Song : It's a beautiful day - Michael Bublé I quickly scanned through the Nandos menu and then ordered. I turned around with a sigh as I leaned back against the counter. What a long day its turning out to be, I thought to myself, raking a hand through my long brown hair. And it wasn’t even one yet. When I woke up this morning, at 7am- on vacation- my best friend, Abigail, had been missing from her room, even after we’d agreed that we’d be going to visit the Louvre.

I’d gotten up and got ready anyway, just for in case she had only been out to get breakfast, but when she hadn’t returned by 10, I got really worried. I tried calling her cell a gazillion times, but each time it went to voice mail, and since we were in a foreign country and I didn’t know how their missing persons thing worked, I didn’t call the police to start looking for her- yet. I’d hung around the hotel we were staying at, waiting for her to come back so we could finally go on our little tour. At one stage someone started pushing open the door, and I got excited thinking it was Abby , so I ran up to the door…and ended up giving the cleaning lady the tightest hug of her life. By the time it was quarter past twelve, I was grumpy, frustrated and really, really hungry, and so, that’s how I ended up here, at Nandos. A bag of delicious smelling food being waved wildly around in front of my face brought me back to the present. I took the bag, assuming it was mine, and gave the cashier a friendly smile, which she answered with a glare. Friendly people. I was still lost in thought- wondering if Abigail could possibly have had the nerve to ditch me for some snobby idiot guy she’d met when we were out exploring, Richard or something, I think- when I walked straight into someone and sent their burger and fries flying. Acting on instinct I immediately tried to salvage what I could from the wreckage that had once been a beautiful lunch, but realised how stupid I was being. “I am so, so sorry!” I said apologetically, while getting up and wiping my hands off on my shorts, “I’ll get you a new one.” I offered, turning to get back in the queue, but the stranger gently grabbed my arm. “No, no, it’s alright, don’t worry. I’ll get it.” The guy had a thick Irish accent that had me swooning. Irish accents were one of the few accents I actually liked, the rest... Eh. I turned back to look at the guy, and almost fainted. It was Niall Horan from One Direction! I kept my cool, though, didn’t want him to think I was some freaked out fan that never got a rabies injection, when I really wasn’t. In fact, I couldn’t really care less about the band other than their music. “No please, I feel terrible, the least I can do is buy you another one.” I said, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me. He chuckled, “No, it was all my fault, really, I should have watched where I was going.” He said and I shook my head. “Nope, it definitely was my fault, I was up in my own little world again, plus I am without a doubt the clumsiest person that has ever walked on the face of this earth.” When I saw that he was about to argue again I cut him off drily, “Dude, just let me buy you a burger, it will make me feel better about myself.” he laughed, holding his hands up in surrender, “Alright, ok.” He said with another laugh, “If it will make you sleep better tonight.” I smiled, “It will.” Then I dragged him over to the line and got him to order what he’d had. “May I please have a caramel dip ice cream to go with that?” he asked and I glanced at him, cocking an eyebrow, but he just shrugged and smiled innocently. The cashier- a flirty blonde bomb this time- fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Can I get you ANYTHING else, sir?” she purred suggestively and I gagged internally. Niall, though, didn’t even seem to notice, or he ignored her completely- I’d say it was the latter- and just shook his head. She looked irritated when her flirtatious methods failed miserably and muttered the amount of money that I owed. I fumbled around in my purse for my money, but Niall pulled out a bill and handed it to her. “Hey!” I protested, trying to grab the money, but the cashier looked at my hand as if she was going to bite it, so I rather dropped it. I gave Niall the evil eye, “I'm supposed to be buying you this as an apology, I thought we’d agreed!” I said, crossing my arms over my chest in an attempt to look mad, which only made Niall laugh again. “You don’t