Laddie

Not a moment later, the door opened to reveal a blonde haired, blue eyed Irish boy with a pair of skinny pants, vans, and a white t-shirt on. His hair was styled in the form of a quiff, which I thought was really cute. It was a simple outfit, then again, so was mine.

He looked at me the moment the door was out of his way. His eyes widened and he smiled ever so slightly. I was still sitting in my chair with my book still in hand. “Hey.” he said, no moving. He was just staring at me like I was a fucking giant teddy bear. “Hi.” I responded as I realized, I was looking at him in the same manner that he was looking at me with. Weird.

“Ya ready to go?” he asked, his staring now getting kind of creepy. “Yup.” I replied, getting up and out of my chair, placing my book on the cushion, and grabbing my phone and apartment key. I walked over to him, wondering if he still hadn’t looked at anything else but me so far tonight. I noticed that his smile grew bigger with every step that I took towards him. To honest, it was a little strange, almost to the point where it was creepy.

By the time I stood in front of him, he was grinning like one of those clowns that you see in old picture cartoons. Ok. You’re officially creepy now. I thought as I gave him my best totally-not-creeped-out smile. “My car’s out front.” he informed me. I nodded, saying “Cool.” We stood there, about a foot or two apart from each other. I wonder if he’s thinking about kissing me I think. But is he thinking about kissing me now or when he kissed me on Tuesday? I wonder as I start looking around the room, wondering why the fuck are we still here.

“Are we going to go to your car or are you just going to continue to keep on staring at me like that?” I finally spoke up. The silence, especially his crazy eyes, was starting to annoy me. “Oh uh yeah. It’s downstairs.” he snaps out of whatever trance he was in and looks down, rubbing the back of his neck, and smiling sheepishly.

We walk towards the elevator and he pushes the button to go down. He stood next to me, staring at the ceiling, tapping his foot. I thought about checking my phone, but thought that would be rude of me. So I just twiddled my thumbs, literally. The “ding” sound informed us that the elevator had arrived and the doors opened. He motioned for me to go first and I flashed him a small smile. He followed me into the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby.

The only sound was the sound of his tapping foot. He had his hands in the side pockets of his pants. I noticed that when he wasn’t doing anything, he would place them there. Odd I thought. Once we had reached the lowest level of the building, the doors opened, and he motioned for me to go first again. Well, at least he’s a gentleman I thought as I walked past the front doors of the building and into the cool night. I waited for him to catch up so we could go to his car.

He stood by me within a few seconds and walked ahead of me. He looked around him often, like as if he was searching for something. He stopped a few feet from his car, placing his arm out to signal me to stop as well. He walked slowly towards the vehicle, checking around it. Once he had returned, his expression had softened, but I could still see that he was still troubled by something.

He opened the door on the left side of the car and waited. It was a few moments later that I realized that I was in the UK and they drive on the opposite side of the road than Americans like me. I chuckled sheepishly, embarrassed by my derp moment. He smiled at me as I hopped into his car. I waited for him as he went around the front, opening the driver’s side door, and sliding into his seat.

We both fastened our seat belts, but he didn’t even turn the car on. He just stared out into the night through the windshield. Oh boy. He’s in another trance my mind objected. He then started chuckling softly. I raised my eyebrow at him, asking “What?” He chuckled for a few moments before calming down, his smile though hadn’t faded. “Oh nothing Lassie. I just find it funny how silent you’re being right now when in the pub a few weeks ago, you were tellin’ me off like you were at a football match.” he stated, just barely laughing, his blue eyes locked onto me as they twinkled with humor.

“Oh.” I mumbled, looking down at my hands. “It’s alright lassie. I’m a quiet person too. It’s one thing that I’ve found that we have in common.” He placed his hand on mine and smiled reassuringly. His soothing voice instantly settled my worries. Ok, well this is weird I thought as I smiled back at him.

