[rewritten]
Here is the next chapter!
Enjoy!
*Just as a quick note, the next chapters are going to be LONG*
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Niall's P.O.V
Hearing that Jay Cee El got through to the finals was the best news that I've received in a long, long time. I had literally jumped from my spot on the couch in excitement. I also scared the shit out Harry, but that was only a bonus. Although I didn't really think much of it, my thoughts had been too preoccupied with the thought of heading to L.A. to sing with them.
I was going to be able meet Liz Johnston. Just thinking of that caused excitement to fill my body, that was also full of nerves. I know that she loves my band and she says that she loves me, but would she really like the real Niall? That was a question that circulated my head since I found out about her and the rest of Jay Cee El.
This almost felt like a dream to me. I'll be able to talk to her, laugh with her, and just be in the same room as her. I'll get to hear her singing live and I'll be able to have a conversation with her. To top everything off, I'll be singing with her.
As soon as the credits had rolled, Liam's phone had rang. I remember waiting impatiently for him to finish his call before we were able to get the details of his phone call. It was Simon, telling us the details for what was going to happen next. Tickets had been bought and our flight was for seven tomorrow morning- or technically, in just a few hours- the earliest he could get. It's an eleven hour flight, so we would be landing at six o'clock in the afternoon.
I had decided to not go to bed that night, none of us could actually. We needed to start packing and get everything together. That took up the remaining hours and before I knew it, we had been standing in line to board the private plan. At the time, the airport had been empty. It was half six when we finally got in the plane, and another thirty minute before we took off.
That had all been several hours ago and we were now somewhere over the states. I had no idea, but I knew that we were getting close. We only had another five hours to go and then I'd be meeting the one and only Liz Johnston.
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@Liz_Johnston_JCL: okay I want a 5 paragraph essay on why it's NOT OKAY TO DO THIS TO SOMEONE smh
Attached was a picture of her arm with a long scratch on it. I didn't understand what the tweet meant but I'm guessing that something must have happened. I hope that she's okay. She seems okay and the scratch doesn't look too bad, but I don't know if it's painful or not.
"Watcha doin'?" Zayn asked, leaning into my shoulder and looking at the screen.
"Watchi' a movie, why?" I asked, quickly locking my phone.
"Ooh... that's cool. I'm bored though and Liam's asleep and Louis and Harry are watching a movie and no one is talking and I'm bored so talk to me." Zayn said.
I pulled out my headphones and set my phone on my lap. "Okay, what do you wanna talk about?" I asked.
"I want to talk about why you aren't going to ask Liz out when you meet her." Zayn said.
"Because," I groaned, "I just don't think I will. She's so amazing an-"
"Niall, you're amazing and she'd be lucky to have you. Just, at least think about it." He said.
"I don't know. She changed me life, ya' know? I don't want to mess up anything." I said.
"You won't."
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I was bouncing my knee up and down as the black van pulled into the back of the hotel. I couldn't comprehend the fact that Liz Johnston was instead of that building. She was in there, breathing, laughing, talking, and just being herself. And I was about to meet her. I was so nervous for this, I really was. I couldn't wait to see her in person and I can't wait until I get to hear that accent of hers. God, I felt so whipped for a girl that I only knew through a computer screen.
The car finally stopped and I took a deep breath, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. "It's okay mate," Liam said, putting his hand on my back. "You're going to be fine, stop overreacting. She's just a girl, yeah?" He said. Easy for you to say, your entire love life isn't resting on one single first impression.
I didn't want to say that in fear of being made fun of, so instead I said, "Yeah, yeah, I know."
"She's also a girl that he's in looove with." Louis said, mocking me. I flipped him off as the door opened and Harry climbed out of the car. Louis was next, then Zayn, and then me. I climbed out of the car, jumping down onto the pavement. Liam got out after me and closed the door behind him.
"Alright," Paul said, getting our attention. "This is what we are going to do. We're going to go through the back and get to the lifts as fast as we can. The contestants and residents of the hotel are at dinner and you cannot be seen." Paul said.
