Finding, Finding... Found.

Chapter 9

You type kinda weird, y’know.

Its called textin , not typin in perf English

Yeah, yeah… 10 seconds.

Comin

Alyssa looked through the peephole, trying to spot Niall’s cab. It was hardly identifiable within the many vehicles on the same road, but she could see the hint of blonde in one of them.

She took a deep breath as she silently counted to five and opened the door, only to be greeted by the slight screams and unstoppable questioning coming from the paparazzi. Until Niall shook her out of her trance and slammed the door shut.

“You okay?” His eyebrows furrowed with worry as he took the sight of Alyssa in. She was in black skinny jeans and an oversized sweater and…

Niall struggled to not roll his eyes. He had been hanging out with the stylists too much – so much so that he could actually identify what she was wearing. Just months ago he’d have described her dressing as being a top and a bottom.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Alyssa bit her lower lip as the emotional rollercoaster came to an end and the betrayal she had felt almost an hour made her eyes sting.

“It was Karla,” she blurted out unintentionally, the emotions taking over. Niall simply sat down beside her as he looked intently at her, listening. “She… I don’t know, she was normal one minute and the next I could see a hint of jealousy…”

“It’s okay Aly,” Niall stopped her rambling as he took hold of her hands, secretly liking how they fit perfectly – like two puzzle pieces that complete each other, as cheesy as that sounds. “I’ve had people walk out on me after I became – well, famous – but then I realized that I had the boys, you know? Don’t let one person bring you down.”

“It’s not just one person, Niall,” Alyssa confessed as she felt her tears threatening to spill. She willed herself not to cry as she took a deep breath, ignoring Niall’s concerned glance. She had been strong for so many years – one day was nothing compared to the beginning years. She closed her eyes as she remembered everything so vividly – she remembered the day she realized her best friend was never going to come back for her.

2008, Brooksfield Orphanage

“Alyssa, go on a date with me,” Daniel said bluntly. He was one of the older boys at the orphanage who had more freedom and was thus allowed to be outside of the orphanage at certain times.

“I can’t,” Alyssa stated as she looked up at him through her lashes. “I…”

“Forget about that- Niall?- that boy!” Daniel spoke harshly as he grabbed both of Alyssa’s hands, forcing her to look up at him. “He’s not coming back! It’s been years!”

“He promised!” Alyssa argued as she struggled out of his grip. “And let go of me, you freak!”

Daniel dropped Alyssa’s hands as he looked at her directly, his green eyes piercing into her muddy brown ones, as if daring her to challenge him on what he was going to say.

“Promises get broken all the time… and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this promise had been broken for years.”

“Not just one person?” Niall whispered as he looked at Alyssa’s pain-filled eyes. It sounded silly, but he would do anything to take the pain she was feeling away.

After all, he was slightly sure that it was caused by him.

“Was that guy-” Niall started, but got cut off by Alyssa quickly as she stood up and dusted the dirt off her jeans.

“It was a long time ago,” Alyssa smiled - though Niall could tell that it was forced right away – as she looked up at the ceiling, away from Niall’s haunting blue eyes. “And you were right – I’m going to forget about him. I’m not going to let him bring me down.”

“Not… Not forget about him!” Niall struggled to find the right words. “Just… don’t let the negative feelings bring you down.”

Alyssa turned over to take a close look at Niall, distracted by his eyes.

“You know, you have the same eyes as him,” Alyssa spoke thoughtfully as she examined his face-

Until she realized how creepy she was going to look like. Who stares at someone’s face?! She wanted the ground to swallow her up there and then.

“Um, okay,” Niall gulped awkwardly, knowing the reason why he had the same eyes. “But… just hold on for a little longer, okay? Things will get better… you just need to wait for the right time.”

Even though he was talking to her, Alyssa couldn’t help but sense that he was in actual fact directing some of those words towards him.

“Okay,” Alyssa smiled gently as she played with the hem of her sweater.

“I’ll call security okay?” Niall spoke softly, not wanting to destroy the comfortable atmosphere that had been created. “The crowd isn’t dying down.”

Alyssa nodded as she smiled at him, and he returned her tiny smile with a blinding one of his own.