“So. I was thinkin’ we could go get some pizza? I know this great place not far from here.” he said, his voice sounding much more confident now as he removed his hand from mine. The air felt cold around the area where we had shared heat. It felt lonely without him there. Stop it Abby! my mind screamed, reminding me that this was just one date. “Sound’s awesome.” I told him. I hadn’t eaten lunch today because I was with Amy. The thought of pizza reminded me of the shirt she threw at me, which I later bought. I laughed softly at the memory.

He glanced over to me and smiled. “What’s got you giggling, lass?” he asked with a friendly tone. “Oh nothing, just my friend.” I replied, still smiling. We sat in silence after that. It wasn’t as bad as earlier though. Don’t get me wrong, it was still awkward as Hell. But it was more normal now, I guess you could say.

We pulled into the parking lot that belonged to a building with a giant blue neon “PIZZA” sign out front. It reminded me of a pizza place I used to go to back in Virginia. It was never really that crowded but the food was always good. I jumped back to the current situation when my door opened and there he was, smiling at me. I smiled back and hopped out of his car. He closed the door behind me and pressed a button on his keys that caused the vehicle to lock itself.

We walk together across the parking lot and into the restaurant. I was surprised that it was practically empty, except for an old couple or two. The employee behind the counter grinned when he saw Niall. “Aye Horan! How are ya doin’ boyo?” the older looking guy called out in a thick Irish accent. Laddie grinned back and walked towards the man, saying “Hey Marcus! I’m good. How’re you?” as he and the man with the stubbly beard hugged tightly.

They obviously knew each other more than an employee would know a regular customer my mind wondered as I stood by the door awkwardly like a sore thumb. “How’s the family?” Laddie asked as he patted the Marcus’ back. “Good. How’re the boys?” Marcus asked. “They’re good. We’re on holiday right now.” Laddie responded, shifting his gaze back to me.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” he said as a flash of concern flashed over his face. He ran back over to me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me over towards the man known as Marcus. “Marcus, this is my date tonight. So be nice.” The blonde chuckled and Marcus and I shook hands. His accent locked on the word “my” and it sent shivers down my spine. His date. I’m his date. His I thought as I smiled at Marcus.

“Pleased to meet you dear.” Marcus said with a loving tone as his thick Irish accent flowed through his words. It was then that I noticed that he had hazel eyes. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. Now let’s get you two a table, shall we?” he stated as he grabbed a pair of menus. He winked back at Laddie and I whipped around to look at the blonde Irish man. I gave him a what-was-that look with a raised eyebrow. He simply chuckled and took my hand into his, squeezing it in reassurance. I felt tingles up through my hand and into my arm. Tingles. Ew my mind protested. I wasn’t used to feeling this well… girly. Since today, I was like a 3 year old girl again who thought boys had cooties and the thought of kissing freaked me out.

Marcus led us to a booth that was in the middle of the restaurant. I was surprised that it wasn’t in the back, for I was sure that’s what the whole wink thing was about. I noticed that it was purple, which was really weird on it's own, not to mention in a pizza restaurant. Boy, these people sure got a funny idea of a color scheme the cattier side of my mind thought. I swatted the notion off though, for it was really rude and I wasn't the type of girl to just be a bitch for nothing, especially to people who seemed to be quite nice, like Marcus.

Laddie let go of my hand and waited for me to sit down in the booth before he followed and sat across the table from me. Marcus stood at the end of the table and took out his pen and pad of paper. “So, what can I get you two for drinks?” he asked in that same friendly tone and his thick Irish accent. It wasn’t a creepy friendly. It was like the tone one would use like they were talking to their best friend. It was actually quite comforting.

“Can I get a water please?” I ask and Niall looks over to Marcus, saying “I’ll have a pint.” Marcus jots down our orders on his pad and hands us our menus. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.” he says with a smile before he leaves us to get our drinks. I lift up my menu and look at the toppings options. I feel like I’m being watched so I lower the menu down from my face only to be greeted with a pair of blue eyes gazing at me.

“Hey there lassie.” he said with a smirk. That nickname always sent a small shiver up my spine. And it pissed me off. I didn’t like how someone had the ability to affect me like that. “Hi there Laddie.” I responded, smirking back at him. He placed his forearms on the table and leaned forward. “So are you gonna tell me your name? Or am I going to have to call you Lassie forever?” he asked, a mischievous glint in his eye and his Irish accent capturing my attention.