"I thought that we are meeting Jay Cee El first?" I asked, pushing Harry out of my way to stand in front of Paul.
"You will be, but first we have to get you up to the rooms. You're then going to take the lifts and you'll meet the girls instead the lounge that was set aside for the contestants." Paul explained.
"Right." I said.
"Okay, let's get inside before anyone sees us. Please, try and keep up." Paul said.
I was a little upset that we weren't getting to meet the girls right away but thinking it over, it seemed like a good idea. I could clean myself up a bit so when I meet her it doesn't seem like I was on a plane for eleven hours.
Following the boys into the hotel, I was surprised at how fancy it was. We were walking in the back hallway, which was where the employees used. I ran a hand through my hair and followed Zayn down the hallway, heading towards the lifts. We passed by the empty lounge, the doors to the pool and gym, and the lobby.
I saw a sign that read Dining Area and I grew nervous. Liz is in that room. Liz is in the room that's five feet from me. I felt hands on my back, pushing me forward. I moved aside and let Harry go first, so I could slowly walk by the room. I took a couple steps until I was standing in front of the room.
It only took me half a second before I found Liz. She was sitting at a table with the other contestants. She was in the middle of laughing loudly, her eyes shut and nose crinkled. I froze in my spot at the sight of her, feeling like my heart was about to explode with how fast it was beating.
Liz was so, so much prettier in person. The pictures and videos were great, but they did not do her justice. In that moment I would've traded everything that I have to have been the one that made her laugh that hard. She looked so happy and adorable and I wanted to go over there and talk to her. I almost did, but someone grabbing my arm and pulling me along.
"Come on lover boy, you'll see her in half an hour." Paul said.
"I'm sorry I just..." I said.
"Love her? Yeah, we know. It's very obvious. But come on Niall, we've got to get upstairs before anyone sees us." Paul said.
I sighed and nodded my head, following him into the already open lift. The doors closed soon after and we were then riding up the lift. I leaned against the wall as Paul started going through the white envelope that he had in his back pocket. He pulled out five hotel room keys and handed them to all of us. Paul explained that he came yesterday to set the hotel rooms up, he and Preston are sharing a room down the hall.
The left came to a stop and the doors slide open, allowing us to leave the room. I looked at my room key and read 497. I walked up to my room and slide the key over the small monitor, opening the door. The cool air from the hotel room hit me as soon as I walked into the room and I closed the door behind me.
The hotel room was a one bed room and it was pretty small. There was the bed, a desk, and two nightstands. A washroom was connected to the room, the door was closed through. A small closet was to my left and then a mini fridge a few feet down from it. I let out a sigh and moved towards the bed, dropping down onto it.
Seeing Liz in person was mind blowing. She looked so damn beautiful. She's the type of girl that any guy would bring home to meet his parents. God, I can't believe that I'm going to be meeting her. In just a few minutes. I'll be able to see that smile in person, those blue eyes that put my eyes to shame. I was so excited for this, I was also so nervous. I prayed that she would like me for who I was and not who she thought I was.
A knock on the door broke me from my thoughts and I looked up at the door. Of course I stupidly thought that it was Liz; but that isn't likely. She doesn't know what room number I'm in. I stood up from my bed and crossed the small room, looking through the door. A man that resembled someone who should be working at the Tipton was standing on the other side of the door and my black luggage was at his feet.
I pulled open the door, smiling at the man. "Hello," He said, "Niall Horan?"
"That's me. This me luggage?" I asked, although I already knew it was.
"Yes it is, sir. Is your room to your liking?" He asked. I read his nametag. Oliver.
"It's fine, thank you Oliver." I said.
The man nodded and smiled before walking away. I closed the door and brought my suitcase to the bed and quickly unzipped it, looking for the few objects that I needed. I pulled out my cologne, my toothbrush and toothpaste, then a pair of fresh clothes. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, wanting to quickly brush my teeth.
