Envy (Niall Horan) [BOOK 1]

ELIS POV
"My mother used to read this book to me, when I was a little girl." I state while staring at the copy of The Ugly Duckling.
I smile at the memory.
"Whenever I had a nightmare, she would wake up and read this to me, until I would fall asleep. She would always end up falling asleep with me though."
"She was an amazing woman. I wish I could've met her." Niall says.
I look up from the book and I stare into his eyes.
"She would've liked you. I know it."
He gives me a soft smile and kisses the top of my forehead.
I feel myself shiver a little at his touch.
"What's your favorite book?" I ask trying not to blush.
"Well to be honest, I've only read like one book in my life." He says a little embarrassed.
"Which one?"
"How to Kill a Mocking Bird. I had to read it for school, but I liked it."
"So you like those mystery, crime type of stories?" I ask.
He shrugs.
"I guess so."
"There's a story I know you'll like then. It's one of my favorites." I excitedly say.
I grab his wrist and I begin to drag him to the mystery section of the library.
Let me see if I can find it here.
I begin to search through the books, which are very well organized, and I finally find it.
I take it out and I turn around to show it to Niall.
"It's called The Count of Monte Cristo. I know it's really long, but once you start, you won't be able to stop."
He stares at me intently.
"What's it about?" he asks.
"It's about revenge really. A man named Edmond Dantes is engaged to the love of his life, but there jealous friend who is in love with her as well, accuses him of being a spy for England. Edmond gets arrested for years and finally escapes. He befriended a philosopher when he was imprisoned, who told him about a secret treasure that he hid years ago. Edmond finds the treasure and becomes wealthy. The rest of the story is about him getting revenge on the people that framed him. It's very suspenseful and I-"
I stop and blush as I notice how Niall has no expression on his face what so ever. I think I bore him.
"I'm so sorry. I babble a lot. I didn't mean to bore you." I say shyly.
"Bore me? What are you talking about? You actually made me want to read the book now." He responds seriously.
I can't help but smile.
He mirrors my expression.
"Tell me more." He says interested.
I nod and I continue.
I don't know what happened, but I ended up getting carried away and I dragged him to other sections and aisles of the library, showing him all the books I enjoy. The whole time, he just stared at me and listened.
"What's your favorite book of all time?" he asks unexpectedly.
Wow. That's actually a tough question. I've read so many books.
I begin to think about all the stories I have enjoyed reading the most. Then it hit me.
"Persuasion by the great Jane Austen." I respond.
"What's it about?" he asks.
"To sum it up, it's about these two people who have waited a long time to be together. Even after all the struggles of people trying to ruin their chances, they finally ended up together at the end."
"I must read it one day. It sounds wonderful." He replies.
He's looking at me the way he was before. I must have annoyed him. I mentally face palm. Why did I even speak.
"I'm so sorry. This must have been the worst first date of your life. " I say embarrassed.
He looks at me confused.
"What? Why would you say that? Why would you even think that?"
I look down at our now intertwined hands. He leans his head closer and pierces his eyes into mine.
"You've been speechless the whole time, and just the way you've been staring at me. I feel like I bore you half to death." I reply honestly.
"I hate how you do that Eli. How you think so little of yourself. Like I've told you before, I love you. I love you deeply."
He stops and blushes.
"And I'm sorry I've been silent and have been staring at you. You just left me mesmerized as you explained and spoke. You just looked so passionate and intense as you explained each book. I've never met a person as captivating as you, you know. It was new for me to see. No one is like you Eli."
Each word that comes out of his lips, every day, makes me love him even more.
I close the space between us by putting my lips against his. I don't really know how to describe each kiss me and Niall share. There always different. Each one is always filled with more passion. I feel that one day we both may burst due to the overwhelming electricity.
As we pull apart, I can't help but smile. I'm just so happy.
I begin to hear sounds coming from the front of the library.
"What's that?" I ask as the noise grows.
Niall grabs my hand and pulls me close to him in a protective way.
"We have to go now Eli."
"Niall what's going on?"
"It's the paparazzi. I guess the body guards couldn't hold them back. They're going to come
in. I know it." He says nervously.
"Ni, this is what Simon wanted us to do. We have to show them how we're now together." I reply.
I feel him begin to shake out of nervousness.
"Ni, I'm here. They're not going to hurt you. I swear." I say while squeezing his hand in reassurance.
