Climbing the Walls (a Niall Horan love story)

Chapter 9

*Niall's P.O.V.*

"She doesn't even feel the same way," I said solemnly.

"Do I literally have to smack some sense into you? Honestly, are you blind?" Harry asked me exasperatedly. He was trying to convince me to ask out Haley. But, to be honest, I was way too nervous. I'm not really good around girls; I don't know how to act. I went to an all-boys school for god's sake!

"What do you mean?" I asked. The boys kept calling me stupid for thinking Haley didn't fancy me. Or like me, or however Americans show affection. Did she? No, that would be too good to be true. But there was our "system", and we did have random couple moments... But that didn't really mean much... Did it? No, it was probably just an American girl thing.

"Ok, she probably doesn't want me telling you this, but she fancies you, Niall! You two are bloody crazy about each other; you guys make it too obvious! Jacob even assumed she was your girlfriend!" Harry's words sunk in, making my heart warm but also making it race. Did she actually say she fancied me?

"Do you know that for a fact? I mean I just met her, this is crazy..." I said. Harry smiled at me, obviously having some sort of evil plan mapping out in his head. "What?" I asked, desperately wanting to know what he was thinking.

"But here's my number, so CALL ME MAYBE!" I rolled my eyes at him. I thought he had some master scheme to get Haley to fall in love with me! I mean, not that I need a plan... Or want her to love me... Oh who am I kidding, yes I do! "She loves that song, Niall! It always cheers her up!" Oh. So there was a plan. Good, I was hopeless on my own. "You should sing that to her to ask her out!"

"You really think that would work?" I asked hopefully. I was smiling at the thought of asking Haley out and making her mine, but my heart was thudding. I had faced rejection before, and it sucked. And being rejected by Haley would be so much worse.

"Of course it would!" Harry assured me, "Girls are suckers for guys who sing to them! And we can even spice it up a little," he plotted with a wink. I considered it, a vision becoming clear in my hopeful mind. I still couldn't believe that a girl so beautiful had feelings for me. "You know what? I'm going to get you two alone right now!" I was interrupted before I could protest, and maybe that was a good thing.

"HARRY!" her beautiful voice called. It made me think of how magical it was when that voice said my name. Harry left to go talk to her as I lay in bed, day dreaming and playing a thousand different scenes of making her mine playing through my mind. Make her mine... Take her and make her mine... And then I knew how I was going to spice up Call Me Maybe. But I couldn't do it alone.

*Haley's P.O.V.*

"HARRYHARRYHARRY!" I cried as he emerged from Niall's room. Dear lord, what was he doing in there? I mean base on why he had been in my room... Never mind that, I had important news for him!

"Yes?" he asked as he closed the door.

"You know that house across the street?" I questioned him. He nodded, urging me to go on. "Well Dani's moving into it with her brother!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Dani Styles?" he asked jokingly, but I could still hear the genuine enthusiasm in his voice.

"Dani Manchester, actually," I corrected him with a good-hearted eye-roll.

"Awesome! She seems very... nice," he said. I glared warningly at him, knowing he was not thinking she was just "nice". "I'm sorry! I was kidding, god," he added, putting his hands up innocently, pleading not guilty. I rolled my eyes again, letting it go. He winked, his green eyes sparkling with joy. "Wait... Why?" he asked. Ugh, I was hoping he wouldn't ask that.

"Why not?" I answered simply, not wanting to tell Dani's scarring secret. I decided to let her tell him when she was ready, I felt like they would bond quickly. Like me with Niall and Louis. In which sense I wasn't sure, but the connection was clear. Well, to me at least. He seemed to accept my answer and shrugged.

"Well, yay!" he concluded. "Bye! Nice talking to ya!" he said, rushing me back into my own room. What was up with him? "You look like you want a pineapple." I was too confused to even begin to protest. "LOU, LIAM, ZAYN! GET YOUR ARSES OUT HERE!" he called. I noticed a lack of Niall's name being called on that attendance list. Once the three boys had assembled, they all looked at Harry with expectant confusion, as did I. "Gentlemen, Haley wants a pineapple. So we are getting her a pineapple," he announced, and the boys smiled in agreement. They all winked at me as they left, and Louis ruffled my hair. Why were they so obsessed with Niall and me? Did Sydney and Liam have to go through this too? Well, I might as well use my alone time with Niall wisely.

Once the boys were gone, I went down stairs into the kitchen. I routinely poured two glasses of milk and pulled out a box of Oreos. Too lazy to go up and get him, I decided to be "creative". "NIALL! NIALL! COME QUICK! PLEASE!" I begged, screaming like a damsel in distress. I heard footsteps rushing down the staircase.