Oooh how I hate how much you have me wrapped around your finger! my mind shouted.
I laughed and shook my head. “I feel the same way about you, Laddie.” I replied, mimicking an Irish accent at the pronunciation of his nickname. “I asked you first.” he said, chuckling at my sarcasm. I placed my forearms on the table and leaned forward so that our faces were a good foot or so away from each other. “Abby. Now yours.” I stated confidently.

“Niall.” he replied, his accent kicking in more so than usual. Niall… It was a nice name indeed. I hadn’t heard it before, and I like that. Well, besides Niall Rodgers, but from my understanding, this Niall wasn’t black and wasn’t working with Pharrell Williams.

“Abby… That’s a pretty name.” he said with a smooth tone, letting my name roll off of his tongue like butter. It sent another shiver down my spine. I hoped he hadn’t noticed all of my involuntary jolts lately, for I’m sure if he had, he’s think I had a condition or something.

“Yours isn’t so ugly yourself.” I laughed in reply. He busted out laughing. It was then that I noticed that his laugh was loud and bustier than most laughs. To some it might be obnoxious, but to me, it was cute. I always like it when people we a bit odd, it made me feel less awkward. I hated it when people masked their true selves around me. So to have him laugh like that showed me that he was being himself, and that made me sigh with relief.

“Funny, I’ve never heard someone call my name pretty before.” he said, still laughing, only softer now. I smiled, saying “Well, I’m a pretty original lass.” He laughed again and I couldn’t help but giggle. His laugh was pretty darn contagious. “So where are you from? I mean, I know you’re an American, but like what state?” he asked, still gazing at me with those blue eyes of his.

“I’m from Virginia. That’s the one with Washington DC in it, by the way.” I laughed at my hint for him. He chuckled and said “Oh yeah, I’ve been there. Beautiful city. Love the monuments.” My eyes widen a bit at his response. “Oh really? Which one is your favorite?” I asked, intrigued by his answer, whatever it may be. “I like the Lincoln Memorial. Just him sitting there with the quote above him I think is real dignified.” he claimed and I could see that he had really been to the Lincoln Memorial and that he wasn’t just making it up like a couple of guys in the past had done just to try and impress me. “Yeah Lincoln is pretty cool. A house that is divided cannot stand.” I replied, using one of my favorite Lincoln quotes. It was so simple yet so powerful.

“What’s your favorite monument?” he asked. I was a bit surprised in his choice of questions. I didn’t expect a guy from another country to ask me about my personal interests about a city that I lived 20 minutes away from. I found it quite endearing.

“Martin Luther King Jr. Monument, hands down.” I told him with a sense of pride in my voice. I loved MLK. His words were so inspiring and he was so passionate about civil rights. I hoped that one day, I too could be passionate about something like him.

“Oh really? We learned about him in school a bit, but not much. But I still think he’s really cool.” he said, his tone full of interest. “So where are you from? I mean, I know you’re from Ireland, but like what….” my voice trailed off. I didn’t know what you called the different sections of Ireland. Like in America, we have states. But in Ireland, I didn’t have the slightest clue of what these people had. “County. We have counties here in Ireland.” he laughed a bit loudly at my lack of knowledge.

“Yeah. So what county then?” I continued, trying to conceal the sheepish look I had on my face. “Right here in Mullingar.” he proudly proclaimed. “Ah. So a local lad, eh?” I asked, smiling. He chuckled again and shook his head. “Yeah, I guess so.”

A few moments later, Marcus appeared again with our drinks. He placed them down in front of us and I leaned back against the booth, away from Niall. He took out his pad again with his pen, asking “So have you two decided what you want to order? “ Niall looked over to me, smiling instantly. “You ready Abby?” he asked. I fumbled with the menu, trying to quickly pick a dish. They all looked so good. It was a moment or two before I realized that both Niall and Marcus were staring at me. I sheepishly smiled, looking down in my lap.

