a/n: before anything else, I want to apologize for the slow updates. :'( i really had trouble with this one because I suffered an extreme writer's block. It was hard following an intense scene then bringing it back down. this chapter is not an OMG scene for everyone but it has it's purpose in the story. So I'm sorry if it's not as good as the last one and I know some of you are dreading for some MaggiexNiall or HarryXMaggie scenes. :( I hope that you'll still like it though.
this chapter is dedicated to @Niallerslaughxx because well, she's an awesome person and thank you for the votes and comments. Xx Go follow her and read her stories too! She's an amazing writer. :)
16th Phase: Rumor Has It
It is a stupendous day in London. The sun is radiant against the blue sky, the clouds are clear spreding throughout the infinite sea hovering above me, the cold weather is merged with the warmth of the sun's rays; it is stunning. It is something I can never picture in my dreams.
Liz and I are currently at the mall doing some ‘farewell shopping’ as what she calls. I plop down to one of those cute bean bag chairs in a shop waiting for Liz to pick out an outfit. She’s been roaming around the shop going through every rack, rummaging for that perfect dress and shoes that she desperately needs. She looks so panicked and undecided- a total wreck but, she still looks so lovely.
“Which one looks better on me: the pink one or the blue one?” She asks balancing both dresses with her hands.
“Hmm...” I crease my eyebrow, running my forefinger through my chin, head resting on my palms, trying to decide which looks better. “I think the blue one is cute.” Liz raises the blue one criticizing at it entirely.
“Are you sure? I think the pink one is lovely too.”
“Why did you ask for my opinion, then? You already had a choice.” I scoff wwith a slight chortle at the end.
“I want to know if you would agree with me, which in this case, you didn’t- thank you very much. Now I’m having a hard time choosing.” She whines. Liz acts like a kid sometimes even if she’s 19 already. It’s charming and adorable all at the same time in a way. Liz went running back to the clothes rack searching for more options and I am left at the bean bag, slowly sinking to the ground, waiting for her to come back.
To be honest, Liz is the one doing most of the shopping and I’m the one thinking of farewell in this so called “farewell shopping” of hers. Just the thought of farewell sickens me even if I had been through a lot of farewells and arrivals in my life. Goodbye's are really just that hard to accept- just as difficult as accepting something foreign or alien to you. There's nothing easy in this world any longer. Everything is tough and that is why one must keep it's feet planted on the ground and stay anchored- stay strong.
My days in London are numbered already. Tomorrow is the last day I would be in London. I’ll be spending my new year in San Diego and stay there until the immigration papers are processed. It hurts knowing I’ll be leaving some close friends behind but I know I’ll probably still see them sometime soon- when they go to San Diego for a show, maybe. I don’t know. Whenever it was, wherever it is, I know this won’t be the last time I will see them. I've kind of grown into them. They are something you can't just not see.
I really don’t know what’s in store for me back in San Diego. I know I should be excited and probably jumping up and down right now in glee because that was what I wanted. I come to love London already and part of it being me not really hyped up to leave is because of the fact that one way or another, I have to face Gabby. I don’t know if I’m ready to see her yet, let alone hear everything from her.
Although, I’m not really always ready for these things- knowing the truth. But look where I found myself in: I got the chance to patch things up with James. Although I don’t know if things would end that way with Gabby. I know Gabby from bone to flesh to skin. She’ll stand up for everything she believes in. She's the tough one between the two of us- ready to defend anything. While I'm the measly and weak one- always lowering my head to almost everything. She's the one that keeps me standing tall.
Liz finally comes back with a bag on her hand. I shift my thoughts back to reality. “Finally got what you’re looking for?” I ask as I cross my leg over the other, struggling with my position on the bean bag.
“Yeah,” She answers with a beaming grin.
“So, where do you wanna go next?” I ask as I put my bag on my lap.
“I was thinking of eating lunch. My stomach’s rumbling from all these shopping.”
“I’m just starving, period." I collect myself and stand up from my seat. "Let’s go.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and walk with Liz to Burger King. And yes, nothing beats the classics. As we saunter our way there, we pass by a bunch of girls giggling in the mall wearing 1D shirts and merch. Liz and mine's gazes meet. I smile to myself seeing these girls. It reminds me of the lads and how I am going to miss them so much.
“What are you smiling at?” Liz asks, bringing me back to the world. My thoughts are fluttering away again. I shake my head and just grin at Liz.
“You’re so weird today. What happened to you?” Liz snaps a finger in front of my face.
“Me? Nothing. I’m perfectly fine.” I reply affably.
“Yeah. Well-” Liz stops talking as she turns her head. I look towards the direction Liz is looking at. There are girls heading our way- the same one I saw not a moment long ago.
“Uh oh, this ain't good.” Liz mumbles under her breath.
“What? Why?” I ask her curiously.
