FATE BROUGHT US TOGETHER
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It's been nearly 3 days since the Christmas dinner now and it's the last day in Ireland until America!! I absolutely couldn't wait.
"Babe! We have to leave in an hour! Are you all packed?" Niall said, bringing a luggage down the stairwell.
"Obviously! I packed last night! I got excited!" I replied.
"I'm glad you are, I'm just happy we can be together. Oh, one last place before we go" Niall said, interlocking his fingers with mine.
He guided me down the stairs, "where are we going?"
"It'll be a surprise. Wear youe shoes, let's go!" Niall instructed me.
Where else can this boy take me? Mullingar had a few historical places, but I was never really attracted to those; I already went to go see my family, who was just a couple of blocks down, but the people next door said that they went on vacation in Thailand or something; we went out to eat dinner at the fanciest dinner in town and we already watched a movie together in the next town over. There really was no place left to go.
--
Our hands have been tangled with each other since we left the house. We've been walking for nearly 15 minutes now. I didn't really mind since there was excellent weather today, although it was a bit chilly.
"Here we are!" He stopped us in front of a gate for a kiddie park.
"Where is this place?" I tried to scan the area for any resemblance from any of my memories.
"You don't remember?" He let go of my hand and grasped onto my wrist, pulling me. If anyone else saw me, they would of probably thought I was some seal running the way I was running. "C'mon! Get on the swing!" He pointed to the second one from the right.
I hopped onto the swing and began pushing myself back and forth. I had a slight warming instinct about this place but I just couldn't put my finger on it. But it wasn't until what Niall did next that brought all the memories back.
I was swinging back and forth, trying to reach the sky, but Niall abruptly came behind the swing and stopped it from pivoting any further. I turned around in shock and everything happened just like the first time. As I turned my head, Niall planted the sweetest kiss on my lips and gave me a bright smile, mirroring the actions from last time. From the back of my head, I can see Niall's short ass body with his cute patch of brown hair, trying to reach my lips from the floor, like when we were 12.
I smiled, "I remember now. You were so short back then, and now you're some giant!" He came around the front of the swing and stood between my open legs. "Things really have changed since then."
"It really had, hasn't it? Here," he pulled out his iPhone "I want to remember this day" he clicked the camera app and we took multiple selfies. Silly ones, serious ones,and ones that are my favorite, the ones where we were kissing. It all just felt so right.
'Niall, I love you. I really do love you. Thank you for giving me the best 5 days of my lives and probably many more memories to come. Thank You. I love you' was what I planned to say, but I only managed the first two syllables, "Niall,"
"Yeah babe?"
"I- I I" I choked. "I melt every time you call me babe, or just talked to me. You're amazing." I didn't say what I planned. Why? Because I honestly don't want to move along too quickly. I want to make sure he's the one before I call him my prince in shining armor, or just tell him the simple three words: I love you. I just couldn't. I'm afraid of getting hurt, again. Get to the peak of a relationship and just have everything crashing down on you in an instant. It hurts, it really does hurt.
I gave him a kiss on the lips and he returned the favor, "You make me melt. I know that might sound all dorky, girly and shit, but you really do. I know you get insecure at times, but I honestly don't know what for. You turned everyone's heads when you walked through the door with your pink dress that other night. You don't need make up, to cover up your angelic face" wait a second "Kayla, being the way that you are is enough babe"
"You dork, I know what you're doing," I gave him another kiss "I've never heard anyone quote their own song to serenade someone before. Round of applause to Niall James Horan of One Direction! Awwh, are you blushing?"
He looked down onto the wood chipped floor, "Gosh, I didn't think you would know the song!"
"Are you shittin' me right now? Oh my. My best friend is absolutely in love with your band. I mean, even though I'm not really a 'fan', wouldn't you think I would want to know who I was living with for a year? So while you guys were at interviews or rehearsals, if I wasn't hanging out with Dani or El, I would go online to see what the fans or press would think of y'all. And along the way, I heard your songs and even bought the album!"
"You bought the album?" Niall asked "That's amazing! When'd you buy it? You didn't even tell us! We would of just given you a copy!"
