*Niall's POV*
My foot shook back and forth, but one could only tell because of my white duvet shaking at the end of my full sized bed. My reflection on the phone was biting his nails while looking not nearly as nervous as I felt. My phone continued to ring and ring while I nervously examined my appearance in the camera which I usually did before FaceTiming with Alyssa. Soon enough, her beautiful green eyes and LA tanned skin popped up on my screen and my face diminished into a tiny little rectangle in the bottom right corner of my phone. Just by the sight of her smile, my butterflies flew away, but I wasn't worried about them. I knew they weren't lurking too far and would be back. "Hey, handsome," she greeted which earned her one of my smiles that I knew she loved.
I chuckled and admired Alyssa's perfectly done hair and makeup that she hadn't taken the time to ruin before bed. I, on the other hand, was procrastinating on getting out of bed and getting ready for work. It was the day that my family was coming in for their photo shoot and, not-so-coincidentally, I was putting my two weeks notice into the studio. Alyssa didn't need to know any of that, though- at least, not at that exact moment. She would have to at least find out about my quitting the studio for when I shared the exciting news that I would be moving back out to Los Angeles. I wasn't going to share that news quite yet, though. Instead, I sat up taller in my bed and gave her a wide smile. "Hi. How was your day?"
She shrugged indifferently and laid back against all of her pillows so her camera was looking directly down on her. "Typical. El and I went to work out before I had to be in the studio and Sabrina is still a bitch. Same old, same old." I cracked a sideways smile. "And before you say 'she's not that bad once you get to know her'-" she mocked my deeper voice and accent, "-just know that that only applies if you're Niall Horan and she wants to get to know you back." Although she was laying down, she still found a way to prop her nose up higher in the air and peer down (up?) her nose at me through the camera. She had to be one of the most attractive creations I had ever set eyes on.
"You know, I'm liking this view," I chuckled. Her nose dropped and she looked at me lost. "It's been awhile since I've had the privilege of looking down on you below." I shot her a wink. Now with slightly pink cheeks, Alyssa slowly sat up and opted for leaning against her pillows so her phone now sat out in front of her. "That's cool," I chuckled. "Maybe one of these days we can make this point of view work, too." Alyssa shook her head and pressed her lips together to avoid letting her laughter out, which just in turn made me laugh which made her laugh.
"I hate you so much," Alyssa said through giggles. I laughed some more with her because I knew that was the farthest thing from the truth. When her giggles stopped and she caught her breath, she sat smiling into the camera. "So when are you coming back out? I miss you." Her smile fell. "My bed is extremely lonely and parties aren't the same anymore. El usually goes off to be with Louis and everyone else always seems to have somebody to grind on."
I quirked a playful eyebrow up at her. "So basically you need me to come back so you can join in on the grinding at parties," I said jokingly.
"Exactly!" She played along which made me smile. "Plus Harry sucks at grinding," she laughed but my smile fell which just made her laugh harder. "I'm kidding, Ni." She giggled some more like she was a damn comedian. "Harry's actually really good at grinding."
This time I just rolled my eyes and shook my head, but, damn it, her never-ending laughter at her own jokes put a smile on my face. "You are the most irritating and adorable human being alive- and I'm only saying that because I know damn well you don't grind with Harry." She laughed again as if to claim defeat over the lies she spilt. "But to answer your question, all I'm going to say is it'll be a surprise when I come back." I sent her a wink, but she sent me an eye roll.
"Now what the hell is that suppose to mean?"
"Can't tell you. It's a surprise."
She tossed her brown locks over her shoulder and once more rolled her eyes. She legit reminded me of a teenaged girl- which, I mean I guess she technically was, but I didn't need her sass. "Okay well whenever that is, make it soon, okay?" Then she gave me a pouty face. "I miss you."
