Drowning || niall horan au

seven

The cab pulled to the curb in front of a large building, which he presumed to be the main building on campus. He gave it a good look before paying the fare and hopping out of the vehicle. His hands went into his coat pockets and chin in his neck due to the bitter cold. He kept his eyes on the concrete until he reached the steps to the building and lucky for him, finding a map inside to the considerably large campus. Much to his surprise, the library wasn't too far down, only a few blocks away.

He braced the wintry weather and began striding down the sidewalk continuing to keep his head down for the most obvious of reasons. The wind kept blowing in his face, and he knew his cheeks had already reddened. It took about ten minutes of walking before two other large edifices came into view. There was a sign planted in the lawn that signified he reached his destination. He almost let out a loud groan from the warmth inside of the library.

Niall aimlessly walked into the building, being greeted with a sculpture in the middle of a vast, circular room. A bunch of art was displayed all over the wall and a bench made a circle around the sculpture, protecting it. Off to his right, there was a hallway that led to the information desk. More people were present in that area, so he decided that was the place he was going to head to first. The layout was very spacey and modern and it was a two story building, which looked like it could pass for four. Either way, it was going to be troubling to find Hannah in a place like this.

People passed him without a care, but he knew the others who were standing a good few feet away were the ones that were afraid to approach him. And he was grateful for their apprehensiveness as selfish as it was.

"May I help you?"

The blonde whipped his head to the left at the sound of an old woman voice. She appeared to be the stereotypical librarian to say the least: frail, thin, gray-haired, and glasses with the strings attached, so they can hang around her shoulders like a necklace. The woman was standing behind the main desk, obviously had been watching Niall in his confused state. He made his way over to her.

"Hi. Yes," He licked his lips. "Is there a girl named Hannah who works here?"

"Oh, Miss. Elliot?" The woman's face brightened.

"Hannah Elliot," The name rolled off his tongue in one swift motion. It was the first he'd ever heard her last name. "Yeah, blonde hair?"

"Yes, sir. She works here. Are you her boyfriend by any chance?"

There was another girl working behind the desk, sorting through papers against the back wall. Her interest in the conversation sparked when she heard the last question. Her black hair was in a high ponytail and swept over to one shoulder when she faced the two.

"Ms. Watson, you can't go about saying these sorts of things!" She scolded the older woman, eye bright at the celebrity right before her eyes. Her tone was hushed. "That's Niall Horan from One Direction."

"Oh, pardon me." Ms. Watson chuckled. "I get a little excited when somebody comes to see her, which is not very often. I worry about her most times."

Niall nodded, unsure of what to say. This woman was probably one of her only adult influences in her life since she never seemed to talk about her family back home...if she even had family. The fact that she worried about Hannah only increased his concern for her as well.

"I've seen her head up to the second level not too long ago. Check the history section. A cart of books needed to be returned to their proper place. It's the stairs to your left when you walk back out to the Flaxman Gallery."

The woman pointed in the general area that Niall entered from. He thanked her and began to walk away.

Trudging up the steps slowly, he was relieved to find the history section to his right. A few people roamed in between the bookshelves stocked with novels upon novels, reference books upon reference books. There were many rows of these shelves, each being placed in alphabetical order by author. Niall felt he had to weave in and out of every row just to track down the blonde he's been dying to see for the past few days now.