"Oh c'mon, you're all my friends, I should support you guys! And only a few days ago, I bought one for Jenni too. She always complained how she can't watch videos or listening to music because she's in America, so I bought the entire album for her. She usually downloads them illegally" I explained.
"I'm glad you're so supportive. Will we be able to see her when we get to New York? Oh I mean, New Jersey?" He asked.
I chuckled, "uhm, I didn't really tell Jenni and Jake that I was going back home today, I only told them that I came to Ireland with you. I want to give them a surprise!"
"I do like surprises! Oh and who's her favorite?"
"Mr. Harry Edward Styles can be deemed as her favorite!" I tried saying elegantly in a British accent but failed miserably, embarrassing myself once again.
"Gurl, are you serious?" He imitated my American accent, but more in a sassy tone.
My laughter echoed the cold winter morning, "Come on! Lets go, we have to go soon! We're supposed to leave in 10 minutes and it took us 15 minutes to walk here. We gotta run!"
--
"Bye mum! I'll get some things for you when I'm over there okay?" Niall said as he enveloped his mom for a hug. We didn't get to see her because she was busy so we decided to invite her to the airport to see us. We had a small breakfast in the airport canteen and had a brief conversation together. She's a really lovely person.
"Good son, you stay safe okay?" Maura retreated from the hug and came by me to give me one. "Thank you Kayla, you're a lovely girl. You take care of me boy, he's a hassle sometimes. But I'm sure you can handle him" she winked.
"Oh no, I'll only be able to do it because you guys raised a wonderful son!" I replied "You must be really proud!"
"I am, he's come so far and I'm sure he can get to places in his lifetime. I'm incredibly proud of this son. Well Greg too of coarse," she said, trying not to make Greg feel left out.
"Yeah, mum, you were smart to mention me!" Greg said quietly, but not quiet enough. "Let's go Kayla and Niall! Boarding starts in 20 minutes! You better run!"
We gave each other one last hug and exchanged some words. The security line wasn't that long, surprisingly, since it's during the holidays. So we took the chance and sprinted towards the short line. We turned around one last time, sent a wave to each of the two family members of Niall, and quickly disappeared into the wave of people while on the way to the gate.
I had suggested not to hold hands since it was the holidays after all and there must be a lot of people traveling. There's bound to be a couple of fans that we might bump into. He agreed, but it was after a lot of convincing. It was only for our own good, I told him.
But besides that, AMERICA, HERE I COME BABY!
--
"Did you bring a jacket?" I asked Niall. We were on airport property now, JFK international airport to be exact. I was overjoyed to see my homeland. I can see the afternoon skyline of Manhattan, amazing.
"Uhh, I think I stuffed it in your duffle bag when we were in Dublin. Check, if it's not in there, then no, it's probably in the luggage."
I searched inside my bag. His jacket was indeed in there but it was definitely not warm enough. I checked the weather the night before and it said it was going to be in the low 30s today. I pulled out the jacket and the two necklaces hung on it. The necklaces represented our 'love', our commitment with one another.
We bought it in one of the mini shops we saw when we were roaming around town. It was a simple necklace, but it had a lot of meaning behind it. A black necklace and a three leafed clover charm. The both of us got it together, giving it more of a sentimental value.
"Don't lose it babe, put it on. Here, I'll help you" He took the necklace from my hands and pushed my bundle of straight hair to the front of my body. He clipped the latch together while I played with the charm, "It looks amazing on you!"
"My turn," I took the his in my hand and put it around his neck. "No, it looks amazing on you."
"No, it looks amazing on US" he rested his arm around my shoulder so I rested my head on his shoulder as I peeked through the plane window to see the view.
"Welcome to America, Niall" I smiled. I knew this trip will be unforgettable.
--
I tapped his shoulder, "Pst, Niall, wake up. We're almost here. Like two or three more minutes" Niall rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. I rested my hand on his flat stomach, "Are you hungry?"
Niall's legs were folded together and his head rested on my thighs. He got up from his seat and squinted as he adjusted to the sun that was shining through the taxi window. Yes taxi, because I really didn't have anyone to call, I want to surprise Jenni and Jake, my moms out of the country, and I really can't call any of my friends because what if they're fans? That honestly wouldn't be good.
