Happily (Niall Horan)

Chapter Three: Workshops

A/N: Presley Above!! When I start a new chapter it will automatically be Hayleigh's POV, unless it says the other person's name before.
"Thanks for cooking dinner, Pres," I thank her.
"No problem," she shrugs, and dries the plate I hand her. We don't have a dishwasher so we do them by hand. I don't mind really, and I don't think Presley minds either. Every night we switch, and tonight I wash and she dries.
"Do you want to have a movie night?" I ask her, scrubbing the salsa off this stubborn bowl.
"Sure, what do you want to watch?" I shrug, and dry my hands off with a towel. I'm finally done.
"You choose," I decide, "I'm going to go ahead and change into my pajamas." She nods and puts the last dish away in the cabinet. I walk out of the kitchen, and go up our five steps that lead to our bedrooms, the guest room and our two bathrooms. My white door is open, so I go in and shut the door behind me. I go over and just sit on my bed, thinking of today. I haven't taken that many pictures today so I guess I'll make it up tomorrow.
I love my room... I even decorated it myself. I have one white wall, two navy and one light blue. The second navy wall has big white and light blue polka dots. The white wall is filled with photographs I've taken. It's not filled yet, but maybe half way. There's pictures of friends, family, London, New York, and of random things. I have even a few of my dapple grey horse, Hazel. I know, who owns a horse in New York? Well, I do but since we live in the city, he has to stay at a stable right outside of town. Anyways, some pictures were taken with my Polaroid camera, and some are with the one I have now. Call me childish, but on my ceiling I have those stick on glow-in-the-dark stars. It's really cool to be honest. My bedspread matches my polka dotted wall, and I have a white fluffy pillow that says 'dream'. My bed is against the light blue wall and above in navy cursive, it's reads: 'Never Stop Dreaming'. Around it, I have posters of London, New York, and even one of Ireland. I have a small walk-in closet next to my white desk. Right now, my laptop is sitting there with my notebooks, books, and other things. I have a navy spinny chair, and a medium sized, three drawer storage unit. I don't have my own bathroom but Pres and I share one. That's what the other white door leads to. Enough about my room, I have to change. I walk over to my closet and take out my fluffy blue pajama pants. Yes, blue is my favorite color. More specifically, navy blue. I also dig through my T-shirts until I find a black V-neck. I slip that on, and put on a pair of white socks. To finish my pajamas, I put my hair into a messy french braid to the side. I walk out of my room, and go downstairs to see Pres shuffling through movies. She looks up at me and smiles.
"I chose one," Her eyes shining.
"Ooo, what is it?" I ask her, my excitement showing.
She holds up a movie case and I squeal. "National Treasure! Yea, I'm happy now!" I absolutely love this movie. Nicolas Cage is one of my favorite actors, and I also love adventure movies, like the Avengers.
"You put it in," Presley instructs me, "while I go put on my pjs." I salute and take the DVD from her, while she runs upstairs. Presley is the most girly out of us two, and her room explains it all.
She has a bright pink zebra print comforter, with matching pillowcases. Two of her walls are black and the other two are the same color as her bed spread. Above her bed is her name in wooden letters painted-you guessed it- pink. She has a small black desk in a corner, with a black chair. She also has a small walk-in closet. We are about the same size so we share clothes a lot. Another thing, Presley is really good at drawing and basically any kind of art. On her wall, is a painting she made for us. It says, "Friends by chance, Sisters by choice." I really like it because we did become friends and we are so close we basically are sisters. I think she said she found it on Tumblr, and that it described us perfectly. My favorite part of her room, though is on the same wall as the painting, and she has this huge photo frame that can hold two big photos. The top one is of Presley and I in front of our old elementary school in New York. We're sitting back to back, looking in the direction we were facing and smiling. I think we were in the third grade or something. For one of our senior pictures, we recreated it in the exact same position and in the exact spot from our elementary school. That photo is in the bottom frame. We have been through thick and thin together, through breakups, family issues, everything. I sigh and lean back against the couch. I'm not sitting on it, I'm on the floor sitting in front of it.
I kind of wish I was still a kid, you know? No drama about looking pretty, not learning about how horrible our world can be. We just played around on our playgrounds, spinning around in our Halloween costumes, and didn't have a care in the world. I miss that.
I get up, and slip the movie in the TV just as Presley walks downstairs. Her curly dark brown hair is down in it's natural state. She's also wearing a black V-neck, but with pink Aeropostale sweat pants.
