His Princess

I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

“It’s a little place called Tim’s Diner,” I said when every eye turned to me. “It’s not far from my grandmother’s house. No one’s ever really there, and—”

“I know you two probably have better places to be, but could you take us there?” Niall interrupted, a nervous wince pulling across his face as he did. “We can’t have security bring us there. I’m sure the first thing they’ll do when they find us is lock us up and never let us out of their sight again, so I doubt they’d take us there.”

And that’s exactly what we were doing. We managed to sneak through the city, using back roads and dark alleyways that somehow didn’t have druggies or muggers waiting for us—Sparrow was ready with her taser, though.

Halfway between the place we ran into the guys and the place the Audi Q7 was waiting, Liam came back to consciousness, and he looked a bit frightened a first. Made sense to me. I mean, last thing I’m sure he remembers is hurrying down the road with his friends, and he wakes up in a dark alley next to girls he doesn’t know? Plenty of reason to be scared.

We quickly—and quietly—explained to him what was going on, and he was a bit too okay with the situation. I mean, he always seemed really nice and calm, but . . . he was violently tazed. And his friends were perfectly fine with going along with the person who tazed him.

On the outside, this situation looked extremely bizarre, but I guess it looked that way on the inside as well.

Arriving at Sparrow’s Mom’s ruby Q7 had never felt as relieving and exciting as it did that moment. I’m sure it wasn’t just a spectacular moment for me either.

Sparrow got a tiny little smile as she unlocked the doors and looked over at me, and I gave her a smile and a nod back. Without a word, I knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

We spent forever deciding which vehicle to take today—my Jeep, her A4, or the Q7—and we almost took her A4. Turns out, it was a good thing we hadn’t. There wouldn’t be room for all the guys if we had.

Harry and Louis climbed in the very back, and Niall, Zayn, and Liam got in the middle, leaving the front for Sparrow and me. She seemed to be a little baffled as she started the car up, and it made total sense.

We had One Direction sitting in the back of her Mom’s car. How does that even happen?

Sparrow laughed suddenly, which surprised everyone—including me. “A few of our hardcore Directioner friends went to the concert tonight, and she said that she wasn’t leaving tonight without all five of you in her car. I just thought it was funny.”

Louis laughed. “You know, for two people who are surrounded by Directioners, you’re so calm about us.”

“You’re just people,” I said with a shrug. “And, I mean, freaking out is pointless. It just hurts everyone’s ears.” And suddenly, out of nowhere, my stomach growled loudly enough that I think everyone in the car heard it. “I’m actually really glad you guys are hungry. Food? It’s necessary.”

Sparrow shot a glare in my direction. “It’s not fair. This girl can eat three cows and four horses and still be super skinny.”

“You eat a lot?” Niall asked with a laugh.

I nodded. “All the time, really. Food’s an important part of my day. It’s also my favorite part about traveling. You get to try all kinds of new foods.”

Niall turned and looked at Zayn. “See? Someone else gets it. You tell me it’s about all the people and the different sights, but she understands.”

Sparrow rolled her eyes. “Ugh. She is ridiculous when it comes to food. I don’t know how she eats some of the things she does.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “You’re just scared to try new things.”

Harry practically fell over Zayn’s shoulder to get my attention. “I just want to make it known that I like you two. Even if you did taze Liam.”

“Aw, well that’s so nice,” I said. “You’re pretty cool, too, Harry. Though I’m sorry Sparrow tazed you, Liam.”

He let out a soft chuckle. “It’s alright. I’ll just be in lots of pain in the morning, I think.”

“So there must be some way we can repay you guys for this,” Zayn said. “I mean, you’re going pretty far out of your way for us.”

“Just don’t tell anyone about the taser incident, and we’ll call it even,” Sparrow laughed. “I think people might literally kill me for that.”

“Well, that’s payment for you then,” Harry said. “What about you, Emmit? What would you like?”

A huge grin pulled across my face. “Honestly, I don’t want payment. I didn’t do this to get anything in return.”

“Maybe that’s why we want to give you something in return,” Niall said.

Liam snapped his fingers a little and leaned forward. “How about VIP passes for the both of you and a friend of your choosing?”

Sparrow shrugged. “That’s not necessary. The only reason we would need VIP passes is so she could meet Niall, which she’s already done, so . . . really, guys, you don’t have to do anything for us.”

I felt all of the blood rush to my face as I turned and looked at her, eyes wide. My face had to’ve been glowing red, but I was glad it was dark out so they couldn’t see that. I was too scared to look back behind me, so I just glared at her.

Through the rearview mirror, I saw Harry’s smile widen. “Well, that’s new. But I like hearing that.”

Sparrow nodded. “He’s the reason she even became a fan. She loves Irish people. And food.”

“I’m just gonna jump out this window now,” I informed her. “Tell Mika hi for me.”

