Cigarettes and Hickies [n.h]

quarante-un

The aftermath of the show felt like a blur, the rhythmic screams of the girls around Ocean became a background noise as the loud music on stage overpowered everything else. The boys were absolutely natural on stage, each note they hit perfectly and they were great at entertaining the crowd. 

The various moments Niall glanced over at the girl with silvery-blue hair, her heart seemed to skip a beat. It felt like she was the only girl in the stadium to whom he was singing to, no one else made him grin like she did as she smiled back from the crowd. Niall was bouncing with glee as his mates noticed his happiness and Louis mainly being the one to occasionally look over at Ocean and wink at her as he laughed at the two lovebirds absolutely smitten with each other. 

The girls around Ocean began to look at her confusingly as they couldn't quite understand who the girl was and why it looked like there was a private communication going on between the boys and her - and especially a connection with Niall. They hadn't recognised the girl at all, nor seen her in any of the gossip magazines as a clue to who she was; they thought she must be one o the lad's current love, but by the look the girl was giving them, they realised she seemed too hostile to be considered a friend of any them. None of them dared to ask the girl who she was, to put their curiosity at ease, and only hoped the lads would notice them just as much as they had noticed the girl with blue hair. However, they did not.

Once the show had finished and the crowds were leaving, some were picking up bits of the colourful confetti on the floor as a memento from the show, the girl walked over to the security guard that was on the side of the barrier, who recognised her and allowed her through. She followed the crew behind the scenes who were smiling and followed the sudden cheering of the voices she recognised the most. 

"What an incredible show, well done lads!" Liam exclaimed, and the boys all half hugged as they muttered well done to each other. 

When Niall turned around and spotted Ocean standing there, with her silver-blue hair standing out in the distance, he ran over to her with a kaleidoscope of butterflies in his belly and a wide smile on his face. 

"That was amazin'!" He cheered as the adrenaline was still pumping in his veins and he was still buzzing from the show. "What did ye think of it? Did you enjoy it?"

"Okay, I don't want this getting out... but I did!" She said and laughed, Niall could tell she was playing with him about not wanting it to get out and he couldn't stop smiling as he heard she had a great time.

"Did ya hear lads?" Niall then turned and asked the boys who were starting to head to the Green Room. "Ocean loved the show!"

The boys in the background all cheered, Louis being the most extravagant of all commenting that he always knew that she was going to have a blast. Ocean only shook her head and lightly swatted Niall on the arm. 

"I'm never trusting you with anything ever again!" She exaggerated, but in that moment Niall scooped her from her feet and twirled her around in the air. 

"Ye're amazin' and I'm crazy about you." He exclaimed, the words leaving his mouth before he could even have a moment of thought. He couldn't care about what Ocean would think about his sudden burst of emotions, he knew it was the first time he was telling her exactly what he thought of her and in that moment, he knew he couldn't wait a moment longer not to tell her about it. 

And for what seemed like the best luck in Niall's world, Ocean didn't feel attacked by it like he feared she may have done. She instead replied with a smile, "I'm so glad, as I feel the same." 

Maybe it was the heat of the moment that they were both lost in, but she also felt like letting Niall know exactly how she felt. It was a growing feeling inside her that clearly everyone around her had witnessed and commented that it was being reciprocated. But it wasn't until Niall had declared it out loud that it suddenly clicked inside her that she felt the same. He was driving her crazy and the fact she had sat through a whole concert of a band she previously publicly disliked, she knew she had to feel something for the boy.