Once that was done and I made sure my hair was stifled in a quiff nicely, the new look that Lou's been doing with my hair, I left the bathroom to change. I took off the white shirt I was wearing and tossed it on the bed, then putting on the dark gray shirt that I had taken out. I then changed into a different pair of pants and stepped back into the Supra's that I was wearing before.
A knock at my door was once again heard as I sprayed on some cologne and I quickly yelled out to whoever was behind the door, to give me a minute. I closed the bottle and set it in my suitcase before closing it and walking towards the door. I looked through the peephole and saw Paul standing outside the door. I pulled open the door, smiling at him.
"Hey, are you ready to go?" Paul asked.
"Yup, let me just grab me phone." I said, turning around to grap the phone that was still in my other pants pocket. I slipped my phone in my back pocket before grabbing my wallet and then the room key before walking out of the room, turning off the light and shutting the door.
"Alright, so I think that the girls are already there but I'm not sure." Paul said as we walked up towards the other boys.
They all talked as we walked towards the lift and rode down, while as I kept quiet. In just a few minutes I would be meeting Liz. I couldn't help the excitement that filled me, nor could I help the nerves. Meeting Liz was something that I never imagined I would do. I never thought that I would get to see her in person if I'm being honest. But now I was and I couldn't be any more happier. Of course I was nervous for meeting her, I think that goes without saying. But I wanted to push those nerves aside and focus on the excitement.
We got down to the lobby really fast and were quick to make our way across the room again. We passed the now empty dining hall, the pool and gym, and then we were finally at the lounge. A sign hung on the door that read Private Party; Do NOT Disturb. Paul stopped at the door and smiled at me, nodding his head towards the door. My cheeks heated up against my will and I walked up to the door, slowly pushing it upon.
I didn't expect to see a hallway, but I was quick to start walking down the hall. As I walked closer to the opening, I heard Julie talking. "Now Liz, what are you going to do when they come in here?" She asked, obviously talking about the lads and I.
"I am going to remain calm and pretend that I'm not obsessed with them." I heard Liz say in a monotone voice. "You know, we've got such a pretty view." And that's when I walked into the room. All of their backs were to me, Liz was the furthest away.
The lounge had a huge telly hanging on the wall, with one of those half a circle couches. A coffee table sat in the middle of the couch. Behind the couch was two vending machines and a foosball table and an air hockey table. There was also a few arcade games. But my eyes didn't stray around the room all that much, because I was too focused on blonde haired girl with her back towards me.
Julie was walking slowly towards Liz, while Caitlin was standing at the vending machine. "Lizzie, are you even listening to me. I'm just looking out for you, I don't want you to embarrass yourself." Julie said. I decided that now would be a good time to make my entrance known. But of course, Louis beat me to it.
"She won't." His voice came from behind me.
All three girls turned around at once, though my eyes were on Liz. It's fucking cheesy but I swear when our eyes met I felt my heart skip a beat. It was silent for half a second before Liz moved away from the window and started running towards us. I grew nervous, wondering who she was going to chose to hug first. If it wasn't me then I knew that I was going to be heartbroken.
But my worries ceased to continue when it was obvious that she was running towards me. I couldn't stop my feet from moving me forward until we finally met in an embrace. Her arms wrapped around my torso and mine locked around her upper arms and shoulders. Her small height caused the top of her head to only reach my chin.
I closed my eyes as I felt her small body shaking in my arms. I held tighter and sighed in content, never wanting to move from this spot. If you told me ten minutes ago that the first thing I would do when meeting Liz was holding her to my chest, I wouldn't have believed you. I also wouldn't have believed that she would chose to hug me first, but I'm so fucking glad she did.
I wasn't sure how long we stood there, but it seemed like hours. It wasn't until Julie spoke that I was brought back into reality. "Liz, are you kidding me? This is exactly what I meant by not acting like your obsessed with them." Julie said.
