I Wish (Niall Horan)

Chapter Two

Two

I sat in my seat on the plane, shuffling uncomfortably.  My body felt sore from sitting in one position for so long.  I was anxious to land.  We were supposed to meet up with Sophie and go out tonight to celebrate, and even though I was terribly tired, I was excited.

I leaned back in my chair next to Zayn, who was sleeping, of course.  I stretched my arms out just as the Captain began to speak. 

“Hello, passengers, Flight 507 A to London should be landing in about twenty minutes.  Please remain seated and buckled until the aircraft has landed.  Thank you for flying with European airlines, have a safe trip.”  The speaker cackled and fell silent.

“You excited to see Sophie again?” Liam asked.  He already knew.  Liam could read me like a book.

I nodded.  “You guys are like my brothers, this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.  But my friendship with Sophie is so different.  It’s so hard to be away from her for so long after being with her my whole life, you know?”

Liam smiled.  “I’m glad you get to see her again, man.”

“What about Danielle? When does she get back from her photo shoot?” I asked.  Liam and Danielle had been dating for a long time.  I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him, being away from somebody he’s in love with.

Liam beamed.  “Two days.”

I smiled back at him.  When the plane landed, we got our luggage out of the overhead compartments and filed up to exit the plane.  My heart raced in anticipation.  The crowd of people from the flight was massive, and I just wanted to push through them all and see my best friend. 

I walked out of the gate and scanned my eyes through the crowd, searching for the mass of curly brown hair among the chaos.  When I finally saw the familiar disarray of hair,  I set my eyes on her face.  She lit up like a child when she saw me, and she tossed her bag over her shoulder and ran right though the crowd to meet me.

I set down my suitcase just in time for her to jump on top of me, wrapping her arms and legs around me.  I hugged her for a bit and set her down, only for her to latch herself back onto me.  It was only four months since we’d last seen each other, but it truly did feel like four years. 

“I missed you all so much!” she said.  

There was a chorus of “you too” ‘s and all the boys hugged her too.  She was practically part of our weird family. 

“How are you, Sophie?” Louis asked, smiling as she hugged him.

“I’m well, thanks,” she said, “Better now that you guys are home!” she smiled.  “How are you guys doing?”

“Well,”  Harry, Liam, and Louis said simultaneously.

  “Tired,” Zayn said gruffly. 

People, mostly young girls, began to recognize the boys and I.  Some were pointing excitedly and beginning to approach us.  “We better get out of here before we’re stampeded,” Sophie said, laughing. 

We followed Sophie out to her car, just making it out before there was chaos. 

We piled into her tiny car, climbing all over each other and laughing.  When we made it back to the flat, Harry invited Sophie inside.  She picked up a suitcase and followed us in.  

“Ahhh, home sweet home,” Louis shouted, jumping onto the couch.  

“I’m hungry,” Harry and I said at the same time as we made our way to the kitchen. 

Zayn trudged out to his room, where I supposed he would fall asleep.

Sophie followed Liam out onto the sofa with Louis and sat down.

As Harry and I were rummaging through the pantry I listened to them chatting in the living room.  

Louis said, “How’ve you been these last months, Sophie? Up to no good, I suppose?” he said cheekily. 

Harry tried to steal a cookie from my hand.  I flicked him in the forehead and he backed off.

“I’ve truly been doing nothing, besides all my schoolwork.  I hadn’t realized how much time I spend with you guys until you’d left. You’re like my family,” she said warmly.  

“And how’s err… John?” Liam asked, forgetting her boyfriend’s name for a minute.

“He’s alright,” she said.  “He’s actually been away on holiday, but he just got home.  Things have been a bit strange with him recently, though.”  she admitted.

“I’ve never liked that prick,” I said as I entered the room with a large pile of food.  “He seems so dishonest.  He can’t look anyone in the face when he’s talking to them!” 

Sophie rolled my eyes at me.  “Anyway, enough about me.  Tell me about the tour!” 

We all became engrossed in stories of crazy fans, strange experiences, funny places they’d visited, silly things they had done during the few months that I’d missed them.  She laughed along, and kept asking questions.  The nice thing about Sophie is that when she’s talking to you, she asks questions.  Not to be polite, but because she really wants to know.  She’s a good listener.

We talked and watched TV for a while, until we realized the time.  

“I’d better get on home, I have to get ready,” she said, sitting up from the couch.

“Here, I’ll walk you out,”  I said, following her out. 

“See you all tonight!”  she called over my shoulder to the boys.

It was dark out, and the sky was opened up and starry tonight.  The air was fresh.

I smiled at her on the front step, and she smiled back.  “I really really missed you,” she sighed.  I felt awful for leaving her practically on her own for so long.  It was one of the only bad things about my job.  I took her in a huge embrace.

“I missed you too,” I said, wrapping my arms around her waist.  I was short, but somehow she was shorter than I was.  It made for a comfortable hug.

“Alright, go ahead,” I said, “I’ll see you tonight.”

Sophie walked down the steps and into her car.  I waved to her from the steps as she drove off. 

It felt so good to finally see my best friend again.  It was the best I’d felt in a long time.