Safe Haven

*Niall’s POV*
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! “Will you shut that fucking alarm off before I smash it to bits?” Louis grumbled. I rolled over and squinted at my phone, tapping random buttons until the beeping stopped. I worked a late shift last night and didn’t get to bed until around 3 a.m. so I’ve only gotten about six hours of sleep. Autumn asked me to bring a friend to interview, so I texted Liam to see if he could tag along and be one of our guinea pigs for the day. Luckily he was free for the day, my only other option was to bring Louis and I definitely did not want to spend all day with him – we already have to live together.

I still smelled like beer and greasy fries, plus I was still tired; so I decided to take a nice cold shower. As I picked out an outfit to wear I began to feel nervous…. What if I end up making a fool of myself in front of Autumn? What if after spending a whole day with me again she realizes she actually hates me? No. I can’t think like this. I’ll just be my usual charming self, it seems to work with all the other girls….

Around 10:45 I got a text from Liam saying he was waiting for me downstairs, so I grabbed my stuff and headed out. According to the itinerary Autumn emailed me, we have to leave campus at exactly 11 o’clock. It’s going to be a long day.

We managed to make it to Autumn’s building at 10:59 – just in time.

“Niall! There you are. I was going to leave without you!” she reprimanded.

“You and I both know you wouldn’t survive without me love,” I winked.

“Whatever,” her voice was still stern, but I could tell she was only joking. We stood there for a moment just smiling at each other before someone spoke up. “If you two are done making googly eyes at each other, I think we better hit the road” Harry joked.

“Very funny, Harold…but yes we have to stick to my schedule.” Harry, Kelsey, and Autumn led the way while me, Liam, and Savannah lagged behind. “So, Niall…I know we’ve met but who’s your friend here?” Savannah inquired. “Oh, sorry this is Liam. Liam this is Savannah, a friend of Autumn’s.”

“Pleasure to meet you, love.” I noticed the way they were looking at each other, clearly there was instant chemistry and I didn’t want to interfere. “Right, well I’ll let you two get to know each other….” I picked up my pace a bit until I was in sync with Autumn. The wind blew through her hair and I could smell the faint scent of lavender and vanilla once again. Gosh she is so beautiful….

“…and then once we’re done there we can interview some people in Central Park. Does that sound good Niall?” Wait. What is she talking about? “Yeah. Sounds great!”

*Autumn’s POV*
Something feels weird…I just can’t quite put my finger on it. And once again, Niall isn’t listening to a single word I’m saying. Did he even read the itinerary?! Ugh, you can’t rely on boys to do anything. But let’s focus on the positive things. It was a beautiful day, sunny but not hot – perfect! Harry and I tested the equipment this morning and everything seems to be working fine.

We made it to the subway five minutes before departing time and it was packed. Maybe we should catch the next one…. “Last call for the 11:15 to 5th Avenue departing in five minutes. All other trips for the next two hours cancelled.” Or not. Looks like we’ll have to make a tight squeeze. All six of us squeezed into the last available spots, and I somehow ended up face-to-face, extremely close to Niall. I blushed and mumbled an apology for invading his personal space, but he didn’t seem to mind. As I went through today’s schedule in my head for the hundredth time, the car lurched forward and the large man behind me pushed me into Niall’s chest. Niall stumbled backward and I felt his hand grip my waist for support, pulling me even closer to him. I could his warm breath, his heart beating in his chest, and his…belt buckle pressed against my lower abdomen.

“Hi,” he gave me a sheepish grin.

“Hi.” His hand was still holding onto my waist and he was just about to kiss me when Harry somehow accidentally bumped into him. “Sorry, I’m a bit clumsy. Mind if I stand with you guys? I feel like a third wheel over there,” he motioned over to the other two who seemed to be just having a normal conversation along with Kelsey. Weird. But I couldn’t say no to his cute little face so we made room for him to stand. I spent the next twenty minutes standing awkwardly between the two boys, one overly energetic and the other looking vaguely pissed off. Finally, we came to a stop and exited onto 5th Avenue.

I quickly pulled out the video camera and began recording the scenery. Skyscrapers towered above us on both sides of the street, casting long shadows over the crowded sidewalk. Up ahead we could see a long line of people waiting outside the Empire State building. Lucky for us, our student ID’s got us in for free and we got to skip the line. The view from the observation deck is breathtaking…you can see the entire city from up here!

“Okay guys!” I shouted to get my friend’s attention. “I chose to come here because 1) great view, right? And 2) this is always the most romantic spot for couples in all of the movies, so I figure it’s a perfect location to interview for our documentary. Now who wants to go first?” Blank stares from everyone. “Not all at once….”

Liam piped up, “I’ll go!”

