Tuesday, December 20, 2011-
"I don't wanna leave," I bury my head in Niall's shoulder, squeezing him hard. I take a deep breath, inhaling his Axe scent before sniffling and pulling away.
"Trust me, Hay-Bale, we'll see each other soon," he assures me and lifts my chin so my light brown eyes were staring into his blue ones. "It's Christmas! We're seeing our families, and we'll celebrate New Years, okay?" He suggests and I smile slightly but hold out my pinky to him.
"Best friend swear?" I raise my eyebrows and he chuckles but links his pinky with mine as we begin doing our hand shake we made up two weeks ago. In the time that I've known Niall, we have managed to melt thirty Crayola crayons, get kicked out of IKEA, break a vase, donate money to a charity Becca was raising money for, get Niall a bruised cheek (I accidentally punched him) and 'accidentally' break Liam's sink. Everything was an accident; except the charity. We definitely did that on purpose. We didn't mean to do the others, we were just having so much fun that we didn't notice that we were causing trouble. Niall has become my best friend-other than Presley- and I've told him secrets and he's told me a few as well. We've hung out everyday, and sometimes he even went to my workshops with me. That's how the charity thing happened. I've been teaching Ni about photography while he's been teaching me guitar. I'm not that good but I can successfully play Mary Had A Little Lamb, so I'm making progress. We've become inseparable, except now since I'm going to New York and he's going back to Ireland.
"Flight 179, you are now boarding, Flight 179..you are boarding," a flight attendant's voice echoes throughout the busy and chaotic airport. I sigh, that's my flight.
"Have a good trip to New York, okay?" Niall asks me, pulling me in for one last hug.
"I will," I reply but it's muffled since my face is smushed in his hoodie.
"Tell Michael and Ashton I can't wait to meet them in person," he tells me and I bite back a smile but nod. I had introduced the boys to each other a week ago when it was really boring and Niall was complaining. Enough said.
"I will," I repeat and hold up the chain from my neck, where a bright red guitar pick with a cursive H was shining. "It's on and it's never coming off." He laughs slightly but nods his head approvingly.
"Good." It was Niall's Christmas gift to me from two days ago. I gave him a personalized hoodie with the name Irish written on the back, in fact that's what he's wearing now.
"I'm gonna miss you, Ni."
He sighs deeply before kissing my forehead, "I'll miss you too, HayHay." Another great thing, Niall came up with another nickname which is fine with me since I come up with one every other day for him. "Call me when you land?" I nod my head and grasp my suitcase handle. Presley walks over and I give her a small smile. The four lads have already left over an hour ago, heading to their own homes for Christmas.
"Bye, Niall," Presley gives him a quick hug, "We'll see you soon."
"Have a good trip, Pres," he responds but not before looking at me.
"Last call for Flight 179, last call," the same lady returns over the speaker and I quickly give Niall and Presley a group hug which surprises them both.
"Bye Ni!" I wave slowly as I start walking away with Presley. "Love you!"
"Love you too, Hay!" He calls and waves one last time before he disappears from eyesight when I walk through the terminal.
I hold my breath to keep my tears from flowing and as we sit down in our seats, Presley wraps an arm around me for comfort. I lean against her shoulder and sniffle, "I don't want to leave London."
"I know Hay," she rubs my shoulder and looks at me, "I didn't want to leave either. I've grown close to those five idiots too." I smile a little and she continues. "But hey, think of it as like a countdown to when we'll see them again. We'll be in New York until the thirtieth. That's a ten day countdown!"
I think I see them!" I say excitedly hours later when we arrive and point my finger.
"Let's go then!" Presley grabs her suitcase and starts running towards our parents, who were just talking with one another. Then I see a familiar mop of shaggy brown hair and I squeal.
"Ashton!" I yell and his head whips around to my voice. A familiar grin appears on his face and he runs towards me. I jump on top of him, giving him the biggest hug ever.