"It's not me I'm worried about El. I can't let you get hurt again."
I kiss him on the cheek and I feel him calm down a little.
"They won't. I promise you."
He looks at me and I give him a reassuring smile, which he returns.
"Okay." He says.
We then, hand in hand, walk to the front of the library.
"Are you ready princess?" he asks.
"Yes."
He gives me a soft kiss on the cheek and we both walk out of the library, holding each other tightly.
The flashes from cameras begin to crowd my face.
"Niall is this your new girlfriend?"
"Niall, have you found your princess?"
"Niall, what's her name?"
He looks down at me and I look up at him. He nods and gives me a quick peck on the lips.
The crowd of people begin to take more pictures and ask even more questions.
I can't even hear myself think. I just shut my eyes closed, trying not to get blinded by the many lights.
I feel my legs begin to move for me and I open my eyes to realize how Niall is dragging me out of the crowd and helping me into a car.
We both sit down and I take a deep breath.
"You okay baby?" Niall asks concerned.
"Ya. Next time I'm going to bring sunglasses." I say while chuckling.
He chuckles as well and kisses my cheek again.
"At least we don't have to hide anymore." He states
I nod my head and I smile.
"I was going to take you to a restaurant now, but Simon just told one of the body guards, that it's not safe enough for us to do so. I'm so sorry." He adds.
I look at the people in the drivers seats, and I notice how the two body guards are there. Wow. Those cameras really did blind me.
"Don't worry Ni. Today was perfect. Every day is perfect, as long as I'm with you. " I respond.
He smiles wide and grabs my hand again.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
The Next Day
I open my eyes slowly and I see how Niall is just staring at me.
"Good morning princess." He whispers.
I smile.
"I love it when you call me princess. And good morning." I reply.
He kisses the tip of my nose which causes me to giggle.
"Why do you like it so much?" he asks curiously.
"I don't know. I guess it's because, it reminds me how I'm yours and your mine."
He grins and just looks at me. I love how Niall and I can just have conversations, just by looking at each other. It's quite odd, but I love it. I stare into his blue eyes and I examine everything about them.
There surrounded by a dark blue, and they're even a little green in the middle. I've never seen eyes like his. He also has curved brown eye lashes.
My eyes lower to his cute nose, and then to his lips. His lips are a light pink, but then are a darker shade where they meet.
I blush at the thought of how soft and warm they are.
"What are you thinking about?" he whispers.
"You're beautiful." I simply reply.
His cheeks turn a light pink at my words and he chuckles a little.
"What?" I ask.
"I'm a man. Men can't be beautiful."
I roll my eyes and I can't help but laugh.
"Fine, you're not beautiful then. You're manly and tough looking and stuff." I say the last
part in a mocking guy voice, which causes him to laugh.
"I agree with that." He says.
I kick his leg under the covers.
He put his leg over mine and scoots himself closer to me, making our noses touch.
"You have hairy legs." I say while trying to hold in my laughter.
"I'm manly and tuff looking and stuff so I have to have hairy legs." He states, mocking my voice from before.
I stick my tongue out at him in a playful way and he does the same.
"You're cranky in the morning." I say teasingly.
"You're the one that told me, I have hairy legs." He defends while smiling.
I love how Niall and I can be playful as well as serious, whenever we want.
"You're lucky I love you enough, to not shave them while you're sleeping." I reply.
He chuckles and then sets his eyes on my lips.
"It never gets old." He whispers.
His eyes then meet mine again.
"What doesn't?"
"You telling me that you love me."
"I love you. I love you. I love you." I say continuously.
He gives me a soft smile and looks at my lips again.
I feel myself bite my own out of anticipation.
He leans in closer until-
BUZZ BUZZ
He groans and rolls his eyes.
"I think you got a text." I state while chuckling.
He chuckles and grabs his phone from the table next to him.
"Who is it?" I ask.
He opens the text and reads it.
"It's Simon telling me to check twitter."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Let's see." He says while putting the phone down, in between us, so I can see as well.
He presses the twitter app and goes to what's trending.
My mouth drops a little as I see how half of the trends are about me and Niall.
#Niallsnewgirl
#Neli
#Niallsprincess
#Niallsgirlfriend
#WhendidNiallgetagirlfriend
"Word gets out fast." I say.
He just nods.
"Press one of them." I add.
He presses the first one, and many tweets pop out, with a picture of us kissing.
