*Alyssa's POV*
I lined my lips with a fresh coat of my favorite red lipstick and then smacked them a few times. I had pinned my hair back, then tied it on top of my head, then let it fall free. I did this pattern a few times, then expertly lined my eyes again with black lines.
I had been in the bathroom for well over five minutes just fixing my makeup or my hair or checking social media; basically just doing what it took to not have to leave my temporary shelter. The whole time I was hiding in there, I kept thinking about what Niall had said. Did he not hear me earlier that day when I told him we should probably not see each other again? Or was he just being stubborn and trying to make my life hell? He was basically doing what he did the first time I met him.
I thought back to the beginning of the modeling tour when we were (coincidentally) in LA. I thought back to how he would just follow me around like a damn lost puppy even though I told him to leave me alone countless times. At the time, it was because he was instructed to watch over me. This time, I could only think it was because he wanted to start talking to me again. There was no way he was being forced to twice.
After a few more minutes, I shoved my makeup and bobby pins back into my bag and threw it over my shoulder. I knew I had to go back out there sometime and since I gave myself some time to recollect and figure out what my next step for dealing with Niall was, I felt ready. Sorta.
I pushed through the door and nervously looked around, suddenly not feeling comfortable with the emptier restaurant. I was only in there for maybe ten minutes! I think. I didn't really pay it too much attention and just headed back to our table... only to see the booths empty.
The only person there was our waiter who was currently clearing off the table and collecting his tip. "Excuse me." I spoke up as I approached. The Mexican fellow turned around and smiled.
"Yes?"
"Where did the people sitting here go?" I didn't actually expect him to know, but I asked anyways.
"Oh," he turned around and pointed at the door, "they left a few minutes ago. I think they're waiting outside the door for you."
I took a step back and nodded my head. "Thank you." He nodded his head back and returned his attention back to the messy table. Then I realized something. "Sorry, but where's my receipt?" The man once again turned to look at me, this time confused. "I never paid for my meal."
"Oh." He chirped up and gave a small smile. "Your boyfriend got it."
"Boyfriend?"
"The blond guy. He paid for it." With that, I once again lost the young man's attention as he gave me his back to stare at.
Great. Now I look like that free-loader who hides in the bathroom when the check comes. Thanks, Niall.
I was going to kill him.
I spun on my heel and made a b-line for the door. I could see them through the window standing close to the entrance all laughing about something. I burst through the door and caught all of their attention. My eyes locked with Niall's and he slowly pulled the cigarette he was smoking away from his lips. "There ya are!" He chirped.
"You paid for my meal?" Maybe I sounded ungrateful, but I didn't really care. I didn't need Niall doing nice things for me. I just wanted him to leave me alone already and go back to the UK.
I could feel Holly's and Harry's eyes on me, but I ignored it. Niall just chucked his cigarette to the ground and put it out with his foot. "Yeah." He looked up at me once his cigarette was squished. "Is that a problem?"
I crossed my arms. "A little."
"Well I don't really care. It's done." He smirked and I could feel my blood pressure start to rise.
In an instant, I shoved my hand into my purse and grabbed my wallet. "Here." I yanked out a twenty dollar bill and shoved it at his chest. Out of shock, he grabbed it- which is what I was hoping for. "There. Consider the debt repaid."
"Debt?" He furrowed his brows together and turned the crinkled bill around in his hands. He looked at the money and then back to me. "There was no debt. I did it because I thought it'd be a nice thing to do, Alyssa."
My heartbeat quicken when my name rolled off of the tip of his tongue like liquid. "Well, consider the nice deed repaid."
"Take your money back. I'm not accepting it." He held his hand out for me with the bill being held flat. It was then that I noticed both Harry and Holly were gone.
I took that as my cue to leave, too. "And I'm not accepting you paying for my meal." I walked around him and he followed me with his outstretched hand. I kept walking towards Holly's parked Chevy Cruze. I could see her sitting in the driver's seat.
"Alyssa." He yelled. Nope. Not turning around. "Alyssa!" Nope. His yells sounded farther away. "ALYSSA!" Damn it.
I spun on my heel to see Niall standing on the other side of the parking lot close to the door. I could only see him in the dark because of an eerie orange light off to the side of him by the building. "What?!"
He stared at me while I stared back at his orange silhouette. After a couple more seconds, I caught the way the small amount of light around us picked up his smirk as he shoved the twenty in his pocket. "I'll see you in a month."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah. We'll see about that, now won't we?" His smile never faltered and his face never contorted at my remark. When I didn't get a reaction or response from him, I gave up and started to turn back for Holly's car. My eyes met Holly's and she smiled small. I returned it and then stopped in my tracks when I heard Niall's late remark.
