CHAPTER 6
NIALL'S POV
I closed Esther's door and shook my head as Louis was talking.
"Wow." He said. "That was weird. I didn't mean to make her cry." He finished frowning slightly. I was kind of mad at Louis. I wouldn't really say mad more like aggravated. On the bright side I was going to see Esther again. I was planning on working something out to where we would see each other again, but since she asked if there would be a later it just made it all simpler. I really wanted to see her again I just didn't know how to bring it up.
When we got back to the apartment the dogs were very happy to see us. We all sat down on the couches and put in a movie. About halfway through I decided I was going to go to bed.
"Hey guys. I'm super jet lag. I'm going to go to bed." And with that I stood up. Grabbed my suitcases and went to my room. It was very bare. I grabbed the poster I had brought of my favorite football team. And I pulled out a few pictures of my family and set them on the nightstand. I missed them already. It has only been two days and I already miss them. I am such a baby. I was going to fly them out here some part of this vacation though. I threw the blankets and pillows onto my bed and snuggled up into them. Within minutes I fell asleep.
**
I woke up the next morning at 8:30 AM. I never wake up this early if I don't have to. Stupid time change. I got out of bed changed into jeans, a red hoodie and my white Supras, and went out into the main area of the apartment. No one else was awake so I decided to walk around Bloomington a little.
It was a beautiful day and no one was going to recognize me. I smiled at this thought. It was so relaxing to just be able to walk outside and not get mobbed by fans. Don't get me wrong, I love the fans, they are the only reason we are where we are today, but they can get really crazy. I walked down the street not really knowing where I was going until I saw the familiar sign for Esther's bakery. Nothing like cupcakes for breakfast.
I walked in, but it wasn't Esther behind the counter. It was a tall lean girl with hazel eyes, ivory skin, and dark curly hair. She was beautiful but didn't have the same effect as Esther did. She looked up from her phone and froze. I could see her eyes widening. She knew who I was. Shit.
"Oh. My. Freaking. Gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're Niall Horan from One Direction!!!!!! I love your band so so so so so so so so so so much!!!!!!" she screamed, jumping up and down slightly. At least she didn't faint. I smiled as I thought this.
"Yup. I'm Niall. Please don't post anything anywhere that says we are here." I said, getting a little concerned.
"Oh I wouldn't do that if you didn't want me to." She said with a smile, she had perfect teeth. "Well, I'm not doing my job. What can I get you?" she giggled slightly as she said this.
"Ummm. I'll take eight Red Velvet, four Oreo, four chocolate, and four white cupcakes please." I said looking at all of the cupcakes on the clear shelves. They all looked delicious. I would give some cupcakes to the boys... maybe. She raised her eyebrows at my order but started to collect all of the cupcakes. "Is Esther here today?" I asked, the curiosity getting the better of me. Again she raised her eyebrows but her eyes widened again.
"How do you know Esther?" she asked in disbelief.
"Ummm. Yesterday me and the boys came in here and she fainted. We took her home to make sure she was ok." I said, realizing how awkward it sounded after I said it.
"She didn't tell me that!!! You think you would tell your best friend if you met the best band in the world!!!" she said obviously agitated with Esther.
"Do you know where she is?" I asked, getting slightly worried, I don't know why though.
"She called me and told me she wasn't going to be coming in today so I was going to be alone." She said, still packing up my cupcakes. She finally packed up the last one and rang it up on the cash register. I gave her a fifty dollar bill and she started to gather the change.
"No. I don't want the change." I said with a smile.
"but that's like a lot of money!" she said holding out the change to me. I shook my head no as she said, "Gee, Thanks!" she put it in the cash register. I took the box of cupcakes smiled at her one more time and then walked out. I was going to go check on Esther. I wanted to make sure we didn't kill her or something.
I walked to Esther's apartment, climbed the five flights of stairs and came up to her door. Should I be doing this? Oh who cares... I thought to myself. I knocked on the door three times and I heard someone faintly call out.
"Who is it?" she said. It was muffled but I knew it was Esther.
"Guess who?" I called back, making my Irish accent stand out so she could guess who it was. Just then the door flew open to reveal a very sleepy looking Esther. I smiled at her anyways.
"Niall? What are you doing here?" she asked yawning halfway through the sentence.
