The Irish One

". . . hey, are you alive?"
"Go away." I murmur.
"Niall, wake up." they said.
"No, leave me alone."

"Its my house, shamrock," they said. I raised my head and opened my eyes, a girl was kneeling down in front of me. My surroundings were foreign to me. Then I remembered where I was. I was in an unknown, disconnected village-town in a teenager's apartment, trying to escape paparazzi and take a short nap.
"How long was I asleep?" I mumbled, sitting up and wrapping the white woolen blanket tighter around me. It was cold. I wished she'd turn on the furnace.
"About four hours," she replied. " your mates decided to go for lunch, something about a phone call. They left about an hour ago."
"Oh," I said. I yawned.
"Are you hungry?" Aj asked me as she strode to the kitchen.
Food sounded nice. "Yes please, what do you have?"
"I was actually thinking about going to the coffee shop again. I don't really have anything here." I nodded.

"By the way, you might want to look in a mirror." She said over her shoulder as she headed towards the back. Oh no. . .
I went into the bathroom and there was no question as to what she was talking about nor who had done it. Fucking Louis.
I glanced out the window as I ran some bath tissue under the faucet and set to work on removing the ink from my skin. Luckily it was washable. I found myself glancing out the window. The sky was still gray.
"You about ready?" Aj hollered from her room.

We put on some warm clothes and quietly slipped out the door. The wooden boards of the hallway creaked and groaned as we made our way to down- almost as if it were announcing our departure. I thought we'd wake the other residents of the building.
It wasn't raining anymore, but snowing! I could feel the tip of my nose begin to go numb as we walked. We strolled down the slushy sidewalk, passing assorted small businesses and clothing stores, which to my surprise she showed no interest in. We entered the small building, ordered some snacks, and took a seat in the booth we occupied a couple days prior.
"So, what kind of music do you listen to?" I began. Aj shrugged.
"I dunno. Mainly rock, punk and some swing. I mainly listen to German rock."
I was intrigued. "Oh, do you know German?"
"John tried to teach me, I didn't catch on too well at first. I am better at listening to it than actually speaking it. Has some upsides to that attribute but not much."
"John?" I asked.
"My dad." Aj answered.
"You call your father by his first name?"
"Of course." she simply said. Aj didn't say much else. We both grew quiet. And now that it was day and the small little village came to life more, I found myself noticing more details about the little coffee shop. It was one you would typically see in England- brick, old fashioned. The tables were a bit rough and there were older gents sitting about the place, having small chats with their fellow friends- long time I assumed. People outside of the building walked slow and leisurely. Everything here in this town seemed to be slow and steady. Nothing moved quickly. Everyone and everything here seemed to take their time. There seemed to be no deadlines, no schedules that anyone needed to keep up with. You got there when you got there, no rush. Simple. This town was refreshingly simple.
Dublin and London were the exact opposite. Someone always had to be somewhere. Someone was always late. Someone was always rushing, cutting through traffic, cutting through the lines. But not there.
Despite it being rural, it was warm. The little shop had a fire going in a little stove with your typical fiddler's music drifting solely in the background, just loud enough to be slightly heard and fill the air with a sense of heritage.
"So the roads probably won't be cleared for about another couple days, but your friend, the really tall one, called the inn this morning and there will be two rooms vacant by three." she spoke up. "Again, if you guys need anything lemme know."
"Thank you, its much appreciated."
"Again, don't mention it." she huffed. "You worry too much."
"Well, I still owe you." I told her.
"You do." she agreed.
"How about a film?"
I stopped. This was completely unexpected. I had to take a second and process what was just said and how it all lead up to that. I actually just said that. I asked her to watch a film with me. What was I doing?

However, much to my surprise, AJ shrugged her shoulders and nodded. "Sure," she said nonchalantly. I nodded my head slowly.
We stood up slowly and before I could register what the actual fuck I was doing, I leaned in and kissed her.
I was about to pull back when I felt her begin to kiss back. This all only lasted for roughly five seconds at most and when I did finally pull back, her whole face flushed red and her eyes widened with horror. Next thing I know, I'm stumbling back with my hand pressed to my face.
I kind of expected to be slapped. It is a typical thing for a girl to do.
But Not AJ.
She threw a full on left hook. Hitting me square in the jaw.
"The fuck was that, Aj? What the bloody hell?!" I shouted.
"What the fuck, Horan?!" She shouted back "You think you can just fucking kiss me?" That got the attention of the group of gents in the back.
"Look, I-I'm sorry, o-okay. I didn't mean t-"
"Is this why you fucking stopped? Are you just driving through and picking up whatever broad you see? Are you not used to being told no?"
"AJ, what the- no! That's-"
"Stay the fuck away from me." She seethed. "You know what, fuck you Niall! You may be good looking and I bet girls come flocking to you all day long, but not this bitch!" And she stocked off. leaving me to get stars from the group of elderly gentleman in the corner.

Well shit. . .

Notes

Thank you guys for reading. I hope you all enjoyed the update! With love,