"I'm not giving up on you, Alyssa." In a flash, I turned around and looked back to him. He was still standing on the complete other side of the empty parking lot, hands in pockets. "I'm not," he confirmed.
I rolled my eyes and took a small step back. "Well, you should, because I've already given up on you."
It was soft, but I heard him stifle a laugh in response. "No you haven't. You may think you have, princess, but you're far from being over me."
His words angered me. I clenched and unclenched my fists at my sides a few times and took a few strides closer to him. "How are you going to tell me how I feel?!" I could still faintly see his smirk dancing across his flawless face. "You may think I'm still interested in giving you my time, but-"
"I know you haven't fully given up on me yet," he smoothly and calmly cut me off, "because if you were, you wouldn't be here right now- fighting with me. It's just like old times, baby."
My lips tightened at the name he gave me as I forced myself to take a deep breath through my nose. These pet names were getting to me. I opened and closed my mouth a few times as words struggled to fill my brain and come out of my mouth. Nothing I could think of to say would compare to what he just told me. Deep down, I knew he was right, but I didn't want him to be. I wanted to be done with him because I was so frustrated, but was I going to be? We all knew the answer was no, no matter how much I told myself and others otherwise.
I wasn't sure if I should yell at him for calling me baby or go into "building a wall mode" (as Holly liked to say) and tell him he didn't know shit about me or how I felt. After a couple seconds too many, I made my choice. Instead of choosing, I said nothing. The civil war going on in my mind over what to say to him got so bad that I just walked back to the car and got in without a word.
"You good?" Holly asked. Her eyes widened at the way I slammed the door closed after me. I could see her staring at me out of the corner of my eye as I was staring dead ahead at the rest of the empty parking lot.
"I'm fine."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Okay."
I sighed in relief that Holly let it drop and didn't pressure an explanation out of me. That was one of the biggest reasons I loved her. She was the most understanding person I knew.
I usually ended up confessing to her anyways, though. Just like I did about ten minutes later as Holly got off a highway. "So don't you think it's important to respect someone's wishes?" I asked about ten minutes later.
I looked away from the red light we were sitting at and to my left. Holly was already staring at me with a confused look. "What?"
"I mean, when you tell somebody that you want something- like say... space for example- do you think it's important that that somebody listens to your request?" The light turned green and Holly looked back to the road. She didn't reply immediately and just silently watch the road in front of her.
After a minute, she sighed and shrugged. "I mean, maybe. It just depends on whether or not the person said they wanted space out of emotion or if they whole-heartedly meant it."
"What if they whole-heartedly meant it?"
"Then they might be saying they whole-heartedly meant it out of emotion." She shrugged again and I was starting to feel annoyance. She knew what she was doing.
I glared at her even though she wasn't looking at me. I wasn't appreciating her reverse-psychology one bit. "But what if they're not?"
She shrugged again, not so much as giving me a sideways glance. "Then if they really mean it, they should be able to take care of the problem. Right?" I didn't respond. "Think about it. If someone said to somebody that they should have space, but that somebody didn't listen to that someone who was being 110% serious, then that someone should be serious enough to end the issue for good." It took me a minute, but I was able to follow. "Because if that someone was really serious about the issue, he or she would do whatever it took to fix it. Right?"
I replayed what she said in my head a few times until I figured out what she meant. "So, you're saying that I should put a restraining order on Niall?"
"What?!" She looked over at me completely baffled. "No! That's not what I'm saying at all!"
"But you just said-"
"Who made this about you and Niall, anyways? I thought we were talking about Someone and Somebody?" Oh please. She knew who I was really talking about the whole time.
My head was spinning by all of the things she was saying. I think she was purposefully trying to make me psychologically confused and mess with my brain. "We are! Only I'm someone and Niall's somebody!" This conversation was getting harder and harder to follow, which is what I think Holly was aiming for.
"Oh, that's ridiculous! You can't be Someone!" She laughed and waved me off. "Weren't you listening? I said Someone had to be serious in order to completely eliminate Somebody from his or her life."
This was probably the most unpleasant talk I had ever shared with her. "But I am serious!"
"Yeah, I bet so." She laughed at my words and I could feel myself becoming more aggravated. "We can all clearly see that, too." She glanced over to me with a smile and then pout her lips out when she saw my facial expression. "Oh, don't be mad at me, Ally." She laughed again, this time with less sarcasm and less mockery, and put her hand on my arm. "You know I love you. I just have to give you a good tease. You'll thank me later for it."
"Will I?" I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out my window. I felt like a teenager who was giving their parent an attitude after being told I couldn't get something, when in reality, I was an adult who couldn't get anyone to take me seriously.
Okay mostly a filler. I'll try to get the next one to actually be good (:
Stay sexy.