have to apologise, it really is alright.” He said, but I shook my head firmly, “But I want to, I feel really bad.” He studied me, deep in thought, “Alright, the best apology would be if you’d come keep me company while we eat.” I was surprised to say the least, I honestly wasn’t expecting that. I was going to argue, but he gave me the puppy dog eyes and I groaned in defeat. “Fine!” I said throwing my hands in the air, pretending that this development was going to cause me much discomfort, “I’ll sit with you.” His answering smile was dazzling and it had me smiling too. “Here’s your order.” The cashier mumbled, stuffing the bag into Niall’s hands and shoving the ice cream in my direction. I didn’t even bother saying thanks, I was afraid I’d say something rude instead, so I just quietly followed Niall to a table. We sat down and I tried to hand the ice cream back to him, but he shook his head, “No, it’s for you.” He said and I looked at him, exasperated. “Niall! I'm supposed to be apologising to you, now you are buying me an ice cream, what kind of an apology is that?” I asked and he shrugged, “Well, you looked like you needed it. You look really tired.” He said. Aww! That’s so sweet, I thought and Niall blushed. “Did I just say that out loud?” I asked and he nodded, “Sorry,” I said sheepishly, “That happens a lot.” He smiled then dug into his food and I did the same. His eyes widened as if he suddenly realised something, then he wiped his hands on a serviette. “I am so sorry,” he started, and then held his hand out to me, “I'm Niall, by the way. But my friends call me Nialler.” I smiled at how cute he was and shook his hand. “I'm Caitleen, it’s nice to meet you.” He smiled back, “The pleasure is all mine.” He said and squeezed my hand softly then let go. I laughed sarcastically, “Yeah, because it’s so amazing to have your own lunch dumped all over you.” I said, rolling my eyes, but he just chuckled and went back to eating. “Hey, do you have any plans for today?” Niall asked when he was done with his food and I shook my head, “Nope, not really, unless my best friend suddenly decides to make her reappearance.” “Where’s your best friend?” he asked, his brow furrowing in concern. I shrugged. “I don’t know, when I woke up this morning she was gone, and that after we’d agreed to go see the Louvre today. For all I know she ditched me for Richard.” I sighed, and slumped down in my seat, now that the realisation that my best friend might actually have ditched me for a guy she doesn’t even know has hit, I felt really depressed. I dragged my last fry around in the empty bag, having lost my appetite. “Who’s Richard?” Niall asked, oblivious to my depressed state. “Some guy she met like a day ago.” I said. Niall didn’t answer and pushed the ice cream towards me, “See.” He told me with a wink, “I told you you need it.” I smiled, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” “Always am.” He said cockily and I laughed. “So, would you like to hang out with me for the day?” he asked hopefully and I smiled. “Don’t you have better things to do than to babysit some clumsy girl?” I asked, referring to his rock star status. “No, definitely nothing better than that.” He said with a laugh and I shrugged, “Alright, if you’re sure.” “Are you gonna eat that?” he asked pointing to my abandoned fry and I shook my head with a laugh as he quickly devoured it. We got up and started walking down the street, “So, what did you have in mind?” I asked, but he didn’t answer, instead he asked where I live. “Hotel Residence de Bruxelles, why?” I asked curiously as he made his way over to a sleek silver car and opened the door for me. “Let’s go by there so you can pick up your swimming costume.” He said. “Why?” “You’ll see.” He said with an excited glint in his crystal blue eyes. We got to the hotel and I went into the bathroom to change into my swimming costume, then I put on the shorts I’d had on earlier and an old t-shirt and stuffed a towel into my backpack. Fifteen minutes later we were driving through the gates of a park. “What are we doing here? I asked, curiosity getting the better end of me. Niall just smiled and got out of the car, then jogged over and opened my door for me. “Such a gentleman.” I said and jokingly pinched his cheek. We went into the park and walked for a while, then Niall walked over to a massive tree and spread a blanket open underneath it and plopped down on it, patting the space next to