Niall chuckled and stretched his hand across the table, over to my arm. He squeezed my arm reassuringly, saying to Marcus “How about we get the usual?” Marcus nodded, jotted our order on his pad with his pen, and took our menus before saying farewell and disappearing into the kitchen again. Niall was still holding onto my arm, stroking his thumb against my skin. It sent shivers up my arm and down my spine. It was comforting, but what wasn’t was the way he affected me. That was a bit unnerving knowing that someone could cause my body to shudder with such a simple touch. I was a tough girl. And tough girls don’t cringe or shy away from things like this.

“So… what is the usual?” I asked, finally breaking the silence between us. He had been just sitting there, reassuring me with his touch like I was a frightened baby. I pulled my arm away and his face fell immediately after I broke the connection between us. Honestly, he looked like a boy whose ice cream fell off its cone and onto the street. He saw that I was looking at him concerned and his expression returned to normal, but I could still see a flicker of pain in his eyes, like he had just lost me or something.

“The usual is a giant pizza with half pepperoni and half cheese. It’s great.” he answered, his accent hooking on the word “great”. I smiled, glad that only half was pepperoni. Now I like pizza toppings as much as the next girl and if I had my choice, I’d have spinach and red peppers on my pizza. But Niall didn’t know that, so I’d just accept cheese. Cheese is good.

“Oh cool.” I said, and his smile grew, probably relieved that I didn’t object to the order. “So how old are you?” he asked and I almost choked on my water that I was currently drinking. Ok. Now that was a creepy question to ask at any time, let alone a date! I thought, composing myself before I answered his wide eyes and concerned looking face. “Don’t worry hun, I’m legal.” I chuckled, trying to wipe the surprised expression off. He still looked concerned. “It’s not that.. well maybe…. But that wasn’t the point of me asking you.” he said, looking down at the table during the pause between his statements, a sheepish smile playing on his lips. “I’m 19.” I told him. “Oh, fresh out of high school?” he asked, the concerned look on his face reappearing.

“I’m a freshman at college. Calm down.” I replied, annoyance clearly audible in my tone. “Sorry. I just had to ask. You know, general information and stuff.” he told me, a bit offended by my slight rudeness. “It’s alright. So how old are you?” I shrugged, shifting my gaze back over to him. “I’m 21.” he said. “Oh, so you’re legal too?” I sarcastically questioned him, a mischievous look swiped on my face. “And you thought I wasn’t?” he chuckled, shaking his head, which caused his blonde hair to follow his movements. It remained styled though. I was just glad that he didn’t use enough gel to make his hair like cement.

“Eh.” I shrugged again and playfully smirked, obviously being sarcastic. He laughed and leaned farther across the table so that he was good few inches from my ear. I didn’t move, for fear of losing the valuable piece of information he might tell me. Plus, I didn’t want to risk the chance of knocking heads with him. Now that would be embarrassing!

“Just say the word and I will show you just how legal I can be.” he whispered into my ear with a raspy voice that almost reminded me of a soft growl. His accent flowed through his words and made a shudder ripple down my spine. I exhaled a held in breath that I didn’t know I had and he chuckled darkly into my ear before returning back to his position against the booth.

Well… That was sexual I thought, my mind a bit swirled by his effect on me. Thankfully, my body didn’t betray me and show evidence of what I was thinking. A couple of moments later, in came Marcus, holding out a large pizza that was, like Niall said, half covered in pepperoni and half in plain cheese. “There ya go. Enjoy.” Marcus said with a cheerful voice. We thanked him and he disappeared again. I gazed at the dish that was in front of me with wide eyes. It smelled wonderful and I was quite hungry.

I grabbed a slice of cheese pizza and he grabbed a pepperoni covered one. We placed our slices on out plates and I waited for mine to cool, for I had seen quite an abundance of steam rise from the food. “So you eat all of this by yourself?” I asked, gazing up at the blue eyed Irish boy, who was currently blowing air onto his pizza slice in an attempt to lower its temperature.

