Niall stared at the apartment door in front of him. When he had gotten out of his shower earlier, he had found out that he had a new message from Melissa after finding Harry staring at Niall's phone angrily. Niall couldn't help but kiss Harry's cheek and making sure to tell him that he found Harry's jealousy cute.
"I'm not jealous! Just go already!" Harry had turned away, embarrassed.
Niall managed to cheer him up a little before he left. Honestly, Harry had nothing to worry about.
Yet here was Niall, worrying what would happened once he was on the other side of the door in front of him. He had no choice but to find out.
Niall briefly knocked on Melissa's door before waiting a few moments until it opened up. Melissa told him to come in after peeking through the door's crack to see if it was really him. She seemed ready to go, having already been dressed and her luggage sitting by the door.
"We are already a bit late so if you want to make it in time we should get going right now," Niall mentioned.
"Yeah. . ." Melissa closed the door slowly. Her face seemed grim and there was obviously something bothering her. Niall knew her decent enough to know that it was something serious.
"What's wrong?" Niall asked.
"My flight doesn't leave for another 45 minutes," She looked at Niall with a sorry expression. "I just said it was leaving so soon so you would come immediately. I really need to talk to you before I leave."
"Alright," Niall answered in an unsure voice.
Melissa motioned for Niall to sit down in the living room. Niall did what he was asked to do. He sat on one of the couches, leaving enough space between them. Melissa sat at a good distance away from Niall to show that she had somewhat good intentions.
"I'm leaving for LA earlier than we had planned. I know that we aren't going to LA together for the modeling situation so I decided to change the plans for myself only so you won't have to be bothered with the work."
"Oh," Niall said when there was a pause
"But then I thought that it was you who helped me get this opportunity so it would only be fair if you would like to still give it to me or cancel it," Melissa lowered her head, her eyes still on Niall. "I wouldn't blame you if you decided to cancel it."
Niall nodded, followed by a frowned. He needed time to process what Melissa had just said. He took a few minutes to think about it. Although, there was nothing to really think about since Niall had already made his decision from the start. He wasn't going to be a jerk now.
"It's your opportunity now Melissa. You can go ahead and do it, I won't mind it, I promise," Niall shrugged and smiled. "It's not like I'm going to do it instead. I can't model, that's Louis' thing."
Melissa cracked a smile before hugging Niall tightly.
Niall was caught off guard, surprised by the gesture. He awkwardly embraced her back, showing and feeling nothing romantic between them. This was simply an act of acquaintances.
"Oh, sorry," Melissa quickly pulled away and brushed the few hair strands falling forward in front of her face away. "I didn't mean to do that. I just got so excited and happy."
"It's okay," Niall nodded again.
"Oh! I almost forgot," Melissa got up and left the room. She came back with a nice, light blue envelope. Melissa looked it over as if to check for any flaws before giving it to Niall. "That's for Louis. It's just me apologizing to him for being really rude and kind of a brat. I wanted to thank him personally too for mentoring me but I doubt he wants to see me."
"Right," Niall got up and received the envelope. "I'll make sure to give it to him."
"Thanks," Melissa nodded her head. She checked her phone for a moment. "Well, I guess right now is a good time to head to the airport."
"Sure, I'll help you with your bags."
-x-
The airport was a bit crowded but that was okay. Niall didn't need to go any farther in than he already was. It was a bit awkward at first. Melissa was just looking around and Niall didn't know what to say. There was a bit of tension.
"I guess I should get going now," Melissa was the first to speak.
"Yeah. Good luck on the whole modeling thing. I hope it works out," Niall rubbed the back of his neck. For some reason he couldn't think of anything else to say. To think of all that time they spent together, pretending to love each other, would give them something to say.
"Thanks. I hope you and Harry stay happy together. You take care of him, alright? He really, really loves you. Don't go breaking his heart," Melissa said with a small smile.
Niall smiled and looked at the ground. The thought of Harry always made him smile. "I will. I will take care of him. He's someone I can really see myself with. I just hope he wants to stay with me. I know my parents won't take our relationship easily so we'll see how that turns out."
Melissa looked at Niall with a concerned look, whispering your parents under her breath.
"Right. Well. . . I'm gonna go now. Goodbye, Niall," Melissa took a better grip of her bags and nodded at Niall.
"Goodbye, Melissa."
She started walking away, not daring to look back once. Niall watched her go. He felt a bit sad. Even though Melissa wasn't the best person he's known, they still had a few moments where they connected in the friendliest way. Those moments were buried in the past until now, they were starting to resurface.
Niall always knew there was another side to Melissa but it was just shoved deep into the corners of her other persona.
Niall saw Melissa roll her eyes at someone from the distance after she gotten through security. He gave a small smile. Melissa does want to change but changing will take some time. A person can't fully change over night.
Once she was lost in the crowd, Niall turned around and walked away.
He was excited to go back to his apartment, where Harry was waiting for his return.