"I miss you too, love," I admitted. She had no idea how many days I had come home excited to cuddle her while watching Netflix only to be disappointed that she was an ocean away and Netflix hadn't added anything new or interesting. Right as I checked the time and saw that I didn't have long before I needed to leave for the office, Alyssa gave a giant yawn and rubbed one of her eyes which ended up messing up her eyeliner on that side. I chuckled and shook my head at the girl in front of me that I was so without a doubt head over heels for again. "I should probably get going so I'm not late and you can actually sleep. You look so tired." She nodded her head while her eyes started to droop. I chuckled at her again and blew her kiss which she returned. It was something kind of silly that we started one night and then just decided to keep up with at the end of every FaceTime call.
Less than an hour later, I was pulling into the studio and parking my car. I was finding it hard to believe that two weeks had already flown through and I was now about to not only see my family for the first time since I was sixteen, but I was also about to lose contact with them again as I made plans to move out to LA again as Max made me an offer I didn't have in me to refuse. It involved a pay three times more than what I was making as a photographer and the chance to see the woman of my dreams every single day. I was also planning on asking Alyssa to move in with me somewhere. Between the pay I know she makes and what I would soon be making, I knew we could afford a nice place to call our own. Alyssa didn't need to know any details quite yet, though.
I sighed to myself and grabbed all of my equipment to carry inside with me. I knew it was going to be one of the longest days I had in a while, but I also felt a little bit of nerves. I couldn't tell if I was excited or scared. Hell, it was probably both.
My family was actually my only photo shoot of the day. Business had been extremely slow so all I had been doing was reviewing photos and editing them. It was actually a very timely task, but I enjoyed working alone. It allowed me to gather my thoughts and think about life- think about this giant step I was about to take. I was both anxious and excited for when I returned to America and explained to Alyssa that I was staying for good. Harry and I had already talked and planned out that I would stay with him. He was more than happy to let me stay there until I found my own place. It would give him a chance to see Alyssa a little bit more since she would probably be finding her way over there more often- or, I would go her way a lot in which case it would be like Harry was still living alone.
The morning came and went. Alyssa continued to text me until she finally fell asleep about an hour after I got to work. After that, time seemed to have slowed down to a pace I didn't feel comfortable with. At least when Alyssa was texting me I had something to get excited over that would override my thoughts of seeing my family. I didn't tell Alyssa anything about me seeing my family because I didn't want her to make a big deal about it. I also wasn't about to tell Maura about Alyssa either because then she would want to meet her and that was a step I was definitely not ready to take. It was going to be hard enough to introduce myself to them- much less my female love interest.
When two o'clock strolled around, I was starting to prep myself thinking I had an hour before I would see them. I closed myself up in my office trying to not get myself psyched out on the idea of seeing them. Deep down I knew I was actually excited to see them, but I was also worried I would feel rejected again. I couldn't handle that. After all, even under all the tattoos and behind the "don't-fuck-with-me" attitude and face, I was still a human that relied on a support system and having it be blood would mean more to me than anything else. Sure my friends and Alyssa were great to me, but you can't replace family- even if it felt they could easily replace you.
The clock slowly inched closer to three o'clock and I was starting to actually feel happy and ready. I saw the pain that Alyssa went through when cutting ties with her father- hell, I was there once- and I couldn't even begin to imagine what the lost connection with her mother was like. I knew I had to make things right with my family since I had the chance to. I actually felt disappointed when the clock stroke three on the dot and Natalie hadn't poked her head into my office to let me know that they had arrived. I decided I would give them five more minutes before I would walk out there and check as I didn't want to look like I was anticipating this. Maybe I had torn down walls on the inside, but nobody other than Alyssa needed to see that as the walls falling was her doing.
Five minutes passed and I was starting to feel disappointed, but I decided to give it five more minutes again. However, not even that mattered. Feeling that ten minutes was late enough, I stood up from my desk and decided I would go ask Natalie if she had heard anything. Right as I exited my office and caught sight of Natalie at her front desk hanging up the phone. I immediately felt excitement inside of me at the thought that she had just gotten off the phone with my family.
