Voir Dire (N.H.)

seven

Kelsey couldn't believe Maya and Becca's lack of cognition behind the whole plan. Niall was a well-known star. Judging by his comments earlier in the night, Kelsey was fairly confident that he wasn't someone that enjoyed being in the public eye. But if all this was true, why would he come here?

"If you aren't interested then why do you keep glancing over in his direction," Becca raised an eyebrow. Once again, Kelsey felt a hint of color rise to her cheeks after being caught straight in her own lie. She couldn't help but feel somewhat drawn to Niall. She just couldn't figure out why.

In that moment, Niall seemed to glance in Kelsey's direction. Locking eyes with her before heading over her way.

"Dylan let's go dance," Becca said abruptly, grabbing her date's hand and dragging him out onto the LED- lit dance floor to join the countless other drunk couples shamelessly getting their groove on.

"So can I buy you a drink this time?" Niall asked as he slid into the barstool next to Kelsey. Kelsey looked at the pop star in front of her in shock, waiting for the camera man to jump out from behind the bar and tell her she was being Punked.

"I mean, I guess you can," Kelsey answered hesitantly. Niall looked down at her drink.

"Vodka cran?" Niall asked. Kelsey nodded, at a loss for words on how to approach the situation.

"Listen Niall, I don't know what my friends told you, but honestly are you sure you should even be here right now? I mean don't you have like stalker fans or something? And what about your entourage?" Kelsey's mouth spewed words out as faster than they crossed her mind.

"Kelsey," Niall said, setting a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't come here because of anything your friends told me."

"You didn't?" Kelsey was surprised. She also felt incredibly stupid for assuming Niall Horan had come here looking for her. She supposed he could have coincidently arrived at the same club as her. LA was a big city, but it wasn't impossible.

"I came here because I was hoping I could talk to you some more," Niall replied. "And the entourage? Well, I sent Louis home in a cab hours ago."

"And the fans?" Kelsey asked again, still hardly believing that Niall had come all this way to talk to her.

"Sometimes it's best to just hide in plain sight," Niall shrugged.

Kelsey took another sip of her drink before repositioning herself on her barstool so that she was close enough to Niall to hear him over the loud music. 

"I'm sorry I don't mean to like follow you or anything like that. I just felt like there was some kind of connection between the two of us?" Niall questioned more than stated. Niall realized he could have been reading the entire situation incredibly wrong. He was a bit out of his element after all, especially after the day that he had. He only hoped that Kelsey didn't think he was a total idiot.

"There might have been something like that," Kelsey responded back, the buzz from her drink suddenly making her far more straightforward than she intended. She wasn't looking for anything, really, and definitely not a relationship. But if she and Niall could continue their surprisingly interesting conversation and he would buy her a drink or two, she couldn't complain. After all, it wasn't like she was going to be seeing much of Becca tonight.

There was no doubt in Kelsey's mind that she was attracted to Niall. His bright blue eyes stood out against the dark brown of his hair, almost as if they were piercing into her very soul. But it wasn't just Niall's looks that had caught Kelsey's attention. There was something about his sense of humor, and his ability to be- well, so normal.