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When you’ve moved around all your life, meeting new people seems less like a chance to make new friendships that’ll last for a lifetime, and more like meeting one of your parents’ coworkers when you were really little - fleeting, unmemorable, and unimportant. Sure, every once in a while you’ll meet that one person who’ll stay in your life through texts and calls (that you’ll forget to make half the time), but for the most part, you had to learn really quick not to get attached to people if you moved from country to country every other year like Niall has.
Now that Niall was beginning university though, he was going to be staying in the same place (never mind the same country - the same city, town, and place of residence) for at least two years, which was new for him. He was actually going to have to form relationships and friendships for once.
So here he was, in the back of a station wagon with his mum driving, taking off to where he would stay for at least the next two years - the campus of University of Toronto. At first, Niall didn’t even want to go off to uni - he felt it would be too jarring of an environment to be thrown into, suddenly sharing living space with thousands of people who you don’t know. Then he thought about it, and realized it would be the perfect opportunity for him to build new relationships with people - or at least attempt to do so. As stated before, he has no real idea how to form lasting relationships as he’s never gotten the chance to, so for all he knows, he would probably crash and burn and have everyone he meets end up hating him completely…
Niall decided to shake the thoughts from his mind. If he was already thinking negatively then that would taint his experience from the beginning. He had to remain optimistic.
His mum noticed her son was in deep thought, “What’re you thinking about, Nialler?” Maura asked as she continued to face forward and drive.
“‘M just thinkin’ about how I don’t want to ruin my experience here,” He said honestly as he stared through the window wistfully.
“Don’t get yourself all jittery. Everything’ll be fine pet, I’m sure you’ll make lots of pals” she reassured Niall as she continued to drive.
Niall just nodded and continued to stare off into the scenery, internalizing his mum’s advice and trying to calm his nerves.
***
After a fairly uneventful trip, Niall arrived in campus, and after being lead to his dorm - and he and his mum even getting lost due to how big the campus is - Niall was left all alone, to where he would stay for the next 2 or three years.
As he began to unpack his belongings - a long and tedious process since Niall was quite pedantic and he couldn’t decide whether he wanted the room with the large closet, since it was easier to actually see the clothes, or if he wanted the room with the drawers, since it would be easier to unpack as his belongings are already folded up, but he eventually chose the room with the closet - he heard the dorm door opening.
At first he was just going to continue to unpack, and just ignore the fact that his roommate had arrived - but that would have been rude of him, now wouldn’t it be?
Niall stopped unpacking and took a deep breath before walking out to greet his new suitemate, a tall, thin, fresh faced brunette who had just walked in holding suitcases and even a guitar case, which surely piqued his interest since he also enjoys playing the guitar.
He and his roommate locked eyes as soon as he came out of the room - and the other guy sat his luggage down and stretched his arm out to greet Niall.
“Hey, I’m Shawn,” ” the taller boy announced in a soft tone, seeming as though he was just as shy as Niall was.
Niall took Shawn’s hand in his and shook quickly, “‘M Niall,’ he replied back as he shook his hand.
“You have a cool accent,” Shawn commented, “Scottish?”
“Irish. But I’ve lived all over the world,” Niall replied with a shrug, “But thank y-you.”
“No need to thank me, I’ve just never met anyone with an accent like yours before. I like it,” He said with a nod before picking his luggage up and hauling it to the other room to begin unpacking, and Niall did the same, retreating to the dorm he’s chosen.
After the two of them had unpacked a little, they met back in the kitchen area, as Niall had felt himself getting hungry and he had thus made himself a sandwich, and Shawn forgot where the fridge was so he went out to look for it, which had manifested in them sitting down together to get to know each other a little more.
“So how long have you lived here for,” Shawn asked as he sat on top of the counter.
“Erm, this is my first day here, like, I’ve never been to Canada until now,” Niall explained as he ate his meal.
“Where all have you lived? like, what places?”
“Erm, Germany, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, various places in America, Portugal, and Spain,” Niall listed out all the places. He’s been asked this question countless times over the years, so he already had the list memorized by heart.
“That’s so cool, I’ve never lived anywhere beyond Ontario my entire life,” Shawn said with a shrug, clearly interested in Niall’s background, “So do you know a lot of languages? Which ones? When you lived in South Korea did you meet any kpop idols? Are there really snakes that show up in your toilet in Australia?”
Niall was taken aback by Shawn’s enthusiasm - he really shouldn't have been. he’s dealt with overzealous people asking him questions like that his entire life, but he was already quite exhausted for the day, and thus couldn't be arsed to really answer the tons of questions he knew Shawn had for him.
He answered anyway, though, because he knew that coming off as unsociable on day 1 would lead to tension all year.
“I know a little bit of Spanish, that’s it, no I didn’t, and there were a lot of strange snakes down there, although I've never seen them in the toilet. I was only 7, I probably would have died from fear, yeah?,” he answered all of the questions rapidly.
