♥ I Never Thought I'd Love You ♥

~Chapter 30: In Five Days

~Chapter 30: In Five Days

            “Hey, lads,” Niall greeted. I jerked my head around slowly to look at him. Niall’s hair was wet AND he was shirtless, with beads of water trickling down his torso. Mesmerised, I watched as Niall ran his fingers through his hair. I could feel something going off in my head, telling me to turn away as I watched Niall dry his hair, but I just sat there and stared at him.

            I didn’t notice everyone watching me, since I was too busy watching Niall. “Umm, Cordelia?” I heard Harry call my name.

            I snapped back to attention, and then turned my head back to look at everyone. “I bet you like that,” Harry whispered to me.

            “Like what?” I asked, trying not to blush. Unfortunately, that’s something I couldn’t control.

            “Niall shirtless.” Harry burst out laughing.

            Niall walked over to us, and Zayn immediately got up from my right and sat across from me. I kept my eyes on the ground as I felt Niall sit down next to me. I could feel my face getting hotter by the moment. “So, Cordelia. You still haven’t answered our question,” Zayn replied.

            I’m dead. So very, very dead, I thought. “What question?” Niall asked, drying his hair.

            I tried not to get distracted by Niall, but I ended up staring at him anyway. “We asked if she liked yoouuuuu,” Adriana answered, leaning over the couch again.

            “Oh,” Niall said, laughing. “I already know the answer to that.”

            I jabbed Niall in the ribs with my finger, silently protesting. But instead, Niall grabbed my hand and held it. My feelings were seriously going crazy. “Cordelia won’t tell us,” Liam said.

            Niall laughed and replied, “You don’t need to know.”

            “Well, you’d better get something confirmed sooner or later. The fans are going crazy.” Zayn handed Niall a laptop.

            “What… ‘Is Niall Horan Still Single?’ Are you kidding me? This is going around?” I asked, laughing. “Of course he’s still single! Why would someone think otherwise?” I laughed until I realized no one else was laughing. All the boys and Adriana raised an eyebrow at me. “Huh? Oh.” I looked down. “Right.” Niall and I had many pictures taken.

            “Well, Cordelia, whether you like Niall or not, he knows the answer. And we all think you’re great and you’re a good person. We support you and Niall,” Liam said, smiling. “He’ll be the one to do anything for you.”

            I tightened my grip on his hand. “Thank you,” I replied, smiling.

            “Can I get a picture of you two?” Louis asked, raising his phone.

            Niall scooted closer to me and put his arm around my shoulders. We both smiled, and Louis took the picture. “This is going on Twitter,” he sang and continued on his phone. “Captions shall be, ‘Niall and her should just go out already!’ Exclamation… mark…”

            “Oh my gosh,” I said, laughing. “Stop it, Louis.”

            “AHA! SO YOU DO LIKE HIM!” Harry said, jumping up and down on the couch.

            I laughed it off and Adriana said, “Awwwwww! Niall, why haven’t you asked her out?”

            Niall shrugged and replied, “She’s not ready for it.”

           “Not ready?! Not ready to date one of the hottest guys in the world?!” Adriana asked me. “Are you crazy?! GIRLL, YOU GOTTA GET YO HEAD IN THE GAME.”

            I rolled my eyes. “I don’t really think of you guys-- I mean One Direction, as celebrities. I think of you guys as normal people. Like any guy across the street I’d meet.” I smiled. “Not so much the fame.”

            They all smiled. “Now, THAT we don’t hear every day.” The lads all laughed.

            Then, the talk turned serious. “So… when are you guys going on tour?” I asked quietly, the atmosphere tensing up.

            Faces went from smiling to frowning, noises went from laughing to silence, and everyone just sat quietly. “In five days,” Louis answered softly. “In five days, we’ll be leaving…”