Niall
Niall had had two days to spend wondering why he'd given someone who was practically a stranger his phone number. Two days that he'd spent half hoping for the phone to call and half begging it not to. Niall had spent two days making sure Chloe never caught onto the one sided staring contest he was having with the five year old Nokia, glaring at the phone whilst he was working and trying to put it out of his mind when Chloe wanted to curl up on the sofa and watch a film on their new TV.
So when his phone rang, half way through his weekly struggle to persuade Chloe that Sunday evening's were not just for TV and that her remaining spellings and school work needed doing also, Niall had to force himself to hit the answer button, making sure Chloe was out of earshot before he picked up the phone, remaining silent for most of the call, finding himself arranging to meet for coffee the next day before he'd realised what he was actually agreeing to.
The following morning, after calling his boss and managing to arrange to use one of his rare holiday days, Niall went through his and Chloe's typical morning routine on autopilot, ignoring Chloe's questions as to why he wasn't going to work and instead allowing her to have chocolate spread on her toast as a treat before the two of them left earlier than they normally would, Chloe using the extra time to explain to Niall why Pokémon cards were no longer cool at school whilst Niall tried to figure out which bus he'd have take to get into the centre of London in time to meet Liam.
Tugging on Niall's hand as they waited for the bus, Chloe had grown tired of Niall's occasion hums in response to her, her slight frown turning into a full on pout as she continued to get only half-responses. "Daddy. You're not listening."
"I am, Chloe. You were saying that Pokémon's no longer cool because Stacy tore up Alex's cards and he cried." Noticing the state of Chloe's hair as he looked down at her, Niall shook his head, sighing as he pulled the spare hair bobble he kept from his jeans pocket and began to tie her hair up, Chloe wincing as Niall pulled slightly too hard, prompting him to apologise in an attempt to stop her from pouting.
Not waiting for Niall to pay for her ticket, Chloe ran onto the bus as soon as it pulled up, running up to the upper level of the bus and jumping onto the seats at the front, ignoring the disapproving look on Niall's face once he caught up to her, handing over her school bag as he dropped onto the seat next to her. "Chlo. How many times? You cannot run off. We've been through this before."
"Sorry." Shrugging as she said it, the seven year old caught sight of the frown on Niall's face and slumped back into her seat, pulling her bag onto the seat next to her before giving Niall one of her most angelic smiles, his quiet sigh and the small smile prompting her to straighten up, believing she was off the hook. Waiting for Niall to as the bus pulled into their stop, Chloe slipped her hand into his as they made to cross the road, both of them ignoring the people running across whenever there was a brief gap in traffic and waiting for the traffic lights, Chloe tugging her hand out of Niall's as they reached the playground.
Following Chloe into her classroom, Niall waited for her to join the few of her classmates who were already seated at various desks before he hung her school bag up on her peg in the cloakroom along with her coat, turning to leave only to come face to face with the greying battle-axe who seemed to watch out for him specifically, Niall receiving a pleased nod at their punctuality in place of the usual glare he associated with his daughter's teacher. After making forced conversation with the parents of a couple of children in Chloe's class and making plans to help contribute to the children's school halloween party, Niall headed back to the bus stop as he usually would, skipping the bus he usually caught for one further into the centre of London, checking his phone every now and then to check that he wasn't late.
Finally arriving at some out of the way back street, three bus rides and a fifteen minute walk later, Niall had to glance around to check that he was in the right place, having not expected Liam to suggest such an out of the way place to meet, hesitating outside the door of the cafe for a moment before easing the door open, having been inside for less than five seconds before he was met by Liam.
"Were you watching for me?" Raising an eyebrow, Niall gave Liam an awkward smile as his question went unanswered, one look at Liam's face in the reflection of the window telling Niall that he had, the unchanged openness of Liam's body language reassuring Niall slightly as he settled into the seat opposite Liam's. Taking a second to try and remember what he'd wanted to say before he shrugged, his and Liam's smiles becoming more awkward by the second. "So..."
"So..." Mirroring Niall, Liam ran a hand through his hair before he glanced over at Niall, his smile becoming less awkward and more shy as he stared at him. "Hi..."
"Hi... Are you going to explain why you felt the need to invite me out for coffee, or am I meant to figure out why you wanted to get in touch with someone you hadn't seen for God knows how long?" Cringing as soon as the words left his mouth, Niall realised how rude that sounded and tried not kick himself, his own smile becoming more apologetic as he tried to figure out what to say. "That... I didn't mean for it sound like that. Sorry."
