Shawn couldn't control his excitement. He literally had Niall's number in his phone. He felt giddy. But he realised he had to tone it down otherwise his grand dad would know something is up and he didn't want him to. So he tried to school his features before walking to the reception to meet him.

After finishing all the formalities of the discharge he carefully guided his grandpa into the car, and told the driver to drive slow, all the way to their house.

He kept glancing at his phone, every 5 minutes, wondering if he should text Dr. Horan. He knew he couldn't expect a text from him, because he did not have Shawn's number. Also, he just realised he did not know the doctor's first name and he slapped himself internally for not finding that out sooner.

Was that a good excuse to text him? Was anything a good excuse to text a doctor who had given you his number just for the sole purpose of necessary contact due to a job offer? Or was it only that? Shawn desperately wanted to know if he was going down the wrong track by assuming that Niall had feelings for him. He knew he wasn't the kind to shy away from what he wanted so he decided to take the leap.

He opened up his keypad and typed a message that he erased 5 times before settling on..
"Hey Shawn here. I have been very curious the whole drive home what your first name is.."

Really subtle, Shawn, he thought. That was literally like telling Niall he had thought about him the whole car drive home. But if Shawn wasn't a master of subtle flirting who WAS he?

He didn't expect to receive a cheeky response though.

"Jesus, were you so mesmerized by my eyes that you forgot to look at my name plate?"

And he was shocked. Stunned. Floored. For the first time, he felt speechless.

Then he received another text before he could recover

"HAHAHAHAH JK IT IS NIALL"

He could just picture him laughing. He could even hear the laugh. He couldn't believe that the doctor he thought as so serious was this adorable and cheeky.

Niall. He really liked the sound of it. It suited his cheeky and cute personality. But Dr. Horan was so much more professional and made him feel a certain way. Like he would get down on his knees for that man.

Oops he should stop thinking of such absurd things.

The fact that Niall had made that comment about staring at his eyes, meant that he really had noticed how distracted Shawn had been. And he didn't know whether he should be embarrassed or happy. He knew he had been very obvious and he was vying for attention but he hoped it wouldn't be very awkward because Niall had a habit of avoiding people or certain conversations when the scene became awkward. He never wanted the man to feel that way so he decided he would try to tone down the flirting a bit when he met him next. Just a bit.

" Niall Horan ah, suits you," he texted back"

Niall just sent back a " :) " and the conversation was over.

An hour passed where Shawn hogged on some ice cream from his fridge, tweeted a bit and watched some videos on YouTube to while away the time. He put his phone for charge and decided to sleep when he heard a ping.

His heart beat sped up. It could have been anybody but his body was betraying him.

The phone lit up and it was a message from Niall.

He opened it with bated breath to see "Good night Shawn, see you tomorrow? :) "

He had ended it with a question like he wanted the conversation to continue. If he wanted to just send it as a statement , he would have used a full stop.

"Good Night Dr. Horan, of course!" He sent back. He still felt odd to call him as Niall considering the age difference and the fact that he might now be his boss? Knowing his name and using it were two totally different things.

The conversation had ended. He switched off his bedside lamp and went to sleep.

Niall wasn't able to sleep that night. He kept imagining Shawn walking around him, following every order he said, calling him sir...and it made him feel a certain way. He didn't even know if he was into guys. He had never dated a guy, let alone thought of a guy in any other way other than a friend. He had two girlfriends, one in high school and one in medical school which really didn't last and that last girl had put him in a bit of a mess. He thought he had been in love with her, so he felt like his heart was breaking and had really suffered for around a year and now that he thinks back to it, it was only a feeling. Maybe he was just in love with the idea of being in love.
He didn't love the boy, of course he didn't. He didn't even know if he liked him. He knew he was definitely affected by him. He was definitely attracted to him. And his body was definitely not immune to Shawn's good looks. He just didn't know what to do with these feelings that he had. Maybe he should just let go for once and go with the flow? See where it takes him?

He decided he would let loose the next day. He would not act too tight or upstrung. After all, life throws surprises at you everyday.

