I Thought You'd Care
Chapter 16: Lovebirds
Chapter 16: Lovebirds
Niall’s POV
I woke up, for the third time, with Nell. Rather than spooning her, this time, we were laying on the couch facing each other, our legs tangled a bit. I had my hand on her waist and the other was tucked under me. I groaned and sat up, attempting to shake the tingles free from my arm, which had fallen asleep. She shook her head and got up, too. I grinned sleepily at her. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey, blondie.” She responded, ruffling my hair. Just like that, her face was just an inch from mine. I was about to lean in when…
“Break it up, lovebirds.” Liam’s voice sounded from behind me. I turned around and saw everyone but Harry sitting at the table eating breakfast. I looked back at Nell, who was blushing profusely, avoiding eye contact with the guys at the table, who were snickering at us. She got up and stretched, and I realized that she was still in her dress. “You look nice,” I said, giving her a once (or twice) over.
“Thanks,” she smiled. “This is really uncomfortable, though.”
“You can borrow some of my clothes, if you want.” I said, and she nodded. “Here, come with me, I’ll show you.”
We walked over to my room, Louis wolf whistling behind us. I shot him a glare and he shut up, but I couldn’t wipe the smirk off his face. She grabbed her bag on the way there, and fished something out of it. When we got to my room, I went over to the dresser and opened it. I heard her behind me. “I have leggings, so I just need a shirt.” I pulled a shirt out, one that was reasonably small, and held it up to her. “Yeah, this should work.” I decided. “You can change in here, I’m going to go get breakfast.” I left the room and closed the door behind me, flashing her a smile before I left.
I joined the guys in the kitchen, and Louis said, “Nice restraint, Niall,” giving me a fist bump, referring to my leaving her alone to change. “Whatever, Lou.” I responded, humming as I grabbed a box of cereal. I sat down with my breakfast, next to Danielle with an empty chair on my right. “Where’s Harry?” I asked.
Liam laughed and motioned towards the floor in the living room. Sure enough, there was Harry, passed out, seven or eight beer bottles next to him. “He had six pints before those eight,” Liam said. “He’s going to be feeling it when he wakes up.”
I turned back around. “Gives me a headache just thinking about it. And he’s already bad at handling hangovers.”
Eleanor looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself, giving me a look that clearly said she wanted to talk to me later. I frowned slightly, but tried to not let it get to me.
Nell emerged and sat down next to me, and I passed her some cereal. She started eating quietly. There was an awkward silence at the table, until Louis said, “So, what are we doing today?”
Zayn finally said something. “Maybe we could go see a movie. Or play paintball. I found a place a little ways away that has this huge arena. And then there’s the dinner that Simon’s hosting tonight. We’re performing. Should run from about six to ten.”
“That sounds good,” I said. “I could be down with paintball.” The others agreed, and while they debated where to eat for lunch, I turned to Nell, nudging her shoulder. “You’re coming with us, right?” I asked, giving her puppy-dog eyes.
“Well, I don’t know, I don’t really want to impose—”
“Not at all. If you can, please come with us. I think it would be really fun. How long until you have to go home?”
“Clyde’s sleeping over at a friend’s tonight, so I’m free until tomorrow noon.”
I grinned. “Perfect. Can you please come for paintball?”
She smiled. “Okay. Sure.”
I yelled in triumph. “Nell’s coming with us!”
The girls cheered, and Louis and Liam grinned. “Cool. You’re going down, though.” Liam said, shooting her a smile.
She smiled teasingly at him. “You wish.”
I heard a groan from the other side of the room. Harry was waking up. It took everything I had not to laugh at him. “You all right, Haz?” Liam asked, snickering a bit.
“My whole body hurts.” Harry responded, rubbing his eyes. He stood up shakily and staggered over to where we were, grabbing onto objects for support. “There’s coffee on the counter,” Danielle said pityingly. “I think you’re going to need some. Or a lot.”
