When Niall and I got inside we hastily changed and tried to settle down. We were exhausted and the next day was bound to be eventful. We jumped in bed and cuddled, occasionally having random conversations. Niall played with my hair, putting me to sleep as I nuzzled against his bare chest. His cologne forced me into a dream and this time it wasn’t about him leaving, so I slept well.
It helped to wake up to him smiling down at me. His arm propping his head up as he watches me lazily squint my eyes. He bows his head and leaves wet kisses all over my face until he finally ends on my lips.
My giggles fill the room as his lips roam my face. His sparkling blue eyes peer at me and I stare at him in silent with a goofy grin on my face.
“Morning,” my groggy voice barely gets out. I turn and look at the clock and see that it is 8 in the morning. “Time to get up?”
“Yeah,” he mumbles. “I’m planning to pull out of the driveway at 8:25. Give or take.”
“Well it won’t take long for me to get ready. I’m just going to wear sweats, if that’s okay.”
“Course, babe. You can wear whatever. You don’t have to wear anything if you don’t want, but remember it is a public place.” I punch his shoulder and he chuckles.
Finding the willpower I roll out of bed, literally. I end up falling to the ground and Niall’s cackles at my failed attempt. My eyes peek over the edge of the bed and I wink at him.
“I did that on purpose…” I giggle.
“Sure babe, whatever you say,” he rolls his eyes.
I stand up and walk to the closet. Pulling out my favorite sweats, I turn to Niall.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?” He whines.
“Because I’m changing.”
“So.”
“Niall…”
“Fine.” His eyes reluctantly seal and I turn my back to him.
I’ve just dropped my pajama shirt to the ground when two arms wrap around my waist and Niall’s head rests upon my shoulder.
“Niall,” I complain.
“Hmm?”
I shake my head and notice that his eyes are closed. His naked chest is pressed against my back, my bra and both of our shorts are the only separations between our bodies. He’s extremely warm and I really don’t want him to let go.
Then he mumbles, “Remember the first time I helped you change?”
My mind wanders back to when he watched me change the first time. He ended up helping me put on my shirt because I had it on backwards. He was sweet about it and didn’t make it a big deal.
“Yeah…” I warily confirm.
“You are still beautiful. I think you just keep getting better and better every day.” His eyes are still shut as he sways us in a soothing motion. I don’t say anything. I’m not really sure what to say in this situation.
He backs up from me and his hands rotate my shoulders so my entire body has to swivel with it. His lips roughly collide with mine and he backs me up into the wall. His fingers pull mine above my head as he presses against me.
I practically forget that we have a schedule to stick to but when it pops back into my head I mumble, “Niall, we have to get ready.”
He instantly stops and looks into my eyes. His own eyes are glazed with sadness as he realizes that he has goodbyes to say. “You’re right. I want to have as much time as I can.” He grabs the shirt that I was planning on wearing. “Arms up.” I comply and he helps me get dressed like I’m a little kid. “Want me to help with your pants too. Or can you handle it?” He smirks at me.
“I think I’ve got it.” I smile and he walks to the closet, searching for his own clothes as I change. I wrap one of my hands around my hair and pull it up into a ponytail quickly. Before I know it, we are both dressed and strolling out the door.
~~~~~
The airport isn’t crowded. Nobody knew that Niall’s family would be leaving today. We are lucky to have privacy so they can say their goodbyes in peace. I’m afraid it won’t be the same tomorrow; most people know that the boys are departing for tour then. It will probably be packed and we will have a crowd watching our every move.
“Be careful Niall. You know the rules when you are on tour. Be polite to everyone and have fun.” Maura instructs. “It was nice meeting you Grace. I hope to be seeing you again soon. You are a lovely girl and Niall is lucky to have you.”
I smile at her. “Thank you. I hope to see you soon too! It was wonderful meeting you all.” I look around at all of their faces and they all nod.
Chris gives Niall a quick hug and grabs Maura’s baggage so he can give us time to say goodbyes. Greg steps up to Niall, his eyes glistening, and wraps his arms tightly around his brother. Their hug is tight and sealing, like a promise that they love each other without saying it.
