Happily (Niall Horan)

Chapter Fourteen: Party!

"Hey, Riley!" Presley and I greet the peppy girl as she gets into our car. She had texted us earlier if she could take us since her car was in the shop, and we agreed instantly.
"You look gorgeous," I tell her with a smile playing on my lips and she blushes.
"Thank you," Riley replies before looking at us, "You guys look beautiful as well."
Now it's our turn to turn the color of cherries and she chuckles as Presley begins driving to the boys' building.
When we arrive, we quickly head up to the roof- as it was a little past seven. To say I was surprised was an understatement; it was absolutely gorgeous up here. Liam and the boys did an amazing job. In one corner, there's a giant screen with light gray couches around it, piled high with blankets and pillows. In another, there's a small bar where many people were conversing with one another and a DJ set up. No one was there, but a faint melody of Lady Gaga's Born This Way was playing through the speakers. Finally, around all of the roof's edges was small twinkling fairy lights. It was still a pretty elegant event but it did the suit the lads greatly.
"There they are," Presley reads my mind and points out the five boys, who were being friendly with their guests. I smile and head over to them with Riley being on one side and Presley on the other.
"Why don't you ladies look lovely," Harry smirks cheekily, causing his dimples to pop out when he notices us. I just nod as a thank you and hide behind the other two, not good at accepting compliments.
I glance at all of them before saying, "You boys clean up quite nice yourselves."
"Thank you," Zayn replies as he fixes his slick black tie.
"Speak for yourself, mate," Louis pipes up before dramatically flipping his hair. "I woke up like this."
I laugh and turn to Niall but he's disappeared. I can't help but grow disappointed a little but my smile returns as I see him with his hands shoved in his pockets, his pale cheeks a little bit red as he talks to a pretty girl. I want to walk over there, just to say hello and introduce myself since it must be one of Niall's friends.
"Presley, I'll be right back," I tell her and she looks concerned but nods anyways.
"Okay."
As I walk over to the two, I start to hear bits and pieces of their conversation.
"You've always been the funny one, Ni," the girl laughs melodically.
"Thanks, Barbara," Niall smiles slightly, showing his teeth. "I'm glad you could make it tonight. It's been a while since we've hung out." My eyes widen when I realize this must be Barbara; aka Niall's celebrity crush. Before she can reply, I greet the both of them.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt," I start and they just smile at each other, "I just wanted to say hi to Niall. I'm Hayleigh." I stick out my hand to the pretty girl and she shakes it gently.
"I'm Barbara; it's nice to meet you. I'm guessing you're Niall's best friend?"
"Proudly," I grin and she laughs. Niall still hasn't said anything; he's just staring at Barbara. I elbow him so he won't be rude causing him to snap out of the trance.
"Sorry," he apologizes, "I've had a lot on my mind." Yeah, a girl. He gives me a hug to which I gratefully accept since I haven't hung out with him in ages. Man I've missed him. "You look good, Hayleigh." I look at him confused since he usually calls me by my nickname unless it's a serious matter.
"Thanks?" I furrow my eyebrows but he just shakes his head and returns talking to the beautiful girl. I excuse myself from them-they didn't really notice- and went to the DJ booth where I saw Zayn hooking up his phone. "I didn't know you were a DJ," I tease and he looks up with a soft smile.
"Yep, DJ Malik in the house," he starts dancing weirdly as a random song starts playing, causing me to burst into laughter.
"Who gave you the name?" I question curiously but still chuckle as he continues to do his weird thing.
"The fans," he replies with a wide grin, "We're getting recognized more lately and I'm so excited. A fan came up to me yesterday and asked for an autograph. After I gave it to her, she gave me a hug then said, 'See you later, DJ Malik.'"
"I'm excited for you guys," I tell him honestly, "Soon you will be going all over the world."
"Man, I hope so. Thanks for the encouragement," he smiles and gives me a thumbs up.
"No problem, Zayn." I leave him to his music and try to find Presley among the throng of people the boys invited. I thought it was supposed to be small; boy was I wrong. There's a few celebrities I recognize like Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, and a few others but the rest are complete strangers. I never knew the lads had this many friends.
"Hey, Hayleigh!" I hear my name being called and I turn around to find Liam standing next to a tall man whom I have seen on TV; Simon Cowell.
"Oh, hi Liam," I greet him but my smile isn't as wide as I was hoping it would be Niall.
"This is our boss, Simon," he introduces the celebrity.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Cowell," I shake his hand that he held out.
"No need for formality," he chuckles lightly, "I've heard a lot about you, Ms. Ryan."
I blush as I joke, "Only good things, I'm wishing. I hope they haven't been telling you anything embarrassing."
"Nothing too bad," he replies and I laugh.
"Well it was very nice to meet you," I tell him, "but unfortunately I need to go find my roommate."
"I hope you have a splendid evening," Simon waves and I return it to both of them.
"See you later, Hayleigh!" I hear Liam call and I put a thumbs up over my head before walking away.
After pushing through complete strangers, I finally spot Presley talking with Riley and someone I don't know. "There you are!" Presley states with relief when she sees me. "I was wondering where you ran off to."
"I was trying to find Niall, but I couldn't find him anywhere," I fib and Riley smiles with encouragement.
"That stinks. But, we just met someone," she motions to the stranger, "This is Derek."
"Nice to meet you," I say politely and he nods bashfully.
"You too," he responds, digging his hands in his pockets.
"Derek has been telling us that he's majoring in psychology at a local college," Presley catches me up and I nod.
"Very impressive," I tell him and he blushes.
"Thanks," he replies simply.
"How do you know the boys?" Presley asks as she folds her arms over her chest.
"My friend, Ryan, once wrote a song with them," he informs us and I smile.
"That's cool," Riley replies with a sparkle in her eye.
I glance at Presley to see her smirking and notices me. She nods and we slowly back away, leaving the two to converse. She'll thank us later.
"So where was Niall?" Presley questions after she orders us some coke.
Knowing she would know if I was lying, I tell her the truth. "He was busy." Never said I had to say the whole truth.
"But he promised he'd spend time with you tonight," Presley disagrees. "He has never been too busy to hang out with you."
"Hey, he's a growing celebrity," I say as an excuse. "Soon, he won't even remember me."
"That's a lie," my best friend immediately defends. "He cares about you so much, Hayleigh. You two have something special, like I said at the airport. No one can replace you."
I sigh, "I'm sorry, Pres. I'm just being paranoid."
She gives me a side hug, "It's fine. Oh, look! Avril Lavigne is performing!" I turn my head to face the big screen that was broadcasting Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve. Avril was starting to sing and people who were watching her from here, cheer.
Presley starts singing along with a huge smile on her face and I laugh. This is definitely going to be a year to remember.