"Hey, Nat," I greeted. "Any news about my three o'clock?" I leaned against the French door that led back to her desk and let out a smile on my face.
She just gave a soft smile back and shook her head. "I just tried calling them but I got no answer." My smile fell. "I left a message so let's just hope that they respond soon here or else we may have to reschedule." I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. I was starting to wish I wouldn't have prepped myself so hard for this. "It's your family, right? Is there any way you could get a hold of one of them faster?" We stared at each other for a good couple seconds without either one of us saying anything. She, of course, was waiting on an answer from me. But I was instead trying to not lose my cool and find some excuse to tell her.
Lucky for both of us, the phone rang and Natalie turned to pick it up. I suddenly became curious as to who was calling and if it was my family. She picked the phone up and answered. "London Photos, this is Niall Horan's assistant, Natalie. How may I help you?" I leaned forwards over the half door to see the caller ID on the phone dock. It didn't show a name and instead just showed a bunch of numbers I wouldn't recognize if it were my family or not. "Yes!" Natalie said to the person on the other end of the line. My ears perked up. "We are currently hiring interns and taking applications for full-time photographers." My body slumped as it became very obvious Natalie was not talking to my family.
"I'll be in my office," I mumbled to her. She may have not even heard me, but I didn't care. I was beginning to become frustrated and the amount of excitement I had before was slowly morphing into hurt and growing my resentment for my own flesh and blood. It was then that I learned for the second time in my life to not depend on them or get my hopes up. I was always going to be the forgotten one and it was just something I was going to have to get used to.
I waited half an hour after and by then I was tired of waiting and I honestly just wanted to go home. I had already left my letter to the owner of the studio in his mailbox so I was ready to start packing my boxes for America and get far away. I had a new life with the woman of my dreams waiting for me there and nobody would be able to find me. I gathered my things as I daydreamed about life two weeks in the future. When I was in a bad mood like this, I would have someone to go to and more money to blow through. I honestly could not wait.
I hauled my bag full of my expensive equipment over my shoulder and gave a wave to Natalie who was once again on the phone. I was thankful for her because there was no way I wanted to sit around answering phones all day. As I made my way outside and put my sunglasses on, I pushed the glass door open just to have a small human ram right into my thighs trying to make a wobbly push to the inside. The little boy bounced off of my legs as I stared down at him confused. "Be careful, Theo!" A woman who was holding his hand laughed. I followed the arm of the woman up to her face and gave a small smile. "Sorry about that," she apologized in an Irish accent.
I gave a tight lipped smile and held the door open for her and her son. "That's okay." I forced a small chuckle and nodded my head at them as they thanked me for holding the door open.
"Wait for Grandma!" Another voice called. Only, I knew that voice. I knew it quite well. I could have never forgotten it if I tried. I watched as my mother jogged to catch up with the mother and her small child. She didn't even look at me much. She thanked me for holding the door open, but didn't acknowledge me any farther than that. I guess I probably didn't look anything like what she had pictured in her head. I had dyed my hair blond, tatted up my skin, built myself up with muscles, and put sunglasses over my eyes. There's no way a single glance would have triggered any sort of recognition.
As my own mother passed me, she gave a quick glance at me and then grabbed the baby to hold. "This is the studio of Niall Horan, isn't it?" She finally placed the kid on her hip once inside the breezeway we had between the outside and inside. Then, she looked at me and I saw the curiosity wash over her face. Her eyes skimmed my inked and built arms. I watched the realization slowly fall over her, but it was obvious she was a little skeptical of herself.
To end her suffering and rip off the bandaid covering the truth, I grabbed my sunglasses off of my face. When her eyes scanned my eyes, I knew she knew. Her mouth dropped and I watched as realization hit the mother of the baby too. "Yeah," I spoke shyly. "It's me, Mum."