Chapter Three
Niall's phone vibrated.
"Does it ever stop buzzing?" His friend Adrian sat on a beanbag chair, with a gaming remote firmly in his grasp, his thumbs getting a workout.
"No," Niall shook his head. "Blasted thing is always goin' off."
"Great," Adrian said sarcastically, turning his attention to the TV screen. "I can't wait to spend the whole night with you, then. It'll be spectacular getting interrupted every ten seconds."
Niall held his hands up and pretended to play a violin in response to Adrian's sob story. "First world problems, yeah?" He looked at his phone. It was a text from Louis asking him to video call Daisy. Niall rose to his feet and looked at Adrian. "I'll be back."
"Girlfriend?"
He laughed. "Not exactly."
Adrian nodded his head, acknowledgment that he'd heard Niall's words but he was either unable or unwilling to peel his eyes away from the telly. Niall went into his room and shut the door so Daisy wouldn't be subjected to whatever shooter game his friend was hooked on.
He punched in the number and the call was accepted immediately. Daisy's smiling face was on his screen. "Niall!"
"Hello, love."
"Louis says you're in the North Pole."
"I think Louis is pulling your leg," he said.
Daisy pursed her lips together. "I knew it! Where are you, really?"
"I'm home," Niall said. "In Mullingar."
"That's far from here," she said. "Same as the North Pole."
"Yep, they're both far from you."
As Daisy moved with the phone, Niall got a detailed view of the Tomlinson household. "That's a great Christmas tree," he said. It was obvious, looking at the thing that a house full of females lived there. It could have graced the pages of a design magazine.
"I decorated it."
"By yourself?"
"No, silly."
"I was gonna say you're a tad bit too short to reach the top," Niall said.
"I wanted to wait for Louis to put the star on but Fizzy wanted to surprise him with the tree done."
"Did it work, was Louis surprised?"
Daisy nodded and smiled proudly. "He loves the tree."
He spoke with her for close to an hour. When she began to yawn throughout the conversation, he suggested that they hang up. She was reluctant at first until Niall promised her that in a week or so, he'd be in London himself and he'd come by so they could continue their conversation in person.
By the time he made it back to Adrian, his stomach was in knots and growling fiercely. "Let's go get something to eat. I'm famished."
Adrian grunted and stood setting the controller which was coated in oily fingerprints on the table. "Great. Let the fun and games begin."
Less than an hour later, the two were seated in a corner booth at Ashburger's; a local steakhouse and pub and Niall was happily devouring a steak sandwich with chips and drinking a pint of cold beer. In between bites he said, "I reckon if I ever had a steakhouse I'd call it Holy Cow."
Adrian chewed on his chip, repeatedly dipping it in ketchup. "Holy Cow Steak House."
"Yep," Niall said. "Go on, you can tell me it's bloody brilliant."
Adrian shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far but it is creative."
"You're just jealous that I thought of it first. I'm copyrighting it. My slogan is going to be 'Holy Cow. Where eating is a religious experience.'"
"That's a good way to be politically incorrect. Never use the word religion in any slogan. Why not call it something that will appeal to the broader population like, I dunno, Wheatgrass?"
Niall took another sip of his drink and made a face. "Sounds like a vegan eatery."
"So make it a vegan eatery."
Niall looked at his friend like he was demented. "I would never own a vegan eatery."
Adrian blinked and went back to double dipping his chips. "Why not?"
"Do I look like I eat anything that didn't once have parents? I am a meatatarian, not a vegetarian."
Adrian shrugged. "Mark my words. Veganism, raw food, all of that new age stuff, that's where the money is."
Niall hadn't been gone that long but in that time, Adrian had gone positively mental. "I am not interested in where the money is. I simply have a passion for eating."
"What does your girlfriend think about that?"
"I don't know, when I get one, I'll be sure to fill you in on her thoughts."
"You lie," Adrian protested. "You have one. No two men talk to each other for close to an hour on the phone."
"That was Lou's little sister."
Adrian raised a brow. "Really?"
"Yeah," Niall said.
"I thought for sure it was your girlfriend. I thought for sure you'd have one," Adrian said. "You seem to like em."
"Like who?"
"Girls," Adrian said.
Niall laughed. "Yeah, I like girls."
"Then you should have a girlfriend," Adrian reasoned.
"Why? You like girls and don't have a girlfriend, unless of course you're keeping her from me."
