Strictly Professional

38: Never Change

NIALL
The Joker & The Queen-Ed Sheeran

My adolescent years flashed before my eyes as my first ever girlfriend stood before me. One would think I'd be glad to see her, considering how many good memories we've made together. But they wouldn't know all the dark times. They wouldn't know all the pain and tears. The shouting, the blaming and the hate that stemmed between us after the loss of our daughter, replacing all the love and affection we once had for eachother.

"Shannon?" I gulped, staring at her in disbelief. She smiled, shaking her head.

"My God, it really is you! You're unrecognisable!"

That was the point.

She was full of excitement, wrapping her arm around my shoulders to pull me into a hug. I didn't move a single muscle, hoping she'd get the message that I wasn't willing to just forget everything and act all friendly like she was doing.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, clearing my throat while chewing on the inside of my mouth.

"Having dinner with some friends-"

"I mean in London." I cut her off, her presence making me feel more uneasy by the second.

"Oh. I'm getting married this weekend." She obnoxiously cheered, showing me the glistening ring on her hand. I clenched my jaw, forcing out a polite smile.

"Congratulations." I nodded, hoping she'd just thank me and leave. But I should've known form how curious she always was, it wouldn't be that easy.

"Who's this?" She rose an eyebrow as she turned to Elle. I felt like shit for forgetting she was there for a second, her eyes filled with confusion as she glanced between me and Shannon. And I don't know what came over me, but the words just flew from my mouth.

"This is my fiancé." Both their eyes widened in shock, each for a different reason. I stared intently at Elle, hoping she'd go along with the lie. She sighed deeply before putting on a cold, yet polite smile and extending a hand to Shannon.

"Hi, I'm Elle. Niall's fiancé." I breathed out in relief at her words, watching the shock on Shannon's face. And honestly seeing Elle interact with one of my only two exes was the weirdest sight of all.

"I'm Shannon. Never expected he'd consider getting married again after that skank." Shannon scoffed, her eyes falling onto Elle's left hand she had onto the counter. Shannon was always the type of person to look into detail and she always had something to say about it.

"Where's your ring?" She questioned, though I could tell from the suspicion in her voice and face she was trying to figure out if we were being honest, which we weren't. And I was so relieved with how fast Elle was to think of a response.

"Oh, I'm getting it resized." She chuckled, looking down at her ring finger like there was something missing.

"It's a bit weird not having it on though." She added, doing an amazing job at tricking Shannon. I was sure Elle knew exactly who it was that was talking to us, but she wasn't really that aware of how much I didn't want Shannon here.

"I know what you mean. I take mine off for two minutes and I panic that I lost it." Shannon giggled, placing her hand on Elle's shoulder. Though she laughed along, I could tell from the glance she sent me she was just as uneasy as I was, if not more.

"What do you want, Shannon?" I asked a bit too harshly than what I originally intended, making her widen her dull blue eyes at me. She frowned, like she always would whenever she'd try to make me give in to whatever it was she wanted. She hadn't changed at all, just her blonde hair was a lot shorter.