"TWINSIES!" I shout, and fling my arms in the air. She laughs and sits on the couch. "I'll get some blankets," I tell her as I head towards the direction of the hall closet. I pull out two soft and fluffy white blankets, and shut the door. I throw one in Presley's direction and she catches it swiftly. She used to play softball, enough said. I flip off the lights and return to the living area. I sit in front of her, and snuggle under my blanket. "Pass me a pillow," I whisper as the open credits begin. I hear her shuffle on the couch, and hand me a pillow. "Thanks," I whisper again.
"Shhhh," she quiets me. I glare at her, but turn and pay attention to the movie.
*****after movie*****
I look up at Presley as the TV goes black and names start rolling on the screen. She was snuggled into her blanket, fast asleep and she was using her arm as a pillow. I chuckle softly and shut off the television. It's probably about 11 something because that movie lasts like three hours. I stand up and stretch because my back is sore. Sitting on the floor can do that to you. I pick up Presley, carefully so I don't wake her, and carry her to her room. I quietly kick open her door, and set her on her bed. I put the blanket she was using over her body and flick off the lights. I softly shut the door, and go into my room. I open my door that leads to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I'm just gonna leave my braid in. I shut those lights off, and go back downstairs. I enter the kitchen and open the cabinet that hold our mugs. I start making tea, and while I'm waiting I notice my phone on the table. I go over to it, and type in my very top-notch password. One new message from Unknown Number. Huh, I open the message and see it was just Niall. I save his number and put his contact name in. I decide on Nialler, and open his message...
From Nialler:
Hey Hayleigh! It's Niall and I just wanted to tell you it was me. I had fun today and maybe Presley and you can come over and meet the lads. They really want to meet you. Anyways, Goodnight!-Irish
They want to meet me? Cool, I guess. I type in a reply and then check on my tea.
To Nialler:
I would love to meet them! Presley has an art class at 11, and I have a photography workshop. How about we all meet for lunch tomorrow?
About five seconds later I get a reply. That was fast...
From Nialler:
Great! Maybe we can go roller skating after or something after?
To Nialler:
That would be really fun! Sure!
From Nialler:
Yea! Well Goodnight Hay-Bale! Sweet dreams,
To Nialler:
Sweet dreams. Night Irish.
Well, looks like Presley and I actually have somewhere to go tomorrow. I finish making my tea, and take a few sips since it was warm. I turn off the kitchen lights, grab my tea and my phone and head upstairs. When I get there, I grab my phone charger and set my tea on my desk. I have to climb under it, to get to the plug to charge my phone. I had unplugged it earlier, but now I wish I hadn't. I push the charger into the outlet, and start backing up phone in hand. I lift my head a little bit, and BANG! I hit my head on the wood supporting my desk. "Fudge balls!" I whisper yell. I clutch my head with my hand as I finally get out from underneath my stupid desk. I set my phone by my laptop, and pick up my tea. I take big gulps as the pain in my head slowly disappears. That's the second time something has hit my head today. At least this time it was my fault. I finish my sugary tea, and set it back on my desk. I'll put it in the sink tomorrow...if I get to it. I walk over to my bed, and climb under my blankets. Ah, finally. I'm exhausted yet I can't fall asleep. I groan and climb out of bed. I forgot to tell you guys, I have a balcony. Well, sort of. I have this window by my closet, and it has a small little balcony. There's this tree that grows right by it, so that's one way I enter my room. It's in the backyard though, so only Presley and I know about it. I push my window open, and climb out. Then, I climb right back in. It's cold, and I need a jacket. I grab the one I wore today and slip it over my head. I also slip on a pair of fuzzy boot slippers, and bring my blanket with me. Now! I am ready, so I climb back out the window. I walk over to the small railing and lean against it. It's so pretty out here tonight. I drag my telescope out from its original spot, and position it. Yes, I have a telescope, and yes I love looking at the stars. It's just so... pretty. Why do you think they're on my ceiling? It's hard to see stars sometimes because I live in London now but I try to do it as much as possible. I smile when I see a shooting star blast across the diamond night sky. Well, you know the rules. Make a wish. I close my eyes and make a wish, ignoring the busy city around me.
I wish that Niall and I will become the closest best of friends.
Niall POV:
I wonder how long I've been up here. It's probably around 11:30 or something. I'm up on the roof of our building because I can't fall asleep. I even ate a snack, and it didn't help. I texted Hayleigh for a few minutes before I realized she might be trying to sleep so I said goodnight. I'm glad I met Hayleigh. She's really nice and funny, and I hope we can become best friends. I don't like Hayleigh like that and I hate it when the lads tease me. Hopefully, they won't do it in front of her. In the short time that I got to know her, I'd bet she'd just laugh or say some sassy remark in reply to their jokes. I laugh to myself at the thought of Louis getting out sassed. I look up at the stars, and wonder why I don't do this more often. It's so peaceful, even with a busy city surrounding you. You just have to ignore the car honkings and things. I awe in amazement when I see a bright star shoot across the night sky. Well, when you see a shooting star there's only one thing you can do. Make a wish, and hope it'll come true! I squeeze my tired eyes shut, and wish hard. No it's not for a lifetime supply of Nando's, even though that'd be nice. I wished for something that could change my life if I let it.
