Chapter 18
(That afternoon. Niall's Thoughts.)
"How many more hours?" asked a groggy Harry.
Care looked backed at the two and started laughing. Harry was cuddled up to Louis' side and Lou was still out cold.
"About one. You guys look cute back there." I said to them.
Harry shot dirty look. He had just woken up after sleeping in the car for mostly the whole trip. He snuggled back into Lou's build, much like Care did with me, and he fell back to sleep.
"How on earth can he sleep for hours in a car?" I asked Care.
She had just woken back up and was still cuddled up in the seat.
"I have no clue. I can't believe I slept for a couple of hours in the car. I normally can't get any." she said to me.
"Hey, I've been driving for 7 hours now. With two breaks, one on the ferry and one when we went to get coffee." I said picking up my empty cup.
"Do you need another break?" she asked.
"No, it's not too bad from here. The boys will just continue to sleep, and we're gonna be there very soon."
She sat up in her seat and looked over at me. She was tangled up in a blanket and her hair was pulled back. No makeup on, wearing one of my flannel shirts, and half asleep, she still looked beautiful. She laughed at me.
"What is it?" I asked her.
"Your hat hair." she laughed.
I took my snapback off while she was sleeping. I didn't put anything in my hair today, so you can imagine how it would look.
"And to think I was about to tell you you looked flawless." I said trying to act hurt.
She grabbed one of my hands off of the steering wheel, and held it in hers.
"Forgive me?" She asked playfully.
I leaned over and kissed her temple. Then smiled.
"Fine." I answered sarcastically.
"Would you two just get over yourselves?" Louis groaned.
He pushed Harry off of his shoulder waking him up.
"At least we aren't as bad as Liam and Danielle." Care said.
"Very true. They are always cuddly, and coupley, always complimenting each other, it's pretty disgusting." I said.
"Yet unbelievably adorable." Harry finished my sentence still waking up.
"That's what we're on our way to." I said nudging Caroline.
She smiled and nodded. We knew the truth. And we were on our way there. Which I had no problem with.
"Well will you at least turn on some music for the rest of the way? It's hard to just sit in silence." Harry grumbled.
He was still mad that he no longer had Louis to cuddle up to and sleep. Those two were a dynamic duo when together. Like brothers.
"Sure, Care put something on." I said.
"What do you guys want to listen to? You just woke up." she laughed at them.
"Put on some Coldplay, that's always a good choice." Louis said. "Or The Script."
Caroline put on the music and we sat there driving on making small talk a while. Then I started getting into our week plans.
"So when we get in in a bit, I have to stop by Greg's and get the key, and then we'll go and drop our things off, then my Mum wanted to have us for dinner and we can go to the pub later? Sound good?" I began.
"Absolutely. I can't wait to meet your family. I've only met your father, who is very sweet, but I want to meet the rest." Caroline rambled a bit.
"And we haven't met them either Care, except Greg when he was randomly in town, remember? We've only known Niall for like 4 months." Harry said.
Had it only been 4 months? It seems like I've known these guys for a lifetime. I had friends in Ireland, but I never had so many close friends. Liam, Harry, Louis, and Zayn are closer to me now then any of my friends back home have been. And i have never had close girl friends Care, Danielle, and Perrie. And Care is my girlfriend. In four months of knowing her, I had fallen in love with her. She was all I needed.
"I always forget that I have known you for only that long." she smiled at me.
"I'm shocked. I'm pretty unforgettable." I said with a wink.
She laughed.
"Get over yourself Horan." Louis said to me.
"Well, my Mum can't wait to meet you all." I changed the subject back.
"And then you guys have Friday to yourselves." Harry said.
Friday. Friday is going to be perfect.
__________________________
(Same time. Caroline's Thoughts.)
Friday. Friday. I had no idea what to expect.
"I hope you brought a pretty dress with you Care, I meant to tell you earlier that I had a big night planned for us tomorrow." Niall said confidently.
"Well, Harry actually stopped by and told me I needed one. And also helped me pick it out." I answered him as steadily as possible.