The next day, Niall woke up with a smile. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair (he took a little extra time on it, gelling it and styling it, though he wouldn't admit it), ate a quick breakfast of blueberry pancakes which he prepared himself, hurriedly grabbed all his work things and skipped to the parking lot. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but he felt happy. Maybe it was the realisation that he was allowing himself to let go.

He put on his seatbelt and started the car, driving slowly and humming his favourite song. He reached the hospital in 10 minutes.
Just as he got out, he saw Shawn parking his bicycle a few steps behind him and an involuntary smile lit his face. He was about to lift his hand and wave but then realised they had a professional relationship and that he had to act dignified. So he dropped his hand and sighed.

He felt Shawn coming up to him so he stopped fiddling with his cuffs, took a deep breath, tried not to look flustered and turned around.

Shawn knew he couldn't spout whatever came out of his mouth without thinking. But he really didn't have a brain to mouth filter. Before he could think if he was making a mistake,
"Looking good Dr.Horan!" just flew out of his mouth, because he couldn't control it. As soon as his eyes had met Horan's, his mouth had acted on its own without consulting his brain.

He watched as a rosy red hue rose to Niall's cheeks and he fiddled with his collar before he said "Thanks" and looked at the floor.

After a while he looked up, pushed his fringe to the side and looked at Shawn, gesturing for him to walk with him. "Coming?"

"Just a minute."

Shawn put the lock on his bicycle, put the key in the pocket of his jean shorts and started walking beside Niall. He was way taller than the doctor and felt a bit awkward waking next to him considering he had 6 years difference with the doctor.

Shawn was surprised that Niall hadn't shied away from the praise but had in fact shown that he was affected by it and had actually thanked him. He didn't know what was happening but he desperately hoped it was what he wanted it to be.

"Soooo ready for your first day?" Niall asked, and there was a sparkle in his eye which looked very teasing but Shawn could have misread it.
"You bet!" He said, walking beside Niall. And if he had purposely brushed their hand on one instance, Niall didn't have to know. But Shawn had felt a sudden electric current, but at the same time a sense of euphoria. He desperately wanted to hold his hand.

As he was trying to move his hand away, he felt a small nudge to the back of his hand, and he looked up. Dr. Horan just gave him a tiny smile.

"Hey" he said.

"Heyyyyyy," Shawn said. He was drowning in those blue oceans and he desperately needed a life jacket..

They were nearing the entrance to the hospital and were just staring at each other when..

"Dr. Horan! Omg so nice to meet you!" A girl sang, breaking both of them from their fiery eye gaze..

Perfect timing! Niall thought. But realised it was a good thing she had interrupted coz he didn't know what they were doing and what was happening to him.

"Amanda, how are you? How is your mom doing? Is she taking her medications on time?"

"Of course Dr. She's really good. After all, she was looked after by you."

She was flirting. She was clearly flirting and Shawn didn't like it one bit. He made an odd noise of coughing and that's when the girl noticed him too.

"Ooh and who are you?" she asked.

Before he could answer, Niall replied "That's Shawn, he's my new intern,"

I guess that much was enough for that girl. And then Shawn realised he was actually only his intern. He wasn't even a friend. Not even more than that. What the hell was he doing? He needed to get a grip.

He shook the girl's hand and then turned to Niall.

"So, you were gonna show me around?" he asked Horan, making eye contact with him.

"Yes of course. Good to see you Amanda. Also, anything you need?"

"No Dr. Just came to buy some medicines. See you around."

She skipped away.

Shawn tried not to show that her presence had affected him. He tried not to seethe. He just put on a fake cheery smile and started walking, Horan following.

"Woh woh woh am I the one leading or you?" Dr.  Horan asked and Shawn shrugged.

"Depends on how you like it doc," he said, with a cheeky grin.

Niall giggled. He literally giggled. And he didn't bother to hide it.

Shawn turned around to look at his face and knew that they were definitely on their way to becoming really good friends, if not anything else.

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So I dunno what chapter this was but I really hope you liked it guys.

Love,
Harshini