First: I'm writing a SEQUEL to this story, it follows the same context and has the same characters, but Zayn is the main character. I hope you will read it.
Second: There's a one shot from Niall perspective called 'Sometimes'. It's in the "One Direction Series (Extra Material)" book.
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Chapter 20 ― Time to worry
Since the night when I pecked his lips I wondered how it would be to kiss him, really kiss him. Definitely it was better than I thought, way better. Our lips moved in sync as he hugged me tight. There was nothing else in that moment, just Niall and I.
We broke the kiss naturally and I looked into his bright blue eyes. I smiled widely and so did he. There was no need for words; the moment was perfect. I rested my head on his chest letting his body warm me, and his scent embrace me. I knew that after this moment things weren’t going to be easy. After the tour! We probably weren’t going to last that long, but I couldn’t care in that moment. I still believed I wasn’t enough for him and I honestly didn’t understand why he liked me, but I was glad that he had picked me.
For now, a bitter voice at the back of my head said but I ignored it. It wasn’t the moment to be pessimistic, not when everything seemed perfect.
“Shall we go back?” he asked with our foreheads together, I was playing with his hair and looking into his beautiful eyes.
“Hmm…” I muttered. I liked where we were too much and the idea of moving didn’t appeal to me.
“We can stay in my room and watch a movie,” he suggested pecking my lips.
“That sounds better,” I agreed smiling and putting our lips together for another kiss. I just couldn’t get enough of him, the taste of his lips was addictive. “But I get to pick the movie,” I stated when we pulled back. He just smiled.
“I don’t have to worry about that. You never pick chick films.”
“Oh, just for saying that we’re gonna watch… hmmm… The Notebook! Ha! How girlish is that?” I joked and he chuckled.
“Whatever you want. I don’t think I’m actually gonna watch the movie,” he added wiggling his eyebrows and it was my turn to chuckle. Indeed I thought we weren’t going to watch the movie.
* * *
I woke up in Niall’s arm the next morning, my head resting on his chest and our bodies covered by the duvet. I fell asleep whilst we were cuddling and kissing the night before whilst Capitan America was on the telly. I looked up at him and smiled at his sweet sleepy face. He was snoring softly and his lips were slightly part.
Our date had been so sweet and normal, yet perfect. My dates usually were going clubbing or where a band was playing. All the other lads I dated were so different from Niall, not only because they all had this tough kick-ass look, but also because they were arseholes. They didn’t care about how I would feel, they always assumed I was as tough as them, but Niall thought of me, of my feelings and how things would affect me. He gave me time when no one else would’ve done it. He put me first and it felt so great to be really important for someone, to feel… well, loved.
It was probably weird as hell that he and I ended up together, but it felt so right that I couldn’t find a reason not to be with him. I wished I could erase all my past stories from my memory, but then I thought that being with them made me the person I was today, their cheatings, their bad attitudes made me grow stronger, made me the Alex I was and if I hadn’t been with them, probably I would’ve never met Niall. And I was damn grateful for having ran in his life.
I stroked his face as softly as possible as my smile disappeared slowly. Last night I didn’t want to think about what it meant to be with Niall and all the complications we were going to face if we wanted to be together. He was a popstar –I couldn’t forget about that– and his whole life was a public matter. There were thousand of girls dying for him, throwing themselves into his arms, girls way better than me. I was going back to Uni in autumn and he was going to carry on with his career, far away from me.
I didn’t want to think about that yet, but I knew I couldn’t ignore these problems for too long. Besides, I was sure about my side of this story only: I wanted to be with him, but maybe he saw all this as just a summer romance, a fling and nothing else. I couldn’t be sure unless I asked him.
How were we going to work out if I couldn’t be sure about his feelings? How, when I couldn’t trust myself to keep him with me?
I sighed and buried my face in his chest again, curling against his body, needing him when I started to feel so insecure and vulnerable.
I probably woke him up because he moved and soon his eyes popped open and fixed on me. A sweet smile appeared on his face as he leaned in and kissed me softly. “Morning, love,” he said, his voice husky from just waking up.
“Morning,” I replied smiling, too. He hugged me tightly for a couple of seconds.
“We have to be in the studio in a hour. I wonder why the lads haven’t just popped up in my room…” Niall mused kissing my forehead.
As if his words had summoned them, four boys and two girls crossed the door and made their way into the room like it was theirs. Harry, Louis and Liam jumped on the bed not caring if they crashed us in the way. “Up, up, up, up, up, up!” Lou sang annoyingly. “We’re gonna be late!” added the boy extending the vowel a.
“Did you use protection? Niall is too young to be father! I expect you to be responsible, Alex!” Harry stated smashing my face with his hands.
“Wef didft dof anyfing!” I tried to say but with his hands still in my face it was rather impossible.
