Summer '09 [Niall Horan fanfiction]

Chapter Four

Hello! Happy New Year!! Enjoy this chapter :D And remember, this is a short story – I forgot to make that a category – so it won’t be massively long. Please vote/fan/comment and thanks loads!

Te amo! <3 vb123321

The next day dawned sunny and hot, and so that afternoon, right after lunch, both of our cabins headed down to the lake for a swim. The thermometer read ninety-two degrees, and so by the time we reached the beach, we were all covered in a fine layer of sweat. I was wearing the same jean shorts and a tank top over my tankini, a large pair of reflective sunglasses perched on my nose. As we didn’t have mirrors at camp, the girls always used my sunglasses to look at themselves, and I caught several of them doing so as they talked to me.

The boys were walking in front of us, talking boisterously and shoving each other back and forth. Every now and then, Niall would glance back at me with his trademark brilliant smile, and then quickly turn around again before anyone noticed. While we wouldn’t exactly get into trouble for the kiss, it was frowned upon, and so we were trying to keep it quiet. But it was proving to be very, very difficult to forget.

After sitting through the usual mandatory lecture about safety on the lake, we were free to swim. One of the most popular places was what we called the “blob”; basically a water trampoline set in deep enough to swim out to. We had a method for “blobbing,” which involved someone sitting on one end of the contraption, and another person jumping off the diving tower onto the other end. Predictably, the person who wasn’t doing the jumping would fly into the air and land with a heavy splash in the water.

It was, as Niall would say, a great craic.

We all stripped out of our clothes and sunglasses, ditching them in a heap on the sand. Yelling and giggling, we sprinted into the water, spray flying everywhere as a couple people lost their balance and fell face-first into the lake. The first ten minutes or so were spent the usual way, with us horsing around and chasing each other through the water, and then we headed out to the blob and diving tower.

There was the customary rush to get to the top of the diving tower and arguments over whose turn it was to be blobbed first. Most of the counselors chose to float several feet away from the blob, claiming it was more amusing to watch. Kirsty had stayed on the beach and spread out her towel to get a tan, even though we all warned her she would die of skin cancer from the rays of the burning sun. Michelle ended up sitting on one end of the blob first, her scream high-pitched as a six-foot guy from King Ranch shot her straight into the air.

Alternatively jumping onto the blob and diving off the tower, I had a fabulous time, laughing with the girls and teasing the boys. Niall and I dived in sync several times – both of us failing miserably most times – and then settled back to watch my cousin Michelle dive, since she was a pro. I felt my heart start to beat rapidly again as we sat next to each other at the top of the tower, ignoring people as they complainingly stepped over us to dive or bounce.

He was shirtless, naturally, and I tried not to be distracted by this as we talked as nonchalantly as we could. The sun was so bright that I could pass my blushing off for a growing sunburn, because even with 100 SPF I could feel my skin burning. Niall’s face was reddening as well, as he never thought to wear sunscreen. The way his sparkling blue eyes kept flicking to mine as we sat together, basking in the sun in hopes of one day getting a tan.

The kiss was still predominant in my mind, and probably in his as well, because after a few minutes, he casually took my hand in his, pretending to be comparing it to something. But I knew that he wanted to hold it, and I let him, a smile slipping on my face as I felt the sun burn even hotter.