"Woah." He comments.
This time I nod my head, and I begin to read the tweets.
My heart begins to shatter at each tweet.
@NiallOfficial Who the hell is that girl!? She's so ugly!
@NiallOfficial I can already tell that girl is a whore
@NiallOfficial What is she wearing? She looks homeless
@NiallOfficial Ew, what is that thing? Omg that's a girl! Awkward.
I try to read the rest, but Niall quickly tries to put his phone away.
"I think that's enough." He says.
I stop his hand and I try to read more, but he's too strong for me.
"Baby, don't torture yourself with their hurtful words. They're just jealous of what we have."
He states while looking at me.
I sigh and nod my head.
"Ya you're right." I respond.
He gives me a soft smile, which I return.
"You're beautiful Okay?" he says while cupping my chin.
"They don't like me Ni. What did I do wrong?" I state while sniffling.
He looks saddened himself and he pulls me in for a hug.
"They just don't know you princess. They just don't know you." He repeats.
I push him away and notice how his face is coated with concern.
"Ni, I'm gonna be fine okay. I'm stronger than what they think of me." I say with confidence.
He stares into my eyes and tries to see if I'm telling the truth. I turn my face away from him and I get out of bed.
"Where are you going?" he asks.
"I'm going to get dressed, and then I'm going to spend the day with Lou. I haven't talked to her in a while." I retort.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
"It's fine. Why don't you and the boys have a guy's day?" I suggest.
"I guess that would be fine. If anything happens or if you don't feel okay, call me immediately."
I smile and turn around. I walk back to him and I kiss his nose.
"I will."
At Lou's room
I texted Lou before I came here, if she wanted to spend the day with me. She responded yes immediately. Now we're just talking on her bed.
"I've missed having a roommate." She says.
"Me too." I reply.
"But you have one." She says while winking.
I blush.
"Niall doesn't count." I reply while laughing.
She rolls her eyes and laughs with me.
"So what do you want to do today?" she asks.
"Do you want to kind of give me a makeover? "
"I would love to! But why?"
"Niall and I made our relationship public yesterday, and today I read not so good comments about my appearance from the fans."
"Eli, In my opinion I don't think anyone should change who they are for someone else. To
be honest, those nasty people only said those things because they are bullies. You're beautiful."
I smile.
"Thanks Lou, but I don't know. I just want them to like me and I'm going to make them like me. I don't want Niall to be embarrassed by me. Please. Can you please help me out?" I ask.
She sighs.
"Of course I will Eli."
"Thanks Lou."
I give her a quick hug.
"Have you ever thought about bangs?" she asks.
Hours later
"Are you ready to show Niall?" Lou asks.
"I'm kind of nervous actually."
What if he doesn't like it? I mean sure, I did this for the fans, but I also want my boyfriend to like my new look.
"You look hot, if I do say so myself." She says, pleased by her own work.
"Thanks...well it's now or never." I state while knocking on Liam's room door.
Niall actually did have a guy's day with the boys. Well a guy's day with them, in Liam's room.
The door slowly opens and I feel myself becoming more and more nervous.
"You all owe me an-" Zayn opens the door and stares at me speechless.
"Are you gonna let us in or should I have brought a bucket for your drool?" Lou says,
causing Zayn to blush furiously.
Do I really look that bad? I try to escape, but Lou pushes me inside.
"Zayn was it the pizza g-"
All the boys begin to stare at me with wide eyes.
Where's Niall?
I hear a toilet flush and a door open.
"Liam you're going to need new toil- what are you guys staring at?" I hear my boyfriend asks.
"Your girlfriend is really hot." Louis blurts out while pointing at me.
Niall's gaze meets mine and he looks just as shocked as the boys. He quickly grabs a blanket from Liam's bed and covers me with it.
"What did you do?" he asks Lou who is behind me.
"Gave her a makeover. Doesn't she look hot?" she responds proudly.
Niall turns around and faces the boys. He scowls at them and they quickly look away.
"You don't like it?" I ask.
He doesn't answer me. Instead he pushes me and Lou out of the room and closes the door, with the blanket still covering me.
"Lou, go back to your room." Niall commands.
"Fine. See you later El." She says while walking away.
"Ni w-"
"Let's go back to our room." He states.
What's he thinking about?
When we're at our room, he quickly shuts the door from behind us and faces me. He touches my hair and holds it. He just stares at it.