him. I went and sat down there. “You like canoeing by any chance?” he asked with a playful smirk and I smiled, “Love it.” “Awesome, I thought you might.” I frowned, “Why? Do I just look like that kind of girl?” I joked and he laughed. “Yeah, no you actually do. I don’t know why, I could just totally see you canoeing.” “You were right about you always being right.” I laughed, referring to when he’d said he’s always right. “I know.” He said with a smirk, “Wanna go canoeing?” he asked, getting up and offering his hands to help me up. I smiled excitedly, “Yeah! It’s been such a long time since I last went canoeing.” I let Niall pull me onto my feet. As we walked to the lake, the sun’s bright glare reflecting on the water’s surface reminded me that we probably have to put on some sunscreen if we didn’t want to look like dried out tomatoes. “We should probably put on some sunscreen first.” I told Niall, grabbing his arm to stop him from walking any further, “You remembered to bring sunscreen, right?” Niall smiled, “Yeah, when you’re as white as I am, you learn quite early in life to always carry sunscreen with you wherever you go.” I laughed, “I’ve been trying for years to make it a habit, but no such luck.” We sauntered back to our blanket and Niall rummaged through his backpack, pulling out the sunscreen triumphantly. I smiled-something I seemed to be doing a lot around Niall and took it. “Why, thank you, kind sir.” I said and he laughed, “It’s only a pleasure if you’ll rub some on my back, please.” He joked and I laughed. “And what will happen if I refuse?” I asked, playing along and he pretended to think deeply before he answered, “Well, I guess then I’ll have to tickle you ‘till you surrender.” He took a threatening step closer to me and I held my hands up in surrender, “Ok! Ok! I’ll do it! Please just don’t tickle me!” I begged and Niall laughed, “Rather ticklish, now aren’t we?” he asked and I nodded. “Very. Just remember, you tickle me on your own risk, I am not liable for any injury you obtain.” I said seriously and he snickered, “Sounds serious.” “Oh, it is!” I agreed, nodding my head, “I have caused those brave enough to tickle me many injuries.” “You sound so professional when you say it like that, it sounds like you’re talking about a war and not tickling.” He chuckled and I eyes him seriously, “Oh, trust me, it is war.” Niall’s eyes widened as if he was suddenly afraid and I burst out laughing. “Come on, let me put some cream on your back.” I said and shuffled closer to him. He pulled off his shirt and I honestly tried not to stare, but can you really blame me if I did? I mean, come on! The guy is freaking perfect! I suddenly thought of something. “Wouldn’t it be easier if we just canoed in our shirts?” I asked, glancing down at what I was wearing. Eh, it was old; I couldn’t care less about it. At that time, it obviously didn’t occur to me that I would kind of need something to put on afterwards, but anyway. “That way we won’t get sun burnt so easily.” Niall looked at what he was wearing too, “Yeah, that’s smart, I think we should.” He pulled his shirt back on and I mentally kicked myself for suggesting the shirt thing. Idiot. I applied sunscreen to my face and any other area that my shirt and swimming shorts weren’t covering, while Niall did the same. “Let’s try this again, shall we?” Niall joked as he stood up and offered me his hands again. I laughed as he pulled me up and then we were making our way across the strikingly green lawn-again. We walked up to the wooden house were you pay for the canoes. “Hi, um, could we please get two canoes for an hour?” Niall asked the extremely bored looking guy behind the counter. “The park is practically empty today, so you can pay for an hour, but you can have the canoes until closing time.” His voice was monotone, matching his bored features. “Oh, ok, great, thanks.” Niall smiled and put the money down in front of the guy. He didn’t even bother to take the money, just returned to flipping through a worn magazine. Niall shrugged, then grabbed my hand and pulled me down to the water’s edge where the canoes lay, gently rocking back and forth in the tiny waves that came from deeper inside the lake. There was a trunk off to the side, a bit farther away from the shore, that had a massive neon sign saying LIFE JACKETS in massive bold letters. “Well, gee.” I quipped sarcastically, “I’ve got no idea what could be in that trunk.” Niall smirked, “Yeah, it’s