Paper Houses (A Niall Horan Fan Fiction)

Chapter Six

Joel was sure to have me on campus by nine-thirty. I try not to be nervous, but that was like the sun never coming up. It was inevitable.

I wipe the sweat from my hands on my pants as Joel stops in front of the building that houses the coffee shop.

"Don't worry. You'll do great! Remember, I'm just a call away." He smiled at me.

I leaned over the center console and hugged him. "Thank you so much," I said and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey now, don't mess up my hair," he said jokingly as he patted the perfectly styled mop of hair. I playfully pushed him on the shoulder.

"But really. Have fun at work. Call me when you are done!" He blew kisses at me as I exited the car.

I wipe my hands on my pants one more time before I open the door. The coffee shop is located in the student center building on campus. There are five levels in this building, with each level serving a different purpose. The coffee shop was on the first floor, along with the bookstore. On the second floor, there was the student lounge, the third floor had the gym, the fourth had a couple restaurants, and the fifth had a couple of conference rooms.

I take a deep breath before entering the coffee shop. I can do this. These are my first steps of self-sufficiency. I plaster a smile on my face as I go up to the counter and ask for Lynn. The hateful girl from yesterday wasn't at the register. Instead, it was a beautiful girl with sunkissed skin. Her name tag indicated her name is Melody.

"Hi, how can I help you?" she asked with a smile. She seems to be much more friendly than the girl from yesterday.

"Umm, yes. I need to speak with Lynn. Today is my first day of work."

"Oh, you must be Annie! It's lovely to meet you!" She was positively radiant, and I wished I had half as much happiness and energy as she did. "My name's Melody, but I guess that's obvious." She pointed to her name tag. "You can call me Mel. I'll go get Lynn."

A few minutes later she returned with Lynn. "Good morning, Annie! I hope you've already met Mel." I nodded and waited for her to continue. "Let's sit over here at the table because you have to fill out some forms like your W2s and stuff."

She led me over to the table where she held my interview and where I first met Niall. "When you are finished, let me know, and I'll give you a tour."

I took a few minutes to fill out the forms she gave me. When finished, I returned to the cash register. Lynn came to the front. "All right! Come around the counter here."

I did as I was told and Lynn handed me an apron and a name tag. Once I put on the apron and fastened my name tag, she gave me the tour. She showed me where everything is located and then put me at the register with Mel.

"You'll just be shadowing Mel today, getting used to how everything works. Depending on how well you do, I might let you be on the cash register by yourself tomorrow."

Time seemed to fly by. As customers came in, Mel showed me what buttons to push. Sometimes, when we weren't very busy, she'd let me do it all by myself.

Mel was working the register and I was right beside her when I saw Niall. He took his sunglasses off and put them on his head. When he saw me his face lit up.

"My coffee girl is working here! Hi, Annie!" His smile was contagious, and my heart fluttered the way he said "my coffee girl."

I noticed Mel go rigid beside me. I ignored that and said, "Hey, Niall. Today is my first day here."

"That's great! I'll get to see you everyday now."

I tried to stop my stomach from doing flips. Why does he make me so nervous? "So, what can we get you?" I asked. I looked at Mel and it was as if she had gone mute.

"I'll get a hot tea with lemon and ginger. It's my usual."

"Okay," I said and made a mental note to remember that.

I tried to not make it awkward between us while Mel took her sweet time making the tea for Niall. I failed miserably as we just kind of stood there and smiled at each other. I start to sweat again and wipe my hands on my pants once more.

"Here you go," Mel said, breaking the silence. She stuck out a shaky tea at him.

"Thank you," he responded as he took the cup. Then he looked at me. "I'll see you tomorrow, Annie," he said to me, and I swear he winked as he turned away.

When the door closed behind him, Mel let out a shriek. "OH MY GOD, ANNIE! HOW DO YOU KNOW HIM?" Everyone in the shop turned to look at us. I flushed and gently smacked her on the arm to get her to calm down.

"We have a class together. Why? Do you have a crush on him or something?" I was perplexed at her reaction to him. Maybe it was his accent? Yes, that was definitely it.

"Only the biggest crush ever! He's my celebrity crush, you know. I like him the best out of the band. I knew he had come to get his education or some shit, but why would you do that when you have millions?" She kept talking, but I toned her out. Surely she had Niall confused with someone else.

"What on earth are you talking about Mel?"

She turned to me and looked as if I lived under a rock. "Annie, do you not know who Niall is?" I shook my head. "He's in the band One Direction. They're only the biggest boy band in the world."

"Never heard of them," I said honestly. I hadn't listened to the music I liked in years. Brent always forced me to listen to his favorite music. After a while, I got used to it.

"You're kidding," she laughed. "There's no way you've never heard of them."

"It's true. I swear."

"But how have you never even heard of the band name?"

"It's a long story," I said. She had no idea.