I wished that Hayleigh and I would become really close best friends.
Hayleigh's POV:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011:
"Ayleigh!" I hear someone call, "Leigh!" I finally recognize the voice because only one person calls me those names, Presley. She's called me Ayleigh and Leigh for years actually. Pres gets ticked off at anyone who steals them. I groan and rub my eyes. "Get in here! It's 10, and you have a workshop at 11!" She yells at me. I shoot up when I hear that. Where am I? Oh god, I fell asleep out here. I turn to the window to find a smirking Presley leaning against it. "You know you can get a cold, right?" she asks me after I climb back inside, "It was only 29 degrees last night."
"I'm sure I'll be fine," I assure her. Oh, I forgot to tell her about lunch. "Hey!" I yell before she leaves. She turns back around and stares at me.
"What?" she asks.
"We're going out to lunch today!"
"With who?" She raises an eyebrow. How come everyone can do that except me!?
"The boy I met yesterday, Niall, and his band mates." She stands there for a minute, then shrugs.
"Sure."
"But wear socks, we're going roller skating or something after," I tell her. She nods and leaves my bedroom, closing the door behind her. Now, you heard Presley and I have classes and workshops to go to. Well, we don't attend the classes, we teach them. We show kids in middle school and sometimes younger about art and photography. It's really fun actually. Those are the 'jobs' we got here in London. I put it in quotation marks because I don't count it as a job. It's something I love to do, so I'm thrilled about teaching it to others.
I go over to my closet, and search for something cozy since it's chilly. I smile when I find my favorite pair of dark skinny jeans. I go to the sections where I keep my scarfs and sweaters. I find a gray infinity scarf, from Aeropostale, and a really soft, teal, long-sleeved sweater. To match the scarf, I decide in wearing my gray, fold-down combat boots with a tribal design on the inside. For makeup, I'm only going to wear mascara and Eos. I'm just going to leave my hair down today, in a waterfall braid. I check myself once more in the mirror and decide I look fine. I grab my black, fold-over backpack, and sling it over my shoulder. I walk downstairs to see Presley sitting at the table eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, her favorite. I prefer Frosted Flakes though. Instead of having cereal, I've been craving fruit so I grab an apple and start munching on it. "You look pretty, Pres," I compliment her. She blushes and looks at her cereal.
"Thanks, Hayls. You look pretty too," she smiles at me. She did look pretty, to be honest. She was wearing a pair of regular skinny jeans, with a pink long-sleeved shirt. Over that, she had a cute black vest. For shoes, she had on her black boots that go to her knees. She had cute black and silver owl earrings and her hair was down and straightened. She had pinned her bangs back with a few bobby pins, and it looked cute. I can't tell if she is wearing makeup of not. She's probably just wearing mascara and lipgloss. That's her normal, usually. Unless we go somewhere fancy.
I look at my phone, and my eyes widen. "Pres!" I yell, and she drops her spoon in her bowl out of shock.
"Look what you did!" she complains.
"Too bad, so sad," I tell her, and rush to finish an apple. "We don't have time to talk about your stupid spoon! It's 10:57! We're gonna be late!!" Her eyes widen, and she grabs her purse, her wallet and her phone. She abandons her cereal as she yanks the front door open with so much force it bangs against the wall. I grab my camera by the door and rush after her, to find she already has the car started. Wow, she is fast. I hop in, and she speeds off in the direction of the community center.
About five minutes later, we arrive but we're about two minutes late. We rush inside, saying a quick hello to Rhona, the center's secretary. I burst into the photography lounge, breathing deeply. Presley doesn't even glance at me as she zooms by towards the art rooms at the end of the hallway. "I'm here!" I yell and the students cheer. I bow jokingly and put my stuff on my little desk.
"It's about time you get here," Becca teases, "I thought I'd graduate high school before you arrive." Becca has been taking this workshop for a while. She's in the eighth grade at the local middle school nearby. I teach maybe 10 to maybe fifteen kids, so it's like a small classroom. I'm closest to Becca out of all of them though, but they are all a lot of fun too.
