"Victoria..."
I hear Niall's voice in the distance. I turn around lifting the covers.
I feel a pair of warm lips on mine and I can't help but to smile while his lips are still pressed against mine.
"Wake up, little one" his strong accent chimes in my ears.
I flutter my eyes open and look at the big blue eyes that are staring at me.
"I'm gonna order some breakfast; what'd you like?"
"Toasts, bacon and tea, please" I slur, "but do I have to wake up?"
He laughs.
"I think you have. I have an interview in a half-an-hour and you have to pack your suitcase"
My suitcase, right. Because I'm going home today. Just for a couple of days, but I'm going home.
We have breakfast together, and exactly thirty minutes later, Sam knocks on the door.
"Niall, man, interview time"
"Right" he answers, turning to me; "be right back" he says giving me a kiss.
Sam's face is priceless. He stares at Niall, then at me. I can feel my cheeks burning as I close the door and start packing my suitcase. Because I'll only be home for a couple of days, my trunk will stay here.
The rest of the day goes on rather quickly and before I'm even aware of it, the concert has finished and we're on our way to the airport, ready to fly home.
Niall is the first one to go.
"Vic... I..." he says approaching me.
"Yeah?" I ask looking at him.
"... Have a safe trip home" he says shaking his head; "Send me a text as soon as you land, okay?"
"O-o-okay" I answer, confused.
He places a gentle kiss on my lips.
"See you on Thursday" he adds smiling.
After some time of me trying to convince him otherwise, Niall has insisted on being with me when I record the Ellen show on Thursday. So he'll fly from Mullingar to LA that day.
Harry will also be coming with us. He is the only one who is staying in Los Angeles. Robin, Gemma and Anne will arrive tomorrow and they'll stay until the TCAs day.
"I'll be back in two days with Valeria" I remind Harry.
"I'll be waiting for you at the airport" he smiles giving me a hug.
It's actually a bit crazy to go home just for a bit more than 24 hours, but I thought it'd be a nice surprise to my family.
And it is.
My dad (the only one who knew I was coming) can't hold back the tears when he picks me up at the airport. He keeps asking me tons of questions during the thirty-minute ride to our beach house.
The visit is shorter than I expected but still I feel it's been totally worth it.
My mum can't stop smiling and my sister gets really excited when she sees Niall has texted me asking if I have arrived safe. I show them the pictures I've taken so far and we re-watch the video I sent them while I explain some more things I forgot to say while I was recording.
The next day, barely 24 hours since I arrived, I meet Valeria at the airport and we take a plane to New York and a second one to Los Angeles, where Harry picks us up.
"Nice to see you again" he says smiling to Valeria as he puts the suitcases on the trunk; "I have to warn you about L.A. It's nothing compared to what you've experienced so far" he says turning to me, "Paparazzi follow every move you make. So please, be careful"
"Okay" I answer nodding.
Harry leaves us in the hotel and invites us to dinner with his family, but we politely decline his offer; since we have some sleep hours to catch up with. We agree he'll pick us up tomorrow morning to go to the airport and get Niall.
"I'm so excited about tomorrow!" Val squeals bouncing on the bed.
"Me too!" I agree hugging her.
"What will Niall do when he sees you again?" she asks.
I stare at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh! You thought I meant the Ellen show!" she laughs, "yeah, that too; but I really want to see how Niall treats you"
I give her a small smile.
Truth is I'm a bit scared about his reaction tomorrow.
I mean, he kissed me, and treated me like his girlfriend the two days after the kiss but... we haven't seen each other in two days. What if in that time he has realized that he doesn't want to be with me?
I tell Valeria about my worries and she chuckles.
"You'll see you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure he'll still treat you the way he has treated you so far but being a bit more protective and cuddly with you"
And surprisingly, even though she has only met him once and I've been with him for the last month and a half, that's exactly what Niall does.
Harry and Gemma pick us up the next day and we drive to the airport a couple of hours before lunchtime. Gemma and Val stay in the car while Harry and I walk to the arrival's terminal. Harry puts his arm over my shoulder, protecting me from the flashes that the paparazzi keep shooting towards us.
After what seems a lifetime of waiting, the doors open and Niall exits.
He shakes Harry's hand and gives him a friendly hug and then turns to me. The biggest smile appears on his face and he leans forwards and gives me a sweet kiss on the lips.
"Hey there" he says pulling me into a hug.
"Niall" I hear Harry whispering, darting his eyes towards the flashing cameras; "Paps"
Niall looks around and nods.
"Yeah" he says, surrounding my shoulders with his arm as he carries the suitcase in the other hand.
"How was your stay in Mullingar?" Harry asks with an exaggerated Irish accent.
"Good!" Niall answers, "We celebrated my birthday"
"But your birthday is in September" I say looking up at him.
"Yeah, but my family won't be able to make it to Toronto" he says, "so we decided to celebrate it a month before"
"You wanna go to the hotel? Take a nap?" Harry asks him as we walk down the airport halls.
"Nah, I'm good, man. Although I do want to take a shower before going to Ellen"
"Yeah, you should" I say taking my fingers to my nose.
"You idiot!" he laughs bringing me closer to him; "I missed you" he whispers smiling.
I look up at him and smile too.
"I missed you too"
"Horan boy!" Gemma exclaims when he enters Harry's car.
"Styles girl!" he answers shaking her hand over the co-driver's seat; "Hi" he says to my friend, "Valeria, right?"
"Right" she answers with a smile.
Once we arrive to the hotel, Niall takes a quick shower and Val and I change our clothes for the show.
"Nothing too casual, but not too over-dressed" my best friend says as she puts on a white blouse with pearls on the sleeves, a mini skirt and pumps.
Someone knocks on the door. I open it to find Gemma on the other side.
"You ready?" she says.
"No" I sigh, "I don't know what to wear"
"Nothing too casual, but not too over-dressed" she replies.
"That's what I just said!" Val laughs.
Finally, I put on a pair of skinny trousers with a white shirt and some nude stilettos. I prefer to draw the attention to the PR accessories Cartier has been kind enough to send me.
We meet the boys at the corridor.
I stare at Niall who smiles at me.
"You look very pretty" Harry says smiling.
"Thanks" I reply.
We walk to the elevator and though I can't see them, I can tell Harry is nudging Niall and pointing at me while he rolls his eyes and shakes his head with an exasperated gesture.
"You should've been the one to tell her she looked pretty" I hear him whispering.
Niall doesn't answer.
We have lunch with Robin, Anne and Gemma and short after, we say goodbye and Harry drives to the studios where we'll record the show.
We meet Ellen backstage. She shows us a bit around: the set, the whole backstage area and introduces us to some of the crew members.
When the audience starts entering we're dragged to the make-up room where they get us ready for the cameras.
Ellen leaves to start the show and we await by the doors that lead to the set.
"Ready?" Valeria says bouncing with excitement.
"Ready" I manage to answer bouncing too.
"So, our next guests are a pair of Youtubers. All the way from Spain, please welcome V&V!"
The music of the show starts playing and the doors in front of us open.
I can't believe we're actually doing this. It's unbelievable to think a day ago I was on the other side of the globe with my family; and now I'm about to enter one of the most famous talk shows of all times.
Valeria and I hug each other. The crowd cheers, excited, and we enter the set.