"Nope," Adrian shook his head. "I don't have one."
"So why should I?"
"You're famous."
Niall picked up a large piece of steak and put in his mouth. Thing was like butter and made him so glad to be home. "Bein' famous makes it ten times harder to get a girlfriend."
Adrian's laugh was so loud in response, it caused people to stare. "Yeah, right. I'm good looking and can't get a girl because I can't pick between the millions of 'em that love me."
Niall made no effort to hide the fact that he wasn't impressed. "It's not like that at all," he said. "I know I'm lucky, alright, but it's hard to know if a girl is going to like me for me and not because I'm in One Direction."
"At least they notice you."
Yeah, they sure did notice him.
Usually.
Until now.
He continued to eat and talk to Adrian but his head wasn't in the game, it was in the clouds. Somewhere right next to the girl who had just come in and sat two tables over. She was with a guy who stood out like a sore thumb. He wore motorcycle boots and his skin was hardly visible through all his tattoos.
Her hair was black as the night sky outside and styled in huge, bouncy curls. The way Adrian's neck strained, it was clear he'd noticed her too. Niall watched carefully from the corner of his eye as she hung her ruck sack on the edge of her chair and pulled it out to sit down. "I told you we should have made a reservation," she said. "Now our hotel options have dwindled."
At the sound of her voice, Niall sat straighter in his chair. The accent she spoke with was distinct and had, in recent months become incredibly familiar. She was American. Oi! It was his lucky day!
"You know what, Chloe, I can't even deal with you right now," the guy said.
"What did I say, Brendan? Nothing. I simply stated you should have listened to me."
"You always state that I should listen to you," he fired back. "When I do nothing but listen to you all the time. Blah, blah, blah. You're like a broken record."
Wow.
"Whatever," she said. "I'm starving."
Her companion's eyes widened, "shocking, you're always hungry."
Niall felt his hands clench into fists as his heart hammered in his chest. "Is this eeejit, for real?"
Adrian nodded in a stupor. "Sadly, yes. There's something you can put in your pipe and smoke. Me, I can't get a girlfriend, you can't choose one for fear of false intentions and that guy, that guy gets the girl." He took a long swig of his drink. "Can't figure out the logic in that."
Niall nodded and kept listening. The girl dug around in her purse and pulled out a small make-up kit. "I'm going to freshen up, can you order me a soda and a plate of fries?"
He didn't look up but mumbled, "yeah, whatever."
Niall followed her with his eyes, knowing the boyfriend wasn't paying any attention. She wore an oversized grey sweater, black tights and a pair of grey boots that surely must have had twenty buckles on each one. When she disappeared around the corner, he found himself wishing she were still there.
Meanwhile, the surly and intolerable Brendan beamed for Gemma, the server. Niall had known her a while; she was a sweet girl and he felt immediately defensive. A jerk such as Brendan didn't need to be looking at Gemma with stars in his eyes. Never mind the fact that he was flirting with another girl when a beautiful one in his company, had just walked away.
"I'll have a double cheeseburger and a bottle of water" he said. "And she'll have a tossed salad and um, also with water."
What?
Niall turned his body in the chair. "I reckon your girlfriend wanted a plate of chips and a soda."
Brendan held the menu to his chest and glowered. "Are you listening in on our conversation?"
"I can't help it, mate," Niall said, "you're two feet away from where I'm sittin' and your girlfriend wanted a soda and a plate of," he held his hands up to indicate quotations, "fries. Not salad and a bottle of water."
"Unless the salad is made from deep fried potatoes and the water from sugar cane and caffeine," Adrian added.
Niall chuckled.
Brendan pointed an accusing finger, "mind your business."
Niall was half a second away from showing the guy how he minded his business when Chloe, he was sure her name was, returned from the bathroom. Her eyes darted from Brendan and Gemma to Niall and Adrian. Niall noticed they were a deep blue color and had a certain intensity to them that made him squirm. "What's going on here?"
"Nothing," her boyfriend said. "Sit down."
"You want fries and a cola, love?" Gemma asked her.
"Please," she said, nodding.
She pulled out the chair and sat. Gemma was about to leave when she turned. "Oh, Niall."
"Yeah?"
"Murray wants to know if you'll play a few tunes, liven up the place while you're home and all."
Murray was a friend of the family, the owner of Ashburger's and had been nothing but a generous and kind soul with the Horans. "Yeah, sure I can do that."
