(Niall's POV)

"I love you, Elizabeth." I whispered before pressing my lips against hers. It felt rewarding, waiting all this time to finally say it, to finally be able to kiss her, it felt like an eternity waiting for this moment.

I didn't think about what was going to happen after this, I just wanted her to know that I loved her a lot; more than anything. I wouldn't mind if she rejected me, but it would be amazing to know she was mine.

I slowly pulled away, and I was grateful that Elizabeth couldn't see the blush the crept onto my face.
Elizabeth stood there, silent, definitely shocked about what I just said and did.

"Look, Elizabeth, I'm really sorr-"

"I love you too, Niall." she moved forward, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me into another kiss.

We finally pulled away from the long kiss as we were both out of breath. I could see a large smile on Elizabeth's face through the lights.

"You know, it's pretty late. What are you doing here at this time?" I asked, reaching for her hand and leading her down the street.

"I was heading on home, but you tell me. What are you doing here?" she inquired, catching up to me.

"I came to visit some people, but I couldn't find their house, so yeah. Why don't I come to your place?"

"Of course! That's a splendid idea, Niall! Come on, follow me." Elizabeth exclaimed, now running and taking the lead, but not letting go of my hand.

I quickly followed her, as we both burst into a fit of laughter along the way.

"Man, you're fast!" I chuckled as we came to a stop. "You too!" Elizabeth laughed, knocking the door.

"SURPRISE!!!!!" the shouts of four certain people greeted us. "Oh my god! Guys!" Elizabeth squealed, as we entered the house.

"Wow Liz, looks like you found the 25% of the surprise yourself!" Alexia eyed me suspiciously.

"What?! I got lost on my way trying to find your house! The directions you gave really helped." I rolled my eyes.

"So, anyway. What was happening a few minutes ago? We heard really monstrous laughs coming from outside. I bet it woke up half the neighbors." Louis snorted.

"Leave him, tell us, how did you find each other?" Liam asked, grabbing our hands and pulling us into the living room. He sat us down on a sofa as the others gathered round the room.

"Go on." Harry urged as soon as everyone was seated.

"Well, uh. We bumped into each other." I answered. "Well that's the quintessential way of finding your true love..." Alexia smirked.

"In my case, truly." I nodded, agreeing. "Wait, so you mean? How?" Harry blurted.

By this time, everyone was giving me strange and bewildered expressions. Elizabeth looked quite confused, and I now knew she had no idea about the plan these guys made. Well neither did I, but I did know they were going to do something.

"What did you say, Niall?" Louis raised an eyebrow. "I love you." I replied. "Ah, that I know. But what did you say to her?" he now pointed towards Elizabeth.

"I told her that I loved her, Louis. And I'm glad to say she said the same words to me too!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Liam, Harry and Alexia began hooting. "Congrats man! I told you we had a plan!" Louis smiled, patting my back.

"What the heck was the plan?" Elizabeth finally spoke, looking around the room. "Exactly like Niall, so slow in comprehending things." Louis shook his head.

"Again, forget what he says. We had actually decided to get you and Niall together and thus, we ended up here. Niall was in Mullinger visiting his family, so he came without us and well, he got lost. And then you know what happens." Liam politely explained.

"We're glad Niall finally found his princess." Harry smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a Saturday morning and I had decided to go on a walk with Elizabeth. We strolled in the quiet park, hand in hand. There wasn't much sunlight and the air around us was cool. The surrounding was beautiful, but to me nothing was as gorgeous as Elizabeth.

As we walked along, I admired how Elizabeth gazed at everything surrounding us with amazement.

"You come here often, right? So why look at everything like it's your first time?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.

She turned to face and a smile slid onto her face.

"Though everything looks the same, some things do change. You see that tree?" she paused, pointing towards a large and what seemed like an old tree. I nodded.

"Well, it's been here for ages! When I was younger, I used to come here a lot. And when I would come, this tree was the first thing I would rush over to. Nothing else seemed more interesting or valuable than it. I think I might be emotionally attached to it. I remember the very first time I came here with my Mom, she showed the same exact tree. She told me that it was ours, a treasure we would keep close to us. And so we engraved our initials into it, and it's still there." she explained, tears starting to form up in her eyes.

"Hey, hey. Come on! Let's check it out!" I said, tugging her over to the tree.

I spotted the initials she had engraved with her mother.

"This was one of Mom's favourite places to visit. She used to sketch the scenery as we would relax under the shade. When I was fourteen, she died due to poor health. After that day I came to visit this park more and more often because it made me feel as if I was closer to her. So that's why, I admire the surroundings. To some people these might just be trees, flowers, and grass, but for me, they hold a story. A story I don't ever want to lose." she finished, now tears streaming down her cheeks.

I didn't know what to say. So I just grabbed her arms and pulled her into me. I wrapped my arms around her, allowing her to let go of all the pain she was feeling.

I was shocked to find out about her mother. Elizabeth was always smiling, never hinting pain or her true feelings. She lived all this time without her mother, but about her father? She didn't mention him once and she's in no condition to talk about him anyway. I let the thought go, though it was strange.

Soon, we decided to head back over to Elizabeth's place. She had finally stopped crying and was back to smiling again. I feel as if she's an innocent child, searching for the missing love of her parents she had never gotten.

I smiled down at her as she told me about her bizarre days with Louis when they were in high school. Behind her radiant smile there was a shattered girl, not having the love of her parents in the time she needed them most.

"Liz," She stopped talking and turned around to completely face me. "Is everything alright?" she asked concern in her tone.

"Yeah everything's fine. I just wanted you to know that you don't need to worry. I'm yours and I love you dearly and I'll always keep loving you until my last breath. You got that?"

Her features relaxed as she took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I get it. And you remember I love you and I'll love you forever and always."

Notes