"Haley? What's wrong?" he called, bolting into the kitchen. I sat smiling on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. He sighed when he saw I was fine, and smiled when he saw the Oreos.

"I was alone with two glasses of milk and a box full of Oreos," I said with a joking frown. He returned it. When you frown, I frown.

"What a tragedy!" he said, taking a seat next to me, digging into the box. I nodded in agreement. We started munching on Oreo after Oreo, not really talking much. But it wasn't awkward; we were just enjoying each others' company. And the Oreos, of course. A few minutes later, the boys came back through the doors. And they, of course, had a pineapple with them. Really. A pineapple. How did he come up with the idea that I would want a pineapple? I mean of all excuses to get Niall and me alone...

"What's with the pineapple?" Niall asked in confusion, mouth still full of cookie.

"Haley wanted it," Harry answered with absolutely no emotion. No emotion on his face. No emotion in his voice. No emotion in his eyes. Just stating a fact. Was he possessed by the pineapple spirit or something? I mentally laughed at my stupid thought as Niall looked at me questioningly. I shrugged and smiled.

"I like pineapples," I said, going along with it. Niall then grabbed the pineapple from Louis, (who was cradling it like a baby) found a Sharpie, and drew a smiley face with a moustache on it. I giggled, and noticed that he was a lefty. For some strange reason, I found that absolutely adorable. I guess that was the power of lov- er, crushes. Crushes. I had a crush on Niall.

"And this pineapple likes you," he said, handing the pineapple over to me. I giggled, smiling at him and his adorably retarded gift.

"Hold on," I said, giving the pineapple back to him and getting my phone out. As I held up the phone to take a picture, he smiled along with his jolly little pineapple. He still had the marker in his hand, and he looked so cute. I smiled, and tweeted it with the description: "I like pineapples." "And this pineapple likes you." @NiallOfficial.

Niall pulled out his phone, reading the tweet, and smiled. "Yes, it does," he said with a chuckle, placing the pineapple in my hands and getting his phone out. I put the pineapple in front of my face as he snapped the picture. When I pulled it down, he looked slightly disappointed. "Would've been a better picture if you didn't hide your pretty little face," he said. I blushed the living hell out of my cheeks and the boys "Aww"d and whistled. I rolled my caramel brown eyes and Niall smiled at me. I smiled back, getting that feeling of butterflies in my stomach again. It still seemed foreign, but I was becoming more familiar with it.

I took the pineapple and brought it up to my room. I placed it on my bedside table, and when I turned around I was face to face with Niall. He caught me off guard; he was so close, so I had to cling onto his shoulders to keep my balance. He laughed and held me by the waist, not letting me fall. "Oh, hi there," I said breathlessly.

"Hello," he chuckled, smiling down at me. All of a sudden, memories of my time with this beautiful blonde boy flashed through my mind. I saw Niall, asking me to sit next to him on the loveseat. I remembered shirtless Niall scaring the shit out of me before we bonded over our love for Oreos and milk. I remembered letting him see me cry. I remembered him catching me in my bra. I remembered taking the stairs with him. I remembered him not letting go of me at the photo shoot, claiming me as his captive. I remembered napping with my head in his lap in the back of the van. I remembered the picture of us he asked Jacob to crop the other boys out of for him, which he tried to cover with the pillow. I remembered him strumming his guitar so beautifully. I remembered Louis telling us to go out. I remembered him drawing the face on the pineapple. Then I was pulled back to the present, where I saw him staring down at me. Caught up in the moment, we were leaning in...

"I should go to sleep. I think I'm starting to adjust to the time zone, but still," I said, letting go of the embrace. What just happened? Well, what was about to happen? Nothing. Nothing was about to happen.

"Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, blushing and looking down. I lifted his chin up with my pointer finger, just as he had done. His gorgeous blue eyes warmed my heart and numbed my brain.

"Don't look down," I quoted him. Then I pecked his cheek lightly, in what I hoped seemed like a friendly way, and I could feel the heat of his blush on my lips for that one split second. He smiled and kissed my forehead before engulfed me in a firm, yet gentle hug.

"Goodnight, love," he said before leaving the room.

"Goodnight," I called after him. After changing into my pajamas and climbing into bed, I knew I wouldn't be asleep for a while. It was only nine o'clock in England for God's sake! So I lay there thinking, replaying Niall's indescribable voice calling me 'love' in my head at least a million times. Then, of course, I Should've Kissed You came on. Fuck the universe.






A/N***

Oh my goodness!!!! Pineapple!!! So adorable! I just can't to many emotions!     Pretty rough what Dani is going through huh?
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love ya all <3

Z.