“See you soon little bro. Theo and Denise will be waiting for you to return home.” Greg murmurs. “And me too,” He adds.
“Can’t wait to see them both. It’s been too long.” They pull apart and survey each other. I can see the tears in their eyes but they do their best to hide it. This is worse than when Niall was saying goodbye to all our friends.
Niall slides to the left and stretches his arms to hug his dad. Bobby’s eyes are collecting moisture and a few big tears escape, his hand wiping them away instantly. Bobby pats Niall’s back during the embrace, trying to alleviate their emotional aching. “Take care, son. Listen to your mom and be good. I love you.”
I can barely hear Niall murmur, “I love you too dad.” They seperate and Niall’s eyes are puffy and red. My heart breaks watching him in so much pain. He obviously hates this, anyone would.
He shifts down the line and I notice that his mom is already bawling. My own eyes start to water and I try to wipe them away. I’m not supposed to be the one crying but I can’t help it. The love of this family is pushing me to the brink of despair.
“Love you mum,” he chokes out into her shoulder.
“I… Love… You… Too…” she says between sniffles and sobs. Greg and Bobby watch silently from the side with their hands tucked into their pockets. They let Niall and Maura have their moment. I imagine that she has the hardest time when he is away, not that it’s easy for any of them, but she is his mother.
My hands are folded patiently in front of me. They feel empty when Niall isn’t holding one of my hands so I have to occupy them.
The tile along the ground is in a clean-cut pattern and I take my time admiring it. The reds, white, and blues blend well. It starts to feel like a school hallway and it makes my jitters speed up so I divert my eyes.
I tilt my head backwards and gape at the bright lights lining the ceiling. It’s almost a whole radiant beam shining down to “lighten the mood.” It’s not working for my friends. The lights just reveal how tear-stained our faces are and the melancholy hidden behind our glossy eyes.
When I drop my head back to its regular position, Niall is standing by my side. His fingers gently pull at mine and I take hold of his hand. His family is all holding their bags and standing together. Chris starts walking to the terminal and the others lumber after him.
We follow them until we get to the security booth. This is where we are required to stop and they move on without us in tow. Niall is gripping my hand tightly, holding onto his last string of sanity before he breaks down again.
We quietly watch as they remove their shoes, belts, phones, wallets, and other accessories before placing them into a bucket and sending them through an x-ray machine. Their baggage is next and then they each take turns walking through the metal detectors.
Everything goes well and they are on the other side of security with all their stuff back on. They turn and wave at us over the heads of other people in line. Maura is still crying as they shuffle away.
I don’t say anything. We just stand there staring at the now vacant spot.
Suddenly I hear a shriek from behind us and I jump from the sudden noise. I turn my head and see that there are two girls standing and staring at Niall. He is still gaping at the spot and I do my best to stay calm.
“You’re Niall Horan!” One of them squeals stating the obvious. Niall slowly turns his body around to face them with the smallest smile on his face. He is trying really hard to be kind, but he really just wants privacy right now.
“Oh my god! Oh my god! You are like my favorite person ever!!” The other girl announces.
“Thanks.”
“Can we get a picture?”
“Uhmm... Yeah, sure.”
The first girl thrusts the camera into my hands and I barely have time to grab it before she lets go and rushes to Niall’s side. I wait until they both have their hair the way they want it and are posing until I click the shutter button.
“Here ya go,” I extend the camera out to her and she happily grabs it.
“Thank you so much Niall! We love you!!” They take off running to show their friends or whoever and I turn to him.
His face is blank. Nothing. I grab his hand and start to walk, leading him out of the airport as quickly as I can before anybody else finds us.
At the car, I grab the keys from him and drive like the day I did when he said goodbye to our friends. I keep quiet until he decides he is ready to talk.
After driving for about 10 minutes, I smile when his hand reaches for mine. I happily take his and lift it up, pressing my lips to his knuckles. I see him take a deep breath from the corner of my eye. He is trying to regain his emotions. It’s been like a rollercoaster ride the past few days.
“Thank you,” he grumbles.
“For what?” My eyebrows furrow as I watch the road.
“For coming with me.”
“You’re welcome.”
