Leprechaun: Hey, Annie. How are you feeling this morning? I’m worried. Xo
I read the text with surprise, but an odd bit of excitement the next morning. Last night before bed, I found him on twitter and discovered that I knew who he was. I hadn’t realized it since I wasn’t a huge fan, but yeah. I met One Direction.
Annie: I’m ok. Thanks for caring :) But how did you get my #?
Leprechaun: Erm, I think Harry got it off your phone while your aunt was driving over.
Annie: Well, that explains why I’m getting texts from ‘Leprechaun’… XD
Leprechaun: Sorry, those guys are crazy haha
Annie: That’s ok, I like them.
Leprechaun: Hey, you wanna get a coffee today?
Annie: I’d love to!
Leprechaun: Ok, I’ll be there in an hour. Where do you live?
Emily: Just google “Odds&Ends” in Cheshire. I’m awful with directions!
Leprechaun: Ok, see you soon! Xoxo
Annie: :)

What did I just do? Did I just get a date with a pop star, and agree to go out with the guy that held me for half an hour after a major panic attack at the same time?! What is wrong with me? What was I supposed to say? Or better yet, what the heck was I supposed to wear?! I ran down the stairs and nearly flipped over the railing as I hit the bottom.
“Auntie!” I shouted, stopping short as I realized she was with a customer.
“Just a second, honey. So, $75 it is?” She finished a transaction with the customer, who gave me a sweet smile and left. “What’s up, kid?” Auntie asked. I stood on the opposite side of the counter and placed my hands down hard.
“I just agreed to go out with Niall Horan,” I breathed. She froze and stared, shocked.
“YOU agreed to go out with a BOY? On a DATE?!” she asked. I nodded, freaking out. “Who is he?”
“Um, the boy that was, er, helping me yesterday. What do I wear?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.
“What makes you think I know?”
“You suck at relationships but you have a great sense of style,” I smarted. She glared at me, but continued up the stairs to her room.
She was a woman on a mission when it came to clothes, and we tried on about fifteen different outfits, doing hair and makeup in between. We gutted her closet and finally chose blush pink skinnies with a tight white t-shirt tucked in and a brown belt. For shoes we were back and forth between blue converse and sandals, but eventually decided on white vans. I left my dark brown hair down around my blue eyes, and we kept my makeup basic.
“There. You look stunning! Go have fun,” she said with the last stroke of mascara. We turned to the stairs as the bell above the door sounded through the shop. She nearly shoved me down the stairs when I hesitated, and I repaid her with a glare. I took the stairs one at a time, breathing with each one. I couldn’t help but feel nervous. I hadn’t been on a proper date in over two years. Finally Niall came into view as I turned the corner at the landing. He spun around when he heard me.
“Wow, Annie, you look gorgeous,” he said, taking my hand and helping me down the last stair. I blushed deeply as his eyes roamed over me, landing on my own. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I replied.
“Have fun, kids, but not too much!” called Auntie from upstairs.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Kathy! Your niece is safe with me!” said Niall with a cheeky grin. “So, how about that coffee?”
Niall took me to a romantic little coffee shop, then we went to the park in the middle of town. It was perfect; there was hardly a cloud in the sky. He held my hand as we walked in peaceful silence, swinging it back and forth in the slight breeze. I was floating around in my own thoughts, and when he spoke I was surprised.
“I’m sorry.” I stopped walking and stared at him, trying to read his expression. He reluctantly met my eyes and I saw the slightest trace of tears there.
“For what?” I asked, utterly confused.
“For… for yesterday. I shouldn’t have tried to, erm, to kiss you,” he stuttered. He stopped and waited for my reaction, biting the inside of his lip.
“Oh… that wasn’t your fault, I just…”
“If I hadn’t done that, then you wouldn’t have… you know…”
“Freaked out? Panicked?” I said, filling in his missing words.
“Yeah,” he answered, staring at the ground with such intensity that I almost look there myself. I didn’t know what to say. Nobody had ever apologized like this before. “Don’t worry,” he continued, “I won’t ask why or anything… I had a friend who used to have panic attacks. She didn’t want to talk about it either.” I paused, realizing I had never spoken about it to anyone, yet he seemed to understand.
“Thank you,” I whispered sincerely, dipping my head to catch his eye. He searched my blues with his own before he began walking again, still holding tightly to my hand.
“Um, there’s something you should know about me if we want to keep going like this,” he said quietly. I wrinkled my brow in concern. What could be wrong? “I’m, um, kind of a well known person, I guess. I mean, I-”
“I looked you up on twitter last night,” I interrupted with a guilty smile. “I hadn’t recognized you until I saw a picture of the five of you on stage.” It was his turn to be surprised. He smiled, embarrassed, and squeezed my hand.
“Yeah… good, because now I don’t have to explain it. That can get awkward…” he paused and looked straight ahead as if remembering another time when he had to explain to someone that he was a mega superstar in a boyband that was worshipped globally. I smiled and looked down, then back at him. He was so beautiful. He returned my stare as we memorized each other’s faces. He pulled us to a stop and swung me around to face him, never releasing my right hand. My heartbeat sped up a million miles hour as his right hand pushed the hair back from my face. My pulse seemed to be screaming 'kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me'.
“You’re so beautiful, Annie,” he whispered. I blushed and refused to meet his gaze until his right hand hooked under my chin and pulled my head up. “Don’t ever let another person tell you different, you hear?” I didn’t know how to respond. No one had ever said something like that to me before. Without warning he leaned down and brushed his lips across mine. I gasped, but didn’t move away. He sensed my confusion and pressed our lips together, wrapping his left arm around my waist and cupping my face with the other. He pulled away from my mouth and planted a few soft kisses on my cheeks and jaw before leaning back and watching me. My cheeks flushed and I shivered uncontrollably, suddenly wanting to cry.

Notes

Fact about me: I'm homeschooled...