I finally reach the top of the steps leading to the getaway room, patiently watching Niall fixing his tie in the mirror. He is looking himself over to make sure his appearance is perfect. His white dress shirt is buttoned up the rest of the way and he straightens his shoulders. The black slacks were fitted perfectly from his professional tailor and his shoes are shiny new.
“Ready handsome?” I question and his eyes find mine in the mirror.
My body is leaning against the doorframe as he looks at me. I’m wearing a blue dress. It’s nothing major. It’s just a regular sundress that flares at the bottom. I have on short heels that make me look slightly taller and he walks towards me. My black leather jacket covers my shoulders. My ‘Niall’ necklace dangles from my neck in support of him.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He sighs and grabs my hands.
I smile at him and he leans down and kisses me. “I’m so proud of you.” I sincerely tell him.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Most people graduate high school.” He humbly responds.
“Yeah, but you’re not most people. You’re Niall. My Niall. And I am proud of my Niall.”
His grin spreads and his eyes sparkle at my words. “Well I love my Grace.”
“And I love my Niall.” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him. His hands drift to my waist as he steps closer. He pushes my back against the doorframe and my hands tug at the back of his neck, avoiding his hair so I don’t mess it up.
We are cut off by a yell from downstairs. “Niall! Hurry up! You are going to be late!” It’s Liam, always keeping us on schedule.
“Coming!” Niall yells down the stairs. He leans his head down, his lips grazing my ear. Then his raspy voice whispers, “We’ll continue this later.”
Goosebumps rise on my tingling skin my grip around his neck tightens. He pulls away, smirking. He abruptly turns and walks down the stairs, leaving me there stunned.
I regain my composure and hustle down the steps, not wanting to cause Niall to be late to his own graduation.
~~~~~
“Let’s sit here,” Liam gestures with his program. He takes a step back and helps Sophie to her seat and he plops down right next to her. I follow and take the next seat by Sophie. Then Harry, Zayn, and Louis follow. Niall has already departed to get in the procession line.
We are clear up in the top section, trying to avoid as much attention as we can. There are several body guards standing at doors and one standing at the end of our aisle. His hands are behind his back as he stares into an abyss. No emotion. Serious.
We are quite early, most seats are still empty but the room is filling quickly. There is little conversation traveling in our group. At least for me.
All the others continue to talk to each other but all I can keep thinking about is Niall. I’m so excited for him. He is graduating, against all celebrity odds. He stopped all his work to finish school and he has accomplished his goal. In only a few short minutes he will receive his diploma and his life will continue to move forward.
I couldn’t be more proud, but there’s still something itching at my mind. He’s leaving. There is only tomorrow left and then the next day he will be gone. He will pack his bags and continue on the path of stardom. Meanwhile, I will be sitting around here, alone and missing him.
This will be the most torturous summer I have ever endured. Things were just starting to feel complete and now he will be dragged away. Concerts, interviews, and signings will fill his schedule. But I will be sitting around dwelling on the emptiness.
There are only two words that can sum it all up. This sucks.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when I feel Harry nudge me.
“Hmm?” I hum wondering what he wants.
All he does is nod his head towards the door. I direct my attention to the entrance of the balcony where there stands a nice looking couple. The lady gently wrapped her arms around the man’s arm as they both scanned the crowd as if they were in search of somebody.
The woman locked eyes with the bodyguard at the end of our aisle. A smile rose upon her lips and she trailed her eyes down the row. She started pulling the man along with her and he finally registered where she was headed. They both were smiling and staring at all of us.
I turned to look at Liam and he leaned over Sophie before mumbling, “That’s Niall’s mom and stepdad.”
I swear my eyes were bulging out of my head. I had no idea they were coming and I have not properly met them yet. I don’t even know if they know about me.
Liam quickly added, “I didn’t know they were coming either.” He must have read my worried expression.
“Maura! Chris! How are you?” Louis bellowed from the end of the aisle as I tried to calm my rapid breathing before they reached me.
Both of them grinned and they started down the row in front of us as they answered. “Fine, thank you! How are you guys doing?” Maura asked.
“Lovely. I didn’t realize you guys were coming.” Louis continued to talk to her as she sat almost directly in front of me, but off to the left a little. Chris sat to her left in front of Zayn and trained his eyes forward.
“It’s a surprise! We told Niall we couldn’t make it. Greg and Bobby should be here soon as well.” She scanned the room to see if she had missed them already.
Harry leaned over and whispered the answers to my unasked questions. “Greg’s his brother and Bobby is his father. Their family may be separated but they do their best to stay acquainted with each other so they don’t put stress on Niall.”
I nod silently as Harry returns back to his seat. That’s when Maura swivels in her seat to see the people behind her on the right. Her eyes land on Liam and Sophie and a wide grin appears.
“It seems you two are doing well.”
“Yep, we are the happiest couple ever.” Liam answers and I notice that he is holding Sophie’s hand. Her cheeks flush red and her eyes look down to her lap as she smiles, her curls falling around her face.
Maura gives them a sweet smile before her eyes travel down the row to me. She kind of stares for a second before gasping and almost making me jump from my seat.
I’m about to speak up when Liam cuts in, saving the day. “Maura, this is Grace. Niall’s girlfriend.”
Maura’s eyes soften and settle on my face. “I know who she is. It just took me a second. I haven’t seen her until now. You look more beautiful than Niall described, dear.”
“Thank you,” I finally find my voice. “It’s nice to finally meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet the girl that Niall talks so much about. He really adores you.”