Liz must have been brought back into reality because she quickly pulled away from our hug and titled her head down. "I-I'm sorry, I- I'm just a huge fan." She said quietly, looking up at me. Her cheeks were red and so were her eyes. My stomach dropped at the thought of her crying and I wanted to hug her again, but Louis beat me to it. I'm going to have to talk to him.
"Liz, right? It's great to meet you, all three of you actually." Louis said, putting an arm around her shoulders. I watched as her attention moved from me to Louis and she looked up at him with those wide blue eyes that were once looking at me.
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Julie." The brunette said, walking closer to us. Caitlin came as well and I was surprised at how tiny she was. I knew that she was small but God, she was smaller than Liz was and Liz was tiny.
"I'm Caitlin and this wacko is Liz. Sorry about her, she's just really excited for this." Caitlin said. I looked over at Liz and smiled when I saw her cheeks heating up. Caitlin laughed and moved towards Liz, hugging the blonde. "It's okay babe, they'll get used to it." She said. Her hug had caused Louis' arm to fall from Liz's shoulders and I was glad that she decided to hug Liz.
"I'm sure we will," Harry said, stepping into the conversation. "I'm Harry by the way."
"I'm Liam, and this is Zayn." Liam said, throwing his arm around Zayn's shoulders. Zayn nodded his head towards the girls and I could practically see Liz swoon over it. I'm going to have to talk to him too.
"And I'm Louis." Louis said, smiling towards the three girls. The three of them looked at me but my eyes were only on Liz. All the talk of being in love with her and how much I fell for her smile filled my mind. I thought about her smile and how much I loved her voice. My thoughts became jumbled with everything and I blurted out the only thing that made sense.
"I love you."
Both Julie and Caitlin looked towards Liz as her eyes widened and she continued to look at my now widened eyes. Louis groaned, "Oh God." He said, face palming.
"I mean, er, I love your voice. It's really pretty and unique." I said quickly, trying to save my ass.
The awkward silence broke apart as the Julie and Caitlin laughed, while Liz laughed quieter. "Right, yeah. Thank you. I love your voice too, a lot actually." She blushed. I wanted to hang my head in shame or jump off a rooftop to save myself from this embarrassment.
"Well that's a good first impression, ain't it mate?" Louis said, throwing his arm around my shoulder and patting my upper chest. I shrugged him off my shoulder and moved to go sit down on the couch.
I covered my face with my hands, rubbing my eyes as conversation began to fill the room again. I couldn't believe what I had said. I don't even know why I said it. I don't love Liz. I know that I could someday, but I don't right now. She's cute and adorable and I like her but I don't love her. But everyone kept telling me that I did and I just... froze. This was going to be hard to get over.
I don't know how long I sat there, a minute or two maybe? I had blocked out the conversation that they were all having, but when someone poked my arm I looked up. My eyes widened slightly at the sight of Liz and I stood up, just as she was sitting down. She started to stand up as I moved to sit down, and we awkwardly laughed before both sitting down.
"Um, hi. Sorry, I just, I'm a really big fan of yours. Is it okay if we take a picture, please?" Liz asked.
I immediately nodded, I'd do anything to get rid of this awkward tension between us. "Yeah, yeah. 'course." I said, sitting up a little bit. Liz smiled brightly and pulled out her phone, opening the camera. She held it out a little and leaned closer to me, causing my breath to hitch. I looked at the side of her face before looking at the camera and smiling. A few seconds passed before she lowered and hand and looked at me.
"That's not the real Niall smile. C'mon, let's see those teeth." She said. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it and nodded my head. She held up the camera and I leaned closer towards her, until her shoulder was against mine. I smiled for real this time and she took the picture, thanking me over and over.
"It's fine, nothing really. And um, 'm sorry about what I said before." I said, trying to keep eye contact with her. I felt myself melting under her gaze and I wanted to cover up my face in embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it, I've dreamed about you saying that to me countless times." She said before closing her eyes and covering up her face as her cheeks heated up. I tried to suppress the smile that was forcing its way onto my face. "I don't know why I just said that. That's just embarrassing. Let's just start over! Hi, I'm Liz. I'm excited for singing with you." Liz said, jumping up a little and sticking her hand out to me.