"I wanted to make sure we didn't kill you." I laughed. "I went to the bakery this morning and you weren't there so I got a little worried."
"I see you went to the bakery." She laughed as she pointed to the box I was holding. "What did you get?" she asked moving out of the door way so I could walk in.
"Cupcakes!" I said excitedly to which she giggled.
"Well I'm alive!" she said moving her arms outward and gesturing to herself. "I just didn't feel like going in today because I wanted to sleep in." she smiled.
"Well your friend was very upset that you didn't tell her that you met me and the boys yesterday." I said cocking my eyebrows at her.
"Well I was asleep from when you guys left yesterday to when you knocked on my door a couple of minutes ago." She laughed. By this time Phil had noticed that I was here so he ran up to me and I crouched down to his level. As I was scratching his ears he was licking my face. Esther was giggling the whole time. "I think he likes you." She said as she sat down next to me and started to stroke his soft fur. "What are you boys doing today?" she asked looking up from Phil and staring at me.
"Nothing. They were all asleep when I left this morning. I barely ever get up early. This time change is messing me up. I was just walking around when I saw your bakery and decided I wanted a cupcake. But when I walked in your co-worker kind of freaked out. She didn't faint though" I winked and she blushed "Then I thought I should probably check on you to make sure you weren't dead." I smiled and laughed.
"Oh my gosh, I love your laugh!" she giggled adorably.
"Yeah, I've heard that before." I grinned, yet again. "What are you doing today?" I asked. I could ask that right? I mean she asked me? Oh, who cares, I already asked.
"I was just planning to have a Disney marathon with Phil, Babbs and Chunk, but they are usually more fun if you have a human being to enjoy it with." She said looking up at me under her long eyelashes. Was she suggesting that I stay with her and watch movies all day?! Holy crap. Act cool Niall, act cool. "But I have seen all the Disney movies at least fifty times each, so I think I should do something different. I just don't know what." She said. Dang it. looks like there is not going to be a movie day on the couch with Esther.
"You could always come over to our flat?" I suggested, raising my eyebrows, seeing how she would react. "They aren't doing anything all day and neither am I." I elaborated.
"Sure. That sounds fun." She smiled right at me. Her bright eyes locked with mine and I smiled right back. Her smile was contagious. "But I'm going to eat breakfast first." And with that she stood up from our spot on the floor with Phil and walked away from me.
I stood up and followed her, still carrying my cupcakes. Her kitchen was very professional looking. It had white, shiny cabinets, black granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and aqua accents, like plates and flower pots. After I finished my inspection I noticed she had gotten some Cocoa Puffs out of the cupboard and was now pouring them into a bowl.
"Breakfast of champions huh?" I quirked one eyebrow as she looked up at me.
"Cocoa Puffs are my favorite! Don't bash on my favorite cereal! There is not a better way to start off your day than with chocolate!" while she was giving her lecture she had poured the milk into the bowl and gotten a spoon. She started to eat as I set the cupcake box on the counter and sat in one of the barstools. "Dishd ou waaau any?" she attempted to ask me with her mouth full.
"Sure why not." I smiled. "I haven't had Cocoa Puffs in so long." I laughed as she got the box, a bowl, a spoon and the milk out for me. She set everything in front of me and returned back to her cereal.
I fixed my cereal the way I like it and got out a red velvet cupcake. Why not? I'm on vacation. She had noticed the cupcake and was giving me a confused look.
"What? I can't have a cupcake and Cocoa Puffs for breakfast?" I joked. Before I started on my cereal, I unwrapped the cupcake and took a bite.
Holy crap.
This is the best cupcake I have ever tasted!
"Oerr Maaah Gaawd!" I yelled, my mouth full of cupcake. She jumped a mile when I screamed but she recovered quickly.
"What?! What is going on?!" she yelled glancing around. I started to laugh but choked on the cupcake. I struggled to swallow, but when I did I explained to her.
"This is the best cupcake I have ever eaten! Did you make this?" I asked her, gesturing to the cupcake in my hand. She nodded shyly. "You could sell these everywhere. You would be a billionaire! I was thinking about sharing these with the boys... but now, I'm not so sure." I complimented her again as she blushed. Why is she blushing? Oh well. It's cute when she blushes. I took another bite of the cupcake as she returned to her cereal.