"What did you do?" he asks.
I take off the blanket.
"I knew you wouldn't like it. Lou told me that you would but I k-"
"Did she make you do this? Change?" he asks a little angered.
"No! I made her do this to me." I defend Lou.
"Why Eli?"
"Niall, the fans kept on commenting on my appearance and I-"
"I knew you weren't okay. I knew it! I mean of course they wo-"
"Niall let me finish a sentence please." I say while chuckling a little.
I see his face become more relaxed and he stops talking.
"Niall, my style isn't really 'fashion forward'. I just changed my appearance, so the fans will like me a little better. I didn't change who I am as a person. "
He sighs and wraps his arms around my waist.
"I guess you're right. But still, you didn't look bad before. You have always looked perfect to me." He says.
I nod and give him a quick peck on his lips.
"So do you like it?" I ask once again.
He looks me up and down and bites his bottom lip as he nods slowly.
"You look even hotter than the day, you wore that bikini."
I feel heat rise to my cheeks almost instantly, which causes him to chuckle.
"But you're never going to wear this outfit again. Well at least not in public." He states seriously.
I raise one eyebrow.
"Oh? Why is that?"
"I was holding back the urge to punch all the boys in the face. That's why."
I laugh a little at his protectiveness.
"What if I wear a sweater over it?" I ask.
I see how he looks to the side and thinks for a while.
"Fine. But only if it's a big sweater."
I nod and I kiss his cheek.
"I'm gonna go take a shower." I state.
He nods his head and lets go of me.
I grab my sweats and towel and I head to the bathroom.
When I close the bathroom door, I lock it and I begin to stare myself in the mirror.
"Wow." I blurt out.
I can't even recognize myself.
I'm wearing a white strapless, floral bustier top with light denim high waisted shorts, and white studded, closed toe high heels. Lou gave me side bangs and cut some layers in my hair. She also straightened it and put it to the side. I also am wearing a light pink lipstick, mascara, and eyeliner.
I do look kind of good. Hopefully the fans like my new look.
Two weeks later
I still have been getting hate from fans, but more and more fans are starting to like me. Some fans even take signs to their concerts that say how they 'ship' Neli. I was confused at first because I had no idea what shipping people meant, until Niall explained it to me. I ship us too.
Niall doesn't follow many people on twitter, so I followed a load of fans for him. They seemed very grateful. So far it's great. I love being able to go public with Niall and hold hands with him, and see fans come up to us to take a picture with us. It's weird how people want to take pictures with Niall and I. I mean I understand why they would want to take a picture with Niall, but why me? I guess they do really like me.
Right now, I'm walking with Lou back to the hotel. Ever since my makeover, I realized that I enjoy shopping with Lou. She's a really fun person to hang out with. I wish Sofy was here with me, though. I know they would become friends.
"Sofy sounds like a really cool person. I would love to meet her! What does she do?" Lou asks.
"Well she's a chef, and right now she actually owns her own restaurant." I reply.
"We should eat there one day and surprise her."
"That would be great! The thing is that she's in desperate need for waiters. She even offered me a job." I state.
"She'll find enough people. I know it." She says.
"Ya I think so too. Actually I-"
I feel myself fall face first into the side walk.
"Eli are you okay?" Lou asks concerned, while picking me up.
"Ya I'm fine thanks. I just got a scratch." I comment while looking at the new graze on my tricep.
"Oh my gosh! How clumsy of me. I'm so sorry." I hear a young voice from behind me say.
I turn around and see two girls who look about sixteen staring at me. The one on the left has short blonde hair and the one on the right has medium length brunette colored hair.
"Don't worry it's okay." I reply with a soft smile.
The girl's eyes widen and they begin to squeal. Me and Lou look at each other in confusion.
"Oh my gosh! You're Eli, Niall's girlfriend! I love you so much!" The brunette one says.
"Aww thank you. I love you too." I respond.
"Can I hug you? Or would that be weird?" The blonde one asks shyly.
"Of course not! Come here." I comment while hugging both of them.
Lou looks completely uncomfortable.
They both pull away.
"What are your names?" I ask.
"I'm Layla and she's Natalie." The blonde one says.
"Well nice to meet you, Layla and Natalie. Do you two have twitters? I can ask Niall to follow you both."
They both squeal in excitement.
"Can I just say that you're perfect?" Natalie says.
I just smile back as I write there twitter names in my notes on my phone so I won't forget.