“Okay, great. Niall – help me set up the tripod please?” By the time he figured out how to get the thing to stand up I had already positioned Liam in the perfect spot and hooked up the microphone. Perfect! “Niall, I’ll ask the questions, you work the camera.”

“Okay boss!” he saluted. I rolled my eyes and proceeded to explain the assignment to Liam. “Alright, you can start recording now Niall.” As soon as I saw the little red dot flashing, I began asking the questions.

“So Liam, do you believe in love?”

“Yes, very much so!”

“And how would you define it?”

“Love is…a very strong emotion. It’s not really something that you get to choose. It’s more of a feeling combined with an inexplicable attraction to another person, and you’re completely vulnerable – but that’s not always a bad thing. I think it’s a feeling you can’t avoid.”

“Interesting…. Thank you, Liam.”

“No problem!”

We paused the video and Harry took Liam’s place, then repeated the process until everyone had been interviewed. “That’s a wrap! Thanks so much guys. I think we got some decent footage.”

“Does this mean we can go eat food now?” Niall pleaded. We all laughed and agreed it was definitely time for some lunch. It was already 1:30 and none of us had eaten breakfast this morning. By the time we got back down to the street and began heading towards the park we were all pretty hangry. Everyone was shouting, moaning, and groaning – we were walking up the block towards the Park and after about twenty minutes we just gave up and walked into the nearest café.

The only things on the menu were salads and sandwiches; and while everyone else seemed to be fine with that, I was really in the mood for some pizza.
“Hey, guys…. I think I’m gonna head across the street and grab a slice of pizza. I’ll be right back.” I heard some mumbles and got a couple head nods, but they were all too hungry to care. With a sigh, I left and headed across the street.

*Niall’s POV*
By the time we finally got a table and ordered our food I was so hungry that I began to feel lightheaded – and when I’m hungry I get pretty cranky. Looking around the table, I realized someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Autumn?”

“Don’t you remember? She went across the street for some pizza. It’s only been like ten minutes, do you miss your girlfriend already? I have to say, mate. I’m proud of you for finally settling down with just one girl” Liam taunted.

“Shut up. She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Someone’s a bit feisty! Don’t worry, Niall. You don’t have to be embarrassed, we’re all friends here” Harry teased.

“Will you please just leave it alone guys? I don’t want to talk about this right now, I barely even know the girl.”

“You’re right. She doesn’t even like you anyway.” I was surprised to hear that from Savannah of all people. She’s her best friend so she must be telling the truth…. Everyone was laughing, making jokes and teasing me. I won’t put up with this bullying. Niall Horan does not get made fun of.

“Yeah, Niall. The only way you would be able to date her is in your dreams!” Kelsey shouted. That was the last straw.

“Okay! I get it! She doesn’t like me, so what? I’m the one who’s out of her league. Who says I like her anyway…get yer heads out of yer arses!” Everyone was silent and I wasn’t sure if it was because they were stuffing their faces with food or because I had scared them with my angry outburst. Either way it got them to shut up so I was happy. What we didn’t know was that Autumn had overheard the whole conversation.

*Autumn’s POV*
After ten excruciatingly long minutes I finally got my beautiful slice of cheesy, buttery, golden-crusted pizza. It looked so beautiful I almost shed a tear. With a smile on my face, I crossed the street arriving once again at the small café where my friends were waiting. After scanning the area, I finally spotted the group at a cute little booth by the window. As I approached the table, I could hear everyone teasing Niall about me. For some reason, instead of going up and interrupting the conversation I decided to wait and see if they would notice I was here. My mistake.

“…I’m the one who’s out of her league. Who says I like her anyway…get yer heads out of yer arses!” Seriously, this can’t be happening! It’s like high school all over again… I was having flashbacks to the day I found out nobody actually liked me, they just pretended to because my dad is famous. The only difference between then and now is that even Savannah wasn’t on my side. Everyone went silent and I knew then that I only had two options: 1) Take my pizza and run away to cry, or 2) Walk up to the booth and pretend I didn’t hear anything. That first option was looking pretty good until I made eye contact with Harry. I could tell by the look on his face that he knew. And I knew he wouldn’t just let me run away and cause a scene.

“Autumn! There you are, come sit!” He smiled and waved, turning everyone’s attention onto me – knowing this meant I had to stay now. Damnit Harold!

“Hey guys….” I put on my best fake smile and walked up to the booth. Inside, I was furious. Why lead me on if he doesn’t even like me? What did Liam mean by Niall “finally settling down”? Why would Savannah lie? I couldn’t look anyone in the eyes except for Harry. Niall scooched over to make room for me to sit and I reluctantly took my place next to him. The rest of the lunch was extremely awkward and I was relieved when it was finally over.