Shawn just nodded, “That’s so cool, wish I got to travel around like that,” he said as he got himself a soda from the fridge.
Niall wanted to tell him that it was no walk in the park - constantly moving around as a young child and never being able to have any lasting relationships because he’d only stay in a place for about a year at the most - but he didn’t want to darken the mood, nor did he want to get into that kind of conversation with a person he’s only met 3 hours ago.
So, he just nodded and continued to have small talk with him for the rest of the night, and while they didn’t really learn anything “deep” about each other that night - they’ve only just met - Niall did decide that Shawn seemed to be a pretty cool guy, which was great, he could have gotten some arrogant fratty prick as his suitemate, so he was quite grateful for that.
The next day, there was a meeting taking place in the dorm hall, which was actually more like an “icebreaker” for everyone in the hall to get to know each other better, or whatever. Niall didn’t have the energy to go - he was exhausted from unpacking, not to mention that he and Shawn chatted until way past midnight - but he decided to get dressed and go anyway - because Shawn, being the overly enthusiastic lad that he was, was obviously going, and Niall really didn’t want to be in the dorm alone and bored for possibly hours, so he reluctantly got himself dressed and showered.
Shawn was visibly excited about going to the icebreaker - Which Niall didn’t really get. Why he was excited just to meet people was beyond him. If anything, he should be nervous about it, but maybe that was just Niall’s pessimistic side kicking in, along with his pre conceived fears about meeting new people.
After the two ate and got dressed, they made their way to the first floor of their hall - aka where the icebreaker was taking place.
The icebreaker wasn’t as bad or as awkward as Niall thought it would be, either. Sure, it was mildly cheesy having everyone go around the room saying their names, where they were from, and their hobbies, and Niall especially dreaded when it was his turn - because he knew he’d be asked excessive questions about where he’s from, but it turns out he wasn’t even the only “foreigner” in his hall, as there was a couple of Brits, and a Norweigian girl in the mix as well. So the experience, while tedious and a bit lame, wasn’t too othering to him.
Later on, he and Shawn decided to go out and catch a burger together.
“So, that wasn’t too bad, now was it?” The taller boy asked as he sipped coke from a straw.
“No, it wasn’t bad at all,” Niall confessed, “Just found it to be a bit cheesy and lame, s’all.”
“Don’t worry, I’m right there with you. I can’t believe they still do icebreakers in college… I was over this in high school, but I thought what was the harm in going?”
Niall just seemed confused now. “Weren’t you excited this morning though? If you felt this way we could’ve just skipped the thing.”
“Well, yeah. I’m always excited to meet new people. I just thought the ice breaker was a bit lame,” Shawn responded.
“I don’t really get that…” Niall trailed off as he took a bite into his burger.
“Get what? I’m confused.”
“Why be excited to meet new people? Not trying to be negative but shouldn’t it be more nerve wrecking than anything?”
“Not really, no,” Shawn replied, “If you want my honest opinion, I’d just say you’re nervous because you’ve moved around your whole life and you’ve met so many people before.”
“...Psych major?”
“Nah, actually a music major,” Shawn replied with a chuckle, “hence the guitar I brought.”
“I used to play the guitar too when I was younger,” Niall said, “My dad bought me my first guitar when I was 5. It was a toy guitar but he wanted me to have something to do while he was busy at the army bases.”
“Oh, your dad’s in the military?”
“Yeah. That’s why we had to move around a lot. But that’s when I started playing… I don’t know why I stopped, maybe I just got bored of it,” Niall shrugged.
“Maybe one day I’ll let you play mine...I might even teach you a few things since you haven’t played in a while.”
“Oh, piss off Shawnie. ‘M not rusty,” he replied playfully, although the thought of the two of them playing guitar together was a great thought.
***
A couple of weeks pass since they had that conversation, and they’ve never quite found the time to play together. First off, their class schedules didn’t mix, and they were pounded with coursework basically from the moment classes began.
“So, remember when ya’ told me you were gonna let me play your guitar?” Niall asked as he paused his studying to go to the living room, where Shawn was currently studying at.
“Haven’t forgotten,” Shawn affirmed, “I’m just drowning in work, I thought our professors would at least wait a few weeks before they started giving us a million assignments a week.”
Niall chuckled a little, “Yeah, my work’s been killing me too, Shawnie.”
“Well… I guess I could let you do it now, since we’re both taking a break from studying and all,” Shawn shrugged.
“Alrighty, how about you go get it now?”
So he did. He retreated off to his room and picked up the guitar case that sat in the corner, lonely and untouched, before bringing it out into the living room.
“It’s all yours,” he announced, “hit me.”
Niall got up from the couch and picked the case up before unzipping and removing it, revealing the guitar inside.
“Do you need a pick?”
“‘M fine.”