I handed Niall my black ray ban wayfarer sunglasses to wear, so he can see the surroundings better. "IHOP?" He said as the driver slowed down to a stop for the red light.
"Yup! It represents International House of Pancakes. I'll bring you there tomorrow morning if you wan-"
"McDonalds! I want to go! How far is your house from here? Can we go?" Niall was overly excited. He was literally on his feet, like a little child. "Oh! And of course, I'll eat any type of food you put in front of me, you know that"
"Okay, and it's just a couple of blocks away. I can drive later, I think I might be getting a little rusty from driving," I wiggled my fingers. "But if you don't mind, I want to go surprise Jenni first, wanna tag along? Or do you just want to rest, eat some snakes, and watch some TV?"
"I think it'll be fun, I want to meet your friends, in person that is, not just through video call"
"Alright! That's the plan then!" We turned into the last corner before my house, "hey hey! We're here!" I ruffled my purse to find my wallet. I looked at the cab fare, 90.24, DAMMNNN. I pulled out a $100 bill and handed it to the driver. "Keep the change and thanks soo much!"
Niall got out of the car while I was paying the man but I followed him closely behind, "Holy fuck, this is your house? Your dad really is a millionaire"
"Well I mean, this isn't some mansion, the properties in our town are pretty big to begin with. I guess you can consider this town as fairly rich, so its not really considerably outrageous, I'll show you around the house later, lets go put down our luggage, go over to Jenni's house and then get some food for you eh?" I gave Niall a kiss and then opened the door to the house.
Oh, home sweet home. But it was awfully quiet, too quiet to adjust to. Oh that's right, Jenni has Snowball, my little puppy. Oh I miss him soo much! I need to go get him back!
We put down all the luggage down by the front door. I took the car keys from the rack near the garage door entrance and rolled up the garage doors. "Dammnn gurl, you guys have a lot of cars!"
"No, they're all my dads, I'm only allowed to drive these two," I pointed to the black Mercedes convertible and a gray BMW sedan. "Unless my dad's with me, so that basically means I can't drive it since he's never here. Whatever"
"Which one are you gonna take?"
"Err.. Pick one" I said, smiling.
"Oooh, the convertible. It looks cool!" He walked over to the black car.
I chuckled, "Get in son!" I unlocked the car to allow him to enter the car. He seemed amazed. Oh this boy. I got into the driver seat and ignited the car and pulled out of the garage, into the driveway and out into the streets. "I think I might show you around some day. What day are we leaving again?"
"Wha- ehh- uh, I have to be back by the 2nd" he shuddered, but I didn't pay much attention to his awkward speech problem. I'm just kidding.
--
"Is this her house?" Niall asked as I pulled into Jenni's driveway.
I nodded, "Yeah why?"
"Your town, or whatever you call it, is fairly rich!"
"Yeah, to a certain degree. C'mon, let's go!" We both got out of the car and walked towards Jenni's front door.
As we were walking up the front steps, Niall said "Wait babe, I'm getting a call. I think it's management. I'll be right back." I nodded. Why would management possibly want to contact them during holiday break? Celebrities need their own breaks too. Gosh.
Ding Dong. Ding Dong.
It look about a minute or two for the foot steps to be heard. The front door creaked open, and there she was. I diagnosed her actions before she saw my face: adjusting her bra and buttoning her pants. Hmmmm...
"WHADDUP BRAH!" I exclaimed, opening my arms nice and wide.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! OH MY GOD! HOLY SHITTTTT AM I FUCKING DREAMING?!?!" The scream was unbearable. Yup, that's definitely the Jenni I know.
Her scream caused Snowball to bark like crazy in the background, and a few cats and dogs down the block to yelp. "Well hello to you too!"
She attacked me with a HUGE hug. She rambled on with a couple of phrases but I didn't pay attention because I saw a shirtless guy coming down from her staircase. Not just any guy, it was the guy with the blonde hair that I can recognize from miles away. JAKE.
My eyes widened from excitement as he walked closer and closer to me, looking just as excited as when Jenni saw me. He was about to join Jenni and create a group hug, but that's when I saw it:
An opened condom wrapper laying on the living room floor.
"HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT."