Please read the author's note at the end of this chapter. :)
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Ariella’s POV
I sat in the floor of my messy bedroom as I was packing my things to move in with Niall. Gemma, Christian, Sally, and Nicki were helping me. Occasionally, Christian would be a pervert and go through all of my underwear. He held up a pair of black, lacy underwear and waggled his eyebrows. God help me.
“Christian, you’re so embarrassing!” Gemma said.
I got up from my spot on the floor and snatched them out of his hands. He just laughed loudly at me.
“I say we have a house warming party,” Christian said.
“House warming party?” Sally asked.
“Yeah, you know, like a party for when someone moves into a new place,” He said.
“I’m up for it. Party at Niall’s!” Nicki said.
“Christian, you do realize you’ll finally be able to meet the guy that you left that voicemail to,” I said.
“Sweet!” He said.
“You’re not scared?” I asked.
“Is he bigger than me?” Christian asked.
“Nope,” Gemma answered.
“Then I have no reason to be scared,” Christian said.
I rolled my eyes and continued to pack.
“Aw, Ariella, this is a cute picture,” Sally commented.
I looked over and saw her holding a framed picture of my mother and me. I smiled.
“Thanks,” I said.
She put it safely in a box. Once everyone was done with packing all of my things, I sighed in relief.
“Thanks so much!” I said to everyone.
Hours later, everyone finally got all of the boxes moved into Niall’s flat. The only problem was that I didn’t know where Niall was. He only left a note on the door that said he would be back later and to get the key from its hiding spot. He always hid underneath the mat in front of his door. I needed to remind him to hide it somewhere else. It’s not inconspicuous at all, really.
Christian was lounging on Niall’s couch and eating some sour patch kids.
“Christian, if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t eat Niall’s food,” I said.
“Oh, bite me,” He said.
“Challenge accepted!” Nicki said as she jumped on the couch beside him.
Christian squealed like a girl as Nicki acted like she was going to bite him.
“Did you really think I was going to bite you? That’s weird,” She said.
“Whatever!” He said, sticking his tongue out at her.
“You guys act like best friends and you’ve only met today!” I said.
“What can I say? Ladies love me,” Christian said.
“Sorry bro, she has a boyfriend, and you have a girlfriend,” I said.
Nicki’s face turned red.
“Ariella, Harry and I aren’t together yet…” Nicki said.
“Yet…” I pointed out.
Gemma walked into the living room and sat down on Christian’s lap. She looked at Nicki and beamed.
“I think you’ll be great for my brother,” She said.
“Thanks Gemma,” Nicki replied.
I heard the front door open. When I turned my head, I saw a mess of blonde hair walking towards me. I ran to him and hugged him tightly.
“Hey babe,” Niall said.
“Hi,” I said.
“You moved in already?” He asked.
I nodded my head.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, babe. I was out buying things,” He said.
Right after he said that, I heard four other bickering voices coming near the door. I poked my head outside and sure enough, Louis, Zayn, Liam, and Harry were coming in. Liam and Zayn were carrying a dresser. Harry and Louis, however, were both carrying ice cream cones and licking them to avoid them from dripping onto the floor.
Zayn and Liam put down the dresser in the living room and huffed.
“I bought that for you,” Niall said.
“That’s so sweet,” I said.
I leaned up and our lips met. His arms found their way to my waist. I felt myself being pulled away from him. When I spun around to see who pulled me away, I met the eyes of Louis.
Louis smiled and pulled me into a hug.
“Take that, Horan,” He said.
Niall laughed and then stopped in his tracks once he realized Christian was sitting on his couch.
“Who is that?” He asked me.
“I’m Christian Ludovic,” He said.
“Oh… So you’re the guy that left the voicemail,” Niall said.
“Yep, that’s me, and you’re the guy that doesn’t deserve Ariella,” Christian spat.
Niall’s nostrils flared and his eyebrows came together as he was about to lunge at Christian.
“Calm down, you two!” I ordered.
I wrapped my arms around Niall’s torso as he was in a rage. The two boys just stared at each other. Anyone could feel the tension.
“Christian, maybe we should leave…” Gemma said quietly.
“Yeah, maybe,” He said, his eyes not leaving Niall.
“You don’t have to leave!” I said.
“I’ll see you another time, Ariella. Let me know if he does anything to hurt you,” Christian said.
Niall broke through my grasp and hit Christian in the jaw.
“Niall! Christian! STOP!” I screamed.
Gemma pulled Christian away just as he hit Niall in the mouth. Christian and Gemma left Niall’s flat in a hurry. The room was filled with silence.
I walked over to Niall and looked in his eyes. They were red and puffy.
“We’ll give you two some time alone… Come back in the living room when you’re ready,” Zayn said, taking Sally’s hand in his. The rest of the boys and Sally and Nicki sat on the two couches as Niall and I went into his room.
I buried my head in his chest. He ran his arms up and down my back. When I pulled away, I looked at his bleeding mouth. I sighed and brought him to his bathroom.
“Sit on the toilet,” I said.
He put the lid down and huffed as he sat down. I ran a wash cloth under warm water and then brought it to Niall’s lip. I cleaned off all the blood.
“Niall, do you have any band-aids?” I asked.
He nodded and pointed underneath the sink. I got one and placed it over a spot on his bottom lip. Our eyes met and he gave me a weak smile.
“Ariella, I’ll never hurt you… I swear. What Christian said just really set me off. I’m sorry you had to see that,” He said.
“I know you won’t. Christian is just overprotective. I’ll get onto him about it later… Niall, this was supposed to be a great day,” I said.
“I know, babe. Are you mad?” He asked.
“Yes, but not at you,” I said.
“Can we just blow this all over?” He asked.
“Yes,” I said.
He stood up and kissed me. It felt weird because there was a band-aid over his lip.
We went back into the living room and it was eerily quiet.
“Hey guys, we’re better now,” I said.
“Good,” Liam said.
“I was beginning to worry! But if you and Niall ever broke up, then we could get married, so I suppose it wouldn’t be that bad…” Louis said.
Everyone laughed at his comment.
“Lou, you have Eleanor,” I said.
He just smiled and started snuggling up to Harry. Nicki was looking a little lonely. My eyes met Harry’s and I pulled my phone out to text him.
To: Harry Styles
“PUT YOUR ARM AROUND HER. HUG HER. KISS HER. DO SOMETHING!”
I saw him read the text. He smirked and then put his arm around her. Louis started to whine in protest, so Harry put his other arm around Louis, and that satisfied him.
I stared at all of my friends in wonder. I looked at Niall and he smiled at me. Well, this was an eventful house warming party...
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Hi everyone! Sorry for a late update, but this week has been so crazy. Earlier this week, something really tragic happened to a friend of mine. I've realized that there are so many people in the world that are hurt. We don't even realize that the people around us may be hurting more than we know. I've decided that I'm going to start talking to people that I don't usually talk to. You may effect someone's life in more ways than you'll ever realize, just by simply talking to them, asking how their day was, etc... The point of this long author's note is to say that everyone should reach out to people. You really could save someone's life...
Alright, thank you so much for reading! Stay tuned for the next chapter.