Vigilant | N.H.

Forty.

May 17th, 2016.

NIALL'S POV
With every breath I take, the salty air fills my lungs. Seagulls chirp around me, speaking a foreign language amongst the others. The rays of golden light blind my vision, thawing the icy blueness of my orbs. I squint my eyes as they wander upon the horizon where the sky meets the ocean blue. Waves ripple in the distance as barrels of them slam onto the shore, creating a beautiful symphony composed by Mother Nature. A reflective object catches my eye as I focus all of my attention on it.

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

There she is, my sun, the light of my life—Blair Collins, soon-to-be Blair Horan. My God, I'm lucky.

Her honey-colored locks put the brightest gold thread to shame. The glow of her supple skin could be seen from hundreds of yards away. That's what she does—she shines, she glows. A true ray of sunshine, if you will.

But to me, she is the sun.

She runs towards me quite quickly though it appears she's running in slow motion. Maybe I'm just insane, but I swear she looks like she's straight of Baywatch. Her paper-white teeth come out of hiding as she finally reaches me. "Come in, the water is divine," she dramatically says as she tosses her head backward. Her hand intertwines with mine as she uses it to drag me towards the water. "Not even gonna fight it," I shake my head at Delaney as her and Harry laugh and point at us. They are making one hell of a sandcastle, though. Wish I could join them.

My toes dip into the lukewarm water as a feeling of happiness intoxicates me. I can't describe it because it's unlike anything I've ever felt before. I feel warm, inside and out. My body is relaxed, even while I'm standing up. She leads me into deeper waters as we feel little minnows brush up against our shins. Laughter reigns in the air, overpowering the sound of calm waves. The feeling is so serene, so powerful. The tranquility of this getaway has taken over me just within minutes of being here. The golden daylight hangs directly above us as the melanin in our skin replenishes from summer's past. 

This feeling is summer.

I look down at our feet to see a bed of shells acting as a stable surface to stand on. I kneel down, allowing the refreshing element to coat my chest. "Look," I get her attention and pick up the shell. "It's a sand dollar. They're super rare," I hand it to her. "Take it. It's an omen of luck."

She tilts her head, smiling. "I don't need any more luck, I've already had plenty of it. Especially this year," she places a kiss on my lips. She hands it back to me so I place it back down into the water. I know whenever it washes back onto the shore, it'll find somebody who is in need of luck. Maybe they'll take it as their sign.

Harry, Louis, and Delaney join us in the water. "I brought you both water, you need to stay hydrated," Delaney's nurturing trait kicks in. "Thanks, Mom," I nod my head to her as I sip from the plastic bottle. I hate drinking bottles of water because they pollute the Earth, so I always bring a stainless steel bottle with me. My navy blue hydroflask is a necessity.

"I wonder if we'll get lucky and see any dolphins today? We still have a few hours till we check into our house," Blair speaks amongst us. "I really hope we do. The people parked next to us said they saw them about an hour ago, so maybe they're hanging out closer to the shore today," I nod my head as my eyes scan the horizon. We make our way back to shore and shake out all of our towels. "Looking good guys," Blair lays her towel next to Zayn and Liam. "Look at you, Barbie," Liam chuckles.