Watching as Liam struggled to put a sentence together, Niall was reminded of exactly how long it had been since they'd properly seen each other, the confused look on Liam's face exactly like the one Chloe would pull when she struggled on a spelling, the mere thought of his... their daughter, making Niall look away from Liam and down at the table. Focusing on the table cloth, Niall shook his head slightly. "Sorry. What you said when I ran into you... the second time... It's good to see you too, really. It's just a bit weird. Out of the blue and all."
"Yeah, I know." Still fumbling to string a coherent thought together, Liam drummed his finger against the table, waiting for Niall to look up again, the physical difference seven years had made to the sixteen, seventeen year old he'd known taking his breath away for a moment. "It's a good question though. Call it curiosity."
His answer coming nowhere near to the actual truth, Liam couldn't take his eyes off Niall, Niall's slight frown prompting him to elaborate. "I realised who you were after you ran into me the first time. I would've recognised your accent anywhere. What can I say? You made me curious."
Half snorting in disbelief and half smiling, Niall muttered something that might've been 'Bullshit' but Liam didn't quite catch, nodding as he met Liam's gaze. "Curiosity. And my accent? I'm not the only Irish person to have moved to England, you know. But you were so curious and you just had to hope that I would run into you again? Right."
"Well... Kind of. Not. I ran into you and I was curious. Really curious, if I'm honest. And the coffee thing and asking for your number just kind of happened." Omitting more of the facts, Liam and Niall fell into silence as a waitress finally approached, taking their orders before leaving the two of them, the silence hanging over the two of them until Niall spoke, leaving the previous conversation unfinished as he switched topics. "I've heard your latest single. From the album you released after that break thing you guys went on. It's good. Really good."
"Oh, right... Album number six. Thanks." Both of them pretending that Niall hadn't used to be the one to tell Liam he was more than good on a daily basis, they fell back into an awkward silence, Liam thanking the actress as she set their respective drinks down, Niall waiting for her to be out of earshot before he dared to ask, "What's it like? Being Liam Payne? Doing the musician thing? Everything you wanted?"
Niall's question's sounding more sincere than any he'd been asked before, Liam gave him a small shrug before smiling half heartedly. "Most times, it is, it's great. But it's hectic. And lonely at times. Wouldn't change it for anything, though."
Taking a sip of his drink, Niall let his smile slip for a second, Liam's answers to the questions he'd wondered about for a long time not quite what he thought he'd want to hear, swallowing down the question he'd always thought about asking, ever since he hadn't told Liam the single biggest news he'd ever received in his life, Niall pasted the smile back onto his face, pushing the four little words - 'Was it worth it?' - out of his thoughts as Liam asked about him.
"I'm not where I thought I'd be. Never really thought I'd be where I am, but it's great." Shrugging slightly, Niall felt a stab of guilt as he omitted the single biggest part of his life, Liam's questioning look prompting him to add, "I work at a music store in Brixton. It's not where sixteen year old me thought I'd end up but you know... We don't all get to be you."
Niall's smile lightening the atmosphere between the two of them, they continued to chat, talking about some inane things and some not so inane, Niall never once mentioning the daughter he'd raised singlehandedly for the past seven and a half years, Liam never once saying Sophia's name or mentioning the would be fiancé he supposedly had. As the conversation began to die down, Liam swallowed the remainder of his coffee before he asked, "How did you end up living in Brixton, moving from Wolverhampton?"
His smile freezing, Niall kept a tight grip on his nearly empty mug of coffee as he shrugged, nodding slightly as Liam said, "Did you move up here for Uni?"
"Something like that. Never quite got as far as uni, though. After mum moved back to Mullingar to be with Chris, I kicked around with a cousin up in Brixton for a bit before I managed to find a flat of my own. Never left." His smile becoming a lot more forced, Niall looked away from Liam, staring back down at the table as he asked "What were you doing at a gym up in near me, anyway? Surely you go to one of the posh private gyms or something."
"I used to. But it's more private to go someplace smaller. Less chance of a fan following me around or taking photos after I've been to the gym." Running a hand though his hair, Liam leant back in his seat as Niall did the same, the two of them falling back into quiet chitchat for a while before they left, making plans to meet up again maybe later or in a few days, Niall trying to ignore the stupid grin on his face as Liam pulled him in for a brief hug, telling himself it was nothing to do with Liam as he turned to leave, making his way back to the bus stop.
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So... Finally an update. Sorry this took so long guys... Hopefully the next update will take me less time now that I'm more or less done with exams.
I think this is one of the longest chapters I've ever written, to be honest, but I couldn't find a suitable place to end any sooner.
Niall and Liam finally met up and talked, properly, with both of them keeping secrets.
I'd love to see what you guys think of the chapter....