Niall showed up like the morning on Wednesday: bright, fun, and smiling. His blonde hair bobbed happily around his face, highlighting his piercing blue eyes. His cheeks were rosy and his smile could light up the darkest room. He didn't look as arrogantly handsome as Harry or as unattainably rugged as Liam, but he had a kind of dorky cuteness that I had never seen before.
He walked easily over to me and hugged me, asking for permission before pressing a kiss to my forehead.
He wasn't as dominant as Harry or as submissive as Liam. He was the perfect medium.
He was wearing a plain gray shirt with a sweatshirt over it and a pair of jeans and he smelled so good. I couldn't help pushing my face into his chest to smell him.
He laughed it off merrily. He laughed a lot and it was the most beautiful sound. I could listen to it all day long.
His manner was swift and uplifting, like a favorite song that had stayed with me since childhood. I felt constantly on edge around Liam, not knowing what might hurt him. I had been so dominated by Harry's stance and nature that I hadn't even been me. Niall was just Niall and that's all I wanted him to be.
He was so posh and suave, yet had a youthful, rural glow around him that felt to me like home.
He walked with you to the creek that ran through the reserve and taught you how to skip stones, holding your hands in his and helping you to skip them. He flicked water in your direction, laughing when you screeched and jumped away.
The sun shone but it was still chilly. Niall and I hugged each other close whenever we got hot.
The birds were singing and Niall loved it. "Here that sound?" He imitated it and you nodded, grinning at the accuracy. "That's a bluejay. You can tell because it sounds like it's calling, jay! Jay! Jay! Also, it's blue!"
I laughed at how obvious (although true) his comment was.
"Don't laugh at me," he pretended to pout. "It's true, isn't it?"
"Poor little boy," I pouted back, stroking his hair. "My poor little boy."
Calling him my little boy never would have flown with Harry and it would have pushed sweet Liam over the edge. Niall just looked slightly shocked at first, but he just gave me the biggest, strongest, most genuine bear hug ever.
Talking to him was like a waterfall. It was beautiful and it never stopped or grew stagnant. He was constantly making me laugh and he didn't care when I leaned my head on his shoulder.
He sat and massaged my back for a minute when the conversation slowed, and he let me shower his perfect hands with tiny kisses. He laughed at nearly everything I said and he let me talk about anything.
He told me about seemingly every detail of his life: his first date, his first crush, his first everything.
I told him about your firsts, which weren't nearly as interesting as his. When the conversation dulled again, I asked him the question that I had asked Harry on Monday and forgotten to ask Liam yesterday.
"Why do you want to marry me, Ni?"
"Because I love you. I might have had to ghost you if you were stuck up or snotty but I love you."
"I love you too." The words fell out of my mouth like bricks. I hadn't wanted to say anything like that to any of the boys. What if Louis exceeded Niall? I felt like such a cheater. But if you had just heard that I was dating five guys for a day, you would have called me a mega whore.
I didn't want any of them to think that of me but if they did so be it.
I would most likely be a clingy, kinky bitch. They didn't want me. They would only pay money for me because I was pretty. They didn't know me. They didn't want me. I was just Y/N. That's all there was to it.
I expressed this to Niall and he rubbed my tense back and shoulders as I spoke.
"Y/N, I'm not lying when I say I love you. I hope you believe me."
I felt tears in my eyes and Niall noticed. " 'M sorry, sweetheart," he breathed, holding your hands.
"Nooo," you moaned, snuggling your face into his chest as the tears began to fall. "Don't be sorry!"
"Aww..." Niall cooed. "You're exhausted, Princess."
I wasn't sure how I got there, but I woke up in the cottage, in my bed in the middle of the night. I cried. I didn't even want to meet Louis and Zayn. I just wanted Niall.