“Hi!" A girl with a bunch of her friends stands on front of me. "You’re Maggie, right?” A brunette girl asks me, her friends sharing some stares and whispers to one another.
“I think so. Yes. May I help you?” I am not sure about what to answer. I’m completely lost right now. How do they know my name? I glance to Liz. She is biting her lip. She looks so worried and nervous at the same time. Does she knows anything about this?
“Um... Can we have a picture with you? We completely like you. I mean, we respect you so much and I personally think you’re really pretty and-” I cut her off.
“It’s okay.” I laugh softly. The brunette girl is stammering and her friends are shy as well. I take a picture with the girls and they thank me.
“Thank you so much. You’re really kind and for the record, I like Miall.” The brunette girl's cheeks blushes red.
“Miall?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. I am utterly surprised by the sound of that. What the hell is Miall?
“Yes! We definitely ship Miall.” The girls from the back squeals. While the girls fan-girl over whatever Miall is, Liz is being silent and still. I turn to her. I share to her a “what-the-hell-are-they-talking-about” look but, she avoids my stare. I gaze back to the girls and flash a small grin at them.
“Thank you for the picture too. It was nice meeting you all.” And they all walk away, prancing their way away from us.
I shift my body, facing Liz with my hands crossing in front of my chest. “Ehem.” I clear my throat.
“What?” Liz flinches abruptly while holding her hands up.
“Do you, by any means, know something about what just happened?” I give her an outfaced look.
“No,” Her voice cracks. “Shit,” Liz mumble under her breath as she presses her eyelids together. A devious grin forms on my face. I tilt my head to one side as I glare at her.
“Well,” I hold my hands up, palms facing the ceiling.
“Fine,” She gives up. Liz rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. “I found it out this morning. It’s all over the internet and newsstands. I though you knew.” She explains defensively.
“Find out what?” I ask in confusion. I really don’t have a freaking idea what she’s talking about and I demand to know.
“Can we eat first? I’m hungry.” Liz pouts.
“No,” I reprimand. “Not until you tell me.”
“Oh c’mon. I’ll tell you when we’re eating. I’m going to die.” She grunts, stomping her foot.
“Fine.” I roll my eyes and we both make our way to Burger King. I settle myself at the corner of the store while Liz orders our food. I take my phone out from my bag and scroll over some messages when I see a ginger haired girl approaching my table. I think she is 16. I think.
“Hi! You're Maggie, right? Can I take a picture with you?” She asks politely. Liz suddenly arrives holding a tray of food and stands beside me. She mouths the words “I’m sorry” then puts the tray down on the table.
“Um... I guess so.” I reply timidly. Apparently, I was better off taking the pictures rather than be on them. But I really can’t say no to her, can I? Because that would be extremely rude. I don’t want to leave a bad impression of myself to her even though I’m still confused with all the things happening right now. Although, I have a slight idea of what’s going on, I still need that confirmation from Liz who is sitting awkwardly in front of me while the girl smiles for a picture with me.
“Thank you so much for the picture. You’re really nice.” She smiles at me and I did the same.
Finally! Someone who called me nice! Take that Lou! Not bad for a person who has zero percent of socializing skills, eh? I can still remember the first day I was here and god, how I used to hate the idea of staying in the land of British showers.
I snap back to my senses. I thank the red-haired girl and she leaves. I, then, shift my jolly face into something serious, contemplating Liz.
“I want to know, now.” I reproach.
Liz bends over to the side scavenging through her bag. She takes out her iPad and hands it over to me. “Go check it out for yourself.” She says. I grab the iPad from her hands. I know she knows I have some sort of idea of what’s going on. I am hesitant to type in the words but, I really need to know. I press the letters on the screen to type in the words.
Niall Horan and Maggie Carson.
The list of my name attached to Niall's is never ending. I am not surprised by what lies in front of me. It is all over the internet.
Niall Horan with a mystery girl?
One Direction’s Niall Horan Not Single Anymore?
Niall Horan seen with a girl named Maggie Carson
Niall Horan... Maggie Carson... One Direction... Mystery Girl...
I heave a deep sigh, slowly taking everything in, still cannot fully grasp the thought.
“God, they’re fast.” I mumble under my breath.
“I guess people think you and Niall are dating now.” Liz comments, popping a piece of fries in her mouth.
"Yeah, thanks or stating the obvious." I say sarcastically. I open one of the articles online and read through. To be honest, I don’t blame the paparazzi because they’re just doing their job. If there is anyone to blame, it’s probably me because I wasn’t careful enough with my actions. I know for a fact that I am hanging out with Niall Horan and for sure, people must have known him and paps are everywhere which explains the pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words. I can't deny things with living proofs.
I lift my head up and stare at Liz. “So, what do you think I should do?”
“I think you should do completely nothing about it. They’re not really harming you in any way. You just lay it off with Niall and eventually, that rumor will just be a passing trend. People ill orget about it eventually. They always do.” She grins.
