid footing, letting the cock slip wetly out of her, scattering kisses over her neck and shoulders.

“God damn,” Crystal breathes out.

“That was intense,” Gigi muses, holding on to Crystal tightly, still leaning themselves against the wall.

Crystal with her vision still cloudy and marked by black spots, pushes herself upright and pushes Gigi back into bed, and crawls over her. “No more for me,” she says trailing a series of wet kisses down Gigi’s body. “Your turn now.”

Crystal takes her time – So. Much. Time. – to let Gigi know how she’s wrong. How she wasn’t just there. How she isn’t just here. How the past almost ten years with school and training was because of her, for her, and with her.

[niallismymuse]

Prologue

story page | part i

          The sea stretched out from the docks, blue and glinting with golden rays from the sun. The wind rustled through Niall’s hair, and he shivering from its cool touch. With a deep exhale, Niall stepped onto the dock, flip flops slapping against the wood as he marched over to the boat he would be staying in for two days. This was what he needed, he decided. A fun little mini vacation with his mates to get his mind off of things, and his heart healing.

           “Oy, Niall!” Louis cheered and Niall glanced up, squinting slightly from the bright sun. Louis waved energetically from the top deck of the boat – more like a mini cruise ship, really – and pointed to Niall’s right. “Your room is the last one on the right!”

           “Thanks, mate,” Niall called back up, shifting the duffel on his shoulder. Bracing his hand against the rail of the boat, Niall stepped cautiously from the dock to the aisle, eyeing the crack between the two spaces warily. He didn’t like the idea of falling in, although the water looked very beautiful, a clear blue. But who would want to go swimming near the docks? There were all sorts of unsavory things down in the water there. And pelicans. Niall shivered at the thought of those birds, and gave a cursory glance around for them. Luck was on his side. No pelicans were nearby.

           Once on the boat, Niall followed Louis’s directions to his room. The door was on the outer walkway, facing the water. Niall opened the door and carefully walked down the steps into his sunken cabin, flicking on a switch to illuminate the room better. It wasn’t the biggest room, but it was more than satisfactory in Niall’s opinion. A single bed was pushed against the wall, just room enough for him to stretch out on it. There was a dresser shoved against the opposite wall, and a small table sat nearby it with two chairs. There was plenty of empty space in the middle of the room.

           Deciding to unpack later, Niall set his duffel bag on the floor and headed out of his room and up the nearby set of stairs that led to the top deck of the boat, where he had seen Louis earlier. All of the others were already up there, and Niall waved cheerfully, excited to see his best friends. He hadn’t seen them in a few weeks; they had just gotten off tour and finished their newest album, so they all had taken some time for themselves and with their families. Really, that was what had gotten Niall into this mess in the first place.

           “Hello, everyone,” Niall greeted as he walked over, sitting down on a patio chair that was open. Harry, Zayn, Louis and Liam looked back at him with varying degrees of concern on their faces. After all, it wasn’t every day that a man got his heart broken.

           “’Lo, Niall, nice to see you again buddy,” Harry leaned over for a brief hug and clap on the back. The others chimed in with their greetings, and Niall settled back into the chair as Zayn handed him a cold beer. Niall popped the tab and took a long, deep sip, pulling back with a content “ah” coming from his lips.

           “Mission help Ni feel better is officially starting,” Louis stated, edged smirk glinting across his face. Out of everyone, Louis knew the most about his situation, and could probably still see the hurt in Niall’s eyes, see it written along his posture. Louis knew the whole story.

           “Thanks, guys,” Niall muttered before taking another sip. “Means a lot to me. I know it’s a lot to ask between tours and the new album coming out.”

           The guys waved off Niall’s words, and within half an hour, the five-some were all talking and laughing once again, like they had just gotten together to be together, like they weren’t trying to distract Niall from some of the worst emotional pain he had ever felt. Beers were drunk, some cigarettes were smoked, and before too long, the captain had appeared and the boat had set off into the wide open sea. Niall felt refreshed; the sea breeze ruffling his hair, the salty air coursing through his lungs, the bright light of the sun. Everything so different from how he had spent the last seventy two hours.

           The jokes and bants continued during dinner. Liam had hired some fancy chef to come aboard, and while Niall would have been content with a sandwich, dinner was fucking delicious. He scarfed down everything on his plate, and then his seconds and thirds. He was practically a bottomless pit, and when Niall leaned back into his seat, he could have sworn his belly was rounder than it had been before.

Soon, the other boys drifted off to their own respective rooms. Louis stayed, to show Niall where the bathroom was in the confusing layout of the boat. It was really quite large. Having money had its perks, Niall supposed. After the initial tour, Louis led Niall out to the bow of the boat. The sun had already set, and the moon was casting a silver sheen across the almost-black water. He could see all of the stars in the sky, silver pinpricks set against a pure black backdrop.

“Have you…heard from her?” Louis tentatively asked, voice soft amongst the spray of the ocean. Niall winced. He knew this was coming. All throughout the day, he had been able to mostly ignore the constant stabbing ache in his chest, but now that it was being addressed directly, the pain came back in full force. He actually had to take in a breath from it hitting him.

“No,” Niall breathed out, hands gripping the railing tight enough that his knuckles turned white. “No…not since…well, you know.” He added, staring down into the endless depths. There was a deep agony within him, painful enough that he almost wanted to dive off the ship and into that water, sink to the bottom, never to emerge. It would take away all of his pain.

Almost like he sensed his friend’s thoughts, Louis reached over and wrapped an arm around his shoulder and tugged Niall closer in a total dad moment. Louis clapped his shoulder gently, and stared out at the water. “She’s the one missing out on you, mate. She would have been lucky to have you. Anyone would be. And someday…you’ll love someone even more than you loved her. And they’ll love you, too. Alright, mate?” Louis smiled kindly and Niall forced a smile back at him, although he was so permeated with sadness that he didn’t know how he managed it.

So this was what heartbreak felt like.

Niall had never imagined that he would ever get his heart broken. He was Niall Horan, in One Direction. Things like this just didn’t happen to guys like him. They just didn’t. He was supposed to get the girl, and live happily ever after, writing music with his best friends and coming home to the love of his life every night. But apparently, he was the exception to his own plan.

And he knew Louis was right. Someday, he would have that. Just not right now. But damn, it hurt like hell to even breathe. It was like his heart was being squeezed tighter and tighter with every breath he took, while simultaneously being stabbed multiple times. Niall hated to admit it, but he had tears burning in his eyes often now, and it was everything he could do now to choke sobs back.

Louis patted his back once again. “It’s okay to cry,” Louis whispered softly. Niall barely heard him, so focused he was on not crying. He didn’t want to cry, no matter who said it was okay. Not again. He had basically cried the entire flight over, and he wouldn’t be surprised if pictures of him crying wound up on Twitter tomorrow. He was done with tears.

As Niall and Louis watched, the boat’s engine stilled and shut off completely. The captain appeared on the deck nearby and dropped the large anchor. Niall studied the chain as it fell through the eons of water beneath them. Eventually, it hit bottom and caught, and the boat drifted only as far as its reach would go.

“Might be a storm tonight, lads,” the captain announced gruffly, scratching at the thick white beard that coated his chin and neck, eyeing the surrounding waters. “Stay in your rooms. Nasty night.” And with that, he strode back off to his own cabin, leaving Niall feeling mildly alarmed.

“Should we go back to port?” Niall asked, concern raising his voice.

Louis lifted a shoulder, looking decidedly unworried. “’M sure if the captain thought it would be that bad, we’d be heading in already. Go get some sleep, mate. Looks like you need it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Niall grunted, “my stomach’s starting to hurt anyway.” The stomachache had come upon him with no warning, but it did distract him from his heart, so it was almost welcome. Niall said goodnight to Louis, and they parted, heading to their own rooms.

Niall changed into a fresh pair of boxers before crawling into bed. The cool sheets felt soothing against his hot, clammy skin. Niall tossed and turned for a while, muttering and cursing under his breath. His stomach was on fire, and he didn’t know why. He had the rottenest luck, honestly.

Suddenly, Niall felt the urge to throw up. And Niall did not want to do that in his nice, tidy room, all over the brown carpet. Groaning under his breath, Niall pushed himself out of bed, stumbling across the floor, and opened up his door and hurrying outside to where the bathrooms were. Maybe the fresh air would help.

Niall was blasted with a wind gust so hard he nearly keeled over. The storm. In an instant, he was soaked, hard needles of rain coming down upon him in a fury. He slipped along the wet deck, reaching instantly for the metal railing that separated him from the water. A harsh crack of lightning briefly illuminated the frothing, seething waves; they were huge, tossing the boat around like a toy, which did not help Niall’s stomach.

He tried to stumble back to his cabin, even if it meant puking all over the floor, but then it happened. The wind caught him the wrong way, his bare feet slipped against the slick ground, and he was falling. Falling into the cold, harsh waters below.

When Niall hit the water, all he could feel at first was the sensation of being so cold that it hurt. The breath in his lungs left him with a gasp of bubbles, and Niall screamed out into the water, even as it tossed and turned and threw him around. He sucked in water, and choked, but there was no air, and he was drowning, and he couldn’t see where the surface was, or even tell what up was anymore –

The edges of his vision started to turn black as Niall weakly paddled, trying to find up. And, god, he was hallucinating, dying, because he heard something, a song, and absolutely beautiful, soothing, but down in the ocean. It was a song of healing, from a woman he couldn’t see, maybe an angel? He didn’t know, but he suddenly figured, hey, maybe it wouldn’t be bad to die listening to this.

That was when he saw her. A soft face, lips parted like she was in the middle of screaming, a pale, slender hand reaching for him. Brown hair floating all around her face, flipping with the churning water. How was she swimming in this water? How had she gotten there? There hadn’t been any other boats nearby when he had gone to bed. Could she save him?

Niall’s eyes closed, even as he fought to keep them open. He didn’t want to die.

“I’ve got you…”

Everything went black.