kinda hard to guess.” He joked and came over. We each got ourselves a life jacket and then we chose a canoe-mine was blue and Niall’s was green. I got into my canoe and guided it gently into the water, “Uh, Ni, there aren’t any crocodiles round here, right?” I asked hesitantly, I had to check before I went too deep into the water. Niall looked at me incredulously, “What don’t tell me you don’t know?” he asked looking genuinely shocked. I honestly couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not. “Know what?” I asked, trying not to let my imagination run wild. “I can’t believe you didn’t know. This lake is home to the largest crocodiles in the world! They feed them daily as part of a tourist attraction. They have been rumoured to be over 30 feet long. That’s why they let people canoe on this lake all the time. To feed the crocs.” It took me a while to figure out that he was being majorly sarcastic. “Ha ha ha.” I said drily, acting like I didn’t believe him all along. “Hilarious.” He grinned and let his canoe glide further into the water, “No worries, Caitleen, there are no alligators or crocodiles or anything here.” I was quite irritated with myself for actually believing his story for a moment back there, and pushed away from the bank a little harder than necessary, which cause me to accidently hit Niall’s canoe. “Sorry!” I winched. Niall’s answering laugh boomed across the lake and I had to admire it. He had such a nice laugh. We paddled deeper into the lake and for a while everything was quiet as we each concentrated on keeping our strokes with the paddles regular and not tipping over. Niall accidently splashed me with his paddle- or maybe it wasn’t such an accidental accident, if the devilish smile that broke out on his face remained anything to go by. “Oh, no you didn’t!” I growled playfully and splashed him back. “Hey! What was that for?!” he cried as the icy water hit his back. I grinned evilly and he narrowed his eyes at me, “Oh, it’s on woman!” he said, cupping water in his hands then flinging it in my direction. “Hey! No! That’s cold!” I protested as the water cut into my skin. Niall laughed, but it was quickly cut off as I splashed him with my paddle. He was soaked! That’s just about when sparks- erm water- started flying. Water was flung from one canoe to another as we tried to outdo each other when it came to the amount of water. Niall gave one deep stroke with his paddle, sending a massive shower of water raining down on me, but the stroke had been just a tad too deep. Niall realised it at about the same time as I did, his eyes widened when his canoe began to tip over. He landed in the water with a splash and I laughed. “Caitleen one, Niall zero!” I gloated, showing the score with my hands. He glared at me from his spot in the water, then he started swimming towards me and I knew he was going to try to capsize my canoe as well. “Niall! No! Back off! I'm warning you!” I shrieked, splashing him with water. The water did nothing to stop his approach, though. Useless water. “I'm gonna hit you with a paddle, Niall!” I threatened, but he just smiled devilishly, before he suddenly disappeared beneath the water’s surface. I felt something move under my canoe and the next moment I was in the water as well. Niall laughed, “Caitleen one, Niall one!” he said with a satisfied smile and I glared at him. “Oh boy, I’d start swimming if I were you-” I warned and his eyes widened in mock horror, “Oh no, is the pretty girl gonna get her revenge on me? Oh dear! Whatever shall I do?” he said in a high pitched voice, obviously faking a damsel in distress. “Ni, you’re not distressed enough to be a damsel.” I laughed and Niall cleared his throat and gave a high pitched scream. The guy from the ticket booth came running out, looking completely bewildered. Niall’s face turned beet red and he lifted his hand in apology. “Sorry. Sorry, about that, bro.” he said sheepishly. The guy looked disappointed when he realised that he won’t be saving any damsel today. “That distressed enough for you?” Niall hissed, thoroughly embarrassed and I laughed, like really laughed. I couldn’t stop. “You…should have…seen his…face!” I managed to gasp between hysterical laughs, “And you! Oh my word! I’ve never seen anyone turn that red!” Gasp for air. “You would put an overripe tomato to shame!” Niall crossed his arms over his chest, but he was clearly failing at trying to hide his smile. I was still