Just a Photographer (Niall Horan)

Chapter 18

Me and Niall had managed to not mention the kiss and it hadn't been awkward as we had been so busy but it kept replaying in my mind. The way his soft, warm lips had pressed against mine, so gently but passionately. Exactly the way Niall was with everything he did in his life, gentle and passionate.

The simple thought of the kiss caused tingles and a warm feeling to spread through my body uncontrollably, reminding me of the attraction to Niall I felt no matter how hard I tried to deny it to myself and others.

Since the kiss I've been noticing fans' comments more and more, going so far as to search Niall's name just to see what people were saying about him. To see if there was any mentions of me, if fans have noticed how close we are, if they were wondering if anything was going on between us. They had. Deep down I knew they would've but I didn't want to believe that what we had was any different to any of Niall's other friends.

I was scrolling mindlessly through my phone one night after a show when I noticed the ship name, 'Nava' being repeated multiple times. I stopped scrolling and looked a bit closer and noticed it was a ship name for me and Niall. I panicked and called Niall immediately, thinking his management, along with his fans, would kill me.

"Breathe, Ava. It's ok. It's all going to be ok." Niall tried to soothe me, holding me close against his bare chest, I had woken him up.
"I-I just" I stuttered, trying to explain to Niall why I had called him crying in the middle of the night.
"Shhh, it's ok darlin'. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere" Niall whispered leaning his chin on my head and dragging a gentle hand up and down my back.

After about half an hour of sitting there in comfortable silence, Niall shifted and then spoke quietly.
"Do you wanna get changed and then get to bed, pet?"
"Don't go please Ni" I mumbled, gripping onto him and holding him in place, too comfortable and sleepy to remember what I was upset about in the first place.
"I'm not going anywhere Aves. Are you sure you don't want to get changed before we sleep though? You're going to be uncomfortable in your jeans" Niall said, slowly getting up with me still in his arms. Once he set me down, I gathered up some pyjamas and quickly walked into the bathroom to get changed.

When I entered my room again and saw Niall lying on the bed under the covers, looking sleepy. I climbed into bed, Niall immediately pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arms around me.
"'M sorry" I mumbled into his soft chest hair.
"Nothin' to be sorry for love" Niall whispered back and pressed a kiss into my hair before closing his eyes and falling asleep with a content smile on his face.

As my eyes fluttered the next morning, me slowly coming back to consciousness I breathed out a long sigh and snuggled deeper into the warm, solid warmth lying next to me. Somehow in the night, I had ended up half on top of Niall but I was too comfy and sleepy to move, so I didn't. Suddenly I remembered what happened last night and jumped up and away from Niall's sleepy body. I quickly jumped in the shower and got dressed, leaving Niall sleeping peacefully in my bed. 

Over the day I made sure I was constantly busy with work so Niall wouldn't have the chance to talk to me. The fans' words about us playing on a reel behind my eyes, haunting me alongside Niall's upset face as I dodged him for the fifth time that day. Eventually Niall had to leave for soundcheck and that gave me a few minutes to breathe freely and prepare for the show that night without feeling guilty about the shit excuses I had come up with to avoid talking to Niall.

"Ava! I know you can hear me!" I heard Niall's voice shouting after me, getting closer as I tried to speed walk down the corridor and away from him, not wanting to tell him what had upset me. I had my dream job and I didn't want to ruin it by acting stupid. Suddenly I felt a strong hand on my shoulder stopping me from moving away from him. I slowly turned around to look at him, he looked slightly angry at me, but mainly concerned as to what had made me act so strangely. Tears welled up in my eyes, knowing that I had caused him stress and worry. 

"What's up love?" he asked gently, the opposite of what his voice had sounded like a few minutes before. 

"I saw some fans talking online about our relationship, they thought we were dating" I mumbled, my wet cheeks turning red with embarrassment. 

"That's why you haven't spoken to me all day?" he asked incredulously. 

I nodded shyly, looking at the floor.

"Christ! If I stopped being friends with everyone who the fans thought I was dating, I would have no friends at all!" Niall raised his voice at me for the first time ever. I shrunk into myself, now realising how stupid I was to think that. Niall must have realised my reaction as he stepped towards me slowly and reached for my hand. 

"I'm sorry for yelling, love. I didn't mean it, it's just frustrating how as soon as I look at someone I'm datin' them.  Some fans even think I'm datin' Mully, my best friend since I was four, how crazy is that!" Niall said gently, slowly stepping closer to my slightly trembling body. I didn't say anything despite forgiving Niall for shouting, I realised how stupid I had been and Niall didn't know how badly I reacted to raised voices due to my past. Niall pulled me into his chest gently, my tears instantly soaking through his shirt. 

"I love spending time with you, Aves. Please don't let people who don't know either of us to get in the way of us and if you have a problem, talk to me instead of running away, yeah?" Niall mumbled into my hair, my body still trembling slightly but my tears had stopped.

"S-sorry, Ni" I managed to say, my voice weak and my throat sore from all of that crying. 

"I love ya"

"Love you too"

a/n: I'm soooo sorry for the long wait! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did please remember to like it, it means a lot to me and gives me motivation to put out new chapters! What are your thoughts about how Ava reacted to the fans? What about how Niall reacted to her?