Finding, Finding... Found.

Chapter 5

C’mon, brain, work and get me out of this mess. Niall’s mind was in overdrive, and he was struggling to come up with some sort of believable excuse for that slip up.

“I-I- I don’t know, Aly’s just shorter than Alyssa, and I’m a lazy person, and I dislike long words, and-” Niall was rambling now. He always did when he was nervous, after all.

“Mate, we get it – you’re lazy and you hate long words,” Harry rolled his eyes as he stood up, nearing Alyssa and Niall. “And yeah Alyssa, Niall’s right – we’ll send you home. It’s not very safe.”

Alyssa sighed as she nodded her head. “I guess you’re right.”

***

“So erm, do you want to hang out tomorrow?” Niall asked casually, and then realized how his words sounded as if he was asking for a date. “It’s not a date! Just the both of us as friends, chatting over coffee…”

Alyssa’s eyebrows furrowed as she thought about it – her job ends at two in the afternoon, and if Kayla wants to go out for a cup of coffee, she couldn’t exactly say that she would be hanging out with the Niall Horan instead. Not only would Kayla go absolutely mental, but even Alyssa herself wasn’t sure of how long this friendship would last. Being friends with a global superstar… she had no experience, but she knew it the friendship itself would be incredibly rocky.

“Can I tell you tomorrow instead? I’m quite unsure of my schedule as of yet…” Alyssa replied sincerely, hoping Niall could sense that she wasn’t rejecting his offer or anything.

There was a flicker of sadness in Niall’s eyes for a second before it disappeared, and his lips curved into his usual grin.

“Okie-dokie then, sleep well chipmunk,” Niall teased before walking away. Even in the dark, Alyssa could see him walking slowly – as if he was in a personal dilemma - and before she knew it, he ran back towards her and kissed her on the forehead.

Niall’s eyes were focused on Alyssa’s face, studying her reaction. He saw a hint of recognition in her eyes, and felt his lips curl into a big smile. It was her. When they were young, he used to kiss Alyssa on the forehead before bedtime… and that recognition she had in her eyes just confirmed something for him.

That eight year wait has ended.

“Good night, Aly,” Niall whispered before walking back to Harry’s car.

***

It was safe to say that the situation in Harry’s car was awkward. Niall had forgotten about the Harry factor when he had kissed Alyssa on the forehead, and now he was kicking himself for it – not that he regretted it.

“Niall, did you just kiss Alyssa on the forehead?” Harry broke the silence before Niall could turn on the radio and change the topic.

“If you saw it, I can’t deny it, can I?” Niall sighed, his cheeks now turning red in embarrassment. While Harry was a ladies’ man, Niall was… inexperienced. “Did she look repulsed or something after I left?”

Harry laughed at his best friend’s lack of confidence. He was a global superstar, had millions of Twitter followers, and he was worried about one girl? He could have pretty much any girl he wanted, to put it in a crude manner. Still, he chose to answer his Irish band mate to spare him any more panic – he did seem serious about this budding friendship, after all, and Harry didn’t want to get in the way of that.

“I couldn’t see her face clearly, but I’d say she looks surprised,” Harry grinned before turned on the radio himself, effectively ending the conversation, and leaving Niall to think about what ‘surprised’ meant, especially to Harry.