the trip
Niall is leaving for New York in 24 hours and he's... nervous. Excited, but also nervous. He's more than aware that his nervousness has nothing to do with the eight hours flight he'll have to endure but more with the person who will be with him for the rest of the trip. Not that it matters, though, because Astrid told him yesterday that Leo might be joining them so chances are, he won't even see her much during this trip except when they have to go to GearUp's event— even then he'll probably not see much of her.
Which is fine by him.
Astrid deserves to spend more time with her boyfriend, especially since both she and Leo have been busy with work and they could hardly make time for each other. So this trip is a perfect opportunity for the both of them to get away from work.
But the fact of the matter is this: ever since Niall found out that Leo will be joining them, his excitement dims a little. He is upset that his and Astrid's plan to explore New York together has been thrown out the window. He'll have to explore New York alone and he's okay with that. He is.
"Something on your mind?" Adriana's voice brings Niall back to reality.
Niall blinks his eyes once, twice, before they zero in on Adriana's face. She shoots him a smile and he feels bad for zoning out on her. So he apologises but she brushes it off with a wave of her hand. She even apologises for boring him.
Picking up her drink, Adriana swirls the glass her hand whilst keeping her eyes fixed on him. Niall has known her long enough (technically, it has only been a few months but sometimes, you just click and it feels like you've known each other forever, and that's the case with Niall and Adriana) to know that she's trying to read him.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, yeah?"
"Yeah, of course," Niall says with a nod of his head. "But nothing's on my mind."
Adriana doesn't believe him, that much is obvious. But he can't exactly tell her what's bothering him, can he? Because if he were to do that, he'd have to admit that he's not too happy about Leo being thrown into the equation in the last minute and he doesn't want to admit that. Especially out loud.
"Is this about your trip to New York?" Adriana questions, still on to him.
Niall looks at Adriana and he sees a face of someone that he can fully trust. He doesn't feel that way with many people. In fact, the only people that has his trust are Oscar, Matt and his parents. Oh, and Astrid back when they were inseparable.
Perhaps it won't be such a bad thing to talk to Adriana. Get this burden off of his chest. Because he knows he can't talk to Oscar or Matt about this (doesn't mean he trusts them any less, though). Otherwise, they'll give him shit -- that's not what he needs right now. Not when his mind is giving him enough shit already.
"Is that it?" Adriana presses when she sees a slight change on Niall's expression -- there's a crack on his poker face.
"I--Yeah." Niall replies. He releases some of the tension in his shoulders and hunches forward, curling his fingers around his nearly empty glass of beer.
"Are you scared of flying?"
"What? No, no I'm not. It's more about, erm, the person I'll be flying with." Adriana kinks an eyebrow at him. When he doesn't continue, she makes a gesture for him to go on with his story and he starts to play with his glass even more. It's a nervous habit. One that's replacing his habit of biting his nails. "GearUp's creative director, Astrid, she's... She's a friend of mine. Someone that I've known for a long time and--"
"You're in love with her?"
Niall's eyes widen and his grip on his glass tightens. "How'd you..."
"I've never seen you so distraught about something -- well, someone -- so I, well, I just figured that she must be really important to you. And I think I heard Oscar or Matt mention her name before."
"Oh." Niall sighs. "Well, I'm not in love with her. I used to. I mean, she has a boyfriend now and anyway, he's coming with us."
"Oh?"
"Yeah and I guess I wasn't too excited about that because we made plans to explore New York together and with him there then I guess the plans are a no-go." Niall looks up to see Adriana looking at him with her head tilted to the side. Immediately he feels like a loser. Straightening up, he runs a hand down his face and adds, "God, that... That must've made me sound like an asshole."
"I-No, I mean, a little?" Niall throws his head back and lets out a loud laugh, attracting attention to their table. He can count on Adriana to be honest and he likes that about her. "But you're not an asshole." Niall gives her an 'are you sure?' look and she reassures him with, "You're not. Trust me. I know a lot of assholes and you're not one of them."
"Well, that's good to know," Niall mutters before he brings his glass up to his lips and finishes his beer.
"Hey," Adriana approaches softly as she places a hand on his forearm. Startled by her move and by the electricity that zaps at his spine, his eyes immediately find hers but she must've not noticed anything. She squeezes his arm. "You're not wrong for wanting to spend some time with, uh, with your friend, but maybe it's not a bad thing that her boyfriend will be there?"
For all he knows, Adriana could be right. He's only met Leo once, after all, so he shouldn't hold such abrupt judgment on him.