"Niall. It's nice to meet you Liz, and I'm looking forward to it too." I said, shaking her hand. We both laughed and just like that, all the tension and awkwardness left. I was glad that it seemed to go away and just left with a comfortableness between us. I don't know what I would have done if we didn't get along.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything to keep the conversation going, but the sound of the door opened and heavy footsteps rushing into the room got all of our attention. The conversations in the room ceased as I recognized Beck from One Step, run into the room. Following him was one of the two that I don't know. I always got confused between Josh and Sam.
"Liz, Liz, Liz." Beck yelled, running towards us. He stopped in front of us and set his hands on his hips, breathing heavily. Liz laughed and stood up, setting her hands on his shoulder.
"Breathe, in and out Beck." She giggled and I wished that it was me she was laughing with.
"Turn... on the... TV." He breathed out, "You're on... the news." He said.
"What?" Caitlin asked, walking towards Beck.
"Is that true?" Julie asked either Sam or Josh.
"Yeah. Fox." Beck said.
Liz grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the telly, quickly flipping to the channel. There on the screen was a women talking about Jay Cee El. Behind her was a screen of what looked like a mob. "Something interesting happened last night at the Staples Center, where the second season of the X Factor U.S.A is being filmed there. The contestants of the show are performing live and there are three acts left, entering the final just later this week." The blonde haired women said.
"But what has happened is extraordinary in the eyes of this show. The contestant that's holding first place as of now was mobbed in the back of the building. Security had failed to keep the overgrowing amount of people from the street, which was where the three girls from Jay Cee El were. Paparazzi had gotten this on camera and fans of the girl band are going crazy, saying that it's assault and the paparazzi should be charged. Are the fans just overreacting or is it really assault? Let's take a look." She said.
The screen cut to what had happened last night. It was a mess of things and the dark night sky probably didn't help at all. I listened to what was being said and watched as the three girls were surrounded by a minimal of a hundred people. The screen then cut to Caitlin being led by Ben and Gale, but Liz and Julie were nowhere to be seen.
I turned away from the telly and looked over at Liz, seeing her gaze locked on the telly as she was absentmindedly running her hand over a scratch on her arm.
Looking back at the telly, I saw that the screen was now showing Liz, surrounded by paparazzi and screaming girls. Her wide blue eyes looked so scared and I felt terrible for not being there with her - though I didn't even know about this until now.
The next shoot was showing Julie being led out by a man, and Liz being carried out by another guy. It then went back to the women, the videos of the mob being shown in a small box on the corner of the screen. I stood up from the spot on the couch and walked over to Liz, still watching the telly.
"No one was hurt in the mob, although there were rumors of Liz Johnston being cut. It has not been confirmed, though the nineteen year old girl had tweeted and I quote, ' okay I want a 5 paragraph essay on why it's not okay to do this to someone smh'. Smh mean shake my head, which could imply that she was physically hurt by this. But no one knows for sure until the blonde is seen in public again. And now we have Nicholas with the news."
Liz grabbed the remote and shut off the telly before laughing and running towards Caitlin and Julie, throwing her arms around them. "Oh my God, we were on the news. Can you believe it? We were on the news."
I couldn't help but smile at her being so happy. Seeing her happy made happy, and that scared me if I'm being honest. Because I knew that I was falling for her quickly, and I knew that it would be a real bitch.
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Yeah I know shitty place to end it but this is a LONG ASS chapter and I didn't know where else to end it.
But yay, they meet and it was awkward af
Please VOTE and COMMENT my lil' Gummy Worms ilysm
~ Amanda xx
--Pic above is what the boys looked like in this chapter and honestly that picture is just hilarious, I mean look at Niall's face and then Harry isn't even looking at the camera and damn it's just golden