Rhythm & Brews

Niall Horan watched the old barn, he'd spent the better part of the summer in, growing smaller and smaller in his side mirror. He could still make out the tiny figures of his two little sisters chasing the rusty black Chevy as it picked up speed and its last layer of dust from the long dirt drive to his family house. The girls little arms pumping as they ran, trying to catch up until they finally stopped and he watched their shoulder sag in defeat. Leaving Violet and Ruby was the worst part of this whole decision. The twins had begged and cried and clung to his legs as he walked out the door, but he couldn't make himself stay, this life wasn't for him anymore.

He'd grown up with the understanding that he would go into the family business of farming and had even gone off to college to get a degree to help with that. With only a semester left before graduation everything changed and Niall made the biggest decision of his life, he was going to drop out of school, leave home and move to an entirely new state, all to pursue his dream. He wanted to perform in front of crowds of people, singing his heart out for them. This was a dream he'd had since he was a little boy and this move was how he was going to make it happen.

That's where Harry came in.

Harry Styles was Niall's old roommate at school. The two were completely different but somehow they got along incredibly well. Unfortunately, Harry had transferred to a small liberal arts school up in Tennessee a few years back. The two had kept in touch over the years and the second Niall had decided to go after his dream Harry was the first person he'd called. He'd had always been the most encouraging voice in Niall's ear, constantly pushing him to pursue his dream especially when no one else would.

Saying his parents were less than thrilled was the understatement of the century. When their only son came to them and told them he'd decided to drop out of school they were speechless. Then he hit them with the news that he was also walking away from the family's small dairy farm. There were a lot of tears, mostly from his mother. His father stood in stoic silence for twenty minutes before the yelling started. By the end of his tirade, his father had practically disowned him. He would never understand his son's interest in music and definitely didn't understand how he was ever going to make a career out of it. Bunch of godforsaken hogwash in his opinion. This last explosive argument was what finally sent Niall over the edge. He threw all his belongings in his truck the next day, peeled his hysterical little sisters off of him, and sped off in a cloud of dust.

He was hours outside of town still and hadn't really thought about what he was going to do once he got there. Just like me to do something like this. Nowhere to go and nowhere near home. Digging in the back pocket of his old ratty jeans, he pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts until he found Harry's number. At least, he hoped it was still his number. It had been a while since they'd last talked. Harry was a modern day nomad of sorts. The last Niall had heard, he was living in his van, traveling up and down the west coast learning about organic honey.

"Niall!" His deep voice rumbled through the phone, full of life like it had always been. Niall could practically smell the scent of patchouli and sage seeping through the phone and permeating the air around him.

"Hey man, I finally did it." He swallowed hard as he said the words, all the worries coming back as the words of his father replayed in his mind.

"Did what?" Harry asked, sounding slightly confused.

"I left." Hearing himself say it out loud, he wasn't so sure this was a good idea anymore. Acknowledging the fact he had just left his home for an unknown city with maybe thirty dollars to his name, had brought up a range of emotions he would rather keep buried.

Harry, of course, thought it was a brilliant idea. "You did? That's great! You can do whatever you want now. Be who you are meant to be. Let your creative juices flow freely. Man, I'd love to have to up here with me!" His words coming a mile a minute. "Can't believe you finally did it!"

"Yeah, me either." He really hoped Harry couldn't hear his voice cracking with nerves.

"Listen, I'm leading a yoga class in a few minutes, but I want you to come straight to my place! Rhythm & Brews on Belmont Blvd, alright?"

"Where is th-"

"Gotta go! Look forward to seeing you! Namaste."

Niall looked down at the blank screen and empty line, Harry was exactly how he had always been. Niall shook his head, laughing to himself, wondering how in the hell he was going to find this place. Hopefully it wouldn't be that hard. He put his eyes back to the road and kept going straight ahead on I-24, following the signs for Nashville, letting them lead him home, wherever that may be.

Notes