He laughed another one of those bellowing, loud laughs, but I just smiled. “Sometimes.” He chuckled, shooting a wink in my direction. I felt my cheeks get hot but I’m sure that controlled it before he noticed. I turned my attention back to my pizza, hoping it would get my mind off how he affected me. I lifted up the piece and took a bite into its warm, cheesy surface. Holy shit! This is awesome! My mind screamed in enjoyment as dopamine flooded my brain.

He must’ve seen the look on my face, for he chuckled quite loudly again. “Not bad for Irish men, eh?” he said with a cocky smirk slapped on his face. I didn’t speak, for my mouth was filled with cheesy goodness, so I just nodded eagerly. He chuckled loudly again and took another bite of his nearly finished slice. I followed his actions and bit down on my pizza once more, greeting the wonderful flavors in my mouth with a smile.

I finished my first piece and went to go grab another one from the larger pie. That’s when I felt his eyes on me. When I looked up, my thesis was proven correct, for there he was, just staring at me with a twinkle in his sky blue eyes. “What?” I asked, my eyebrow raised and a smirk playing on my lips. “I’m just trying to figure you out.” He said calmly as he tried searching for something in my face, but obviously wasn’t getting anywhere. “Why?” I questioned him again, placing my hand by my side.

“I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He replied with that same calm, mellow tone. Um… Ok? I thought, a confused look on my face. He saw my concern and he flashed me a reassuring smile, reaching across the table, and squeezing my hand that was lying on the counter. I smiled back at him and grabbed another piece of pizza.

We ate in silence after that. It wasn’t as much of an awkward silence as it was more of a comforting stillness between us. It felt normal, like we were casual enough with each other that we didn’t have to constantly talk. It was nice. He didn’t ask me any personal questions, aside from my age and where I was from. This put me at ease. I never mentioned my research that I gathered about him. It didn’t matter. He was a man, I was a lady, and this was a nice date. Why should his star status ruin it?

Once we were full and content, I noticed that we ate most of the pizza pie. Only a few slices of cheese remained. I laughed softly and Niall looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Whatcha’ laughing at, lassie?” his accent hooking on my nickname like it always did, and like every other time, it sent a small tingle down my spine. “We are such pigs.” I laughed, this time a bit louder than before. I didn’t stuff my stomach, but I had eaten enough that I wasn’t hungry anymore.

He shifted his gaze to where I was looking and he too laughed with his loud, bellowing laugh again. His pint was practically empty. As if on cue, Marcus reappeared in front of our booth. “So I’m taking that you liked it?” he asked, slightly laughing at the already answered question. His gaze was on me, a friendly glint in his hazel eyes. I smiled at him and nodded. He laughed and asked if I wanted a box for the remaining slices.

“Sure. Thank you.” I told him. When I looked back over to Niall, I saw that his expression had hardened slightly. I reached across the table and took his hand into mine. “You ok?” I asked, concern in my voice. His eyes turned towards me and it seemed like they instantly lit up at the sight of me. I mentally shook off my observation though. It’s just you letting your walls fall too fast! my mind corrected me.

He smiled at me and said “Just fine, lassie.” I nodded and removed my hand from his, but received resistance from his side of the conjoinment. I squeezed his hand in reassurance and he released his slight grip on me. Odd… I wondered. Marcus showed up again with a cardboard box and I accepted it with a friendly smile.

“Oh, and don’t worry about payin’.” He said to Niall, who was currently pulling out his wallet. Niall raised an eyebrow at him and said “Now Marcus, you know I can’t let ya do that.” Marcus rolled his eyes. “Common boyo’. I can’t make ya pay for your first date with this beauty of a lady.” he said in a slightly stern tone, motioning to me with his left hand. My eyes got a bit wider and I could feel my cheeks getting hot again. The men went on like this for about a couple of minutes before Niall finally gave up, saying “At least let me pay for the pint.”

Marcus sighed and rolled his eyes again. “Fine.” he said, annoyance clear in his voice. Niall smirked and got up, patting Marcus on the back. I stood up as well as the older gentleman with the hazel eyes stepped to the side to let me pass. Niall tossed a bill casually on the table before walking over to my side as he led me out of the restaurant. As we walked past the table, I saw he had left £100 for Marcus. Holy shit! He dropped that kind of dough like it was a busted up old penny! My mind screamed as my eyes widened. Damn.