Harry poured himself a cup, spilling almost a quarter of the pot on the counter, and gulped it down black. “Oh, that didn’t even help at all,” he groaned.
Nell was trying her best not to laugh at him. “Do you want some aspirin? I have some in my bag,” she said. He nodded his head, rubbing his temples, and she got up, walking over to where her purse was. I took this opportunity, with her out of earshot, to ask the guys something I’d been wanting to. “Do you think it would be okay if I brought her as my date to the dinner tonight? She said that’s she free until tomorrow morning.” I asked, glancing back to make sure she hadn’t heard.
Liam grinned. “You’re mad, Niall. Yeah, Simon said we could all bring one guest.” He absentmindedly put an arm around Danielle and she cuddled up to him.
Louis cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you could.”
Eleanor perked up. “Hey, the three of us are going dress shopping for tonight after lunch,” she interjected, referring to her, Danielle, and Perrie. “She should come with us!” The other girls agreed, and I grinned.
“I’ll ask her after breakfast.” I said.
Just then, Nell came back and handed a very surly looking Harry a bottle of aspirin. I was fairly sure that he hadn’t heard our conversation, and I was glad, in case he got any ideas about asking her first. I fully intended to win whatever battle we were having over her. I liked her more than any girl I’d ever known.
We finished up breakfast, and everyone went to their respective rooms to get changed into something to wear outside. Dani gave Nell a shirt, as she couldn’t go out in mine without raising all kinds of rumors, and finally I had her alone. We were in my bedroom, sitting on the bed, with the door closed. I’m not 100 percent sure how it happened, but we were here now, so I tried to push the nervousness out of my mind.
If she said yes, it would be our first date. Which I actually really wanted to happen. If she didn’t say yes, then I would probably nod and smile, and then punch something and cry when she left. So hopefully, she would agree.
I wiped my palms on my pants, then looked her right in the eyes. I was going to do this properly. “So, Nell, listen, I really like you.”
She smiled. “I really like you, too, Niall.”
“You know about the dinner that Simon’s having tonight, right? Well, we’re performing at it, and we’re allowed to bring a guest.”
She grinned. “Oh, really?”
I coughed. “Uh, yeah. So, I was wondering…would you maybe want to go, you know, with me? As my date?” Please say yes please say yes please say yes—
“Yes.”
I loved the way she said that. She didn’t say ‘I’d love to,’ or ‘Sure’ or ‘That would be cool’. She said ‘yes’.
I did what anyone with some small measure of courage should do in that situation: I just leaned in and kissed her. It was a good kiss, too: I could feel her hands lock behind my neck and put mine around her waist, even though we were sitting. We released after a while and sat there in that same position, our lips almost touching, staring right into each other’s eyes. I could have sat like that forever, but Louis barged in broke us up.
“Thank you for keeping your clothes on, you two. But it’s time to go shoot each other with paint.” He said, smirking.
“Jesus, Lou, would it kill you to knock? We were having a moment.” Nell laughed while my cheeks flushed red.
“Well, Niall, the moment’s over, eh? It’s time to go,” he drew out the last word as he walked down the hallway.
I stood up and grabbed my phone and wallet, and Nell got her purse from where she had tossed it in the corner of my room. We walked out, my arm around her back, to the door, where everyone was standing and chatting a bit. “What took you so long?” Danielle asked teasingly as Harry glared daggers at me.
“They were having a moment,” Louis said, putting air quotes around the ‘moment’.
Everyone (sans Harry) laughed, and we left. Before we got outside, I pulled my arm away from Nell and stepped a few inches away. I whispered in her ear, “The rumor mill is vicious. If you really want, I can put my arm back, but you’re might get a lot of hate. I’m really sorry, I know it’s not fair, I forgot to mention it.”
She smiled at me and whispered back, “It’s okay. I’ve heard about the girlfriend hate thing. I’m good like this. It’s our secret for now.”
She withdrew and stayed the mandatory few inches away, leaving me with chills running down my spine, making me wonder what exactly our secret was.