"Thank you so much! This means a lot! By the way, I love your necklace." Layla comments.
I look down at my chain necklace and I play with it a little.
"Why thank you. But you know who it would look better on?" I state while taking it off.
"You." I add while putting it around Layla's neck.
Layla begins to cry.
"Oh my gosh thank you so much. You seriously don't know how much this means to me. I'm so happy Niall has you." She responds.
I wrap my arms around her again and she squeezes me tight, while crying into my shirt.
"You two are both lovely girls. I'm glad I met you guys." I say.
They both smile big, thank me, and walk away.
"Wow. You just made there day." Lou comments.
"I hope so."
Hours later
Right now I'm at rehearsal with the boys. I didn't really have time to change, so I'm in the same clothes. At least I get to so Niall.
"And all your little things." The boys sing the last verse.
"Okay, you guys can take a half hour break now." A man in a black t- shirt that says crew, says.
The boys all nod and scatter away from each other.
Niall smiles and walks up to me, once he spots me.
"Hey princess. I've missed you." He whispers while wrapping his arms around my waist and giving me a peck on the lips.
"I've missed you too. You sounded great by the way."
"Thanks. How was your day with Lou?"
"Well it was good actually. I met these two girls today a-"
"What happened to your arm?" he states wide eyed.
"Oh well today I-"
"Weren't you wearing a necklace today?"
"Ya, but I-"
"I got to go Eli." He says saddened.
What?
"What? Why?" I ask.
"I um have to talk to Liam about something."
I can tell he's lying, but before I can say anything, he walks away.
What did I do?
One Week Later
This has been a bad week. Ever since rehearsals last week, Niall has been ignoring me.
Even when we're in the same room, he just seems miserable. He can't even look at me anymore. It's as if he's another person. I always ask him what's wrong, but he just answers with a "Nothing. I'm fine". He doesn't even sleep with me every night anymore. Sometimes he would even sleep in Harry's room and leave me alone.
I feel as if it's my fault and it's killing me. Right now I'm at rehearsals again with him. I wasn't supposed to come this time, but I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna find out what's
eating him, even if it kills me.
They just finished the last song of their set.
"Okay, thirty minute break." A crew member says.
I see Niall walk with Louis and I try to catch up with them.
"Ni." I say while tapping him on his shoulder.
Niall turns around to face me. He looks shocked.
"I gotta go to the bathroom mate." Louis says before walking away.
"Why are you here?" he asks.
"To see why you've been fucking avoiding me and treating me so coldly for the past week. What did I do Ni? Please tell me." I practically beg.
His eyes look like there filled with pain, and he has dark circles under them. Has he even been sleeping?
"We need to talk Eli." He states.
"Where?" I ask.
He grabs my wrist and leads me to a corner of the room.
He tangles his fingers in his hair roughly, and avoids eye contact with me.
"I'm breaking up with you." He states.
I feel my heart stop beating, and the tears in my eyes begin to form.
"What?" I whisper.
He looks at me for a quick second before looking away again.
"Say something Niall. SAY SOMETHING." I hear myself yell in between my sobs.
"I already said what had to be said. I don't need to repeat myself."
"Why can't you look at me?"
He shuts his eyes closed and then opens them again. He puts his hands on my shoulders and begins to shake me.
"I'm breaking up with you." He coldly repeats.
I feel myself drop to the floor.
"Please Niall. Please don't. I love you. I-I'm desperately in love with you. Remember?" I say on my knees.
He clenches his fists at his sides and takes a deep breath.
"Your embarrassing yourself." He whispers with his head to the side.
My face is soaked in tears and I feel as if I'm drowning.
"Why? What did I do Ni?" I whisper.
He looks down at me.
"You've changed Elizabeth. Harry was right. You only talked to me in the first place because you wanted fame. You never cared about me. I finally realized the truth when you, bought all those nice clothes. You're an attention seeker Elizabeth. And it's pathetic."
I feel like throwing up. I'm sobbing at his feet and I wish I could get up, but I feel too weak to.
"I love you Ni. I always have and always will. I'll sell all the clothes right now if you want me to. I'll even buy clothes from thrift stores for now on. That's not what's important to me. You are. You're my sunflower Ni. Please..." I plead.
He steps back from me.
"Good bye Elizabeth." He states before finally walking away and leaving my soul to die slowly within me.
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Notes