Chloe's POV
I'm in the hotel in New York, just came back from an interview. I get inside the thankfully empty elevator, not particularly feeling like socialising after such a long day. Unfortunately, it stops at the first floor and someone enters. I roll my eyes and sigh as Niall comes in. But weirdly enough he's looking at me shocked.
'Clo? What are you doing here?'
'You didn't know I'd be here?'
'No!'
'Oh! When I saw you I thought it's another one of your tricks again.'
'No! You told me not to do that anymore and to text you if I wanted to ask you to be somewhere. I genuinely didn't know you were staying in this hotel. You've got to believe me.'
'Alright. Calm down. I believe you.'
'Oh good.' He breathes out in relief. 'So what are you doing here?'
'Promo. You?'
'Same.'
'It's really hard to believe that this is a coincidence! Maybe your people arranged for it to happen?'
'Why does it have to be my people? Maybe it's yours.'
'They can't know where you're staying if your people don't give them or leak the info.'
'Why do we have to pass the blame?' He argues. 'Who cares if it's on purpose or not? We lay low, do our jobs and then go.'
'Yeah alright. Sorry.'
'I'm sorry too.' He sighs and then the elevator unexpectedly stops. 'Wow, we're stopping? Why are we stopping? Where are we?'
I look at the panel and it seems that we're in between floors. I press on the emergency button hoping something will happen while Niall is banging relentlessly on the door hoping somewhere will hear and get help.
'Niall, calm down. I'm sure it's gonna work any second now. I'm sure they're aware of the problem and they're already working on fixing it okay?'
'What if they don't know? What if they don't fix it fast enough? What if we suffocate?'
'Niall. Breathe. It's gonna be okay.' I reassure him. But as soon as I say that the lights turn off and we're left in almost total darkness.
'You were saying? They're not fixing shit! It's only getting worse! We're never gonna get out of here!' He rambles as he starts to lose his shit while I'm working on turning my phone's flashlight.
'Niall!' I shout to get his attention to me.
I put my hands on his shoulder and look into his eyes. 'Niall, listen to me. Focus on my voice.' I tell him calmly. 'Everything is going to be okay. Just breathe in deeply, and then breathe out.' He does as I say. 'That's it, again, in... and then out. One more time? There you go! We're not here okay? It's just you and me. Don't think about where we are or what's going on. It's just you and me alright. Everything will be okay.'
'Everything will be okay.' He repeats looking into my eyes.
'Yeah! So umm Niall? Do you maybe want to sit down?'
He nods, and I grab his arm and guide him to one of the edges on the side on the box. I hold him as he's sitting down and then I sit next to him.
'What can I do for you? Do you need a hug?' I ask him and he nods.
I open my arms and he leans in, resting his head on my chest. I wrap my arms around him and stroke his back hoping it'll soothe him.
'So do you want to hear a story?' I ask hoping he'll say yes and it'll distract him from the situation.
'So I was in a city in Spain, and I met this girl and as she guided me through the city, we got to know each other and she told me her story. So during high school, she had a crush on his guy, typical popular guy, captain of the football team, everybody loves him. While she just mostly kept to herself and her studies. He never really noticed her, and she kinda resented him for it. But she grew up and forgot about it. Years into the future, she moved to another city and put her high school days behind her. Then one day, she runs into him out of nowhere. He starts hitting on her, not even remembering that they went to school together. He kept chasing her and she kept turning him doing without ever giving him a reason. So he didn't give up. Then a few years after that. They meet again but at their high school reunion. And that's when he knew why she kept pushing him away. So he publically apologised to her, making a total fool of himself in front of all his high school friends.'
'So did she take him back at this point?' He asks.
'No.' I laugh.
'Why not?' He asks curiously and I smile glad that the story is distracting him.
'Because, he's just not good enough for her, he wasn't interested in her as a person, they just weren't a good match. He kept chasing after her because she kept rejecting him. It was a challenge for him. He didn't truly care about who she is deep down. Didn't try to get to know her on a deeper level, or else he would've known that they went to the same school way before the reunion.'
'Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Relentlessness and hope alone are not enough. There should be love and care before anything else.'
'And trust.' I add.
'And forgiveness.' He says looking up at me, pulling away from the hug.
'Yeah...' I sigh.
'What are we doing?' He asks in retrospective.
'What do you mean?'
'We have something that a lot of people wish they could have, something people have completely lost hope that they could ever get. We love each other. So much! So instead of putting our differences aside and try to work through our problems. What are we doing? Giving in to fear? Pushing each other away? And for what? Just so we wouldn't feel pain again? Because it fucking destroyed us the first time? Well, guess what darling, that's life. We need to accept both the good and the bad. We can't be happy if we don't know what pain feels like. So if we truly want to be happy, and if we want to be happy together. We need to accept the risk and cost. Yes, that cost is too expensive, and I'm not saying any one of us should be paying it. But isn't there any part of you, even the smallest, who thinks us being together is worth the try?'
I don't say anything, I don't know what to say... Niall looks deeply into my eyes as his hand finds my cheek. He doesn't lean in, he's not doing that because he wants to kiss me. I think he's just... looking... just... feeling my presence next to him.
'I miss you so much.' He chokes up.
'I'm right here.' I assure him, putting my hand on top of his.
'But you're not. There's this wall separating us and I can barely see you. I'm looking at you but the look I get in return is empty. I look at you but I don't see you inside of this beautiful shell. And it's not that you're not there. I know that you are. But you're hiding yourself from me. And it's even more heartbreaking than not being able to see you at all. And I never thought that I could feel heartbreak greater than the one I've gone through over the last three years. And yet... Here we are.'
'Niall...' I breathe, letting a few tears slip out.
I feel my body lean in into his. But the lights turn back on. We both immediately stand up and I turn my back to him to wipe my cheeks from the tears.
'See told you everything will be alright.' I force a smile as the elevator starts going up again.
'Yeah.' He clears his throat. 'Thanks for getting me through this.'
'No need to thank me. It's the least I could do.'
The elevator stops at my floor and the doors open.
'Are you gonna be okay?' I ask stopping by the doors.
'Yeah.'
'I'll see you 'round, Niall.'
'Yeah, for sure.' He sigh.
'Take care.' I call as the doors close again, separating us.