And then, he took the guitar back to the couch and he just began to strum. He didn’t have a set song, a set melody, a set rhythm that he intended to play - he just started strumming, and let his mind and his fingers determine what it was that he was playing. He didn’t even care, he just enjoyed playing again.
From the looks of it, Shawn was enjoying it as well, as he had a smile spread on his face and he bobbed his head along to the melody of the music that Niall was making. He even found himself humming along to it.
“Wow. You’re pretty good,” Shawn spoke up after Niall’s fingers started to cramp up, and he put the guitar down.
“You expected me to be bad?” Niall asked.
“Never said that,” Shawn tsked,” Just complimenting your skills, that’s all.”
“I know, I was just taking the piss,” he said with a grin, “Thank you, though. It means a lot.”
It actually did mean a lot to Niall to be complimented - he didn’t know why, but when Shawn complimented his skills, he immediately felt a warm feeling in his chest. The kind of feeling you get after you’ve eaten your favorite meal or the first time in months, and all you want is to get more, more, and more until you’re completely stuffed.
He liked having Shawn’s attention, and he wanted more of it.
It felt nice to finally have a friend - even if they barely got to speak due to class schedules and being worked half to death.
***
More weeks pass, and before Niall knows it, it’s the middle of october, and he and Shawn have done nothing but gotten closer over the weeks.
The two of them continued to bond over playing the guitar, and Niall’s wild stories of having traveled around the world all the time. It was great they got along so well, as Niall hasn’t really made many friends except for Shawn - but in his defense, it’s quite hard to make friends when you’re stressed out beyond recognition from school. Hell, he’s lucky he’s even had the energy to hang out with Shawn.
One day, while Niall was laying on the futon, taking a break from his incessant studying, Shawn suggested the perfect way to help the two of them relax.
“So, there’s going to be a huge hayride on saturday… wanna go?”
“What the fuck is a hayride?” Niall asked as he let out a yawn.
“A hayride is when you ride on a tractor… full of hay. Hence ‘hayride’,” Shawn explained.
Niall raised his eyebrows, “Where does the ride lead to?”
“It’s usually just a ride through a farm or something. It doesn’t really lead anywhere. Just a nice, relaxing ride through a farm or a ranch.”
“And god knows I need to relax,” Niall added with a chuckle, “Count me in.”
***
If Niall could go back in time, he’d slap himself for letting Shawn talk him into this.
For starters, It was below freezing outside - and it was only mid october. Not exactly the ideal setting to sit outside in. Also, Niall had forgotten just how othered and uncomfortable he’d feel amongst a sea of people, who by this point he knew on a first name basis, but didn’t have a connection with anyone. Maybe that was normal, after all, he was so overworked from classes that socializing wasn’t really on his mind, but most of the people from his hall seemed to be quite acquainted with each other.
Even Shawn had seemed to have a few friends already - it was how he found out about the hayride to begin with.
Nevertheless, Niall tried to wave away his impending nerves and try to think more positively about the situation - at least he would be getting a well deserved break from the neverending studying, homework, and essays.
He, Shawn, and a bunch of other freshman and a few sophmores were scattered outside at a nearby apple farm,talking amongst themselves and waiting for the tractor to arrive. Niall just made small talk.
“Is hay even comfortable to sit in?” he asked.
“Not really. It’s more itchy than anything,” Shawn replied, making a face, “but it’s more about the fall spirit, you know?”
Niall just nodded and smiled, chuckling nervously as well. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt nervous, but he hoped he could soothe those emotions and push them to the back of his mind, and just enjoy the ride.
Soon, the tractor arrived, and the people attending began to board it. After a few moments of congestion as people tried to find comfortable spots with their respective friends, the tractor was full. Niall and Shawn were sat around the fringes of the tractor, their legs both dangling off of the platform as they sat side by side.
“What happens if I fall?” Niall asked as he swung his legs back and forth.
“Don’t know. I’ve never fell off of one,” Shawn replied with a shrug as the tractor began to start and they began moving.
As the tractor began pulling them through the trail, and the air was full of chatter from all of the people who attended the hayride, Niall just relaxed himself. He didn’t expect something like sitting in a bundle of itchy hay as a tractor pulled him to be calming at all, but it was. The sky was hazy and almost red from the sun setting, the air was cool and a bit breezy, and the ride was slow, giving him a chance to fully appreciate it all.
Then something else happened; Shawn laced his hands in his and leaned on his shoulder, and in that moment, he felt the most calm he’s been during his six weeks at university.
He didn’t know why he always automatically felt more serene and more calm when he was with Shawn, but his presence was just simply soothing and warm; like when you’re stressed out and all you need is a cup of warm cocoa to bring you back. Shawn was like that for Niall, and he thinks it started around the time they played guitar together.
Nevertheless, as the ride went on, their hands stayed interlocked throughout the cool october evening.
Niall was going to love it here.