Niall’s POV
I woke up, for the third time, with Nell. Rather than spooning her, this time, we were laying on the couch facing each other, our legs tangled a bit. I had my hand on her waist and the other was tucked under me. I groaned and sat up, attempting to shake the tingles free from my arm, which had fallen asleep. She shook her head and got up, too. I grinned sleepily at her. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey, blondie.” She responded, ruffling my hair. Just like that, her face was just an inch from mine. I was about to lean in when…
“Break it up, lovebirds.” Liam’s voice sounded from behind me. I turned around and saw everyone but Harry sitting at the table eating breakfast. I looked back at Nell, who was blushing profusely, avoiding eye contact with the guys at the table, who were snickering at us. She got up and stretched, and I realized that she was still in her dress. “You look nice,” I said, giving her a once (or twice) over.
“Thanks,” she smiled. “This is really uncomfortable, though.”
“You can borrow some of my clothes, if you want.” I said, and she nodded. “Here, come with me, I’ll show you.”
We walked over to my room, Louis wolf whistling behind us. I shot him a glare and he shut up, but I couldn’t wipe the smirk off his face. She grabbed her bag on the way there, and fished something out of it. When we got to my room, I went over to the dresser and opened it. I heard her behind me. “I have leggings, so I just need a shirt.” I pulled a shirt out, one that was reasonably small, and held it up to her. “Yeah, this should work.” I decided. “You can change in here, I’m going to go get breakfast.” I left the room and closed the door behind me, flashing her a smile before I left.
I joined the guys in the kitchen, and Louis said, “Nice restraint, Niall,” giving me a fist bump, referring to my leaving her alone to change. “Whatever, Lou.” I responded, humming as I grabbed a box of cereal. I sat down with my breakfast, next to Danielle with an empty chair on my right. “Where’s Harry?” I asked.
Liam laughed and motioned towards the floor in the living room. Sure enough, there was Harry, passed out, seven or eight beer bottles next to him. “He had six pints before those eight,” Liam said. “He’s going to be feeling it when he wakes up.”
I turned back around. “Gives me a headache just thinking about it. And he’s already bad at handling hangovers.”
Eleanor looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself, giving me a look that clearly said she wanted to talk to me later. I frowned slightly, but tried to not let it get to me.
Nell emerged and sat down next to me, and I passed her some cereal. She started eating quietly. There was an awkward silence at the table, until Louis said, “So, what are we doing today?”
Zayn finally said something. “Maybe we could go see a movie. Or play paintball. I found a place a little ways away that has this huge arena. And then there’s the dinner that Simon’s hosting tonight. We’re performing. Should run from about six to ten.”
“That sounds good,” I said. “I could be down with paintball.” The others agreed, and while they debated where to eat for lunch, I turned to Nell, nudging her shoulder. “You’re coming with us, right?” I asked, giving her puppy-dog eyes.
“Well, I don’t know, I don’t really want to impose—”
“Not at all. If you can, please come with us. I think it would be really fun. How long until you have to go home?”
“Clyde’s sleeping over at a friend’s tonight, so I’m free until tomorrow noon.”
I grinned. “Perfect. Can you please come for paintball?”
She smiled. “Okay. Sure.”
I yelled in triumph. “Nell’s coming with us!”
The girls cheered, and Louis and Liam grinned. “Cool. You’re going down, though.” Liam said, shooting her a smile.
She smiled teasingly at him. “You wish.”
I heard a groan from the other side of the room. Harry was waking up. It took everything I had not to laugh at him. “You all right, Haz?” Liam asked, snickering a bit.
“My whole body hurts.” Harry responded, rubbing his eyes. He stood up shakily and staggered over to where we were, grabbing onto objects for support. “There’s coffee on the counter,” Danielle said pityingly. “I think you’re going to need some. Or a lot.”
Harry poured himself a cup, spilling almost a quarter of the pot on the counter, and gulped it down black. “Oh, that didn’t even help at all,” he groaned.
