Love Me for Me

Chapter Three

NIALL'S POV

The second I stepped off the airplane I ran towards baggage. The sooner I got out of the airport the better. I grabbed my suitcase and walked quickly towards the front door without being noticed. I caught a taxi and told him to drop me off downtown. When we got there I paid him the fare and walked down the street into a hair salon. I made sure I had my sunglasses on before someone there recognized me. "What can I do for you?" the lady at the desk asked me.

"Yeah um, I need to get my hair dyed? Can you do that?" She looked down at the book on the desk and wrote something down.

"Yep; come over here." She sat me down in a chair and set everything up. After about an hour and a half, she was finished and I looked into the mirror. It was so weird to see myself with brown hair again. I barely recognized myself.

After I paid the woman I walked out and looked at my phone- it was 2:00pm. I walked down the street until I found the store I was looking for. I walked in and saw a lady at the front desk. I went up to her and stood there until she noticed me. "Hello. What can I do for you today, sir?"

"I need to buy colored contacts- not prescription." I tapped my fingers on the desk while she typed something on the computer.

"What color, sir?" she asked me, not looking up.

"Brown, preferably." She typed more stuff on the computer until she removed her glasses and stood up.

"You're in luck; we have 2 pairs left." She walked away from the desk and into a room in the back. A few minutes later, she came out with a box and handed it to me. "Here you go. Do you know how to put them in and take them out?"

I used them when I was younger for a play I was in, so I remember how to use them. "Yes I do." I said, pulling out my wallet.

"Great; that'll be $100." I gave her the money and she gave me the contacts. I thanked her and went into the bathroom to put them in. I looked at myself in the mirror and my jaw dropped. I looked like a completely different person.

"No one's going to recognize me- I barely recognize myself." I said softly. After staring at the 'new me' I opened the bathroom door and left the store. The last thing I needed to do was change my telephone number. The man at the place was very kind and let me change it without any trouble. As soon as I walked out of the store I texted Zayn. "hey zayn, it's niall this is my new number so make sure to text this one instead of the old one hope everything is going good over there. talk to you later -nialler" I sent the message and started walking towards the apartment complex I booked while I was at the airport.

When I walked into the lobby, I noticed a large front desk with a gentleman on the phone standing behind it. I walked up to it as the man hung up and looked up. "Name, please?" he asked me.

"Uh, Ben McCarthy." It sounded weird calling myself a different name, but it'll have to do.

"Ah yes, here you are." The manager said. "We have you right here; room 215." He looked under the desk and pulled out the key to the room. "Here is your key." I took the key and said thank you. "Pontes!" he called out.

A boy that looked a little younger than me turned the corner in the complex uniform and smiled. "Yes, sir?"

"Please take Mr. McCarthy's bags up to his room please." The manager said.

"No, it's fine." I said. "It's only two bags; I can handle it on my own." The boy shook his head and went to grab my bags.

"It's alright, sir. It's my job." He picked up my bag and started towards the elevator. "What room?" he asked while waiting for the elevator.

"215." I said. The elevator doors opened and we both got in, standing there awkwardly not saying a word. "So what's your name?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Carter- Carter Pontes." I nodded my head, waiting to see if he'd say anything.

"So Carter, how old are you?" I asked as the doors opened.

"Just turned 19 last month- October 3rd. What about you?" he took a left and kept walking down the hallway.

"I turned 19 in September." I said following him.

He stopped at a door and faced me. "Do you have a key?" he asked me.

"Oh, yeah; here it is." I took out my key and stuck it into the door, unlocking it. We both walked in and looked around. The apartment was pretty big, with a window wall near the sitting area and the kitchen on the other side. There was a hallway and that's where I figured the bathroom and bedrooms were. It was surprisingly very nice.

"Whoa; nice place you got here." Carter said, looking around.

"Thanks." I said. He started walking down the hallway, stopping at one of the doors. I followed him, stopping at one of the bedrooms.

"Which room do you want?" he asked. I looked at both of them. One had the basic things- bed, dresser, side table- but nothing special. The other room was much bigger and had a huge window overlooking all of Cincinnati.

"I'll take this one." I said, pointing to the bigger room.

"Smart choice." Carter said, joking around. We both walked in and he set my bag down next to the bed. We walked out and back into the sitting area where he stopped in front of the door. "So how long do you plan on staying here?"

"I'm not really sure yet; it just depends on how I like it here." I replied.

"Well if you plan on being here long, I suggest you buy some extra clothes." He said, referring to my small bags.

"I know. Do you know any good places to go?"

"Yeah, there's this place downtown next to this Italian restaurant. You can't miss it." I nodded my head.

"Alright, well thanks and I'll probably see you around, right?" Carter scoffed and nodded.

"Oh, absolutely. They only have like 30 people working here." I stared at him in astonishment; he must have to work a long shift. I went into my pocket and pulled out my wallet, grabbing a $10 bill.

"Here; take it." I said, handing it to him.

"Are you serious?" he asked, staring at me shocked.

"Positive; you deserve it." He slowly took the money and put it into his pocket.

"Thanks." He opened the door and started walking out, but stopped. "You know, you're pretty cool, Ben."

I smiled and walked over to the door. "Thanks; so are you. And feel free to come by if you ever need anything." He smiled and nodded, thinking about my offer.

"Alright; I'll see you around." I smiled and shut the door, walking towards my room to start my new life here in the US.