Something New // Niall Horan

Ring

Niall's POV:

"Cara, sweetheart, I have to leave now." I gave her a quick kiss of the cheek after telling her a lie of where I was going: a work meeting.

"Bye babe. I love you...."

I left hurriedly, running into Blake in the halls.

"Thanks man, for taking care of her," I told him sincerely.

"No problem, I swear. No sweat." He grinned back at me before continuing towards Cara and I's apartment.

Making my way out of the building, I started to think of what sort of ring Cara would prefer before meeting Jess in her and Blake's shiny new silver mercedes that Blake got for an early Christmas present. Apparently his parents are loaded from a lottery jackpot they won a billion years ago or something.

"So, any ideas?" Jess asked, looking as if she hoped I'd say no, so she could prattle on for hours about karat and sparkle and whatever else was involved in engagement ring shopping.

"Uh, something with that engraving thing that makes it look even more sparkly." I blinked and then, "She'll like that right?"

I began breathing erratically.

Oh god. I don't know what she likes!

Jess laughed at my panic and nodded as if it was obvious.

"Does.... Does she like lots of jewels? Big ones or small ones? Thin band or wide?" I grilled her.

I didn't even know how I knew so much about rings, it was probably one of the things Greg rambled on and on about before his wedding.

As Jessica drove to the large mall, she spat out answers and ideas. It seemed that once we'd parked, hours had gone by and I'd learned so very much about my beauty.

Cara likes medium-width ring bands that don't taper up and look top-heavy, and too large of jewels makes her sick unless it's just one, and not ridiculously huge.

She thinks that those engraved swirls with the black charring or whatever it is looks nice, but not if it cuts off halfway around the ring or is too plain.

The idea of having a sapphire, ruby, or any other coloured gem doesn't bother her but if it's a Skittle explosion she won't look at it.

Her favourite gem is the dark blue of a sapphire or sky garnet, so I crossed my fingers internally that I can get something encrusted.

I felt like an absolute idiot, but Jess forced me to go into Kay's first. "Every kiss begins with Kay," Kay.

Ugh....

"Hello sir and ma'am. Are you looking for a special matching set, or a special Christmas gift for this beautiful girl?" An annoying bleach-blonde saleswoman chirped the instant we began browsing the glass cases for the perfect one.

"Em, what? Us? Oh, no, no, we're not together. I'm eh, searching for a kind of, sort of, engagement ring... for my girlfriend. Who's also her best friend," I blurted awkwardly when I realized the salesgirl had mistakenly believed that Jess and I were.... Me and Jess. Nessicaill.

That thing.

"Oh, of course. Would you like any help with that then?" Jess and I exchanged looks after I'd noticed the girl's nervous fidgeting.

"Thanks, but no thanks," said Jess, not impolitely, but not exactly using the best of speaking manners either. Her tone was flat and hurried, and she probably wanted to get out of here.

That was one thing she and Cara had in common: they both spoke in rapid monotones in awkward situations, or if they wanted to leave. Jess, I suppose, did everything more quickly than Cara ever did, although I was never sure why.

The instant the saleswoman departed, Jess made quick work of my assumption.

"Let's go..." she requested.

Together we next travelled to the other end of the mall, and Paris Jewellers.

Inside we were greeted by an elderly, white-haired woman in a nice uniform. She didn't push us, instead letting Jess and I look around first.

Finally, the two of us took our questions to her.

"Do you, ah, have any rings with the engraving thing that goes all the way around and..." I trailed on and on about how I wanted her ring but was only met with blank looks from both of them.

"You can choose a base ring and customize," Barbara, the name of the woman, said; I read her nameplate.

"Oh, okay."

So once again Jess and I went to browse the cases. Five minutes later, I had gotten down to four similar ring designs.

A beeping sound emitted from Jess' phone scared the crap out of me. She pulled it from her back pocket and frowned,

"I have to run. Blake and Cara want pizza."

"Oh," I said, stumped. How was I ever going to decide now? "Bye..."

She returned my farewell and rushed from the jewelry store.

"Sir, I apologize for Barbara but she's actually new here, we have a program where you can customize your very ring. If you want," a younger girl, probably about my age or a few years older, told me. "Sorry."

"No! It's completely fine..." I lied. I spent how long just to find out I can design it myself!?

"Would you like to? If not, that's completely fine too," she breathed nervously. Probably not used to having to deal with customers, I thought to myself.

"Sure."

"Okay, we have a book with different details over here..."

~

I ordered the perfect ring. I really hoped Cara likes it.

It has the intricate embellished carvings all the way around, the deeper parts stained black. The centre diamond sparkles perfectly in the light (and I know this because I chose one off of a ring already in the store), and is surrounded by small stones in two different shades of blue sapphires.

Like I said, I hoped she will like it. I then picked a red box to put the ring in.

I'm asking Cara to marry me in less than two weeks.

***

"I'm home," I announced as I hung my jacket on the coat rack. I kept the ring in the box in my front pocket.

"How was the meeting?" Cara asked, kissing me tenderly.

"Boring, but i'm home now. Where's the little fella?" I wondered where Noah was.

"Asleep, he only woke up twice for a bottle when you left and he hardly cries," she informed me.

"Right, i'm gonna change outta this suit and put on a tracksuit," I said, undoing my tie, motioning Jess to come over to me.

"Did you get one?"

"I did indeed, check it out," I pulled her into the room and handed the box to her.

Her eyes went wide and her mouth made the shape of an 'O'. "Holy shit," she said. "It's beautiful,"

After she had a look at it she handed it back. "Just need a place to hide it," I thought and it came to me. I grabbed Sellotape and stuck it under Noah's bed. She'll never look there.

"You're gonna propose!" Jess whispered excitedly, hitting my chest then walked out with a huge smile plastered on her face.

I changed into grey sweats and a white t-shirt. Noah started crying so I picked him up and brought him into the kitchen to find a bottle.

"Here," Cara handed me one and I sat down with the child in my arms.

"What do I do now?" I looked to Cara when I finished feeding him.

"Sit him up and gently rub his back,"

I did so and he puked a little bit on me. "What happened?"

"Wind," she said.

"I'll put 'em back to bed now," I said, walking into the bedroom. I looked at the way he was sleeping, hands behind his head, exactly like me. "Cara," I called. "Look at this," I laughed to myself.

She looked at his sleeping position and laughed. "That's exactly like you,"

***




Cara, Jess, Blake and I all chatted for a few minutes. "Anyone want a beer?" I opened the fridge and Blake signalled me for one. I threw one his way and opened my own, putting my arm around Cara.

"How's the job going?" Blake asked, sipping his drink.

"S'going good. Have a big case coming up in a few months, this fella got the blame for murdering another fella but he didn't do it. It's gonna be a lot of work, I have to do all this research and shit but I can't wait. My first case," I took a gulp of my drink.

"That's so cool, how much you gonna get?"

"The man's rich like so, big bucks," I winked. "We're saving for a house so hopefully we'll get it soon,"

"You guys are great parents," Blake finally said. Cara and I smiled to each other at his comment.