"Yeah, you're right," Niall replies. Maybe Leo is a pleasure to be around when he's not too late to an event and he's plagued with worry that his girlfriend might be mad at him. Having banished that thought from his mind and frankly, he's tired of thinking about that, Niall points at Adriana's empty glass. "Would you like another?"
Adriana looks at her wristwatch briefly, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. "You sure you don't mind staying for another round?"
Niall doesn't answer with words. Instead, he gets up from his seat and makes his way to the bar where he orders two drinks for him and Adriana.
///
As soon as Niall arrives at the airport, he gets a text message from Astrid, telling him where he could find her: a coffee shop. So Niall braces himself to meet Leo again and reminds himself to reserve any sort of judgment.
However, when he's reached the coffee shop, Niall finds Astrid all by herself with no sign of Leo around her. No, Niall reprimands himself, he's not going to draw conclusions just from that. Maybe he's gone to the bathroom or maybe he's gone to get himself something to eat. With that thought in mind, Niall steps into the coffee shop and makes his way to Astrid.
With her back on him, she doesn't see him as he approaches her so when he taps her shoulder, she jumps in her seat and clutches her chest on instinct. Niall lets out a laugh before he apologises.
The shock on her face dissipates, replaced by the curve of her lips. "Hey, it's you." Getting up from her seat, she opens her arms and pulls him in for a hug. Although that move is unexpected, Niall returns the embrace almost instantly, rocking her a little before they pull away.
Niall glances at her table. There are two cups of coffee and a half eaten bagel. When his eyes find Astrid, she shoots him a sheepish smile.
"I had a rough night," is all she says as she returns to her seat. She gestures for the empty chair in front of her and he occupies it. Picking up her paper cup, Astrid asks, "Coffee?"
Coffee sounds good but he'll order it later. Right now he has a question for Astrid and his burning curiosity won't let him sit still until he gets the answer to it -- adding caffeine to it would only make things worse. "I thought Leo's coming with us?"
Niall is pretty sure that her face falls, albeit for less than a second, at the mention of her boyfriend's name but there's also a possibility that he misreads her expression or that he imagines it. Either way, Astrid refuses to meet his eyes when she speaks.
"He's not coming with us," Astrid answers in a clipped tone. Alas, Niall could still detect a hint of disappointment in her voice and a hint of, perhaps, anger? He can't be too sure. Her face isn't giving anything away. Finally meeting Niall's eyes, Astrid stretches her lips into a smile and changes the subject. It's not done smoothly but it works; Niall doesn't see room for him to redirect the conversation to Leo. "So, are you excited for New York? Have you prepared your speech?"
"Yes and no. I was thinking of winging it— or is that a bad idea?" He was asked to make a short speech at his first GearUp's event and he didn't prepare anything for it, and he thought it went well. The crowd applauded when he finished his speech so that's a good sign, right? Unless, of course, they were just being polite.
Before his thoughts could spiral even more, Astrid's voice pulls him back to reality. "No, of course not. I think you're a natural where speeches are concerned. And no, don't try to act all humble with me." Niall's protest dies on his tongue and he closes his mouth. "But not me. I'm not good with speeches."
Niall raises an eyebrow at Astrid. "You're giving a speech too?"
Astrid nods somberly. "Martin won't be able to make it to New York so I'll have to do it. Be his representative or whatever."
"I see."
"Do you have some tips for an amateur like me? And please, don't tell me to imagine everyone else naked. That doesn't work. At all."
Niall laughs. Yeah, that trick doesn't work for him too; it only makes him even more anxious.
"First of all, I'm sure you're not an amateur," he tells her. She commands the meeting room when they had that short meeting the other day. "And second of all, I guess you just have to look for someone familiar in the crowd and keep your eyes on them. It usually makes me feel less nervous."
"Look for someone familiar and stare at them for the rest of the speech. Got it."
The two of them share a laugh and there's an unexpected warmth settling in Niall's heart. Trying to ignore it proves to be a difficult task so he decides to put some distance between them and goes to the counter where he orders himself a cup of hot coffee.
When Niall returns to his seat, he finds Astrid frowning at the screen of her phone. He clears his throat gently so as to not startle her like he did earlier but she still jumps a little.
"Are you okay?" Niall asks as he sits in front of her. Astrid nods, but she looks like she might not even be there; her body is but her mind is elsewhere. He doesn't want to push her or force her into talking but if last night taught him anything it is that talking helps. It might not be able to solve problems, but it helps and that's all that matters. "You know, a wise girl once told me that I'm a great listener."
Astrid tilts her head to the side as a mischievous smile tugs at her lips. "Huh, bet she regrets telling you that."