Sparrow just laughed darkly. “What? I’ll openly admit that I wanted to marry Harry at one point, and I have on more than one occasion noticed those two words rhyme.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the guys, reluctantly of course. “Anyways, yeah. You’re just people, really.”

Niall had a very bright and almost cocky smile on his lips, but he was too happy to be cocky. “Just people, agreed. I do agree with your love for food, though. But why Irish people? Sure, it’s the best damn country on Earth, but why do you love the people so much?”

I laughed a little and shrugged. “Well, I freaking love Irish accents. So many people are obsessed with British accents, which are pretty cool too. But, I just love Irish accents, and I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland. What’s it like?”

“Amazing,” he said. His smile softened into that of a blissful little boy yearning to be home. “People really are drunk all the time there, but there’s something about a bunch of drunk people that’s just fun. It’s a beautiful place, too. I definitely recommend going there and seeing it for yourself.”

Louis grunted. “My British accent isn’t good enough for her.”

I laughed. “No. I didn’t say that. Really. If I had a British accent, I would never shut up. I don’t understand how you guys do it.”

“When it’s all around you, it’s easier to get used to than you’d think,” Liam said.

“So, I have a curious question,” Sparrow said out of nowhere. She briefly glanced into the rearview mirror back at the guys before turning her gaze back to the road not even a mile away from Tim’s Diner. “Since you guys are on a break right now, how long are y’all gonna be in town?”

“We’re not really sure,” Harry said for everyone. “Liam’s heading out tomorrow to go spend some time with Sophia. Perrie is actually meeting Zayn here before they fly out to LA, I think he said. I don’t know about Louis. He never answers solidly. As for Niall and I . . . well . . . I don’t know, really. Haven’t put much thought into it.”

“I’m thinking about staying in the city for a bit,” Niall answered for him. “I’ve been here multiple times, but I’ve never really gotten to see it, you know?”

Sparrow nodded. “I definitely know what you mean. It’s such a huge place. So many people.”

And right about the time she said that, we were pulling into the practically empty parking lot of Tim’s Diner. The green neon sign lit up the wet pavement, flickering every so often to give the night an almost creepy tone.

Tim’s Diner was probably my one of my favorite restaurants I had ever had the pleasure of going to, even in all of my travels—not that I had been too many places, though. It was a small little diner near my grandmother’s house that not only had wonderful food, but it also had an area set aside for dancing. No one ever really came here, but especially not this time of night. It was open 24-7, too.

The seven of us walked inside and found a place to sit immediately. The waiter—a guy named Kasey that was always nice to us due to the fact he wanted to go out with Sparrow—didn’t recognize the guys, so that was yet another plus to this place.

Niall and I ordered enough for everyone between the two of us, but we ate it all ourselves . . . and then what the others wouldn’t eat. It was a huge variety of goodness all over the place, and despite the fact that I usually had problems eating in front of people, eating in front of possibly one of the biggest boy bands right now was beyond simple.

Everyone got up to dance except Niall and me. We were still stuffing our faces and eating things carefully, making sure to taste the food. There wasn’t much talk due to the fact that I was beyond awkward, so I decided to just try something—a strategy Sparrow told me about.

“Sorry,” I said, letting out a breath as I bit down on my lip. “I’m really quite shy and kinda awkward. I don’t know how to talk to people.”

“You’re doing just fine,” he informed me. “You just used an entire sentence, so you’re perfectly fine. I’m really glad you suggested this place. It’s fantastic. So . . . relaxing.”

I nodded. “That’s what I love about it. There are never many people here, and you can just eat, dance, and have fun. It’s nice.”

“Nice indeed,” he agreed. “So . . . was Sparrow just kidding when she said all of that?”

“All of what?” I asked.

He shrugged, as if it was no big deal to him, whatever it was, although I figured it was the exact opposite. “About . . . me being the reason you even started listening to our music.”

“Well, no,” I admitted. I knew my cheeks were turning a deep red as I stared down at my plate. “Uh, I heard there was one Irish person in the group, so I started by looking at a picture of you guys. I picked my favorite from the picture, the one I found most attractive, and I had no idea that was the Irish one. You were just the first one I had any attraction to, instantly. Uh, from there, I started learning names, and I fell into the One Direction fandom. Haven’t really looked back.”

Niall laughed. “Well, I, uh . . . I’ve never really realized that people become fans because of me. This is a first for me.”

“You really shouldn’t be insecure,” I informed him. “I don’t know if that’s true or not. It’s amazing what gets out and what things become.”

He nodded. “It really is pretty baffling to see what lies become ‘real,’ but the insecurity thing is . . . accurate, unfortunately. Back when I was still living in Mullingar, I was a wee insecure, but it’s only gotten worse since joining up with the lads. I mean, if it was just one time, I would blow it off, but there have been numerous times where girls will hug every single one of them, except me. They’ll go so far as to request that I’m not in the picture, and that hurts. Makes a man feel a bit insecure, ya know?”