laughing, “Oh, gosh, that was simply classic, I never knew you could do such high notes, I thought Zayn’s the one who does those. Next time, I'm so totally recording it.” Niall laughed and I finally came to the end of my laughing fit, wiping the tears from laughing so hard from my cheeks. “Wow. I haven’t laughed like that in ages.” I remarked and Niall grinned like an idiot. “At least I could make you laugh.” He said and I smiled, then splashed him with water, “That was just cold.” He said, shaking his head and I laughed again, “Literally or figuratively?” I asked and he frowned, “Both.” “Well, I'm sorry, but you looked a little dried out to me.” I said and splashed him again. “Ooh gurl, don’t you splash me with no water!” he said sassily, pursing his lips, putting one hand on his hip and snapping the other hand’s fingers in the air.I burst out laughing, “Niall, stop it! My stomach hurts from laughing so much! I'm gonna end up having a six pack after this canoeing session." He laughed, “Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked and I nodded, “Yeah, I guess.” I said and he grinned. “Dudes, if you don’t mind, I would like to lock up; it’s kinda like 5-ish already, so yeah.” I turned around to find the ticket guy standing at the water’s edge, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than here. “OK, sure. No problem.” I said and swam over to my canoe, grabbed hold of its nose and dragged it over to where the other canoes were. I got out and dumped my life jacket in the trunk and waited while Niall did the same. “Uh, thanks.” I said awkwardly, “Have a nice day.” I grabbed Niall’s arm and we quickly walked off. “That dude is so weird.” I said and Niall agreed, “Yeah. I almost feel sorry for him. Don’t know why, though.” He said as we reached the tree where we’d left all of our stuff. “Thanks, Ni that was the most fun I’ve had with a guy since….well forever.” I said sincerely, turning to look his in the eyes. “Yeah, me too, with a girl now.” He fumbled over his words and I laughed. “It’s so strange.” Niall started hesitantly and I looked at him curiously, “Well, I feel so comfortable around you; I don’t have to pretend to be something I'm not. And the way you treat me, like I'm actually the normal person that I am, not like I am something holy. You’ll never know how amazing it feels to be treated like a normal person, when so many other people are constantly yelling in your face. I wish more people were like you. I mean I barely know you and I already feel like I can trust you with anything. Thank you for that, it means more than you’ll ever know.” He said and I smiled. “I just figure : you’re just another person, like any other guy your age, ok well maybe you’re above average attractive, and you happened to have an amazing voice, but other than that, you’re just like everyone else. I don’t think anyone is better than anyone.” He smiled, “See. I wish more people were like you, I really do.” I blushed, “Thanks, Niall.” “No problem.” He said with a smile. “Don’t you like the fame?” I asked, “Don’t you like the fans?” “Oh, no, don’t get me wrong, I love the fans, without them we’d be nothing. But sometimes it all just becomes a little too much and I wish I could at least walk down the street without a hundred of girls shoving things to sign in my face and screaming in my ears, you know?” I nodded, “Yeah, I get it, I honestly don’t know how you guys do it, it would drive me out of my mind. I really won’t be able to handle it like you guys do.” I said and he chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t know if I will ever get used to it.” I smiled and shook my head, not knowing how to respond. I took off my wet shirt and dried it out on the grass and started putting it back on. “Wait,” Niall said and started throwing random items out of his backpack, “Ah, here it is!” he said handing me a light blue T-shirt. I looked at him inquiringly, “Oh I figured you’ll need something to wear. When we go somewhere I always take an extra shirt with, cause with the guys, you never know when you’ll need it. And every time I forget that I already have a shirt in the back pack, so I bring another one without bothering to check.” He explained. “Mm, smart.” I said and he was about to say something when his phone rang. He dug around his backpack for it and eventually found it, “Hello? Yes, Harry?” pause, “What, now?...Is it important?....If this is about your shirt again, I swear