I started to just turn and leave. Get back to my hotel room as fast as I could. Then Niall stopped at one end of the pool to take a breath. I thought he had seen me but then he turned and started swimming again. Without thinking I held up my camera and started taking pictures. I had to zoom in a bit because of how far away I was, but they were still good pictures. I heard a door slam behind me and I jumped. I had a feeling it was one of the hotel staff so I stepped around the corner, out of sight, so they wouldn’t see me.
“Sir.” It was the weird guy from the front desk. He had walked straight past me, if he would’ve turned his head when he walked past the corner he would’ve saw me. In fact, if he turned around now, he would see me. “Sir!” The guy repeated more loudly and Niall broke his rythme. He looked up at the guy, who suddenly looked nervous. “You’re not supposed to be out here after 10pm,” he said. He turned and pointed at the sign and I held my breath, thinking he was gonna see me, but he didn’t look away from Niall. “Is it after ten?” Niall asked. I thought he had glanced at me, but his eyes moved back to the guy so fast I was sure I imagined it. “It’s after 2am, sir,” the guy said. “Oh! I didn’t realize it!” I thought for a second he was serious, but then I for sure saw him glance at me and the corner of his lips twitched. “Yes.. Well you can’t stay. Please gather your things and return to your room.” The guy started to turn and I tensed, surprised when Niall quickly shouted. “Hey! Umm… There isn’t bleach in this pool, is there?” He asked. I looked at him, confused, and the guy looked back at him, not noticing me yet. “Uhh… I don’t know..” the guy said. “So there’s not?” Niall asked.
I realized Niall was giving me time to go before the guy saw me, because he glanced at me again. I was standing beside the pool house door, so I quietly opened it and stepped inside. I watched as the guy shrugged to Niall and then turned and left. After a minute Niall looked my way and climbed out of the pool. I opened the door and poked my head out. “He’s gone,” he said. I stepped out as he grabbed a towel out of the chair and ran it through his hair, making it stick straight up in the front. I awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to say. He smiled at me, glancing at my camera hanging from my neck. “Were you taking pictures of me?” He asked, draping the towel over his still damp shoulders. “I was uhh…. Taking pictures of… The lobby… and…. yes,” I said lamely. I could feel my cheeks blazing and he smiled even bigger. “Can I see?” He asked walking over to me. “Uhh… Yeah.. Sure,” I said pulling my camera off my neck and turning it on. I handed it to him and he flipped through the few I had taken of him. After a minute, I realized he was taken longer than he should have. I glanced at the screen seeing he was looking at the ones I had taken back in my room, at the airports, at home. “That’s enough,” I said quickly as I grabbed the camera from him, our fingers touching. “They’re really good. I mean, the other ones, not the ones of me,” he said. “Really? I thought yours were the best,” I said. My cheeks blazed again. He laughed. God, I love his laugh. “Do you normally walk around in the middle of the night taking pictures of random things?” he asked walked down the path towards the door. “Pretty much…” I said putting my camera back around my neck. He laughed again. “After you,” he said opening the door. “Thanks.” I stepped inside.
“It was nice to meet you. Keep up the photography, you’re very good.” Niall stepped off the elevator onto his floor and smiled at me. “Thanks. It was nice meeting you, too.” Better than nice. It’s freaking Niall Horan. “Good morning.” he said. “Good morning.” I said laughing as the elevator doors closed between us. It was a quarter till three when I got back to my room.
Perfect ending, or beginning, to a day; telling Niall Horan good morning at 2:40am before you both go to sleep.