Nell was trying her best not to laugh at him. “Do you want some aspirin? I have some in my bag,” she said. He nodded his head, rubbing his temples, and she got up, walking over to where her purse was. I took this opportunity, with her out of earshot, to ask the guys something I’d been wanting to. “Do you think it would be okay if I brought her as my date to the dinner tonight? She said that’s she free until tomorrow morning.” I asked, glancing back to make sure she hadn’t heard.
Liam grinned. “You’re mad, Niall. Yeah, Simon said we could all bring one guest.” He absentmindedly put an arm around Danielle and she cuddled up to him.
Louis cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you could.”
Eleanor perked up. “Hey, the three of us are going dress shopping for tonight after lunch,” she interjected, referring to her, Danielle, and Perrie. “She should come with us!” The other girls agreed, and I grinned.
“I’ll ask her after breakfast.” I said.
Just then, Nell came back and handed a very surly looking Harry a bottle of aspirin. I was fairly sure that he hadn’t heard our conversation, and I was glad, in case he got any ideas about asking her first. I fully intended to win whatever battle we were having over her. I liked her more than any girl I’d ever known.
We finished up breakfast, and everyone went to their respective rooms to get changed into something to wear outside. Dani gave Nell a shirt, as she couldn’t go out in mine without raising all kinds of rumors, and finally I had her alone. We were in my bedroom, sitting on the bed, with the door closed. I’m not 100 percent sure how it happened, but we were here now, so I tried to push the nervousness out of my mind.
If she said yes, it would be our first date. Which I actually really wanted to happen. If she didn’t say yes, then I would probably nod and smile, and then punch something and cry when she left. So hopefully, she would agree.
I wiped my palms on my pants, then looked her right in the eyes. I was going to do this properly. “So, Nell, listen, I really like you.”
She smiled. “I really like you, too, Niall.”
“You know about the dinner that Simon’s having tonight, right? Well, we’re performing at it, and we’re allowed to bring a guest.”
She grinned. “Oh, really?”
I coughed. “Uh, yeah. So, I was wondering…would you maybe want to go, you know, with me? As my date?” Please say yes please say yes please say yes—
“Yes.”
I loved the way she said that. She didn’t say ‘I’d love to,’ or ‘Sure’ or ‘That would be cool’. She said ‘yes’.
I did what anyone with some small measure of courage should do in that situation: I just leaned in and kissed her. It was a good kiss, too: I could feel her hands lock behind my neck and put mine around her waist, even though we were sitting. We released after a while and sat there in that same position, our lips almost touching, staring right into each other’s eyes. I could have sat like that forever, but Louis barged in broke us up.
“Thank you for keeping your clothes on, you two. But it’s time to go shoot each other with paint.” He said, smirking.
“Jesus, Lou, would it kill you to knock? We were having a moment.” Nell laughed while my cheeks flushed red.
“Well, Niall, the moment’s over, eh? It’s time to go,” he drew out the last word as he walked down the hallway.
I stood up and grabbed my phone and wallet, and Nell got her purse from where she had tossed it in the corner of my room. We walked out, my arm around her back, to the door, where everyone was standing and chatting a bit. “What took you so long?” Danielle asked teasingly as Harry glared daggers at me.
“They were having a moment,” Louis said, putting air quotes around the ‘moment’.
Everyone (sans Harry) laughed, and we left. Before we got outside, I pulled my arm away from Nell and stepped a few inches away. I whispered in her ear, “The rumor mill is vicious. If you really want, I can put my arm back, but you’re might get a lot of hate. I’m really sorry, I know it’s not fair, I forgot to mention it.”
She smiled at me and whispered back, “It’s okay. I’ve heard about the girlfriend hate thing. I’m good like this. It’s our secret for now.”
She withdrew and stayed the mandatory few inches away, leaving me with chills running down my spine, making me wonder what exactly our secret was.
8/19/13