He opened the front door for me and I smiled at him, saying “Thank you Laddie.” He returned the expression and was quickly at my side once more as we walked to his car. He stopped me a few feet in front of the car again and checked the perimeter like he had before we drove to the restaurant. I still thought it was as weird as it was the first time. Weird.

He opened the passenger side door for me again, but this time I stopped. "Are you sure it's ok for you to drive? I mean, that pint was really big and all." I looked down, knowing my question was a stupid one, but it still needed to be asked none the less. Niall chuckled, saying "It's alright Lassie. You clearly don't know that I'm an Irish man." I laughed softly as well, trying to ease the awkwardness of the situation. He took my chin in between his fingers and looked at me for a second before saying "Tell ya what, I promise that if I hurt you, you can sue the living shit out of me and I would pay the price in full. Ok?" in a soft, calm voice with a smirk slapped on his face. I nodded and he wiggled my chin, smiling now. I smiled and hopped into his range rover, thanking him once more. I told him the address of my building, since I believed that he didn’t know it by heart already. And with that, we were on the road. We drove in silence, for Niall seemed to be occupied with something else, like he was searching for something as we were driving.

When we were about a mile from my building, Niall stopped the car and immediately pulled over, saying “Shit!” under his breath. I looked at him puzzled until my eyes followed to where his gaze was aimed. There were at least 6 black cars surrounding my building, all with multiple amounts of people with what seemed to be large equipment.

“Shit mother fucking God damnit!!!” he cursed just above a whisper, irritation dripping from his voice. I placed my hand on his arm, for his hands were still on the wheel as he was in a little bit of a rage mode. “Niall. Calm down honey. Please.” I said in a calm voice, trying to hide the little sense of fear that I had. He was pissed. He was really pissed. He turned his head towards me and it seemed like his eyes instantly softened. He grabbed my hand with his left and held it.

“I’m sorry Abby. I’m so sorry that I’ve dragged you into this.” He says, his voice almost broken. I could clearly see the distress in his face. I squeezed his hand in reassurance. “It’s alright Laddie. Now, would you be so kind as to tell me what exactly is going on?” I asked, still confused as a cat in a ball pit. He sighed and his worry filled eyes closed for a moment, I suppose he was trying to compose himself before he dropped this load of information on me.

“You see all those cars?” he asked, motioning to the vehicles that were positioned outside of my building with his right hand. His accent hooked on the word “cars” and like always, it caused a little shiver to roll down my spine. But now was not the time to let this Irish man’s charms affect me, so I nodded. “Well those belong to the sick mother fuckers known as the paparazzi.” his words filled with venom as he explained. “Oh.” I merely replied, still a little shocked about a bunch of paps surrounding my building. So that’s why he was cautious when we walked to his car, in case they jumped out at us I thought.

“Yeah... They must’ve seen us somehow. I’m so sorry Abby.” he said, his tone sounding a bit defeated. I squeezed his hand again and rubbed my thumb across the back of it. “It’s alright Niall. This isn’t your fault.” I told him, his eyes seeming to lighten up at my words. “Thanks Lassie.” He said, a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. “So, what’s the plan?” I asked, finally breaking the silence between us that had lasted a few moments.

“Honestly, I have no idea. We can’t go back to your place obviously. We can’t just sit here because they’ll see us. We can’t go back to my place because they’re probably surrounding that place too.” he said, his voice becoming defeated again as his eyes gaze at the floor. Suddenly, an idea popped in my head. “I have an idea. It’s kinda crazy, but it just might work.” I said and with that, he lifted his head and looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Um… Ok?” he said, waiting for me to explain further.

I hope this works...

Notes

Yay! I finally posted the date chapter! This baby took up9 pages in Microsoft Word!!! I hope you guys like it, and of course, I left it with a cliff hanger!!!

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- NightShade ❤ :)