-x-
"Happy Birthday to you!" Louis, Liam, Zayn, Lacey, Troy and Niall sang in unison. They were all crowded around the kitchen table of Harry and Liam's apartment. Harry was the only one sitting in a chair and directly facing the beautifully, decorated birthday cake Niall had specially ordered.
"Blow the candles already I want some cake," Louis demanded.
Harry grinned and blew the candles. There were some camera flashes in the dark before Liam turned the lights back on. Niall gave Harry a kiss on the cheek before handing the birthday man a knife to cut the cake.
"Oh yes," Louis moaned, watching Harry cut the first slice.
"Shut up, Louis," Harry laughed.
"I call second slice," Zayn announced.
"Hey!" Louis frowned.
"There's enough cake for at least a week Louis. You'll live," Liam playfully shoved Louis.
"Here," Harry said, picking a piece of cake with his fork and moving it in front of Niall's mouth. Niall opened his mouth and ate the piece of cake, smiling at Harry.
"Harry Birthday, you're old," Niall grinned, leaning to give Harry a kiss on the lips.
"Not as old as you," Harry argued back with a smirk.
"In my defense, Louis is older."
"I can hear you," Louis' voice came from the living room.
Liam, Lacey, Troy, and Zayn got their slices of cake before going into the living room, leaving Niall and Harry in the kitchen.
"I'm glad you're here celebrating my birthday with me," Harry said, leaning his body against Niall, the cake placed on the counter. "I know I said I didn't want a big party but I think this small birthday party is my favorite from all of the birthday parties I've had."
"And you call me cheesy," Niall remarked jokingly.
"Shut up," Harry's words were muffled by Niall's neck.
"Hey lovebirds, there is another surprise for Harry in the living room. You should probably check it out," Zayn popped in into the kitchen. Harry quickly followed Zayn out to the living room with Niall closely behind.
"Surprise!" Liam said.
On the TV screen, Skype was set up and Harry could see his mother and sister waving at the camera. Harry smiled widely, walking - almost running to the couch and waving back at his mum and sister.
"Happy Birthday sweetheart!" Anne smiled, blowing Harry a kiss. "You might be getting old but you're still my baby boy."
"Hi mum," Harry grinned. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. Just missing you is all. You need to come visit again soon."
"I miss your annoying presence too, sometimes," Gemma added.
"I will as soon as possible. . ." Harry trailed off, lost in thought for a moment until he became alerted. "Oh! Mum, Gemma, I don't think I've introduced you yet. . ."
"Oh my god," Lacey quietly said in the backward, holding onto Troy tightly, knowing what was going to happen next.
Harry got up and grabbed Niall's hand. He gently squeezed it to reassure Niall, noticing how nervous he looked. His body movements were stiffed and it was painfully obvious how nervous he was.
"Oh my," Anne's eyes widened. Gemma was smiling brightly in the background, moving her upper body from one side to the other in a dance type of way.
"This is Niall," Harry blushed, suddenly feeling nervous himself. He didn't know why. He knew his mum would adore Niall. "He's my boyfriend."
"Hello," Anne warmly smiled, waving at her son's boyfriend.
"Hi Mrs. Styles," Niall waved, his cheeks a light red.
Harry stopped and whispered something to Niall. Niall pulled away and frowned at him. "Why didn't you tell me that before? I didn't know it was Mrs. Twist."
"Harry!" Anne suddenly said. "Don't make him more nervous than he already is. Oh god, Anne is fine, dear. You can call me Anne."
"Already on a first name bases with the mother-in-law. You go Niall!" Louis said loudly before Liam quickly told him to shut up.
Niall quickly turned around and blushed even redder, giving Louis a death stare. Anne and Gemma laughed, wondering who was that. They spent the rest of their time introducing Harry's friends to Anne and Gemma before they started sharing stories and laughing together.
Soon it was too late in the night and they said goodbye to Anne and Gemma. They started cleaning up before saying goodbye to Lacey and Troy.
As Niall and Harry got ready for bed, Niall wondered something.
"Do you think your mum liked me?"
"Are you kidding me? She absolutely loves you, possibly more than me already. I could easily tell," Harry reassured him, slipping beneath the sheets.
"Yeah. . . she seems wonderful."
The way Niall said it, it was suppose to be taken as a compliment but Harry could tell there was some sadness behind it.
Niall still hasn't gotten in contact with his parents.
"Well. . . I'm tired," Harry made himself comfortable, closing his eyes and breaking the silence. There was no response. Instead, the lights were turned off and Harry just assumed Niall was going straight to bed too. But he was wrong, very wrong.
"Well I hope you aren't too tired," Harry felt Niall's warmth a bit too close than the usual.
"Another birthday gift, I assume?" Harry felt Niall's lips against his as he wrapped his arms around Niall's neck. The darkness around them made it more intimate. It was more exciting that way.
"Sure, let's call it that," Niall breathed against Harry's neck.
~
1 CHAPTER L E F T.
I might cry.
-Skyxo