The Irish One
"Then Let Us Be, Horan. Let Us Be"
Chapter 15- "Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer"
[Noon, Freckleton Apartments]
"You're not the person that I knew back then It's all too late to set things straight 'cause everything has been You're not the person that I knew back then Let's try and act like this didn't happen, Follow your friends like you ever had them." -It's Complicated, A Day To Remember
Avaline's POV
"SHE LIED SHE LIED TO THE FBI WHEN SHE TOLD THEM SHE WAS INNOCENT, A VICTIMLESS CRIME
NOW I DON'T GIVE A SHIT AND I'LL NEVER DROP-"
I woke up, rolling over to reach for my phone off my nightstand, only to have it fall over and manage ending up halfway across the floor.
"MY MISTAKES, I WILL TAKE THIS SECRET WITH ME TO THE GRAVE-"
I sat up and rubbed at my eyes before eyeing my phone with contempt. But my eyes land on a pair of green Supras. My eyes traveled up their blue-jean clad legs, and baggy jumper-ed torso to meet the blue eyes of the most annoying thing in the world.
Niall fucking Horan.
"Niall," I breathed out, suddenly feeling slightly breathless. Then my face hardened. "How the hell did you get into my apartment?"
Niall offered me a coy smile and simply shrugged, hold up a bag of take out. "Well, the door was unlocked but I decided to climb through the window to get the full experience." He cheeks took on a light reddish shade as he shrugged awkwardly. "I brought food," he then added. I crawled back into my bed and patted the space in front of me. He shakes his head at me and comes over and climbs on the bed in front of me. He opened up the greasy brown paper McDonalds bag and pulled out several things of fries along with about six big macs.
"Oh my god, Niall. What the hell?" I laugh as I unwrap one of the burgers.
"I was hungry when I ordered. Now I'm not too sure.."
"You're really something, Ni." I say, earning a toothy grin from the lad across from me as I take a bite of the food, my mouth beyond crying with joy. "So how was the drive?" I ask him, mouth full of food
"Fucking charming." He comments.
I roll my eyes at his stupidity. "Then take a picture, it'll last longer." I countered. Niall proceeded to take out his phone and ducked my head just as I heard the snap.
"Damn it, AJ." he laughed. "You just ruined a perfectly good blackmail photo."
I rolled my eyes once more as I continued to eat. "No, I just avoided a perfectly good meme." Niall chuckled as he unwrapped one of the burgers and continued to take a bite.
Silence followed awkwardly, and it was obvious that neither of us knew what to say. I set down my food and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "Look, about the other day. . . " I began, which is definitely one way to go. "I guess it was a bit of a shock, you know, with the whole fame thing and yeah..."
Niall nodded as he set down his burger. "'S okay," he mumbles.
"It really isn't, though. Look, if this whole friend thing is gonna work, Ni, then we've both gotta be honest, yeah?" I state. He looks at me with this peculiar expression. His eyebrows were arched and one side of his mouth was scrunched in as though he was chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought. he sets down his food, wiping his hands on his jeans and leans in slightly, his elbow resting on his knees and his hands hold up his chin. "This 'friend thing'?" he asks, still with that unreadable expression etched on his face. I nod slowly. "Alright then, well you're right, we should be honest with each other."
I nod once more. "Yeah,"
"Well, you're turn then, why did you call me here?"
. . . .
"Well, you're turn then, why did you call me here?"
Avaline's face instantly went pale as she ducked her head. I shifted my legs a bit waiting for her response. But if I had learned anything about this girl, it's that with personal things, the only way she'd ever give an answer is if you push it enough. Which I found odd. All the girls that I have met were always dying to talk about themselves, their pasts...
But this one.. you had to really hound her before she'd be willing to give anything up.
"I don't want to talk about it" She Finally mumbles.
I eyed the girl before me. It was one of those things were I didn't know if I was supposed to leave it alone or not.
"Yes you do," I told her assertively. "Otherwise you wouldn't have called me and I wouldn't have come. So why did you call in the first place?"
I waited. I felt as though if I had enough patience, she'd finally come through..
We sat there, and we sat there. .
And we continued to sit- neither budging or disrupting the odd silence that seemed to have enshroud us and fill up every crevasse of the room.
"I suppose," Avaline had started to say. "I. . . I understand it." I nodded as her eyes finally met mine. I scrunched the corner of my mouth in, in attempt to show her a half-hearted smile that would nudge her to continue, although I very much doubt that was how it ended up coming across.
I watched her as she looked down at her hands, her slender fingers picking and fiddling with the various rubber bands that the she had wrapped around her wrists. Her middle and thumb
"I. . I understand what it's like to, you know, wanna be real." She added on. "Like, to want to be who I really am and not be criticized for every little thing."
"Well," I had started to say, but she continued before I could finish my thought.
"Like, I'm different. And I know that I don't belong here in England because I'm not English, and I do not belong in America because I'm not American either, I don't really know where I belong. But I want to- to belong."
I reached for her hand, and unlike before, she didn't pull away. We both had long-forgotten our food and we're wrapped up in this moment. Whether it be a legitimate moment like I would like or simply just a small heart to heart- I was happy either way because I was with her.
Part of me really wanted this to be a moment- actually, that's a lie. All of me wanted this to be a moment.
"So, you say you're different." I stated.
Avaline nodded slowly.
"I am."
"I'm different too, in my own rights..." I stated. "Let's be different together.."
The smallest of smiles gently danced across her lips and she ducked her head down, hiding her reddening cheeks behind her short blond fringe.
"Then Let us be, Horan. Let us be."
