“Meet down by the pool in ten, yeah?” Zayn suggested as he, the other guys, Doniya, and Mae all headed down the hallway towards their hotel rooms. The first day at Disney was a success; they arrived around 8:30, after getting a filling breakfast at a Denny’s, and after getting settled in their rooms they went to Animal Kingdom. Mae had so much fun with Doniya and all of the guys, especially Niall. Niall wasn’t ashamed to hold her hand in front of everyone, or make it clear that he wanted to sit by her on rides, and that made the day so much better for Mae.

Now, as all of the teenagers winded down from their long day, they decided a good end to it would be hanging out by the pool downstairs. It was nearing 11 pm, and Mae was sure that all of the parents who had little kids wouldn’t be around the pool area, leaving the pool unoccupied for her and her friends. She didn’t think that a trip like this with her friends would be so exciting, but it was. And so far, she loved it.

As Mae and Doniya walked into their room, Doniya flipped on the light that lit up the small room. The two girls went to their suitcases, and after putting on their bathing suits they walked out of their room and down the stairs towards the pool, not bothering to wait for the guys.

“Thought you would beat us?” Niall smiled as he looked at Mae from where he was sitting on a chair next to the pool. Mae rolled her eyes as she tossed her towel on the chair Niall was sitting on.

“Maybe,” she muttered.

“Cannon ball!” Harry shouted, before hopping into the water, causing water to soak nearly everything in the pool area, especially his friends. Louis ripped off his shirt before hopping in the pool after Harry, followed by Zayn and Liam. Doniya slid into the water slowly, scrunching up her nose as she attempted to get adjusted to the chilled water. Mae smiled to herself as she felt Niall take her hand.

“Let’s get in,” he said, leading her towards the water. “Wanna jump?”

“No,” Mae shook her head. “It’s going to be freezing.”

“Fine,” Niall said, before quickly pushing Mae off the edge, causing her to fall into the water with a splash. As Mae hit the cold water, she squeezed her eyes shut and made a mental note to get Niall back later. She came up from under the water and glared at Niall.

Niall smiled softly. “Sorry… It’s always been a dream of mine to push a pretty girl into the water.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Mae commented as she watched Niall slide off the edge and into the water, his facial expression never faltering as if he didn’t notice the low temperature of the water. Niall laughed to himself before giving Mae a quick kiss on the lips and leading her to their friends who were splashing each other in the center of the pool, their laughter filling the whole entire room.

+

The next night, after getting back from Hollywood Studios, Mae and Doniya were in their room getting ready for bed. As Mae stuffed her dirty clothes into a plastic bag, she heard a light knock on the door. Knowing it was one of the guys, Doniya sighed loudly, annoyed that they were about to interrupt their chance to get to bed early. Mae rose to her feet before walking towards the door and opening it.

“Hey,” Niall smiled once he saw Mae. “Wanna go for a quick walk?”

Mae turned to look at Doniya, who was already in her bed with the covers up to her chin. She glanced at Mae. “Who is it?”

“Niall,” Mae responded. “Do you mind if I go on a walk with him for a bit?”

“Why the hell are you asking me,” she chuckled. “Just make sure you take a room key.”

Mae nodded as she grabbed her room key from the dresser, and after slipping on her shoes she walked out the door. She and Niall made their way down the stairs and out the hotel lobby doors.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Mae asked curiously as she felt Niall take her hand in his.

“Nah,” Niall shook his head. “I actually have no idea. We won’t stray too far.”

Mae nodded. “Are you having fun so far?”

“Of course,” Niall said, a grin appearing on his obviously tired face. “I love going to different places with all the guys, and you coming along made it a lot better too, in case the guys and I ever got a little irritated of each other. But I just feel like you and I should get some alone time since we haven’t since we got here.”

Mae smiled to herself as Niall admitted that he wanted alone time with her. No guy ever made her feel as wanted as Niall did. He held her hand every chance he got, he stole a kiss when he could whenever they were at the parks waiting in line, and she felt like he told her pretty much everything on his mind, which she loved. She loved feeling so close to Niall, and she thought that being in Orlando made things a little more romantic.

The only place Mae would ever go with her short-term boyfriends (with short-term being not even a month) would be to school and possibly to one of their houses; they never got serious enough to go on vacations together or to go to the other one’s grandparent’s house for the weekend.

“Are you having fun?” Niall asked, once he realized that Mae didn’t respond.

“I’m having so much fun,” Mae said, her smile never fading. “It’s so nice to go somewhere with friends instead of parents.”

It was Niall’s turn to just nod his head and smile. He gave Mae’s hand a light squeeze as they ventured down the endless sidewalk in silence. Mae looked at everything around her, and all of her surroundings seemed perfect at the moment: the cars flying by, the beautiful palm trees towering over her and Niall, the lit up buildings down the street, and she was with the nicest guy she had ever come across. She felt like nothing could make this night any better…until Niall spoke up.

“So, Mae,” he began. “I know we’ve seeing each other pretty much the whole summer…”

She smiled, as if she knew where this was going. “Yeah…”

“I don’t want to make this a long explanation followed by the question, because I am slightly nervous,” he admitted, trying to refrain from rambling. He looked down at her. “So, would you want to go out with me? You know…be my girlfriend?”

Mae nodded, feeling her cheeks get hot and her heart start to race. She had been asked that question before, but the way Niall asked it made her get butterflies and a bright red face. As she mentally thanked God that it was dark outside, she grinned. “Of course, Niall.”