On The Other Side [A Niall Horan Fan Fiction] *On-Hold*

Chapter 9 - Meeting the Boys

Aly Taylor

I stared at myself in the mirror for what seemed like the hundredth time. I don't know, I just have this nagging feeling that I should look perfect, or at least decent. I pulled the tips of my long hair, which has been graciously curled thanks to Claire and scanned my outfit. Skinny jeans, combat boots and a simple tee. I'm not much of a fashionista, I generally prefer comfort to style. Not this time though. This has been my sixth outfit change, and yes, I'm keeping track. After an eternity, I begrudgingly shrugged it off and tied my hair up in a messy bun. Claire's gonna flip though. She spent two hours on my hair. Two incredibly long hours which consisted screaming, frantically running around and almost panicking.

"Oh my god, what have you done?!" She shrieked as soon as she caught sight of me and my hair.

"Sorry?" I said, and gave her an apologetic look.

"It looks nice with your outfit though." She said, running her eyes through my outfit and nodding, "And please tell me you won't change again."

"I won't. And I don't plan to keep my hair like this all day. I'll let it loose later. It'll look nice." I said, "Shouldn't you be the one taking time trying to look perfect? You're the one who wanted this after all."

"You're quite right. But I imagined this scene too many times that I already have a concrete thought of what should I wear, and how my hair and makeup should be."

"That's ridiculous." I said, laughing.

"I know, right? And yet, it's happening in, like, an hour." She said, laughing as well.

"Niall's picking us up." I said conversationally.

"When do we get to meet Ed?"

"Chill. He said Ed will be in their flat. Because, you know, he's helping them write songs."

"'Them' meaning who?"

"Er...the other boys, maybe?"

Claire's eyes turned as big as saucers, then squealed delightedly.

"Oh my effing gosh this is the best day of my life! I get to meet Ed Sheeran and the whole One Direction!"

"Hey, Niall didn't say anything about the lot of them being there. Maybe he meant just another lad and him and Ed."

"Don't care. Nothing can bring be down today." She said, beaming at herself in the mirror.

"Thatta girl." I said, imitating her infectious smile. That's the thing about Claire. When she's happy, she's happy. Nothing can bring her down. And it'll stay like that for so long that you eventually get annoyed.

I heard a knock on the wooden door of our hotel room, and a happy Claire literally skipped towards it. I figured it would be Niall, so I got my purse and bounded there as well.

"Hey, Claire. Hey, Aly." He said shyly.

"Hey, Nialler." I replied, moving closer and giving him a quick hug.

"Enough of that. Ed is waiting for me." Claire said with her hands on her hips.

"Too right you are." Niall replied, smiling cheekily and holing out his hand, motioning me to follow him.

Claire seemed all panicky during the car ride, and she became more flustered as soon as we arrived.

"Calm down, love. He's just a normal person." Niall chuckled.

"No, he isn't! He's a god!" Claire protested, eyes shining brightly.

"Who is?" An unfamiliar voice said from behind us.