When Niall attends the FIFA Women's Final, his attention gets captured by one of the players.
Patience has never been easy for Niall, but when he's put to the test will he finally learn or will he end up with his heart broken?
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The evening continues on as Niall gets up and goes to talk with some of his friends and guests. Aspen stays at the table with his parents while they finish up dessert.
"I'm going to head to the ladies room" Aspen says as she excuses herself, fixing her dress before walking in the direction of the restrooms.
Niall sees her in his peripheral vision, his attention being drawn away from his good friend, Lewis Capaldi, for a few long moments before turning back to him with a smile. "Wait... say that again" he says, Lewis shaking his head.
"Man, I bet you wish your parents weren't staying with you tonight." He says with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. Niall reaches over and smacks his chest.
"Actually, yeah, I do" he laughs softly with a blush.
"Aspen Murphy?" She asks, Aspen's attention being diverted from washing her hands to an older woman. Her heart immediately dropping.
"Mrs. Montgomery. Wh- what a surprise" she says with a soft smile, the older woman moving in to hug her. Aspen hugs her awkwardly, looking like she wants to get away.
"You look beautiful" Mrs. Montgomery compliments her as she looks her over. "I didn't realize you were involved with the golf world as well. How is soccer going? We don't catch as many games as we used to."
Aspen takes in a semi deep breath with a nod. "Oh, it's going well. I'm enjoying the time off for now" she says vaguely, not wanting to get too invested in the conversation.
"Well, we miss having you around. Josh mentioned he saw you recently on one of those late night shows and you won the lawsuit. Congratulations. You're doing some great things." She smiles genuinely.
"Thank you. I appreciate the support." She nods in return to her compliment.
"It was so good to see you. Josh will be happy to know you're doing well." She says as Aspen nods.
"You too" she says simply before quickly walking out of the bathroom.
Niall stands at the table and looks around for her after taking a sip of his beer. He spots her, an instant smile coming to his face.
As she's on her way to the table, she gets stopped by a younger man, Aspen smiling softly as he talks to her. She nods her head and leans in to take a picture. She tucks her hair behind her left ear and engages further into the conversation.
"Niall? We need you" Tara comes over and rubs his back to get his attention. He takes another sip and sets his glass down before following Tara. He's quickly distracted by the familiar feelings of doubt as he is greeted by Lewis backstage.
Aspen walks back to her table a few minutes later and takes her seat as the lights go down. As soon as Niall steps out onto the stage with Lewis, his eyes find hers. He feels a bit reassured just seeing her at his table and feels disappointed in himself to let his mind think she would be like Hailee.
She smiles as Lewis finishes his part, Niall taking over the second half of 'Bruises'. She ever so softly sings along while Niall and Lewis starting to goof around on stage. His mood brightens a bit as the song finishes. Lewis nearly tackles him into a hug, the crowd laughing a bit.
Niall comes off stage, greeted by a standing Aspen. She pulls him into a hug and kisses his cheek softly. "Incredible"
"Thanks, love" He says as he pulls away and sits down, ready for the auction to start and to get down to the reason for the event.
Things are actioned off left and right, the event making well over what they had hoped. Niall stands up at the end of the items and walks on stage with Justin.
He grabs the mic and covers his chest with his free hand. "From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so so much for helping us make this event the best one yet. We're are so grateful for all of hard work from our team. Tara, we couldn't have done any of this without you. Go ahead and take a long, well deserved vacation. My family, my girlfriend, my best friends, Rosie.. " he says turning his attention to Justin beside him. "thank you."
Justin then takes a few moments for his thank you's before wrapping up the event. Niall makes his way over to say goodbye to most of the guests, Aspen hanging back with his parents as they mingle with some of Niall's inner circle.
An hour later, they pile back into the awaiting car and head home.