"Hayleigh!" He says happily and sets me on the ground. "How is my little sis?"
"Amazing!" I reply as I wipe a strand of hair away from my eyes. "London is beautiful!"
"That's great!" He smiles and ruffles my hair which causes me to glare at him.
"My God, you are just like Niall," I grumble as I try to pat my hair down.
"How is the Irishman?" He asks as he slings an arm around me.
"He's good." When we arrive back to our parents, I see my little brother asleep on my mother's hip. I wave excitedly to Mom and Dad and pull them into a hug, but don't disturb Michael. "I have missed you guys so much!" I whisper to them and I hear Dad give a low chuckle.
"We missed you too, sweetheart," Mom replies, squeezing me a little bit tighter. I pull away and smile softly at Michael, then look back up at her.
"Can I take him?" I offer quietly and she slowly hands him off to me, and he stirs a little but quickly snuggles his little head against my sweatshirt. I give Presley's parents hugs as well as Natalie, and we all make delicate conversation as we head home.
I tell them politely that I have to call Niall real quick and Ashton jokes, "Wow, they've known each other a month now, and he's already more important than me." I roll my eyes and playfully shove him against the car window, careful not to disturb Michael.
I whip out my phone and dial the familiar number, I now know by heart. "Hello?" I hear Niall pick up.
"Hey," I answer, a smile creeps onto my face. "I wanted to tell you Presley and I made it safe to New York."
"Good," he responds, "I'm about to head off myself."
"Have fun, okay?" I tell him and I can basically feel him smile through the phone.
"Definitely. As much as I love talking to you, I don't want to keep you from your family. I'll talk to you later?"
"Okay," I say, "Be safe. Love you, Ni."
"Love you too, Hay." After I hang up, I notice my mom staring at me.
"What?"
"You guys are so cute," she gushes like a teenager causing my cheeks to turn red.
"We're not dating, Mom," I remind her and she rolls her eyes.
"Not yet."
"I think your hormones are acting up because that'll never happen," I reply causing Dad and Ashton to burst out laughing with Natalie. Mom scoffs but doesn't reply so I continue, "Speaking of that, have you decided on a name?"
Mom shakes her head, "Not really. We have a few suggestions but nothing's really popped. Do you have any ideas?"
I nod, feeling proud. "Yes I do, actually. I've been thinking about a lot of names but I really like Brianna or Nicole."
Mom smiles, "I like those. Very pretty." "Do you know what Niall suggested?" I pipe up and Mom looks at me to go ahead. "Well at first, he said Ava then he switched it to Kendall."
"I like the name Kendall," Dad speaks up from the driver's seat. I smile and we continue talking about it until we get home.
When we get inside, my face is immediately hit with the scent of my mother's homemade cinnamon rolls. Instead of heading straight to my room like usual, I turn to the right and softly kick open the white door with the bright red letters on it reading, Michael. The train I got him for his birthday last year is setting neatly in the track, scattered amongst other forgotten toys.
On his dark baseball-themed bed, I gently set him down, and push the covers up to his chin. His hands start moving and I know exactly for what. I grab his green and white striped bear, Stockings, and set it under his arm. His small mouth curves into a little grin, showing a few missing teeth. I smile at the sight, and quickly but quietly back track out of the room and head downstairs with everyone else.
"So you ladies have to tell us all about London," Presley's dad, Phil, grins as I pull up a chair from the kitchen table.
"It's completely different," I gush to them. "Luckily, we now have licenses there so we know which side of the road to be on. Our jobs are doing pretty great, I mean the kids I have our amazing." I continue and Presley chips in as well as we tell our parents everything. From Niall and the boys to getting hit with a door and our house.
It's so good to be home.
YOU ARE READING
Happily (Niall Horan)
Fanfiction~You don't understand, you don't understand What you do to me when you hold his hand We were meant to be but a twist of fate Made it so you had to walk away 'Cause we're on fire We are on fire We're on fire now Yeah, we're on fire We are on fire We'...
