i still do || n.h au

five

the distraction

Niall has just gotten out of the shower -- he decided to sleep in and skip both breakfast and gym because they're the last things on his mind this morning -- when a text message from Astrid appears on the screen of his phone.

Wanna have lunch with me?

It's a simple yes or no question but knowing what might have happened last night between Astrid and Leo, Niall is having a difficult time forming a reply. There's a possibility that she's asking him out for lunch so she could break the news to him. To tell him that she's engaged and to probably invite him to her wedding.

The mere thought of Astrid and Leo sitting in front of him whilst they break the news to him sends shivers down his back -- and not the good, exhilarating kind of shivers.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Niall has always known that one day Astrid will get married and the person she marries won't be him but he never really entertains that idea, ignoring it whenever it pops into his mind. Ignorance is bliss, people say, and Niall agrees with that.

Astrid and Leo getting engaged — and married soon — shouldn't bother him too much. He and Astrid recently got in touch again after spending years apart so he doesn't have the right to feel, well, dejected. He should feel happy for Astrid even if he can feel his heart breaking at the thought of Astrid settling down with Leo (or with anyone, really).

Yeah, sure.

Astrid's reply comes less than a minute later, which tells him that she must be waiting for him to reply.

Awesome! I'll meet you at the lobby in ten?

Okay.

Niall puts down his phone and heaves out a sigh. What has he gotten himself into is all he could think of as he walks over to his luggage -- he didn't even bother to unpack because it's a pretty short trip and he hates packing -- and picks out his outfit of the day. He's not spoilt for choice so he puts on the first thing he sees and walks over to the mirror to make sure that he looks presentable at the very least even though he feels like shit inside. Going to sleep with a heavy heart does that to a person, he supposes.

Less than ten minutes later, Niall steps out of his hotel room and makes his way to the lift that will take him to the lobby. Astrid's back is on him when he gets out of the lift so she doesn't see him at first but before Niall could compose himself, she turns around and greets him with a smile and a wave.

Almost on instinct, Niall looks around the lobby for a sign of Leo but he doesn't see him. He only sees Astrid, approaching him with a smile still fixed on her face. Niall mirrors her expression when she nears him.

"Hey," she stops in front of him. "You ready for lunch?"

"Yeah," he replies as he shoves a hand inside the pocket of his jeans. It's one of his nervous habits, one that he picks up when he tries to stop biting his nails. Guess you can't get rid of all habits, can you? "You have a place in mind?"

Astrid nods as she pulls out her phone and shows a Google page to Niall. She has googled a place called Santiago's, a family-owned restaurant and bar, and it seems like a nice place to eat based on the first review and the pictures he sees.

"I've wanted to come to this place since Victoria told me about it. She swears that if she's not so busy all the time she would've flown to New York every week so she could eat their food." Astrid tells him as they make their way to the exit. "I trust her judgment."

Niall watches Astrid as she's practically bouncing in her steps and Niall wonders if that's what getting engaged does to people. Speaking of, Niall still hasn't gotten the chance to ask her about it. Or maybe he should wait for her to mention it to him. Either way, he doesn't think he'll be able to stop thinking about it because not even the promise of a good food could push that very thought to the back of his mind.