Unwritten [ A Niall Horan AU ]

nine

A/N: I can't wait to hear what you guys think!

Much to both Niall and Neha's pleasure, the kisses continue. They were sweet — stolen between the aisles of books on the third floor or in quick, obvious to everyone else, sneakaways to Neha's office. And of course, there is always, always the kisses when Niall drops her off at night and when they see each other first thing in the morning. The first round of the blind date book series did so well that they immediately launched into preparing for the next one. The open mic night hadn't done quite as well, but they had high hopes for the first one scheduled for the new year because the performers promised to bring more friends with them.

Before they know it, the holidays are there.

It's a chilly night, the last night the shop is open for the holiday season, as Neha locks the door. Niall puts his hands in his pockets, shivering slightly. He exhales and it shows in the bitter cold air. "It's supposed to snow," he says quietly.

"Good," Neha remarks with a laugh, putting her keys into her pocket. "It'll really feel like Christmas then," she adds, tilting her head up towards the dark sky.

[[MORE]]

Niall watches her, smiling to himself as she takes a deep breath. She likes the cold, as much as you can at least. "Here, let me take one of those," he says, reaching for one of the bags of books she's lugging around. Tomorrow she's going to drop them off at some local organizations for children and the homeless.

Neha follows him as he unlocks the trunk of his car and they load the bags in. As Niall goes to shut it, he realizes that Neha might not have plans for Christmas. He doesn't want to give away the fact that he realizes it's her first Christmas without her mother, but the thought of her being all by herself during the holidays is enough to make him clear his throat.

"So... what are ya going to do for Christmas?" He asks, leaning against his car.

Neha glances down at her boots, "Oh... hm well Isabella's family always makes tamales on Christmas Eve and they celebrate then too."

Niall scoots closer to her, wrapping his fingers around her forearm and tugging it until she pulls her hand out of the pocket of her jacket. He intertwines their fingers and pulls her closer, until both of their shoulders are touching and they're standing in the quiet winter night.

"What about Christmas day, darlin?"

Neha turns to look at him, shrugging, "I was just going to watch movies, probably. Stay inside."

Niall doesn't even have to hesitate, he shakes his head and leans off the car, shuffling so he's standing straight in front of her. He takes her other hand before he starts talking, "No," he pauses when she lifts a brow at him. "I mean, love, that's no way to spend Christmas. Why don't ya come over to my mum and dad's?"