After munching through our delectable meal, Liz and I decide to go back home. She’s currently staying at Lou’s place with me because she says she wants to be spent every second with me until I go back to San Diego. She is such a good friend.
__________
We arrive home peacefully, and by that, I meant no girls taking pictures with me or asking me if Niall is my boyriend or anything. It’s not that I hate it. I just don’t like the attention given to me. I'm used to alays being under the radar- unnoticed. And plus, I stutter a lot.
As soon as we get home, I help Liz with her shopping bags and help her sort out her clothes.
“Why’d you buy all these stuff anyway? It’s not like you’re going to use them all at once.”
“These are not all mine.” She says smirking, her lips quirked up.
“I don’t get it.” I shake my head as I sat on the floor across her.
“This one’s for you.” She hands out a dress to me.
“What is this for?” I say whilst holding the dress in my hands, speculating it.
“We’re going to a party tonight. It’s actually your party and-”
“Wait," I cut her off. "My party?” My eyes widen in surprise.
“Yeah. It’s sort of a farewell party. I thought of that yesterday and got some help with the boys.” Liz continues to talk as she brings out more clothes from the bags.
“Wow. Thank you?" I pause, licking my lips. "Although I really don’t see the point in this. I’m not really into parties, you know.”
“Don’t worry. It’s just going to be me, and the boys and some crew and all the people you know. We didn’t invited people you haven’t seen before.” Liz feels so relaxed. I envy her so much she seems optimistic in everything while I’m the opposite of her.
“That’s fine, I guess.” I mutter. I stand up from the carpeted floor. “I’ll just go to my room.” I pronounce, making my way to my room and plopping myself onto the bed. Oh how I love the feeling of warm sheets. I just lie down on my bed starring at the ceiling, ith my hands crossed below my head. I decide to check my twitter. Something must have gone wrong for sure. Especially now that people think I and Niall are dating.
I slide my phone's screen open and log in to my twitter account. My eyes widene at the sight of my twitter page.
450,898 Followers.
“Wow. They’re really fast.” I mumble to myself.
People keep on mentioning me, following me and my name even trended. That’s cool in a way but, I’m still not okay with this because it’s all a freaking lie.
I clicke through the trending topic: Niall and Maggie and #Miall. That’s what the girl in the mall mentioned a while ago.
Out o curiousity, I decide to read some tweets about it.
@LarryStylinsonIsReal: To all of you haters, you should be happy with whoever Niall is dating. He deserves to be happy. This is her princess so STFU. #sorrynotsorry #Miall
@itsgottabelou: I’m a #Miall shipper. I DON’T FUCKING CARE WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO SAY. Hater’s gonna hate. Potatoes gonna potate. :P
@1DCentral_: Here’s a pic of Maggie and some fans over London today. She seemed nice and pretty. Okay have to cry now. #Miall
@DayDreaminNarry: I’m not a #Miall shipper but I do respect Niall for his decision. Stop hating you niggas.
@retroniall: I’m sorry but I don’t like Niall and Maggie together. She’s probably a famewhore. #sorrynotsorry
@niallwhoran: Niall and Maggie, #Miall is trending. I just can’t take it all. :’(
And the list goes on. There are a lot of mentions on my page and people tweeting me about Niall and the haters and stuff but clearly, I really don’t care about it all and I just want everything to end. I don't want to get caught up in this mess.
@MaggieCarson: It’s really sweet of you for tweeting those things about me and Niall but really, I’m saying this firsthand. We’re not dating. We’re just really good friends. I hope you’ll understand that. Xx
And the mentions flood over my twitter that caused my phone to crash. Like the moment I tweeted about it, 400 mentions we’re already swooping my page. How do they type fast like that? I admire them for their dedication. It's really crazy.
@oyhoran: @MaggieCarson awwww. :’( I though you two look so good together. This is just sad.
@twerkin_Nouis: @MaggieCarson tweeted about them being just friends. CELEBRATE BISHES! Niall’s single!
@niallshowercapss: @MaggieCarson I still ship you though. #Miall :)
@MrsTaylahStyles: @MaggieCarson hiiii! Can I have a follow from you?
As I am reading through the long list of mentions and tweets, Liz pops in her head on the door.
“Hey, need to get up from there. People are waiting for you." She throws a pair of espadrilles on my bed. "You have a party remember?”
“Yeah, I'm on it.” I shut my phone off and get ready. I put my hair into a tie-back braid and put on some powder- a little blush on and a tiny touch of lipstick. I wear the printed chiffon dress Liz bought me and slip on the espadrilles flats that she threw on the bed. I sigh at my reflection in the mirror and collect my hair to one side.
As far as the day goes, I’m just going to enjoy every moment of my time left because I’ll be leaving tomorrow which is a sad thing. This is my last chance to hang out with them. I better make the moment last and get out of my comfort zone for once.