Present day
Kaitlyn's POV
Love was a hard word to understand, simpler to one person and more complex, misled, and confusing to others. For me, being here and being me, it was somewhere in between for me. In the middle of, "oh, yeah, I understand it" and "what is love?" And of course, I could always find myself pondering of if, when and where I have loved.

And I've thought often of how many people I've told that I loved them, and how much their face really lighted up. The dimples popping largely, prominently, in their soft cheeks.
And love was crazy, for me at least. Because I was torn between two things, and it was the of most difficult things to acquire.

{ love[ luhv ]

noun

1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3. sexual passion or desire. }

My heart chose one day to drift to one person, then one day, it decided it would go full throttle speeding towards another. It left me dizzy, baffled, and starstruck.

I'd never really known how to describe my feelings for a person, but most abruptly, I'm going to attempt to right now.

Love, was a more cliché and over used word. Leaving little meaning to the original train of thought that it led to; that your heart, life, soul, was attached to another.

Coming to this here conclusion, I have none other the choice then to mix and match certain words to (in theory) describe my feelings for Niall.

Love is when you put someones feelings before yours. Like, if they're sad, you put in all your effort and power to make them not sad. Because seeing them sad, at best, is like you're sad. Its when you both stay up late, texting, video chatting, just talking about the stupid little things in life and tell each other the secrets that you have never told anyone (and that you are ashamed of) but your lover thinks nothing different of you. Love is different to everyone, although, of course like love is a drug, a mistake, an illusion, a dream, it can be everything, or it can be nothing at all. But me loving him is not a mistake to me at all. Maybe to everyone else and maybe even to him it was puppy love but to me it was true love... And true love is hard to replace.

You don't come across true love often, and many people can and often will tell you, this isn't a story book. You don't run away from home and run into your Prince Charming, because seemingly, he ceases to exist but in your head.

That was the hard thing, more so part, of life. It wasn't only a thing, but it happened constantly, so it's become a part of life. Prince Charming just doesn't exist.

And most times, even if you thought that someone was your "Prince Charming", he turned into someone else; something else. Because I left Niall for jack, and jack changed. He went from being the sweetest guy, to someone who hit me for every little thing.

I would often think that I was just there as a punching bag, something that he could use when he was mad to hit on and beat up because I was helpless and weak.

And I realized, in fairy tell theory, that I left my Prince Charming for the witch (in theory, he's not a female so he would just be a villain).

Niall was always so nice, and even though cried over the most ridiculous things, Niall still had yet to NOT comfort me over it.

And I left him, for someone who didn't care at all.

And that's the reason I often ponder over whether or not I have in fact loved someone. Because yes, I have felt lust towards people. But I wasn't sure how exactly I felt about Niall. Or jack.

But I knew that whatever it was, I needed Niall.

Niall's POV

I knew what love was, it was a fuzzy little feeling you got when you saw someone special. More specific to the matter, the person you loved.

I know it sounds stupid and utterly cliche, but love at first sight had often happened to me.

Very last flashback

Niall's POV

I could feel the sweat glistening on my palms, instinctively wiping them on my pants to rid of the damp liquid. I entered art class for the very last time this year, sitting in an open spot beside her. I felt all eyes on me, because whether or not I was aware of it, I had changed; most would say for the worst.

I sported glasses, sweats, and a green jersey with my hair flattened down.

It was a much different look then the usual; quiffed hair, varsity jacket, skinny jeans and sneakers.

But I liked the look, it was much more comfortable and comfortable.

And multiple people had stopped me in the hall to ask why I had chosen to wear this (let alone have it in my closet) and all I ever answered with was a simple shrug. They were just clothes, nothing different to them.

But it was the last day of school, so I'm assuming that everyone was expecting for me to dress up. But I didn't, because the last was the day you finally get out of the hell hole for two months.
But I had also dressed this way because Kaitlyn liked when people were more casual; on the less dressy side of fashion. So that's what I was wearing today.

I was utterly surprised when Kaitlyn actually strikes up a conversation with me, more so concerning my attire than anything else.

"Thought you would most definitely wear your varsity jacket, especially since today is the last day of freshman year." She points out, shrugging her jacket on.

"I decided a more casual look would better suit me." I say.

"Oh you must of found out that I liked casual clothes. Yeah, I do. But the last day is to show people the comparison of you this year to next year." She says softly, a small smile spreading over her lips. She was teasing me.

"Would you like to go dinner with me?" I ask suddenly, covering my mouth and scolding myself.