The corner of Gemma's lips turned. "Oh that's great. Thank you."
Although he thought it was a little funny she was so excited, Niall nodded. "Yeah, Gem, sure." When she walked away, Niall turned his attention to his friend. "Sorry mate, you don't mind, do ya?"
Adrian made an exaggerated face. "No, not at all. You poke the tattooed bear with the stick and leave me behind to deal with him. No biggie."
"I didn't poke any bear with a stick," Niall said quietly. "You'll be fine."
He finished eating and stood. A small stage was set up on the far end of the restaurant where live entertainment was frequent thing, usually reserved for Fridays. A beaten, acoustic guitar sat abandoned at the side of the stage and Niall picked it up and walked to the center where a stool was abandoned much like the guitar.
As soon as it became evident that a living, breathing person graced the stage, the chatter of the place came to a dead silence. Good thing he didn't get nervous.
He sat and held the guitar, quickly strumming the thing and twisting the pegs to tune it. "Happy Holidays," he said.
"Niall!" Someone from the crowd shouted. "Good to have you home."
"Glad to be back," Niall said. "I miss Ireland."
"What'd ya mean?" another voice hollered. "You don't like lifestyles of the rich and famous."
Niall smiled. "Neither here nor there, really," he said. "But I do love coming home. Now do you want me to play something for you?"
Everyone in the place began to cheer and Niall gave them an acoustic performance of some cover tunes. The entire time he played, his phone buzzed like mad in his pocket so it was without hesitation when his mouth was parched that he excused himself and headed outside to check his phone.
It was a text from Louis thanking him for his video call to Daisy. He was responding when the door to the place opened and Chloe stepped out, the buckles on her boots making quite the racket.
She had her phone up to her ear. "This is the biggest mistake of my life," she said. "Seriously. I never should have come here. I don't know why I thought he changed."
Niall debated heading back in, but there she was, alone and the opportunity to talk to her was one he welcomed. He continued to stare at the screen on his phone, pretending to be typing something until she hung up her phone. She inhaled deeply and before she could go anywhere, he spoke.
"Long night?"
She smiled. "You have no idea. It's been a long week."
Niall nodded.
She squinted and moved closer. "You look familiar."
"Yeah," he said. "I get that a lot."
A flash of recognition danced across her face and her hand shot to her mouth to cover it. "You're Niall!" she said. "Oh my God! You're One Direction Niall."
Niall shook his head from side to side in disagreement. "Not here," he said softly. "I'm home. Here I get to be just Niall."
She stepped back. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "No doubt you must feel that way. I'm Chloe and I'm now going to leave you alone so you can get to relax and be normal."
He appreciated the sentiment but didn't want her to leave. "It's alright Chloe. Let's start again," he offered her an outstretched hand. "Niall," he said. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Her small hand was covered in the wool from her sweater. "Pleasure is all mine."
"What brings you to Mullingar?"
"I wanted to go to Dublin, no offense, but Brendan read a book once that was based in Mullingar so he wanted to come here first," she said.
Niall tried not to appear outwardly flabbergasted at the revelation that the guy she was with read anything at all. "Dublin is like maybe an hour away, you should go without him."
"I don't know," she said. "I don't think it's a good idea to travel alone."
Niall raised a brow. "Who said anything about traveling alone? I'll take you," he said. "Ireland is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see. Let me show it to you."
Chloe looked taken aback by his offer. "But you're famous."
He gave her a crooked smile, unsure of what his celebrity status had to do with anything. "You don't want to be seen with me then?"
She laughed nervously. "No, but do you really want to be seen with me?"
"'Course I do," Niall said. "What hotel are you staying at?"
"Don't have one," she replied. "Yet. Brendan didn't make a reservation. I could meet you here though," she said. "What time?"
At the mention of the word time, Niall's hands frantically flew to his shirt pocket. He wasn't sure why, it's not like his father's gift would be on his person. But he had a horrible feeling he'd forgotten to bring it with him all together and that the thing was still in the States.
Chloe waited patiently for his reply.
"Can you meet me at noon tomorrow?"
She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. "Yeah," she said. "That sounds great." Thanks for offering to show me around."
"Thanks for saying yes."
As he watched her walk away from him for the second time that night, he couldn't help but to think he wasn't ready to make her walking away a habit. He'd have to make sure she knew that.
He dialed Liam's number and hoped that he hadn't boarded a plane for Aspen just yet.