I was nervous out of my mind. I tried not to think about it, but that black dress sitting in the garment bag in the back of the car, it was taunting me.
"Brilliant. We'll be having a great night." he said to me with loving eyes.
He was truly thrilled. I didn't know what was going to happen. But I had a good feeling I was the only one he didn't tell. Nerves. Lots of nerves.
"I'm excited. What are we doing?" I asked as evenly as possible.
"Surprise." Niall answered me.
"Why won't you just tell me?" I pleaded.
"Because. It's a surprise." he answered me.
I groaned. The boys laughed at me obviously knowing what was going to happen.
"Hey, we're almost at Greg's. That was a quick final hour. Sing us there Caroline!" he teased.
"Hell no. You know I can't sing." I answered him.
For The First Time by The Script started playing. It was one of Lou's favorites. He was humming at first but then we all started singing the choruses. He was the only one that knew all of the verses. He sounded really good.
"Lou, I never knew you could sing." Niall said.
"We've only known each other for four months. There is plenty you still don't know." he answered sarcastically.
We turned off of the main highway onto a smaller road, then into a driveway.
"And here we are." Niall said than jumped out.
He came over to my side of the car and opened the door for me while the other two got out and stretched after being cramped for so long. They were all in sweatpants and their Jack Wills sweatshirts. Harry of course sporting the purple one. I had on my favorite yoga pants and a pullover. We all looked cozy and
"I forgot to tell you, my brother doesn't know I have a girlfriend yet. I just wanted to surprise him." Niall told me.
"Well that's a lot of pressure." I said.
Jesus he was killing me with all of the nerves today. I think his mother knew about us, but Niall looked up to Greg so much. They had such a great relationship from what he told me, and I didn't want to disappoint him.
"Just charm him like you did to me the first day I met you." Niall said with a wink.
We walked up to the door. I hung my head a little. He took my chin in his hand and tilted my head up. Kissed my cheek, trying to give me confidence.
He knocked on the door and we waited in silence for a bit. Then the knob turned and there stood Greg. Niall went strait in for the hug. Brothers reunited. It was too sweet. They broke away and made some small talk. Then the introductions.
"Here's half of the lads, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. The other half will be in in a couple of days. And this is Caroline, my girlfriend." he said with a grin.
"It's a pleasure." Greg said in his thick accent whilst shaking hands with us. "Girlfriend huh? Atta boy Nialler. I knew it would happen one day."
I started blushing a little.
"Is she the one you met the day you got to London? In class?" he asked.
"Yes. That's me." I answered for Niall.
"I thought so. Even more beautiful in person. So glad I get to meet some of you guys." Greg continued.
And my face was very red now. Niall teased me for it. We sat in Greg's little house for a while. Niall obviously was eating something. He always was. And then Greg gave us the key to the cottage.
"You remember how to get there?" he asked.
"I think so. It's been a while." Niall said.
He and Greg had moved to the cottage for a while when they didn't want to be with their mother or father. But that was years ago Niall told me. They kept the place for little getaways. He told me that he himself hasn't been in a while.
"It's all cleaned out. All you need are groceries. I'll see you guys for dinner at Mum's." Greg said while walking us out to the car.
"See you then.
The hour drive to the cottage was not bad at all. When we approached the place it looked so cozy from the outside. The first thing I noticed was the firewood piled on the side of the house going up the long driveway. That meant a fireplace and plenty of cuddling. Danielle would be happy.
"Alright here it is. Just like I remember." Niall said.
The hard packed snow was glistening. The house looked perfect on high hill and looks perfect here too. Niall unlocked the side door and our arms full of stuff, Harry, Louis, and I followed him in.
"Just set it down anywhere. This is where we are going to be living for a couple of weeks." Niall said putting things down.
