   Niall didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Was he really that good at hiding how he felt, or did he just have really shitty friends? He thought it was maybe a combination of the two, and that was why no one realized how close he was to breaking down.
   Of course, it didn’t help that he was avoiding the one person who could see through him. There was a reason he had his masks up in the first place. It was easier to keep himself guarded, safer. He hated showing vulnerability, and that’s exactly what would happen if he saw Newt right now. Sometime in their acquaintance, Newt had become safe and trusted. If he saw the ginger now, all the emotions he’d spent the past few days trying to bury would finally overwhelm him.
   So of course, that’s why Newt was waiting by his car after he’d interviewed the biology teacher about the missing frogs (and hadn’t that interview clawed at his already fraying nerves). “Hey Newt!” Niall greeted with one of those practiced grins, as if he hadn’t spent the past two days avoiding his closest friend. “Sorry I haven’t talked with you in a while. My parents came in town for a visit this week, and I’ve been playing catch up for my deadlines. You know how it goes.”  //  @complexitiies