Her eyes widen slightly at my question, features instantly softening as the smile re appears on her lips again.

"I would love to." She whispers, standing up from her chair.

God, I loved her.

End of flashback

Kaitlyn's POV

I wrap my jacket around my body, walking up to the large wooden door and knocking quietly.
I hear shuffled noises, the door finally being brought open as he smiles down at me. Alcohol reeked off of him, my nose scrunching up in disgust.

"Jack, we need to talk." I say quietly, pushing in past him.

The strong smell of alcohol burned my nose, causing my eyes to water as I shifted my bag off my shoulder and slung it over the couch cushion.

I sigh heavily, crossing my arms over my chest and turning on my heels to face him. Look of pure fear and confusion covered his features, leaving me confused also.

"why're you looking like that?" I ask, squinting my eyes and shifting on my feet nervously.

"Shit." He curses almost low enough for me not to hear, scurrying upstairs as a door slams shut.

I hear shushed giggles, slurred to make things even peachier, up in the room as I grab my bag from the couch.

"I'm done, Jack." I yell loudly, scurrying back out to my car.

I throw my bag in the backseat, wiping my tears away from my eyes and speeding down the road and out of his neighborhood.

My heart speeds in my chest as I come to a screeching stop at a light, hitting my hands on the wheel in frustration.

I turn the windshield wipers on as rain starts to pour down, pressing down the gas pedal as the light turns green and driving to the bookstore quietly.

The rain stops as I pull into the small little parking lot, unbuckling my seat belt and grabbing my purse. I open the door, getting out and going inside.

The smell of books instantly hits my nose and a small smile spreads over my lips.
I always came to the book store when I was upset or angry, or just wanted to read. I would spend hours on the floor flipping through books and magazines, trying to decide on which book to buy and read.

I bring my knees to my chest, resting my chin on my knee and flipping through the book quietly. My vision flicks to the door as I see Jack stumble in through the door.

"You think you can just leave like that?!" he yells loudly, grabbing me by my hair as I scream and he tugs me out to the car.

"N-no, of course not baby." I cry.

"Shut up, slut!" he yells, smacking me across the face as he throws me in the backseat and slams the door.

I whimper quietly, curling up into a ball. My body shakes uncontrollably as he climbs in, starting up the car.

"Where're we going?" I mumble, wiping away the tears that spilled down my cheeks.

"Your boyfriends house." he growls.

Get out of here Kaitlyn. Fight for yourself.

I reach for my bag, breathing unevenly as I enter Niall's number into the messaging system. At least I hoped it was still his number.

To: unknown number

"Niall, he's coming to your house. He's gonna hurt you, call the cops." I type quickly, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shut up, bitch." he yells, screeching to a stop at a red light.

I cover my mouth with the palm of my hand, squeezing my eyes shut as the sobs come out muffled.

I feel the car jerk back into motion, speeding down the slippery gravel.

I knew why he was acting this way, he always acted this way when he was wasted. More so, inhumanly drunk. Spewing words that he didn't mean, hurting me. I had obtained multiple scars and bruises over it, but I had eventually gotten used to the pain it caused me.

The car comes to a smooth stop, my door opening as he tugs me out and throws me to the concrete and slams the door shut. He walks to the front door of Niall's house, pounding on the door loudly as I cover my ears.

I hear the door creak open, watching as Jack punches Niall in the stomach.

"Wanna touch my girlfriend again, cunt bag?" he yells, shoving Niall back onto the ground and kicking aimlessly at his stomach-groin area repetitively.

I feel blood trickle down my forehead as I stand up slowly, limping to the scene and grabbing Jack's collar from behind.

"Stop!" I yell, tears pouring down my face as Niall curls up helplessly. I could see the pain in his eyes, and I knew he thought he deserved it. But he didn't.

He grips his stomach, eyes slamming shut as Jack kicks him in the ribs over and over.
Blood spews from his mouth, splattering all over the hardwood floor as he painfully stands up from the ground only to be shoved down again.

My heart races in my chest, pounding against my rib-cage as I stand there watching quietly. I whimper sadly, shoving Jack off weakly as he shoves me into the wall roughly.

"Don't touch me." he growls.

I sob, hearing faint sirens coming closer as police cars squeak to a stop in front of the house and get out of the car, throwing Jack onto the ground.

I crouch beside Niall, cupping his face in my hands as his breathing slows.

"I love yo-"

So that's it. Sequel coming soon-ish

Notes