I just smile at her and she turns back around swiftly as she recognizes some new company.
“Greg! Bobby! How are you?” She asks in a cheery voice.
“Good! What did we miss?” The older man asks as he makes his way after his son to sit down.
“Well, you missed talking to Niall’s new girlfriend!”
My cheeks heat up even more and I try and avoid all eye contact. My luck runs out when I glance up and the man is looking dead at me, along with everyone else.
“Hello,” I timidly say.
“Hello! What a nice young lady. Niall picked a good one.” He smiles at me and my tense muscles relax.
Everyone on the row in front of us starts to converse and I sit back in my seat, calming my nerves. I had no clue that I would be meeting Niall’s family today. It’s so unexpected, but I guess nobody else knew either. I can’t be upset. They will just have to accept me as I am, no fake family dinner where everyone tries to act perfect.
I take a few deep breaths just as the music starts up and graduates start filing in. I strain my neck to see over the railing. It’s hard to make out any faces from the top balcony but this is all we have.
Trey and Kayla walk in one after the other, grinning wide. James follows behind a redheaded girl, his shoulders are back like he thinks he is better than everyone else and I quietly giggle to myself. He may be a jock, but he definitely is nerdy at the same time.
That’s when I see Niall walk in, cap and gown covering his fancy clothing. The tassel of his hat is dangling to the right of his face. The black attire looks so professional and an involuntary smile spreads on my face. I’m so proud of his choice to come back to school and finish. I wish more people had that kind of determination.
He reaches the chair he will be sitting in and his head turns to look for us. His eyes land on mine and I give him thumbs up. I can see him chuckle and then his eyes land on the row in front of mine. The happiest smile I have ever seen is plastered on his face. He shakes his head like he doesn’t believe it and I can see his mom wiping tears from her eyes.
They all missed each other so much. They don’t get to see each other every day like a normal family. They have to compromise so Niall can live his dream. They are just as dedicated to his music career as he is. All of them work together so that Niall can continue to travel the world and be a singer.
Once all the seniors are standing in front of their chairs, a man walks to the podium and announces that they may take a seat. I can see the struggle in Niall’s motions. He is trying really hard not to sprint up the steps of the balcony and embrace his family in a loving hug. His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath and he turns his attention forward.
~~~~~
The ceremony finished off with all the graduates throwing their caps in the air in celebration. Our group waited for most of the gymnasium to clear before walking down the stairs to meet Niall.
Once we reach the bottom of the steps I notice many people looking our way in awe. They are all astonished to see famous celebrities at such a small school celebration. A few people even try and sneak pictures of us but it’s kind of obvious when you see someone cautiously lift their phone and then hear a click and see a flash. We all just do our best to ignore the attention and wait for Niall to find us.
I am the first one to spot him in the crowded area and I point at him so everyone else sees. He is talking to one of his friends that I haven’t really met. They shake hands and Niall starts to make his way through the crowd in search of us.
Louis starts waving his arms around, trying to get the blonde boys attention. Niall’s blue irises land on all of us and a massive grin appears. He starts pushing through the crowd to get to us as fast as he can.
Once he breaks past the last line of people he strides forward quickly. He is bound for one destination. His arms open up and he embraces his mom into a loving hug. I can already see the tears in both of their eyes but they hold it in well.
“My boy,” I hear Maura say. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks mum. I missed you.”
“I missed you too. It’s good to see you looking handsome.”
“I didn’t know you guys were coming.” Niall mumbles into her shoulder.
“It was a surprise,” Bobby speaks from the side, swaying with his hands in his pockets.
“I’m really surprised,” Niall says breaking from the hug and moving over to his other family to reciprocate the action.
The boys, Sophie, and I all wait patiently while he catches up with his loved ones. We just stand off to the side silently, waiting for our turn to talk to him.
After Niall has hugged Maura, Bobby, Greg, and Chris, he turns his body to look at us 6 over on the side. His eyes jump from face to face before settling on mine. His eyes have a sparkle in them that I have never seen before and he looks as though he is on a mission. He takes two steps towards me and leans down and pecks my lips quickly. His hand finds mine and he pulls me over to his family.
“Mom, Dad. This is Grace.” He pulls me closer to his side and wraps his arm around my back.
“We know, love. We already met her,” Maura smiles.
Niall’s face falls. He seems a little disappointed that he wasn’t the first to introduce us.
“Oh…”
I quickly jump in, “Well we said hello, but we haven’t really had the chance to talk yet.”
“Oh, good!” A switch is flipped and his eyes ignite with light again.
“Let’s all talk over dinner,” Bobby says. “My treat.”
“I’m down for that,” Harry says from behind me. Then he quickly stutters, “I-if I’m invited…”
“Of course you are son. You are all invited,” Bobby says looking around at the entirety of our group.
“Great!” A few people chant.
“Alright, let’s go! Niall you pick!” Greg says as he starts leading our group in a parade out of the school.
The priceless smile on Niall’s face makes my heart thump loudly. He is so happy to be around his family again. Every girl wants to see a guy who loves his family. There is just something so endearing about the love that he has for the people he has grown up with. I just wish that he could be around them more so the grin would never leave his face.
{Picture on Side: Grace’s outfit :) Awe! She wore the Niall necklace!! How sweet! Just a little blast from the past ;)
I love ya’ll!! What do you think about Niall’s family surprising them all? Shocker! Did any of you even get curious as to why they hadn’t talked about coming? Well, they are there now :)
XOXO Reached 1,500 reads the other day <3 Keep reading, voting, and sharing with your buddies! }