I looked around. It was obviously a cabin kind of theme. The walls were paneled with sheets of wood. And there were little moose kind of decorations everywhere. And pine tree ones, and just wilderness. It was very cute. The kitchen and the front room were attached, then there was a hallway with 4 doors. One was the master bedroom and there were two other guest rooms. One more than what Niall mentioned. And then a bathroom. But there were a set of stairs in the main room, heading up to a loft. We went up and it was rather large. That's wear the majority would be sleeping. We walked back downstairs. There were snowboards in the closet along with all of the things needed. And the fireplace was beautiful. I couldn't wait for it to be filled with the flames.
As we finished bringing all of the things in we started to discuss the sleeping arrangements.
"Well, Liam and Danielle will share one of the guest rooms. Louis you can have your own. Harry you can have the loft with Zayn and Perrie when they show, and Care where do you want to go?" Niall asked me.
"Well where do you want to go?" I asked him.
"Why don't we take the master. That way neither one of us have to sleep on the floor." He answered me.
Butterflies. The goddamned butterflies were stronger than ever.
"Is that alright? This way everyone fits. I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do. All we have to do is sleep. I mean. If you want." he gave me a wink.
It calmed me down.
"Alright that will be good." I answered.
I brought my luggage into the master room. Absolutely beautiful. The headboard was made out of old palettes like the ones I made my canvases from. A white comforter the color of the snow, a connected bathroom, and a large closet. And another fireplace.
"This room is fantastic." I proclaimed.
"The bed is so comfortable. I can't even begin to tell you. And it's a king sized." he said giving me a gentle smile.
He wrapped his hands around my waste and kissed me softly.
"I hope you don't mind sharing." he said.
"That's fine with me." I answered him.
I pecked him on the lips and then went to hang up my dress and some of my clothes. And he did the same.
"Are you ready for my mystery date tomorrow?" he broke the silence a little.
"I'm nervous. Not going to lie. What do you have planned?" I asked.
"A hell of a night. Don't be nervous. You trust me, right?" he asked.
"Completely." I answered.
He put his hands on my waist and pulled me as close as he could. I tried to refuse it but he obviously won, with me having zero upper body strength.
"Positive?" he asked me brushing hair out of my face.
"Absolutely." I answered.
He pulled me in for a kiss. We broke away after a while.
"I better get changed. I don't want to meet your mother in yoga pants." I said.
"I should look a little nicer too." he said.
Niall walked into the bathroom so I put on my white sweater with the navy stripes and a pair or dark green skinny jeans and my black lace up ankle boots. And of course my signature dogtags. He came out of the bathroom in jeans and a half button down.
"You are beginning to look like Louis with the colored pants and striped sweaters." Niall said to me.
I smacked him in the arm then grabbed my glasses off of the bedside table. We walked out of the room. Harry and Louis were standing there changed and ready to go.
"Alright Care, which one of us is changing?" Louis asked.
He was in practically the same thing as me. Striped sweater, green pants.
"I told you." Niall said.
"Louis, how did we manage this?" I asked him.
"Great taste in clothing." he answered.
"I'll go change quick, but I want a picture to send to the girls first." I said handing my phone to Harry.
He snapped the picture and sent it to Perrie and Danielle. I went to pick out another outfit. No clue what I was going to wear now. I pulled out a nice blue top, it is a little sheer, so I put a bandeau underneath, and then black skinnies and still my black laceups. And of course the dogtags. I walked back out to the boys.
"Very nice." Harry said.
Niall grabbed my wool peacoat out of one of the closets and wrapped it around me.
"Ready to go?" he asked then kissed my temple.
"Let's get going before I throw up." Louis said sarcastically.
"I forgot to ask, did you want to meet some of the girls I was going to introduce you to?" Niall asked the boys.
"Absolutely." Harry answered almost immediately.
I laughed at him and we were out the door. It was six so we would get to his Mum's around seven and Greg would be meeting us there.
"Niall, what should we call your mother? Mrs. Gallagher?" Harry asked.
He was truly a gentleman at heart, always making the woman the most important part. Even if it included manipulating them first off, he managed to do that politely. Though I don't know how you can mess with a girl to get them into your bed and be polite at the same time. Only Harry Styles. But he was always polite to any of his friends mothers, and he was planning on starting off the same with Niall's.