"I doubt that," Niall replies with confidence. "Maybe you'd like to test that out?"
Astrid takes another look at her phone before she locks it and puts it away. With that little device out of her sight, she allows her shoulders to curve forward and her hands to cover her face. When she lets out a sigh, Niall could see her tension slowly seeping out of her and when her eyes met his, he prepares himself to hear whatever it is that Astrid has to say (he suspects it has something to do with Leo).
"It's... Leo." And he's right. "I--It's stupid--"
"It's not stupid if it bothers you."
Astrid shoots him a grateful look. He's going to regret this, he thinks. Hearing Astrid talk about her boyfriend is not ideal but it's better than to let her bottle up her feelings -- everyone knows that's unhealthy.
"He was supposed to come as I told you but he cancelled at the last minute." Disappointment disappears, replaced by anger. "Literally told me a few minutes before we're supposed to leave for the airport."
Niall feels like an asshole because relief floods through him upon finding out that Leo won't be joining them after all.
"I mean, I know he's busy with work and he's trying to score that promotion but--" Astrid stops abruptly and shakes her head. "I don't know. I just, it'd be nice to come first sometimes, you know?" As soon as those words sink in, Astrid's eyes widen and she flinches. "God. Ew. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload my problems onto you."
Niall leans forward in his seat, a frown fixed between his brows. She looks genuinely upset so he gives her foot a gentle kick. "Hey, you have nothing to apologise for."
"I know," she says. "God, I know, but I think I'm better off keeping my feelings to myself."
Niall hates that she feels that way but who is he to talk? He's the master of keeping his feelings to himself.
"Anyway. Did I tell you that Gabriel decided to major in Chemistry?"
"You didn't," Niall replies, more than happy to change the subject if it means that her smile would return. "How crushed were your parents when they found out?"
"Pretty sure my mum cried herself to sleep," Astrid says with a chuckle. "And my dad couldn't meet Gabriel's eyes for months."
Niall crinkles his nose. "Oof. That sounds rough."
"Yeah, but it wasn't as bad as when they found out that I decided to major in marketing and management. You remember that?"
He remembers Mr Chan asking Astrid over and over again if she's sure about her decision and Mrs Chan asking Astrid if she's pulling a prank on them. It was a long night for all of them, Niall included because Astrid insisted he should be with her when she broke the news to her parents. They weren't happy that they had a spectacle for that talk but they had long accepted the fact that their daughter and Niall were inseparable. They were a package.
"Oh, I couldn't forget it even if I wanted to."
He couldn't ever forget anything about Astrid.
///
You wanna get dinner together?
That's the first thing he read when he woke up from his 3 hours long (or maybe longer) nap. It was supposed to be short, at least that's what he told himself, before unconsciousness took over. Next thing he knows, it's already dark outside and inside his hotel room.
Blinking his eyes several times, Niall looks at the time stamp of Astrid's text message. She sent it almost an hour ago and Niall rushes to reply to it.
So sorry, I just woke up
Is the offer still open?
Niall sits up and rubs his eyes with the pad of his hand. Travelling always makes him tired; sometimes, even more tired than spending 90 minutes running around the field. It's something that he doesn't think he can explain.
Yeah!
I'll come over to your room in twenty?
Sounds good.
Niall puts down his phone and makes his way to the bathroom where he splashes cold water to his face. It wakes him up almost immediately and if that doesn't do it for him, the reflection staring back at him does it. He looks like he could use another ten hours of sleep.
Niall decides that he can't go out looking like that (not when he'll be having dinner with Astrid) so he strips out of his clothes and jumps into the shower quickly. It feels good to have the warm water cascading down his back and he could stay there forever but knowing that he doesn't have all the time in the world before Astrid comes over, he forces himself to get out. The bathroom is filled with steam once he gets out and with a towel wrapped around his waist, he makes his way to his suitcase.
True to her words, Astrid rings the bell to his hotel room twenty minutes later.
Holding his t-shirt in his hand, Niall strides across the room to get the door.
Astrid rears back when she sees a shirtless Niall. "Twenty minutes wasn't enough for you, huh?"
Niall steps aside to let her in and he quickly throws his t-shirt over his head and shoves his arms through the sleeves. "I got carried away in the shower." As soon as those words leave Niall's mouth, he regrets it. "I mean--"
Astrid holds up a hand as she takes a seat on the edge of her bed. "Hey. You don't have to explain yourself. Whatever you do in the shower is your business."
"I--"
"So, I made a reservation downstairs, if that's okay with you?" Before Niall could answer, Astrid adds, "Or we could go to that shawarma place we saw on the way here?"
