Paper Houses (A Niall Horan Fan Fiction)

Chapter Twelve

After my confession, I felt comfortable. At ease. Niall and Joel met and got along well, but then again Joel gets along with almost everyone he meets.

Niall sat down on the couch as I got out my notebook. I sat down beside him as he copied my notes. When he was finished, he leaned back and put a hand on my knee.

"Thank you, Annie. You take great notes," he said. "I think I should take better notes, but then again I wouldn't get to make an excuse to see you." He laughed a short, gentle laugh. I could tell he was at ease.

I, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. His words made my heart gallop, like it was going to burst out of my chest. The place where his hand rests on my knee was burning, and my stomach was doing flips. Why has he taken such a liking to me, of all people? I guess I didn't mind it really. It was nice to have someone actually pay attention to you and make the effort to get to know you. It did make me feel good about myself. But I'm not ready. Not yet, anyway. What happened with Brent was only three weeks ago, even though I did not have feelings for him for a long time, and I had been wanting to leave him for a while. Still, I know he would return one day, and I did not want to put Niall in the middle of that.

"Speaking of which, Annie," Niall started, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I'm having a party at my house Saturday. I was hoping you two would come."

"Thanks, but parties really aren't my thing--"

"What she means is, we would love to come!" Joel cut me off and shot me a glare.

"Perfect!" Niall beamed. "Here's my number. Feel free to text me anytime. Once you do, I'll send you the address." He packed up his stuff to leave. "I have some errands to do, but I'll see you tomorrow, Annie?"

"Yeah, see you in class." I smiled.

When the door closed behind him, Joel turned to me. "We have to go to that party, Annie!"

"I don't know, Joel. You know I've never been into parties, and with recent events, I feel like I should lay low." Joel was always dragging me to parties in high school. It's how I met Brent. I shuddered at the thought and how history repeats itself.

"Annie, can you not tell Niall is so into you? This is your chance to get to know him better!"

"What do you mean by that? He's just being friendly because I haven't fawned over him like all the other girls." I looked into Joel's hazel eyes, and I knew what he said was true. I rolled my eyes.

"No it's not. I can see he is totally into you! Like I said, this is your chance! Promise me you'll think about it at least?"

I sighed. "Okay," I said, knowing he won't be satisfied until I agree to think about it.

I didn't know why Niall has taken an interest in me. You would think a pop star would go after a model or something, not a broken down woman. But then again, he didn't know how broken I was. I guess I had gotten good at hiding it.

"Niall needs to be kept at arm's length. I'm not ready for a new relationship. I barely got out of this last one."

"Annie, I'm going to say this because I love you. Brent is in the past. If he does come back, we'll deal with it. Niall is the best thing that could ever happen to you. He's not Brent." Joel reached over and patted my hand. How was he so wise and omniscient? I didn't even know myself, really, let alone make inferences about other people.

"Joel, you may know the worst, but you don't know all the other things he did. I know Niall is nothing like him, but I have serious trust issues. It's bad. I don't want to hurt anyone, especially him. I'm not the happy-go-lucky girl I was in high school."

"Anniebug, we all change. I know I have." I furrowed my brow. "I have; it's true. Some of us have more trials than the others. But this is your chance to rise up and put the past behind you. Change your life for the better."

I mulled over his words. "You're right," I said.

"I know. I'm always right." A snicker fell from my lips and we both laughed.

The next day, Niall and I went for coffee after class. It was quickly becoming our regular thing to do. We both ordered our usual and sat down at the same table.

"So Annie," Niall started. He didn't say much on our walk here. I guess he wanted to save it for coffee talk. "Are you coming to my party tomorrow?"

I figured he would ask me about it, as I spent all night and morning thinking about it. I sighed. "I'm really not much of a partier," I said.

He nodded. "It's not gonna be a big party. Just me and a few friends." He smiled as a peace offering.

"So there's not gonna be many people there?" He nodded, confirming my question. "Okay, I'll come," I said. "But I'm bringing Joel."

"Of course," he said. I noticed he seemed excited, as his mouth was on the verge of a smile for the rest of our coffee time.

"Remember to text me," he said. "I'll send you my address."