“Autumn, you barely touched your pizza, is something wrong? That’s like your favorite food!” Savannah inquired.

I looked down at my half-eaten slice, “Yeah I feel great, I guess my eyes are bigger than my stomach!” I joked, but in reality I was too busy thinking of how I would approach this situation to be hungry.
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By the time we got to Central Park, interviewed a few strangers, and showed Savannah some more of the city, it was already almost six o’clock and we were all exhausted. The ride home seemed to drag on forever, and all I wanted to do was go home and scream into my pillow. What was supposed to be a fun, exciting day for me turned out to be awful. It started to rain while we were in the park, so I had to cut my interviews short. Everyone was joking around the whole time, leaving me to do all of the work. And Savannah dragged us up and down the street taking pictures for Instagram or whatever even after my flip flop broke; so I hobbled up and down the streets of Manhattan with a broken shoe. On top of everything, I had to deal with the fact that all of my friends had openly made fun of me but I couldn’t do anything about it AND apparently the guy I like doesn’t like me back. Great day, right?

Once we arrived on campus, everyone said their goodbyes and we all parted our separate ways. Kelsey went off to spend the night with Greg, which I was secretly thankful for. At least now I could spend some time with Savannah and get some answers about – “Umm, Autumn my love? My best friend in the whole wide world?”

“…yes?”

“Would you mind if I hung out with Liam for the rest of the night?” She looked at me with pleading eyes, pouting her lips.

“But you leave tomorrow morning. This is the last time I’ll get to see you for months….”

“But, Autumn…” she tilted her head in Liam’s direction, crossing her fingers and begging me to let her go.

“Fine. Whatever. But remember you have to leave by eight tomorrow morning if you want to catch your flight.”

“Yay! Thank you, love you, byee!” Before I could say anything else, she ran off with him. I can’t believe she doesn’t even want to spend time with me on her last night here. I turned around to leave before someone stopped me.

“Autumn, wait! Can I walk with ya? Don’t wantcha to go alone…it’s dark out” Niall offered.

“Or I could go with you. It’s no trouble, really” Harry chimed in. Niall gave Harry a death stare, then looked back at me. What is going on?!

“Um, no. It’s fine guys I’m an adult.”

“But my building is closer to yours. Harry lives on the other side of campus.”
“Really, I’m fine.”

“We’re going the same direction anyway, it makes sense.”

“OK! Alright, fine. You can walk with me. Harry, I’ll see you later. Text me when you get home.”

“Alright, love. You do the same.” He walked over and gave me a big bear hug, snuggling me in his arms before planted a soft kiss on my cheek and letting me go. “Goodnight, Harry.”
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“So…. Here we are…goodnight Niall,” I patiently waited for him to leave but he just stood there staring at me.

“That’s it? I don’t get a kiss?” he teased, stepping closer to me.

“Oh, please” I rolled my eyes. Does he really think he can just go around kissing girls, making them fall for him even though he’s interested?! I have had enough. I am going to give him a piece of my-

My thoughts were interrupted, “Autumn, look. I don’t know how to say this, but… I really like you and I’d like to see where this goes. If you don’t have any feelings for me, just let me know now… I don’t want to make a fool of myself. Been there, done that.” I was shocked. How could a guy like him possibly think a girl wouldn’t like him? He’s cute, goofy, and sexy all at the same time. The complete package! Realizing that even someone as charming as him could feel insecure, I decided to just forget the whole situation from earlier. There was no need to overreact. I laughed at the thought of *me* being too good for *him*.

“Uh…Autumn? What’s so funny?”

“Nothing... I was just wondering the same thing about you. Of course I like you, Niall.” As soon as the words left my mouth, a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. Niall pulled me closer, both of his hands around my waist and the faint scent of his citrusy cologne filled my nostrils. It wasn’t long before our lips met and an innocent kiss turned into an intense makeout session.

I quickly pulled away once things got heated. “Wait Niall,” he stopped and looked at me, blushing. “I have the room to myself…wanna come in?” He stood still for a moment, making me nervous, but then a huge grin spread across his face and he leaned in close to my ear. “Don’t have to ask me twice, princess.” His voice sent a shiver up my spine, and I began to feel a tingling sensation down under.

Quickly fumbling for my keys, I finally got the door open and we entered my room. We picked up right where we left off once the door was closed. I didn’t even bother to turn the light on, we just kicked off our shoes, threw our keys to the floor and slowly made our way onto the bed…. This day turned out to be not so bad after all.

Notes

Since I've posted this story before on the original 1DFF website, I decided to post all of my originally published chapters at once. From here on out, I will be posting once or twice a week until the story is finished. I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for reading!