Imagines with Niall Horan

3. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with you

Everyone and their mother knew you and Harry had something going on. It wasn't really a secret - Harry made sure you knew he took a liking to you the second you two met. Were the feelings reciprocated? That, you weren't sure.

It all started when Louis took you along to an after party that was strictly for family and friends. Those were your favorite kind of parties. You never enjoyed the idea of going out to clubs, wasting the night way. You prefer to be there with the close family and friends of the boys, having a laidback night with your best friend.

Granted, this was the first family-friendly party you were invited to but you'd much rather prefer this than a sweaty stranger rubbing against you in a dark room. The party was also located in an elegant banquet hall, which meant real food.

"Come on, I want you to meet the lads!" Louis' voice said amongst the chatter. He took your wrist and led you around the hall, to a circle table where the four other members were. You silently cursed Louis for not giving you time to mentally prepare for this moment. All you could do was stand there and let Louis talk.

"Lads, I finally got Y/N to visit!" He joked, gesturing to you. Politely, the four boys stood up and walked over to you.

Liam was the boy nearest you so he went over to give you a hug. "Louis talks about you too much," he joked. You laughed and returned the hug, admiring his bulkiness.

Zayn gave you a polite handshake and said, "Nice to meet you," to which you responded cordially.

Harry was next. He walked over to you and said, "Don't mind me." He pulled you in for a tight hug, letting it last longer than Liam. To your left, you heard Zayn mutter, "Can you be any more obvious?" You chuckled; you didn't mind that much - after all, Harry smelled good.

When he let go, you took a moment to collect yourself. You made eye contact with the last member - Niall. He gave you a polite smile, which you returned. After that, you spent the whole night talking to Harry.

-

Fast forward to a couple months later and the other four boys became your friends just as much as Louis was. Well, except Harry maybe, because you still didn't know where you stood with him. It wasn't as if Harry was bad for you, you just couldn't sort your feelings out.

One day you were waiting for Harry to finish recording in the studio when you were left alone. Your stomach was grumbling as you snack on the small peppermint candy piled on a spare table. All of a sudden, the smell of pizza wafted the room, causing your stomach to growl even more.

The door opened and Niall walked in, a plate of pepperoni pizza in hand. He spotted you and smiled, walking over to the empty chair next to you. You weren't as close to Niall as you were with the other boys, but that didn't mean you weren't on friendly terms. "Hey Y/N, waiting for your boyfriend?"

You rolled your eyes. When you did talk to Niall, he would tease you endlessly about Harry, which made you laugh and feel bad at the same time. "Where did you get the pizza?" You asked hungrily.

Niall shrugged. "I finished the rest. There was some in the band room." He took a bite out of the pizza, closing his eyes to relish the goodness.

"I'm guessing it's good?" You ask, trying not to give him a dirty look.

He nodded and finished the rest of the pizza, completely oblivious to the hunger in your eyes. "That was really good. I'm still hungry though. Let's go eat." He crumpled the paper plate and threw it across the room, making it in the trash can.

You look up. "What?"

Niall was already up, car keys in hand. "Harry needs to do his runs, he's far from done."

"How'd you know I was hungry?" You asked, already on your way to get your purse. You weren't just hungry - you were starving.

Niall shrugged and opened the door. "I didn't."

"Where are we going?"

"Nandos."

-

Six months later

Niall became your best friend, even more so than Louis. It wasn't as if it was all intentional - it was all an accident. You found out that you had more in common than you thought, you shared the same love for food, and you both possessed a silly, almost immature, view on life. Other than that, he was your shoulder to cry on when you were stressed - your rock.

At this point on, things with Harry were distinguished when you realized that you didn't really return those feelings for him. Niall helped with that immensely.

You were reading on your bed one day while Niall was watching football on your television. When the commercials appeared, he reached for the remote and muted it. He crawled to your side from his spot on the floor and watched you read.

You raise one eyebrow, not really taking your eyes off the book. "What? Are you hungry again?"

He shook his head and continued watching you. You rolled your eyes and put the book down. "What do you want, Horan?"

"Why aren't we dating?" He blurted out, shocking you. "I mean," he said nervously, "it doesn't make any sense. Everyone thinks we are - it was even worse than when Harry liked you. My mom is really confused and Greg thought you were my girlfriend all this time. I get that we're best friends and all but like I'm confused because Liam is my best friend, too and I don't have these feelings for him. At least, I hope not..." he continued to ramble on, almost forgetting that you're there.

You can tell he thought a lot about this. If you were honest with yourself, you had this situation come up in your thoughts more than enough times. You just assumed he wouldn't return the feelings, so you stopped.

"I wasn't supposed to fall in love you," Niall said quietly.

You looked up, a bit offended. Completely ignoring the strangeness of the situation, you ask, "Why?"

He didn't answer you. Instead he carefully reached for the book in your hand and set it aside, replacing it with his own hand. "Tell me right now you don't have those feelings for me. Tell me, and we can forget this happened," he whispered.

Take that opportunity, you thought. You took too long to come up with cohesive words because as soon as you realize it, soft lips were pressed against yours. You confirmed your belief when you deeply returned his kiss.