"Either that or Maura. Either works." he answered very cooly.
"Does it bother you that your parents aren't together?" I asked.
He never talked about it but I always wanted to know what was going through his head.
"It happened when I was younger, so not too much. But if they were to have split now at the age I am, I don't know if I could handle it." he answered.
"Alright. That's how it was for me too." Louis said.
We drove listening to music the rest of the way singing along. We pulled up to Maura's house. And he came over to my side and opened my door.
"She'll love you." he said to me sweetly.
"I hope." I said.
He kissed me softly and took my hand to drag me to the door. He walked up onto the steps and knocked. Mrs. Gallagher answered and gave him a giant hug.
"Hello sweetie. So glad you're back in town." she said to him.
He kissed her cheek and said, "Great to see you Mum."
"Who are your friends? I thought there were going to be more!" she said.
"This is Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and my girlfriend Caroline Holden." he introduced us.
"It's a pleasure." Harry said shaking her hand flashing that smile of his.
"So glad we could meet you on the trip." Lou said.
"Nice meeting you Mrs. Gallagher." I said.
"Oh call me Maura. It'll be easier." she said.
It was funny hearing more than one Irish accent. Usually if I heard them it was Niall, and Liam trying to act like Niall. I've never heard a women with a thick accent like hers.
"The rest of my friends are coming up in a couple of days. I'm not sure you'll be meeting them. We have a tightly packed schedule with this project." Niall said.
Alright, so we had to lie to almost every adult we knew at the time. All of our Mums think we are staying at Greg's the whole two weeks. We had to stretch the truth to stay alone at the cottage, but in the end it would all be fine. We didn't even have to do anymore for the project here. Maybe take a few pictures but that was all. But we were trying to isolate ourselves the whole trip and cut loose and have some drama free fun for once in our lives.
"Well come in you guys. I have dinner ready, and Greg is already here." she said.
"Thank you Maura." Harry said.
We sat and ate, made small talk, had a brew, and sat around for a while. It was ten by the time conversation had wrapped up, and we were getting ready to leave. We found our coats, said goodbye to Niall's Mum and brother, and went on our way. We were caught in some traffic on the way home and didn't get back until midnight.
"It's been a long day." Harry said as we got through the door.
"We've been up for about 18 hours." Louis added.
"We should get some rest." I said.
"I'm going to turn up the heat a little, it's a bit cold in here and it will only get worse." he said. "Harry are you going to go sleep in the loft or the other guest room? There's beds in either."
"I better go for the loft. I'm still going to be sleeping naked no matter what, so I better not sleep in the bed Liam and Danielle are going to be sharing. If you know wh--" he started.
"I think we know." Lou interrupted him.
Harry flashed a cheeky smile and a wink before disappearing up the stairs. Lou escaped to his room, and Niall turned up the thermostat. I went to our room and slipped on the tee shirt Niall gave me from his old school and a pair of sleep shorts. I went into the bathroom to take off the little amount of makeup I was wearing. When I came out Niall slipping his shirt off to put one to sleep on.
"Well haven't you been working out." I remarked.
"Actually, yes I have a bit." he blushed. "With Liam."
"You look good." I said with a wink.
He smiled at me. He did look good. His arms were toned, had abs, and was forming a v line. He was starting to get like Liam and Harry. A Wheeler High jock.
"Thanks." he smiled.
I climbed into the bed and he got in the other side. It was strange. I've never slept along side a guy before. But it almost felt natural with Niall.
"Goodnight Care. I love you." he said and gave me a kiss.
I love you. Those three words that I haven't heard directed at me from a guy ever. And he had said them first. It was official. This was love between us.
"I love you too Niall." I said.
End of Chapter 18.
This was kinda short, but I needed an update. I haven't gotten around to it in a couple of weeks, sorry guys. School and soccer take up the majority of my life now, so please stick with me! I love you guys.
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Email me: ElHolden1D@gmail.com
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Thank you for reading.
I love you all.
Xx.
El.