"You already made a reservation so the shawarma place can wait." Niall goes back to the bathroom where he stands in front of the mirror and runs his fingers through his hair, styling as best as he can without a hair product. "Did you manage to take a nap?"
"Yeah," Astrid answers from the room. "But then Leo called and I didn't get to continue my nap."
Niall stands at the doorway and frowns. "He did?"
Astrid nods. "He apologised for cancelling this trip. Said he'll try to make it to the next one."
Niall doesn't know what to say except for, "Well, that's, uh, that's good."
"Yeah, it's... It's whatever." Getting up from the bed, Astrid asks, "Anyway, you ready?"
"Mhmm."
"Great. I'm starving."
"Right, says you and then you won't even finish your food." Niall is always the one finishing her food because she would subtly force him to do so. She doesn't like wasting food but she also can't finish it herself so her solution? Slides the plate to Niall and hopes that he'd get the hint. He always did.
"Well tonight I'm starving and on God I'll finish my food."
"I'd love to see that."
"Challenge accepted."
///
Astrid managed to finish the food she ordered and she's feeling smug about it. To celebrate her victory, she decided to take Niall out for some ice cream.
"Okay I admit defeat," Astrid groans as she slumps into the neon-coloured chair. She slides her ice cream cup to Niall. "Finish it for me?"
Niall points at his ice cream. "I haven't even finished mine and I don't think I can fit yours in my stomach. And no, don't you give me those eyes."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Astrid says, putting on her innocent face.
Rolling his eyes, Niall puts down his ice cream and finishes Astrid's. By the time he finishes both their ice cream, he's so full that he doesn't want to move. Can't even if he wants to. He might have to visit the hotel gym tomorrow morning before the event starts so he'd feel less guilty for ignoring his diet now that he's in New York.
"I think we should go for a walk," Astrid suggests.
Niall lets out a groan. He'd love to take a walk around New York but not right now. "That sounds like a terrible idea."
"Okay we should return to our hotel and sleep."
"Yeah, that sounds better."
After throwing away their empty cups, Niall and Astrid leave the ice cream shop and begin their five minutes journey back to their hotel.
"So, how're you enjoying life as a football player slash brand ambassador slash model?"
"It's... great. Insanely great." Niall answers, honesty dripping with each word. "Feels like I'm living a dream."
"Well it is your dream," Astrid gives him a sideways glance and a smile.
"And you?" Niall raises an eyebrow at her. "How're you enjoying life as GearUp's creative marketing director?"
"It's great."
Niall can sense a 'but' in there so he asks, "But...?"
"But it's hard." She sighs. "I don't know if you noticed it, but there's only like five women in that office." Yeah, Niall did notice that but he didn't think of bringing that up. "It's a male-dominated office which means I have to work a lot harder to prove myself."
"But you're amazing," Niall finds himself saying.
"Thank you but they don't exactly see that," Astrid replies as she tucks a hair behind her ear. "They look at me and they see this... This ruthless ambitious workaholic who'd bite their head off if they do something wrong. Like I'm this emotional ball and if they poke at me, I'd blow up."
"That's not cool."
"I know," Astrid agrees with a nod."But whatever. My hard work pays off."
"Yeah. Who cares what those idiots think."
Astrid bursts out laughing as they walk through the hotel door and head straight for the lift. "You're absolutely right. They're a bunch of idiots."
"Yes they are."
Astrid smiles. "Thank you for tonight. You didn't have to pay for my dinner and my ice cream--"
"But I wanted to."
"Thank you. Again."
The lift door opens and they step inside. Astrid pushes the button that will take them to their floor and steps back. They're given a room on the same floor with Niall's room a bit further from the lift so when they step out, they get to see Astrid's room first.
And that's how they find Leo pacing back and forth in front of her room.
"There you are!" Leo exclaims as he opens his arms, expecting Astrid to come running to him. When she remains frozen in front of the lift, he frowns. "What, not happy to see me here?"
Niall glances at Astrid to gauge her reaction, but as usual, her face gives nothing away.
"What... What're you doing here?"
Leo closes the distance between them and pulls Astrid into his arms. Although he has his arms wrapped around her, Astrid remains immobile, her arms staying by her side. "I'm here to see my girlfriend, of course."
"You said you couldn't come."
"I did, but I changed my mind and decided to surprise you."
Astrid's eyes find Niall's and all of a sudden, he feels like he's no longer welcomed there. Putting some distance between him and the couple, he points at the direction of his room. "I'm gonna... See you tomorrow."
Astrid nods. "Okay."
"See ya, man."