I will- ok. Yes, yes, alright, I'm coming. I'm bringing someone with me, ok?....Yeah, ok. I’ll see you in twenty minutes. Ok, bye.” He sighed and shoved his phone back into his bag. “Sorry about that. Harry’s calling a band meeting. I honestly hope it’s not about his shirt again.” I must have looked confused, because he explained, “Harry once called a band meeting on our off day, because he couldn’t figure out what colour shirt he should wear to our next concert.” I laughed, “Seriously?” I asked and he nodded, “Seriously.” I cleared my throat uncomfortably, “Alright, well, I guess I’d better get going then.” I said and started gathering my things. “What? No! Where are you going?” he asked, looking confused. Now I was confused too, “You have a band meeting?” I half said, half asked with a frown. “So?” “So what?” I asked, not sure at all of what was going on. “Aren’t you coming with me?” he asked and I cocked an eyebrow, “What?” “Come with me to the band meeting, please!” he begged, walking closer to me on his knees, giving me a pouty face. “Niall, I can’t! It’s a band meeting! I'm pretty sure Liam, Louis, Zayn and Harry won’t like it very much if some stranger just showed up and sat there listening to all your juicy secrets and personal, bandy stuff.” Niall shook his head, “They won’t mind. Perrie, Danielle and Eleanor always come to band meetings.” “Yeah, cause they’re the dudes’ girlfriends! I'm some weirdo you only met today!” Niall laughed, “They really won’t mind, if you know how many times Harry has brought a girl he just picked up at a random place to meetings, you would see why.” When he saw I was about to argue again he added, “Please, just trust me. They won’t mind, I promise.” I sighed in defeat, “Alright, Niall, but if they kick me off the roof and I end up in heaven, it’s on you.” He smiled, “Come on, let’s go change quickly.” We folded up the blanket and gathered our things, then headed to the public bathrooms to change. I quickly got out of my wet clothes and put on the jean shorts I’d had on at Nandos and Niall’s light blue tee. It smelled like him. I realised I was being all stalker- like and rolled my eyes at myself. I folded up my wet clothes so that it fit into my towel and stuffed it into my backpack. Then I marched outside to see that Niall was already waiting for me. “What took you so long?” he teased and I glowered at him, “Wait till I really take my time.” I said and he smirked at me. “We should hurry up and get back to the hotel before Harry gets his knickers in a bunch.” Niall said as we walked across the parking lot to the car. “He’s really uptight when it comes to band meetings and such. Especially if management asks him to do something, because he’s always afraid that he’ll mess up.” “Shame, poor guy.” I said, feeling sorry for Harry, because he has so much stress. We got into the car and the minute Niall turned the key in the ignition the radio came to life, playing Best Song Ever at top volume. Niall started turning it down, but I slapped his hand away, “Leave it!” I started singing along as loudly as I could, having a dance party for one in my seat. Niall laughed at me and joined in. By the time we reached the hotel where he was staying Niall was playing the drums on the steering wheel to Elevate by Big Time Rush and I was rocking out on air guitar. When the song was done, I'm embarrassed to say, I was a little out of breath from the excitement. “Whoo! That was awesome!” Niall exclaimed. “Totally! We should form an air band sometime!” I said ecstatically as I bounced up and down in my seat. Niall laughed, “We should get going.” He said and grabbed his bag from the back seat and then handing me mine. “Come on!” he jumped out of the car. I followed his example and followed him up the stairs and out of the parking lot. We were greeted by an over friendly receptionist and then we were in the elevator. Niall punched in the P button, which I assumed stood for penthouse and my stomach tightened a bit as we started making our way up. When we reached the top floor of the building we got out and I followed Niall down a long hall. He stopped in front of the last door and swiped a card he’d produced from his pocket through the key slot. “You ready?” he asked and I nodded. He smiled encouragingly and then pushed open the door.

Notes

Heyyy!! So this is my first fanfiction ever, so I hope it's not too bad. Please let me know what you think?

Thanks so much :)

Cxx