A Fine Line [N.H]

8.4 - Landslide - Advice

Niall's POV

I had a few things to take care of for work in London, but now It's Sunday Night and I'm free. I miss my baby, I wonder what she's doing right now. It's early afternoon there, so she's still busy at the convention. I can't talk to her now. I'm bored, let's see who's here and available. I scroll through my contacts and read Liam's name.

'Hey, been a long time, you in London?'

'Hey! Yeah, what's up? Heard you're in London. Come over. I'm bored, just watching the telly.'

'Alright, on my way.'

A short drive later, I get to Liam's flat. We go to the sitting room where he was watching something and eating. We sit down, and he looks at me as if he's trying to figure out a math problem.

'What?'

'I don't know, you tell me mate. You're different.'

'Different? How? Like good different or bad different?'

'I can't quite tell yet. Why don't you tell me what's going on first.'

'Okay, remember last time when we had dinner with Harry and I told you about a girl?'

'Yeah, what was her name again?'

'Ivy...'

'Yeah! Ivy! What happened to her?' He asks me.

'Well, we're together now, we're in a relationship. And we moved in together about 3 weeks ago...'

'Wow already?'

'Yeah! Look I know it sounds crazy. But to us, it's not. It's just we couldn't stand being apart while we were in the same city and she was already spending half of her time at my place so why not.'

'Yeah, I guess I get it. So you really love her don't you?'

'I really love her. And she really loves me too. I'm convinced she's the one. There are already so many plans with her in my mind. I just want to do so much. But I don't wanna rush things. I'm just a bit confused. Like I don't know, logically I should maybe ease into it, just be satisfied with living together for now. But I feel like I need to do more. I don't know. What should I do?'

'Yeah, I understand how you feel. But it's really important to take your time. If you rush into decisions, you might find yourself a while later thinking "how did I let it get this far?" Or maybe "I thought I was ready for this and really wanted this but now I'm not so sure anymore. And it's kind of too late and I can't back out of it without hurting anyone and getting hurt." So I really think you should hold off any moving forward for now. Just enjoy her company, enjoy living together.  That's already a new world, a new experience. It's gonna bring up a new side of you and a new side of her that you didn't know about each other. And that either will make you love each other more or will make you realise that you might not be made for each other after all.'

'Yeah, I hear you. I know... I just. I don't want to lose her. She's very important to me.'

'And that's why you shouldn't make any rash decisions. Just take your time, make a plan. Don't let just your feelings guide you, use your head too.'

'Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Liam!'

'Besides, you're releasing your album soon no? You're gonna be touring it. She's gonna have to deal with you being gone all the time. That might create problems. Most of the relationships with people like you and me are caused by the constant distance. You shouldn't make any definite decisions before you're sure that you can handle being far from each other for this long.'

'Yeah, that's true. But she can still come with me for a few. I guess. I don't really know how her job works. Like she followed me to Australia last month. She could do that again. It won't be as bad as last time.'

'Last time? Oh, you mean with -'

'Yeah. Anyway. So say I'm releasing the album in October. Then there's the tour. I see how this goes and how it affects our relationship. If everything goes well, I'll see when I can take it to the next level.'

'Yeah sounds good. But what's the next level?' He asks me.

'I propose.'

'Wow really? That serious?'

'Yeah, it really is. She's everything I was looking for and more. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love her. I stopped believing that a marriage can work a long time ago. But she's changing my mind. When I think of the future 5, 10 years in the future, I don't see my career, or anything else, everything is unstable. Everything can stop at any point and anyone can just leave. But she seems like the constant. When I think of the far future I see her.'

'Wow. I really hope it's the case.'

'Yeah me too. If this fails I don't know how I'm gonna get over it.'

'We'll always be here for you no matter what.'

'I know. I can always count on you. Thank you'

'No need to thank me mate, that's what families are for.'

'Let's just watch whatever you were watching before this turns into a sob fest.'

I look at whatever is on the telly, but I'm not really watching. I'm just in my head planning my next year. If everything goes well, I'm not waiting for more than a year. So I release the album in October. I guess promo is gonna take around a month or two. Then I spend December, her birthday and Christmas with her. Then tour I don't know mid-January or February. So that gives us February, March, April, May? 3 - 4 months before our anniversary? I don't know whether to choose the first anniversary of the first time we met or the first anniversary of when we decided to be in a relationship. Either way, I'll make sure I tell them I want a break around this date. I'll do something big and romantic and I'll propose then. Yeah sounds great!

I should text her I miss her. She'll reply when she's available.

'Hey, Princess! How's your day going? I'm at Liam's we're watching some movie. I miss you. Can't wait to see you tomorrow!'

Hey baby! Just finished a little while ago. We're at the hotel. We're gonna celebrate tonight. So I'll be out. It's late in London. Don't stay up too long you're flying home tomorrow.'

'Yeah, it's past 1 AM here. I'll sleep soon. Are you gonna be drinking? I'm not comfortable with you getting drunk when I'm not there. What if something happens and I'm not there to protect you?'

'Don't worry Niall, I won't get drunk. I know when to stop. Nothing is gonna happen. Red and Sky are here. They always take care of me. When do you get home? Like what time? I forgot...'

'Of course, you did! I'll get there at 8 PM.'

Oops, I meant 7. Stupid typos. It's fine. An hour earlier won't do any harm. I'll surprise her or something. I should bring her some chocolate. Yeah, she's gonna need chocolate. I'll run by a local store in the morning before I go to the airport.

The next morning I wake up early and I go run my last minute errands before I need to go to the airport. It's 8 PM here so around midnight there, she should still be awake. I hope she had fun.

'Hey, Princess. I woke up a while ago. I'm picking up a few things then I'm coming home. How's the celebrating? Hope you're having fun.'

Weird she didn't answer. There's no way she's sleeping already. She doesn't sleep before 2 AM usually. Maybe she's not paying attention to the phone because she's with her friends. I know she doesn't like using her phone when she's with people because she thinks it's rude. But usually, if it's me who's texting, she answers. Something must've gone wrong. Hopefully, it's just her migraine and she's sleeping it off. I'll see her soon. I'll ask her then. I really hope she's okay.