“You’re the oldest in this relationship! Behave as such!” He carried on and I just rolled my eyes.
“I thought I was going to be the father of your kids!” Louis cried out hugging the boy next to him, Liam.
“Oh, see what you did? You broke his sweet heart!” Liam reprimanded me and I just laughed. “And you call him unfaithful,” he added shaking his head.
“Get off!” Niall asked shoving the lads out of the bed so we could move again. “I just woke up and can’t deal with you right now!”
I heard my friends laughing next to Zayn. My eyes met his and even if he was smiling, I could notice that the smile didn’t reach his eyes. I had to talk to him. I didn’t want to see him sad nor wanted any awkwardness between us.
“Okay, get ready ‘cos we’re leaving in thirty,” Belle reminded us as Niall was still trying to get the boys away from us. “C’mon, leave them alone and return the key card to the cleaning lady. I still don’t know how you got it,” she mused shoving the guys out of the room with Phebs’ help. At the last minute, she turned to give me a last glimpse. “You have to tell us everything later!”
I just shook my head with a smile as I felt Niall’s arms wrapping me around the waist. “Can you be ready in twenty?” he asked kissing my cheek.
“But they said thirty,” I protested innocently.
“Aye, but I might steal you for a bit,” he replied taking my face with his left hand and making me face him. Before I could say anything, he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, just enjoying the moment.
At the end I was ready in fifteen minutes and I even took a shower. And they say girls take longer to get ready, ha! Niall took twenty minutes, so I beat him and didn’t let him forget it. We all got into the van, Niall and I sat at the very back, in front of us were Liam, Phebs and Belle and in front of them, facing us, were Harry and Zayn. We were all talking to each other, really excited about the last concert in Cardiff and the new songs the boys were going to play. I was sure their fans were going to go ballistic when they heard the brand new song. I really liked it, it had a more rock-and-roll sound.
We got to the studio right in time even when Niall and I were almost ten minutes late. Our driver was great and damn fast. In the studio they were all waiting for us so the guys started their rehearsal almost immediately. We sat in a corner just watching them, laughing sometimes because they couldn’t be all business all the time –it wasn’t in their nature–, and singing along. I managed to learn almost all the lyrics of their songs in the last couple of days on tour with them.
Almost five hours later, the boys were finally free until they were needed in the arena for the sound-check. Niall approached me with his face flushed and his eyes sparkling. He was sweaty as well, but I didn’t care when he took my hands and pulled me against his body. “Dance with me?” he asked me softly in my ear.
“No way! They’ll see me and I won’t allow that to happen. Nope,” I replied trying to pull back from him.
“Oh, c’mon! I’m not asking you to do your amazing moves. Just dance with me.”
“I think you just want me to teach you some moves so you can be a ballerina, but I’m sorry to blow up your pink bubble, Niall: you can’t be a ballerina, it’s too late for you,” I stated with my best concern face putting my hand on his shoulder.
“Damn it! I wanted to wear a pink tutu!” he protested and Louis heard him so he came running towards us.
“If Niall is wearing a tutu, so am I!” he sang bouncing on his feet. “We’re gonna look great!”
I laughed at them and gave them a hug. “You’re so gay sometimes,” I mused and they just hugged me tighter.
“Come on, dance with me. You pick the song!” he offered and I just sighed.
“Fine.”
I went with my iPod to the music room with Niall following me. I knew all the guys were looking at us, especially Louis who heard Niall asking me to dance. Of course I wasn’t going to pick a song like the one I danced the day before, on the contrary, I was going to select one more catchy and pop. After all, you could find almost everything in my iPod. From country to pop, to heavy metal. Yes, I liked variety.
I went for Rocketeer and I grabbed Niall’s hand as I dragged him to the centre of the study as the introduction in the voice of Ryan Tedder went on. I put Niall’s hand on my hips as we started to dance to the beat of the song. Moving slowly until the chorus hit and I tried to teach him some hip-hop moves. He wasn’t a fast learner.
Soon all our friends were trying to learn the moves and I got a bit carried away. I always kept Niall next to me, though, but I couldn’t help let me get lost in music. That was something about me: music always took me to another place and I loved it.
By when the song ended they were all clapping and smiling. Niall hugged me from behind and kissed my neck. “Thanks,” he said softly. “Even if you don’t want to dance for us in one of our concerts, you should keep dancing, even if it’s only for yourself, because you love it. Don’t stop just ‘cos you can’t do it on a stage anymore.”
I stood there for a few moments, thinking and internalising his words and they shook something inside of me. He was right, I shouldn’t avoid dancing just because I couldn’t do it professionally any more. If I loved it, I should keep dancing.
“You’re right. Thanks,” I said turning my head to look him in the eyes for a few seconds. I gave him a kiss and then hugged him tight, grateful for what he made me realise.