Lights (Niall Horan)

sixteen

Anna Holden

"Anna?"

I turn, expecting to see Niall. But I should've know better, as the deep male accent was familiar, but not Irish or British.

The figure is about my height, dark-haired, and wearing a stupid cocky grin on his face.

"Colin?" I squint at him. Yep, he's still the same. He's still shy, little-kid adorable, and with the usual player attitude.

Jerk.

"Yup!" He grins wider. "What are you doing here today?"

I glance around for any sign of Niall. "Umm..."

Colin laughs, smirking. "Well, we're going to do something together then."

Out of the corner of my eye, I finally see Niall, walking towards us quickly with a determined look spread across his flawless features.

I wonder what's wrong.

I glance in another direction and see Danielle waiting outside the brick building, most likely waiting for Colin.

All of a sudden, Colin takes my hand in his and I squirm uncomfortably.

It doesn't feel anything like Niall's. Colin is more forced, and Niall is more carefree and leisurely.

I never knew there were two ways to hold someone's hand, or possibly even more.

I stare into his brown eyes, shocked.

"Stay away from her," warns Niall quietly but forcefully, suddenly right by my side.

As he draws breath, I can easily tell that he is more than a bit annoyed.

But maybe even that is an understatement.

Why is he so... Infuriated?

It has the desired effect, though, because Colin seems intimidated by Niall's presence. Maybe it's because he's two inches taller than him or better built, I have no clue.

But Colin just leaves us without another word, glaring at the two of us speechlessly.

I turn to Niall, exhaling. "Thank you, Niall. Thank you."

I really can't seem to thank him enough.

He shrugs, face color going back to normal. "Sorry..."

"For what?" I look up at him, a puzzled look on my face. As far as I'm concerned, he did the right thing.

Niall holds me against his chest and stroked my hair gently. "For leaving you alone," he whispers. "If I do, another lad will come after you within seconds. And we can't have that happening."

I look up hoping to glimpse Niall's shiny blue eyes, but he just looks away. We break apart and leave to go find a small table where we wait in an awkward silence until our drinks are prepared.

Niall Horan

Now I really feel that it is my duty to protect Anna.

Maybe she doesn't need help and it's me who's the weak one. But for some reason I need reassurance that she's alright.

Why, though? She's incredibly strong and has taken many self-defense classes.

But you never know what could happen. Some guy, or girl, could be faster or stronger and whisk her away before I'm there to save her. And I'm not leaving anything like that to chance.

Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe I'm overprotective.

But I'm me.

After we get our drinks and a few muffins, I finally break the silence, starting on a new topic.

"How is it that you hacked into my phone account so easily?" I ask her, examining the new iPhone carefully. It's exactly like my old one, except the screen is intact and functioning properly.

Anna cracks up, almost choking on her Starbucks hot chocolate.

"Really? You should set up more advanced security questions, Nialler. What's your favorite book? Probably the only one you ever 'read.' To Kill A Mockingbird. Anyone who has access to Internet would be able to figure that out."

I remain silent, considering this. She's right.

"But, Niall..." She begins nervously, and I could tell she had been thinking about this the whole day. "Do-do you think they'll like me?"

"Who?" I ask, dumbstruck.

"Your parents..." Anna continues, smiling nervously.

Oh.

I take her hand back into mine and stare into her eyes, wide with worry, and say as convincingly as possible, "Anna, they're going to love you. Trust me."

I've never been so certain of anything in my life.

Her expression softens, but she still has a worried expression on her face. "How can you be so sure?"

"Believe me. They will." I reassure her easily, because it's 100% true. I've told them every detail I know about Anna and my parents told me that they're happy for me and want to meet her.

They've never been this encouraging about whoever I'm dating.

I'm not entirely sure why they're so encouraging about her. Usually they have to meet the girl I'm with before they decide.