You Looked Lost (Narry Lifeguard AU)

Chapter 2

It was in the parking lot at Waterworld that I started regretting my decision.  Maybe I’d been a little dramatic just walking out of the house like that.  I hadn’t even told my mom where I was going.  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked to see that I had a couple texts and a few phone calls from her.  She knew that I wasn’t the type to make rash decisions.  In fact, this was the only time I’d ever really done anything against the rules.

I sent her a short text telling her that I’d needed to get out of the house for a little bit and would be home later tonight.  I turned my phone off and replaced it in my pocket, deciding that I wanted to just relax for once in my life.

I got out of my car and approached the entrance to the park.  I could hear music playing, and the pool lights had been turned on to create a sort of glow.  I walked through the entrance and looked around, spotting people in the pool and people lounging in the chairs.  The atmosphere actually felt kind of nice.  It wasn’t at all how I imagined.  I mean, the guy who had announced the party, Harry, was a teenage boy.  I suspected that there’d be a lot of drunk teenagers pushing people in the pool and falling over, but it appeared that everyone was drinking responsibly.  I even saw John talking to people, and it appeared that there were a lot of older staff members here as well.  I guess it made sense, seeing as this was a working environment and it would be unprofessional to have drunk teenagers everywhere.

I wasn’t old enough to drink yet, being seventeen and all, but my mother had allowed me to join her on many occasions, mainly holidays.  Alcohol didn’t really affect me much until I’d had several beers, so I wasn’t worried about that, but I definitely wasn’t going to drink at the location of my possibly future job.  I glanced around awkwardly, not really knowing what to do since I didn’t know anyone, when someone came up from behind me and threw their arm around my shoulder.  I was startled and jumped a little, but was even more startled when I looked to my left and saw a familiar face.

“Oh...hi,” I stuttered.

“Hey, there.  You looked lost, so I decided to pay a visit,” Harry spoke, and when I started to interrupt, he continued.  “It’s okay, I know exactly how you feel.  I was once new and confused, as well.  Not knowing what to do or where to go.  Just stick with me, and you’ll never feel lost again.”

He didn’t wait for me to reply, before pulling me over towards a group of people our age.

“I’m Harry, by the way.  I saw you in orientation, so I know you’re new.  What’s your name?”

“Niall Horan.”

“Well, Niall Horan, I am officially your first friend at your new job.  If you ever have any questions, just come to me.  I work every day of the summer, except Sundays, and I will personally be conducting part of your lifeguard test next week.  So whether you like it or not, you can’t get rid of me,” he gave me a small smile and winked.

Dimples.

“Oh, um.  That’s okay,” I replied meekly.

He laughed and nodded his head, before stopping in front of what I assumed were his friends.

“People!  This is Niall, and I like him already, so don’t scare him off please,” Harry raised his eyebrows at the group of teenagers and they laughed as they called out greetings to me.

“Nice to meet you all,” I spoke timidly.

This was probably the most people that had ever known my name at a given time.  People from my school didn’t even know I existed.  I looked at Harry again and silently thanked him.  He was still wearing a snapback backwards, but it was a different one than earlier.  I could see brown hair that looked curly peaking out the edges of the hat.  He’d changed out of his lifeguard shirt and into a normal v-neck, sporting swim trunks and no shoes.