"Ha..Ha..Ha," I roll my eyes. Unzipping my bag, I pull out my camera and place the strap around my neck. I sit on my desk, swinging my legs and look at all of them. They're just talking and laughing at one another like normal teenagers do. I put two fingers into my mouth and blow. An ear piercing shriek bounces off the colorful walls of the lounge, and the kids all look at me. "Okay," I breathe deeply, "Are you all ready to take some winter nature photos?" One by one, grins appear on their faces and they all bolt towards the door. "Uh, guys?" I call to them. Most of them freeze, and turn back towards me. "Some of you forgot your camera," I bite my lip to hold back a laugh. Apparently, Becca was one of them because she smiles sheepishly at me, but goes to retrieve her camera. I laugh and go towards the doorway. "Last person turn off the lights!" I call towards the end of the line. Becca jokingly salutes, then goes back to talking with her friends. I chuckle at her as I lead the talkative group of kids towards the back door that is a short cut to the park, where we'll be taking photos. I smile as our group passes the art rooms. I sneak a glance inside to see Presley with messy hands, crafting a pot. She looks up a millisecond later, and grins at me. I return it, and follow the kids out the door.
I lead Becca and the others down the pathway, but stop halfway. In the part we're at, the sun is peeking through the trees, like a little toddler playing peek-a-boo. There's many flowers, most of them growing up the sides of the trees. It's really pretty, even though it's winter, or almost winter. The little flecks of white snow hit the sun perfectly and cause this breathtaking effect. "Okay, guys! I think this place is a good starting point. You can explore a little, but I have to be able to see you, okay?" I say as I turn on my camera along with everyone. A mixed response of "yes, yeah sure, kay!" echoes through everybody and they all disperse. I just shrug and take a few pictures of the beautiful scenery filling the world around me. I was about to check to see how they turned out, but something caught my eye. Becca and a few of her friends had sat down their cameras on a nearby bench, and were playing in the little bit of snow we had. I automatically crouch down, and zoom my camera into focus. I zoom it a little more until I get Becca into the shot. She throws the snow up in the air, and laughs as the white fluff falls around her. I quickly push the button, to capture this moment. I go to my gallery and a smile grows when I see the photo of Becca. She was caught in mid-laugh, with a smile upon her face. The snow were little specks in her hair, the white very visible against her shoulder-length, dark-brown hair. Her blue eyes have a sparkle with the icy background. I love this photo. I save it to a folder, and get back to taking photos of the kids playing in the snow. Yeah, they're in middle school, but who doesn't love snow? Losers, that's who. I take a quick photo of a boy named Alex, before I hear my name called.
"Hayleigh!" Christian, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy in the eighth grade yelps. "Come on! We want to build a snowman!" I laugh, and remove the camera from around my neck. I set it next to the others and walk over to them, my hands huddled into my coat pockets.
"Fine," I agree with them, "but then back to photography, agreed?"
"Agreed!" they all chorus together. A small smile makes its way onto my lips, as we began building the base. I got down on the cold ground with Grace, Natalie, Seth, and Ben, and as a group we roll a tiny snowball into a huge one that goes up to my hips. Dang! (A/N Does anyone remember Cory In The House, he said that all the time!!) Then, Becca, Christian, Ashley, and a few others work together to lift the body of our snowman onto the butt. Then a little sixth grader, Riley, with my permission of course, heads in the direction of the community center with her older brother, Bryce, to collect items to put on our snowman. And finally, we finish the construction of it as all of us adjust the head.
A few minutes later, Riley and Bryce had returned and now we were adding the final touches. We use rocks as his buttons and for his smile. Alex had found some perfect sticks, so we stuck those on either side of the body, with an extra pair of mittens stuck on the end of them. From our drama department, we use an old top hat from a play a few years back, and they didn't need it so we took it. Riley had really wanted to stick the carrot nose on, so we let her. The problem was, she was really tiny and short. I consider this a good thing since she wants to be a dancer. So, I lift her up until she was eye level with our snowman, who they had named Mr. Super. She plops that sucker in, and I gently sit her feet back on the floor. As a joke, they had tied a cape around his 'neck', and said he was an under cover superhero. I had no say in this, so I had nothing to do with it. We all stand back and admire our work, until we realized we need a picture. I instruct each of the kids to huddle around Mr. Super, and to hold his cape out so it will give off the 'flying effect.' They all give me cheesy grins as a pose and I chuckle as I hear the snap of my camera. Then, a light bulb went off.
"Hey!" I grab their attention. They all look at me confused. "Give me your best superhero pose, and when I say three, yell super got it?" Some of them laugh, while the others chatter in excitement. "One..," I begin counting, "Two... Super!" They all pose in the funniest ways a superhero can. It's a ridiculous photo of everyone, but I'm definitely going to keep it. "Okay guys!!!" I say, a smile growing on my face. "Time to take more photos!!!" In response, I hear a mix of happy cheers and groans. "To the groaners," I smirk, "We can play in the snow when we get done, kay?" This time, I hear nothing but cries of joy. I laugh, and start taking some photos with some really cool, funny kids.