I slipped out of my black hoodie and nodded. “I get what you’re saying, and I get why I’m not really enough to change that. I just really hate how insecure you are because you shouldn’t be.”

I hadn’t noticed as I took my jacket off that his gaze drifted from my face to a little lower, but he wasn’t doing like you would expect a typical guy to do. No, he was looking right at my arms, and I knew it wasn’t to see how fit I was.

On my pale white skin, the soft pink scars weren’t exactly hard to spot.

“It looks like you really don’t have any room to talk.”

It surprised me when he gently took my arm and began tracing some of the scars, but it was my turn to be mysterious. “I, uh, haven’t done it in over a year. Seeing Sparrow’s face when she realized I did it killed me. I felt terrible about it, but it was my way of punishing myself.”

“You should never punish yourself,” Niall said, eyes now suddenly holding mine. Deep within his cyan orbs, I saw a strange pain, but even that raw pain wasn’t enough to keep my heart from swooning. His eyes were so beautiful in person. Without photoshop and without looking through a camera lens, that boy still had the most beautiful and amazing eyes I had ever seen, even filled with sadness. “I don’t care what anyone else says. You’re beautiful, Emmit, and you’re wrong about one thing. A girl like you is more than enoughto change a lad’s insecurity.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening. After running into One Direction and spending two hours sneaking across the city, hiding from just about everyone due to the fact that we didn’t know who was a fan and who wasn’t, reality finally caught up with me. I finally realized just how strange this was.

Sparrow and I were eating a very late night dinner with One Direction.

Was it a dream? I hoped not, but how could it be real? Niall Horan was telling me that I was beautiful. When guys at school never even saw that, how could Niall Horan seeing that be real?

Exactly.

He half-heartedly smiled as my eyebrows knitted together in deep concentrations. “What?”

“I’m trying to decide if I’m asleep,” I admitted, and I managed to give him a wry smile. “Think about it. Yes, you guys are just people, but so am I. I’m just one of the millions living in Manhattan who has seriously gone my entire life being ignored. I’ve blended in and been that uncared for person you were talking about. I’ve seen guys chase after Sparrow tooth and nail. They go after every girl except for me, it seems. And now I’m supposed to believe that you, Niall Horan, are really here and really telling me that I’m beautiful?”

He laughed. “I guess I can imagine this is a little surreal. It’s still surreal to realize that there are millions of people I don’t even know who know so much about me. It’s surreal to have screaming fans just about everywhere we turn. But, this is real, Emmit.” Carefully, he reached across the table and took my hand, catching me off guard completely and releasing a cage of butterflies in my stomach. “Can you feel that? My skin on yours?”

“I think I can, but that doesn’t mean it’s real,” I said. “I’ve had dreams more real than reality sometimes.”

“I don’t wanna pinch you,” he laughed. “I would feel awful, but alright. I’ll let you keep believing this is a dream. So, while you’re just dreaming, why don’t ya dance with me?”

“That sounds fun,” I agreed, and we both slid out from the large booth and went to the dance floor. To say that the timing was pretty sketchy was kind of a understatement. As soon as we got out there, the song changed to Vegas Skies by The Cab, but Niall still intended to dance. So, I had my first slow dance with Niall Horan of One Direction.

The way he was looking down at me brought a gentle wave of heat rushing through my body as my heart began to race inside my chest. He had a look in his eyes that made me feel like I was the only girl in the world, a true diamond in the rough.

Despite the whirlwind of feelings and emotions twisting around inside of me because of his disorienting look, I wrapped my arms around his neck, he wrapped his around my waist, and we danced. I could see Sparrow and Liam dancing casually. Zayn . . . well, I don’t know what happened to him. Louis and Harry were dancing a little overdramatically. It was funny, actually, the way they were dancing, and if I wasn’t so wrapped up in the fact that I was dancing with Niall, I might’ve laughed.

I was too happy to laugh at them, however. I just laid my head against Niall’s muscular chest and danced with him. When Niall started softly singing along to the song, his breath tickling the inside of my ear, it made everything more magical and surreal.

That’s why I couldn’t believe that it was reality.

Notes

The beautiful lyrics in the description are from an equally beautiful song called Start of Something Good by Daughtry. Seriously, guys, y'all should listen to it. <3 I adore it. Click here if you want to. :3

Back in the old version of this story, this remained as one of my favorite chapters. So far, it still is. <3 It got even more precious and adorable, however, so :D yay for editing.

Speaking of which, I will be editing/adding more as I go along, and I promise to get it done as fast as possible. :) My little sister says this is her favorite of all my fanfictions, so I hope you guys feel the same way. Well, really, I just hope you enjoy it. :) It doesn't necessarily have to be your favorite, but I hope you enjoy reading it. :)

Let me know what you think!