[Noon, Freckleton Apartments]
"You're not the person that I knew back then It's all too late to set things straight 'cause everything has been You're not the person that I knew back then Let's try and act like this didn't happen, Follow your friends like you ever had them." -It's Complicated, A Day To Remember
Avaline's POV
"SHE LIED SHE LIED TO THE FBI WHEN SHE TOLD THEM SHE WAS INNOCENT, A VICTIMLESS CRIME
NOW I DON'T GIVE A SHIT AND I'LL NEVER DROP-"
I woke up, rolling over to reach for my phone off my nightstand, only to have it fall over and manage ending up halfway across the floor.
"MY MISTAKES, I WILL TAKE THIS SECRET WITH ME TO THE GRAVE-"
I sat up and rubbed at my eyes before eyeing my phone with contempt. But my eyes land on a pair of green Supras. My eyes traveled up their blue-jean clad legs, and baggy jumper-ed torso to meet the blue eyes of the most annoying thing in the world.
Niall fucking Horan.
"Niall," I breathed out, suddenly feeling slightly breathless. Then my face hardened. "How the hell did you get into my apartment?"
Niall offered me a coy smile and simply shrugged, hold up a bag of take out. "Well, the door was unlocked but I decided to climb through the window to get the full experience." He cheeks took on a light reddish shade as he shrugged awkwardly. "I brought food," he then added. I crawled back into my bed and patted the space in front of me. He shakes his head at me and comes over and climbs on the bed in front of me. He opened up the greasy brown paper McDonalds bag and pulled out several things of fries along with about six big macs.
"Oh my god, Niall. What the hell?" I laugh as I unwrap one of the burgers.
"I was hungry when I ordered. Now I'm not too sure.."
"You're really something, Ni." I say, earning a toothy grin from the lad across from me as I take a bite of the food, my mouth beyond crying with joy. "So how was the drive?" I ask him, mouth full of food
"Fucking charming." He comments.
I roll my eyes at his stupidity. "Then take a picture, it'll last longer." I countered. Niall proceeded to take out his phone and ducked my head just as I heard the snap.
"Damn it, AJ." he laughed. "You just ruined a perfectly good blackmail photo."
I rolled my eyes once more as I continued to eat. "No, I just avoided a perfectly good meme." Niall chuckled as he unwrapped one of the burgers and continued to take a bite.
Silence followed awkwardly, and it was obvious that neither of us knew what to say. I set down my food and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "Look, about the other day. . . " I began, which is definitely one way to go. "I guess it was a bit of a shock, you know, with the whole fame thing and yeah..."
Niall nodded as he set down his burger. "'S okay," he mumbles.
"It really isn't, though. Look, if this whole friend thing is gonna work, Ni, then we've both gotta be honest, yeah?" I state. He looks at me with this peculiar expression. His eyebrows were arched and one side of his mouth was scrunched in as though he was chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought. he sets down his food, wiping his hands on his jeans and leans in slightly, his elbow resting on his knees and his hands hold up his chin. "This 'friend thing'?" he asks, still with that unreadable expression etched on his face. I nod slowly. "Alright then, well you're right, we should be honest with each other."
I nod once more. "Yeah,"
"Well, you're turn then, why did you call me here?"
. . . .
"Well, you're turn then, why did you call me here?"
Avaline's face instantly went pale as she ducked her head. I shifted my legs a bit waiting for her response. But if I had learned anything about this girl, it's that with personal things, the only way she'd ever give an answer is if you push it enough. Which I found odd. All the girls that I have met were always dying to talk about themselves, their pasts...
But this one.. you had to really hound her before she'd be willing to give anything up.
"I don't want to talk about it" She Finally mumbles.
I eyed the girl before me. It was one of those things were I didn't know if I was supposed to leave it alone or not.
"Yes you do," I told her assertively. "Otherwise you wouldn't have called me and I wouldn't have come. So why did you call in the first place?"
I waited. I felt as though if I had enough patience, she'd finally come through..
We sat there, and we sat there. .
And we continued to sit- neither budging or disrupting the odd silence that seemed to have enshroud us and fill up every crevasse of the room.
"I suppose," Avaline had started to say. "I. . . I understand it." I nodded as her eyes finally met mine. I scrunched the corner of my mouth in, in attempt to show her a half-hearted smile that would nudge her to continue, although I very much doubt that was how it ended up coming across.
I watched her as she looked down at her hands, her slender fingers picking and fiddling with the various rubber bands that the she had wrapped around her wrists. Her middle and thumb
"I. . I understand what it's like to, you know, wanna be real." She added on. "Like, to want to be who I really am and not be criticized for every little thing."
"Well," I had started to say, but she continued before I could finish my thought.
"Like, I'm different. And I know that I don't belong here in England because I'm not English, and I do not belong in America because I'm not American either, I don't really know where I belong. But I want to- to belong."
I reached for her hand, and unlike before, she didn't pull away. We both had long-forgotten our food and we're wrapped up in this moment. Whether it be a legitimate moment like I would like or simply just a small heart to heart- I was happy either way because I was with her.
Part of me really wanted this to be a moment- actually, that's a lie. All of me wanted this to be a moment.
"So, you say you're different." I stated.
Avaline nodded slowly.
"I am."
"I'm different too, in my own rights..." I stated. "Let's be different together.."
The smallest of smiles gently danced across her lips and she ducked her head down, hiding her reddening cheeks behind her short blond fringe.
"Then Let us be, Horan. Let us be."
Notes
I'm so sorry but I really think this is my favorite chapter so far!
Anyways, sorry guys for the slow updates and deleting of chapters. . . I've been doing some editing and yeah...
Also, I've in the process of moving in with my boyfriend, which I'm really excited about. [btw, I'm 19 so yeah]
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please, please, please let me know what you think and don't forget to vote!
Rock on and stay awesome!
Sorry guys that this one was on the shorter side. . .
9/15/16