The rest of the ride home is silent. No words are spoken. There aren’t any that need to be.
~~~~~~
“Hey guys, how’d the airport go?” Liam asked with a concerned look on his face. He is eyeing Niall to see if he is stepping over some sort of boundary.
“I hate the airport,” is the only thing Niall says before walking past Liam and upstairs to the getaway room.
I give Liam a sympathetic look, justifying that the trip was depressing. I can see in his eyes that he understands the feeling and he looks back at the stairs.
I don’t follow Niall up there. This time I get the feeling that he needs to be alone for a little while, so I let him enjoy the luxury of the getaway room to its full potential.
“Where is everybody else?” I ask calmly, trying to change the subject.
“Downstairs, having a laugh. We all started packing and then we distracted each other and started joking around,” he chuckles at how gullible they all are and starts to walk back to where he came from. I follow him, unsure if I am welcome. I’m reassured when he continues to speak to me as he hops down the stairs. “So it was rough, huh?”
“Yeah. It was terrible. I’ve never seen that much happiness drain from him so quickly. It’s like he was in a stupor the entire ride home.”
“That’s what so many goodbyes tend to do to a person.” We reach the bottom step and the room opens up. Louis, Zayn, Harry, and Sophie are all gathered in a lazy circle. Sophie is lying on her stomach with her feet kicked up and her hands supporting her head. Louis is cross legged. Harry and Zayn are each sprawled across the floor, taking up as much space as they can.
Liam strides to Sophie and plops down next to her and Louis. I follow suite and sit between Harry and Sophie. She reaches her hand over and squeezes mine in a comforting gesture. She must know what it feels like to go through that kind of torture. She’s seen Liam do it and she’s had her fair share as well, since she travels with them.
I smile at her and she pulls her hand back to its original position.
“Is he in the getaway room?” Zayn mumbles from across the room. His face is tucked into his arms as he lies on the carpet.
“Yeah.”
He instantly jumps to his feet and walks toward the stairs. “I’m going to talk to him.”
I don’t say anything as he walks away. I’m slightly confused by Zayn’s sudden burst of comforting nature.
“Him and Niall understand each other,” Louis barely says, enough for me to hear the explanation.
I simply nod and look around at each of my friends left sitting in a circle. I only have today left with them all and then tomorrow they all pack their bags and move out. I will have to go back to living with my parents and my friends will travel the globe freely. I’m going to miss all of them. They have become like a family to me. They have taken care of me at my weakest point and I accepted them into my life. They all hold a piece of me. It’s amazing how strongly I feel about them after just a few months. They’ve helped to keep me sane.
“I’m gunna miss you guys,” my voice cracks and my eyes start to water. "Please don't go! Please stay! Just stay here forever with me. What am I supposed to do without you?"
Sophie hears the strain in my voice and leans over to comfort me. Her arms wrap around my shaking body. “It’s not goodbye yet darling. We’ll see you again. Hopefully soon!”
I sniffle and the boys have all sat up and are looking my way. “I know. It’s just… you guys have helped me so much. From when I was attacked to when I needed a place to spend the night at like 3 in the morning. You guys have taken me in and I love you guys!”
“We love you too!” Liam says honestly. He stands up and steps in front of me. His arm extends and his palm is open for me to grab. I gladly take it and he helps me to my feet. His muscly arms are flexed around my body as he pulls me into a tight hug.
“Liam, you’ve given me a lot of advice and helped me along my way. Thank you! And thank you for not giving up on me even when Niall started to drift. You still believed that I could pull him back to reality and you pushed me to keep trying.”
“You’re welcome Grace. You and Niall are meant to be. Don’t let that go.”
When we drop our arms I notice that everyone else is standing for me to hug them too. I take my time going around to each of them and saying “thank you’s”. Maybe tomorrow won’t be so bad if we do most of our goodbyes today. I doubt it, but I can always hope.
{Picture on Side: "Please Stay!" Grace begging for them all to stay while she cries :( Awe! That would be so sad to say goodbye to such close friends that they have become your family.
A/N Trying to end the story right on 50 chapters. Be prepared. Only about 2 chapters left!
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