Summer '09 [Niall Horan fanfiction]

Chapter Three

Hey!! Merry Christmas to you ALL and I hope you enjoy this next part! Have a great break and a Happy New Year! (if you’re on break; if not, have a great time in school, I’ll think about you when I wake up at noon haha :D) Please fan/vote/comment would mean the world to me. Gracias!

<3 vb123321

Chapter Three

“WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU–”

“Wetter,” Kirsty cut in across my singing, wiping her face with a sour look. “Will you cut that out, Catherine? I’m drenched by your splashing.”

I smiled meekly, putting down the scrub brush I had been using to mop out a dirty dinner pot. “Sorry. Should I sing more quietly?”

“How about – not at all,” suggested Jenna, another girl from my cabin. “Or at least do less hand motions while you’re at it so the rest of it don’t have to feel your dishwater.”

“Okay.” I grinned. “How ‘bout we all sing along, then? Come on, you all know the lyrics – you know the bed feels warmer, sleeping here alone…” I broke into the song again, belting it out at the top of my lungs as, laughing and moaning, the other girls joined in so that the whole kitchen rang with the sounds of our terrible voices. Ranch camp girls weren’t really the type to be featured on American Idol.

As we came to the end of the first chorus, and I came to the end of scrubbing the sauce pot, the sound of someone clapping resonated from the doorway, along with a loud “Bravo, bravo.” I jumped, dropping my scrubber, and turned in its direction, immediately feeling my face start to flush as I realized who was standing there.

Niall’s blonde hair was wilting slightly over his forehead from the intense heat that the boilers in the kitchen are giving off, since we had to boil our well-water before washing the dishes. The straw hat had disappeared from his head; I assumed he had put it somewhere to keep it safe. His blue eyes were laughing as he took in the scene in front of him, even as Kirsty and Erin began yelling at him to get out. As he glanced at me, his grin widened a little, his eye actually dipping down in a wink as he stepped further inside and leaned against a wall.

“Need some help, ladies?”

Kirsty shook her brown hair out of her face, glaring at him. “No, thanks, we’re fine in here. Your dishes night is tomorrow; boys switch off, remember? So you can feel free to leave.”

“Cool it, Kirsty,” cut in Erin with a grin. I think she kind of wanted to see a Scottish temper clash with an Irish one, like the rest of us, but she just patted Kirsty on the head patronizingly instead. “Let him help if he really wants to.”

“It’s the girls’ night,” grumbled Kirsty, making a face at her. I didn’t get why she was so against having Niall in the kitchen with us, because she was hardly one to obsess over the “no purpling” rule. Still, she didn’t look too happy, and Erin was rolling her eyes even as she opened her mouth, clearly to tell Niall to clear out.

“Aw, come on.” My mouth popped the words out before I realized what it was planning on saying. “I mean, we want to get these dishes done quickly so we can go do something else, right?”

Everyone turned to look at me, their expressions ranging from surprised to amused to the now-familiar suggestive. I forced my complexion back to normal, shrugging at them as I put the pot to one side and tossed the scrub brush in Niall’s direction. His eyebrows flying up in surprise, he just managed to catch it, looking ridiculously pleased that he had as he pretended to buff his nails against his shirt.

“Oh, get on with it.” Kirsty still looked annoyed, but I caught a glimpse of a smile steal over her face. “Go help Catherine with those pots if you were so eager to help. They are the worst, anyway.”