Finding, Finding... Found.

Chapter 11

As she looked at how Zayn got so animated when he talked to Niall, she thought about her previous protests in the car. She hadn’t wanted to live with Harry and Louis, but she knew she had toned down after Zayn had suggested her living with Niall.

She was thankful for the lack of lighting outside Harry and Louis’ flat as she blushed furiously. She hoped Zayn did not catch on to the fact that she became extra silent after his whole suggestion about her living with Niall.

She did not want to inconvenience Niall, but she couldn’t deny that a part of her was excited at the prospect of living with Niall.

“…Yeah, mate. I’ll get her there in about ten?” Zayn questioned, and Niall must have agreed because he replied a “see ya” and hung up.

“Well that Irish lad sounded excited,” Zayn muttered mindlessly, and looked like he wanted to say something else when he saw Alyssa looking at him. “Aw crap, said too much.”

“Said what too much?” Alyssa stared at him with curiosity.

“Nothing,” Zayn replied evasively, before walking towards his car, prompting Alyssa to follow him. Once they were both in the car, Zayn immediately turned on the radio, a clear indication that he didn’t want to tell Alyssa anything from what just happened. Though Alyssa felt slightly hurt, she recognized the boundary – after all, she hardly knew the boys, even though it felt like she’s known one of them forever.

***

“Show her your favorite place in here then,” Zayn teased Niall, as the trio walked towards the kitchen.

“So Alyssa, if you ever get hungry at night, I have… well-” Niall blushed as he (for the first time) realized how much food he had in his kitchen.

“Now you know why Louis and I come to your house for movie nights,” Zayn smiled as he ruffled his Irish bandmate’s blonde hair. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep tonight, so I’m gonna leave now yeah.”

“Thanks Zayn,” Alyssa smiled as she waved him goodbye shyly. She still didn’t know how to act around celebrities, much less Niall.

Niall… she struggled to keep a creepy grin off her face as he continued bringing her around his house, which was surprisingly humble for – well, someone who earns millions – and this humility gave her an even better impression of him, if that was even possible.

She mentally cursed herself as she tried to eradicate those ‘fangirly’ thoughts (as Zayn had put it) – he had mimicked some of his fans’ screams of excitement during concerts, with the sole intent of making the atmosphere in the car more lighthearted. He had reiterated for five times (Alyssa had counted) that he was ‘not making fun of my fans’ and that he ‘loved them a lot’.

She had to interrupt him midway through what would have been his sixth repetition of that statement.

“So yeah, do you want to use the washroom? I’ll use the one in the kitchen, so you can use the one closer to the guest room,” Niall smiled as he took her luggage bag from her hands and guided her up the stairs.

“Thanks Niall,” she replied softly as she smiled up at him.

The sides of his lips quirked up into a shy grin as he replayed the sound of her calling his name in his head, over and over again.

***

“Erm… so I’m going to sleep now, do you want to sleep with me?” Niall asked, then realized a second later how suggestive it had sounded like. “Shit – I meant if you wanted to sleep! At the same time as me.”

Alyssa couldn’t help but laugh at how flustered he looks – he looked as though he was contemplating whether to cry and or whether he should slam his fist against the wall at his silly mistake.

“Don’t worry,” Alyssa laughed lightly. “But yes, I’d like to sleep, thank you for asking.”

Niall’s initial smile grew even wider into a grin as he turned off the television and the lights, and brought Alyssa up to the guest room. But that was not before the both of them heard sudden shouts and cars honking outside of Niall’s house – a sound combination that was all too familiar to Niall.

“It’s the fuc- freaking paparazzi,” Niall almost cursed as he ran to close all the curtains and lock every single back door. He had the mouth of a sailor around every other person he knew, but around Alyssa… He knew she hated hearing him cuss, and it was only when he was around her would his language turn hugely un-Niall.

Alyssa, shocked at what was happening despite having already experienced it once at the kindergarten, struggled to keep her composure. She had always hated the sound of constant meaningless shouting, especially after what she had gone through in the orphanage.

“Can I go… upstairs? It’s too noisy and it makes me feel kind of… trapped, if that makes sense,” Alyssa bit on her lower lip as she looked at Niall, whose eyes, despite having a hint of anger and exasperation, were wide with worry.

“Yeah, sure, sure, I’ll join you once I finish all these crap,” Niall blurted out those words without thinking, and the both of them started coughing and giggling profusely at Niall’s expense. It was not like he minded however, he felt creepy for admitting it, but her laughter brings him away from all the craziness in his life, even if it was just for a few seconds.

***

“Niall!” Alyssa pushed him against the wall, her tear-stained eyes betraying the emotions she had been trying to conceal. “You liar, you ridiculous liar! You knew it was me, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?” Niall groaned as he rubbed his eyes, trying to help them adjust to the bright light of the room, which Alyssa had switched on when she stormed into his room.

“You knew I was from your orphanage, you knew I was the one you made that promise to, and you knew that…” Alyssa tore her eyes away from his as she took in a breath, in a weak attempt to compose herself.

This wasn’t the way you were supposed to find out…

Niall woke up with a jolt.

Shit, that was one hell of a freaking nightmare. He immediately turned on the lights of his room and locked the main door of his room, as he prepared to hide anything that hinted at his relations to Brooksfield Orphanage. His pale fingers lingered over the shoebox which was filled with childhood photographs of him and Alyssa as he resisted the urge to open it up.

Sighing, he placed the shoebox underneath a stack of his shirts and was about to keep the photo frames in his bedroom drawer in a more secure place when he heard one of the doors connecting one of the guest room to his open.

 “Niall, what are you doing?”