Safe Haven

*Niall’s POV*

I can’t believe I actually did it. I actually kissed Autumn! And I haven’t stopped thinking about her since. It felt like I had slept on a cloud…all of my thoughts were consumed by what I felt for her. The way she looked, the way she smelled, the sound of her voice. I already knew that I kind of liked her, but I didn’t know how much I did until last night. As much as I wanted to distract myself from the thought of her, she was all I could think about.

Wait - what am I saying? My name is Niall Horan, and I am not the type to date. What would the lads think of me? But she’s just so…I don’t know. It’s too soon to think about all that stuff, we barely know each other. If only I could just spend more time with her….

Yes, I need to see her. I have to. I should text her. No, wait I should wait for her to text me first, right? We need to get to know each other better somehow, but I know she mentioned having something on this afternoon with Harry and her blonde friend. I guess it’s better not to bother her anyway, since I was supposed to get things ready for class tomorrow and then catch up to play some footie with the lads this afternoon.

Glancing over at the clock near my bed, I saw that it was already 11 and I was supposed to be at the soccer fields by 11:45. As I rolled out of bed, I realized that Louis, my roommate, wasn’t in his bed. And since he usually sleeps in til about one in the afternoon, this could only mean one thing: he slept in Tatiana’s room. I shivered, even the thought of her made me want to vomit.

I can’t stand the girl – which is a lot coming from a guy like me who gets along with everyone. You see, Tatiana and Louis are sort of dating; if you could even call it that. She cheats on him all the time, but throws a fit if he tries to break up with her. She’s even tried to get with me a few times. It’s just plain weird ! I don’t know why he’s still with her…other than the fact that they shag a lot. Which reminds me, they’ll probably be sleeping here tonight since they tend to alternate between each other’s rooms. Which also means that I’ll be sleeping with earplugs tonight. Great.

After hopping out of a quick cold shower, I threw on an old jersey and athletic shorts and grabbed my football bag. A little fun with the lads should take my mind off of things, at least for a little bit.
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Apparently I was wrong. Everyone kept asking me questions about where I had been all day yesterday.

“Out in the city.” I said, kicking the ball into the goal and gasping for air.

“You here that guys? Niall was out all day yesterday all alone. By himself,” one of the guys taunted.

“Never said I was-“ another kick “-alone.”

“Ooh really! Well please, my dear friend, tell us. Who were you with? Didn’t answer a single one of my texts yesterday,” Liam asked.

“None of yer business, okay? Can we get back to the game?” Liam picked up the ball and walked over to the sidelines.

“No, I think this game is over. Right lads?” the other guys nodded. They seemed a bit confused, but were too exhausted from the game to think much of it. After all, it was almost three ‘o clock by now. Everyone left for lunch, leaving only me and Liam lying in the middle of the field.

I laid on the ground next to him, closing my eyes and inhaling the familiar scent of sweat and freshly cut grass.

“So…are we going to talk about this or not?” I could feel Liam looking at me, waiting for an answer. Liam was the first friend I made when I moved to New York, and he’s probably the closest friend I have.

I sighed, shifting into a sitting position. “I was with Autumn. Showed her around the city and all that. We had a pretty good time, I think.” Looking away, I tried my best to hide my smile.

“Ah, Autumn – the clumsy one. She’s cute…do you like her?”

I turned to face him, “Maybe.”

“Well just be careful, okay? Don’t lead her on if you don’t actually like her. Don’t add her to your trail of broken-"

“Okay ‘Dad’ I get it!” this earned a laugh from Liam.

“Alright, whatever. Lunch?”

“When have I ever turned down food?”
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After eating at the Pizza Palace, Liam left for work and I returned to my dorm bored as ever. Louis was there, *without* Tatiana (at least for now) so I joined him for a round or two of FIFA. We actually got on pretty well without her there.

“Alright, Lou. *When I win, you owe me ten bucks and your signed derby jersey!” I yelled.

“You mean when I win, YOU owe ME a free tab for one night at the pub!”

“Deal. Hope you’re not too attached to that jersey.”

Right as I was about to score the winning point, I got a text from Autumn. In my momentary lack of focus, Louis won the game. Shit.

“GOOOOOAAAAL!” he shouted, proceeding to dance around the room like a madman. “You’ll have a lot to pay for at the pub on Thursday night, mate.”

“Yeah, whatever.” There was a knock at the door. *Sigh* “Yer girlfriend’s here.” He ran over to let her in while I turned off the game and picked up my phone. She had texted me and asked if she could come over, I almost didn’t believe my eyes!

Me:No, I’m not busy ☺ why don’t you come over and we could watch a movie or something?
Autumn: Sure ☺ I’ll be over soon!

I was so excited to see her that I didn’t know what to do. I started by cleaning the floor (okay, I really just shoved dirty clothes into the closet) and then I made some popcorn, pulling up Netflix on my computer. Luckily, I had one of those double headphone jacks so we could both listen to the movie while completely blocking out Louis and his girlfriend. Perfect.

Sitting awkwardly on the bed, I started to smell something weird and realized I had forgotten to take a shower earlier.

“Hey, guys. I invited someone over, but I need to take a quick shower. Can you let her in when she gets here and let her know?” they were making out, but I was sure I heard an “Mhm” somewhere in there.

While I was showering, I heard someone open the door. They were talking, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. It must be Autumn, I thought. Spraying on some cologne, I looked at myself in the mirror and was satisfied. As I was opening the bathroom door, I heard someone shout Fuck You and the door slammed.

“Who the hell was that ?” I asked Tatiana as she rolled her eyes and walked over to Louis’ bed.

“I don’t know. Some brown-haired girl asking for you. But don’t worry, I told her you were busy, since you said you invited someone over.”

“You fuckin idiot! That was Autumn! I told ya to open the god damn door if someone knocked and let them in! Louis, yer mott is a bloody idiot. Are ye too busy arsing around to realize?!”

“Niall, calm down it’s not a big deal, And you need to apologize to-"

“Don’t, okay? Just don’t.” Okay so maybe I was overreacting a bit, but I had been waiting all day to see her. I’ll just text her to apologize and tell her to come back.
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I texted her at least a dozen times and called 6, but there was no answer; and I fell asleep with my phone next to my head, tossing and turning all night. Tomorrow is going to suck.

Notes