Reminisce [ A Niall Horan OU ]

i. baby, any time you're ready

The first time Niall meets Meera, he's mesmerized.

He also  happens to have blonde hair and is still going strong with the band, but that's besides the point.  The truth is, he isn't planning to go out with the other boys that night, because frankly, he is exhausted. While he loves to go out when they can — late at night in clubs where it is so packed that if they keep their heads down and out of trouble, they can get away with being who they are — it's getting harder to do when they are all so tired after the shows.

Today is no exception, since they've just performed their last European show on this tour. They have time to rest after today, he tells himself, when the other boys come to his hotel door and convince him to come out. After tonight, he'll be on a plane home where he plans on sleeping for the next week straight. So he grabs a jacket and a baseball hat to hide his recognizable hair and follows them out.

When he sees her; the moment is a saving grace for Niall. As soon as they enter the bar, he feels like going right back to the hotel. To say it's packed doesn't even begin to describe the amount of people around them. The lights are flickering back and forth so quickly, he has to look away after a mere second. The music is so loud that the floor feels like it's going to collapse from right under them.  It's all dizzying and overwhelming and on any other night Niall wouldn't be so on edge. It's unlike him to not be excited to go out, but all he wants to do is go home and wallow. He loves this life of his, cherishes the moments on stage and connecting with the fans more than he can ever explain, but walking away from everything he's ever known has led to him losing himself a little. Lately, he's been struggling with finding the balance between who he was and who he is now.

He won't admit it, but part of it has to do with the fact that Niall feels like he doesn't have a single stable relationship in his life right now. He talks to his mum and dad occasionally, but now even they are accustomed to his crazy schedule. The friends he had are all busy making their own careers. He hasn't had a girlfriend since the band started, but how can he expect to when he's halfway across the world from her for the majority of the year? He learned that lesson the hard way when his girlfriend of over a year dumped him the day they announced this tour.

Zayn and Louis head towards the DJ's area while Harry and Liam insist on scooping out  a booth, Niall mumbles something about finding them some drinks and heads towards the bar with the hope he'll find some space where he can get a good breath in.

To his dismay, he sees that the entire bar is packed, too. All the seats are taken and there's people trying to get the attention of one of the four bartenders behind the long marble counter. He scans the area, illuminated by purple light. In a split instance he spots an opening, a man turning away while trying to balance the  numerous pints in his hand. Niall's closer than others and squeezes into the spot, sighing with relief when he sees that a bar stool is available, too.

Now that he's at the front of the line, he's surprised to see five bartenders instead of four. One of them is parked right in front of him, leaning against the counter and absentmindedly dragging a rag back and forth on the marble to make it look like he's busy.  Thirsty, drunk club-goers around him are glaring at the man but he doesn't seem to notice. His eyes are focused on the girl who's on Niall's right. Niall analyzes the bartender's gaze for a brief moment and realizes that it's sympathetic. He's not checking her out.