Niall's Girl

Chapter Thirty Five


Chapter Thirty Five


I woke up late the next morning, finding that Niall had left me a note saying he'd gone to practice with Helene, the vocal coach, and he'd be back soon so we could go have a late breakfast. 





I showered, whistling Gotta Be You as I shampooed my hair. I stayed under the deliciously warm water for as long as it took for my skin to go all wrinkly and then I eventually stepped out onto the fluffy mat, wrapping a warm towel around my body. This hotel really was amazing; definitely the poshest place I had ever stayed.



I continued to hum One Direction songs as I opened the bathroom door.



"Mornin' Ems!"

Niall's voice shocked me so much I almost dropped my towel.



"Oh my god, turn around!" I shrieked, aware that I was stood completely naked apart from the short towel wrapped around me.



Niall chuckled but did as I said. I ran over to my suitcase, grabbing leggings and a checkered shirt before hurrying back into the bathroom.

When I emerged again, Niall was lying on his back on the bed; his arms behind his head.


"Hello, not-naked Emma." He smirked.


"Hello, asshole Niall." I retorted before jumping on the bed next to him. He smiled contentedly as I started tracing patterns on his flat stomach.

"How was the practice?" I asked quietly, but he just hummed in response and smiled a bit wider with his eyes closed.


I laid down after a few minutes, resting my head on his chest and breathing in his wonderful scent. He began to stroke my damp hair and it was so soothing I felt I might fall asleep again.



It felt so surreal to be here, thinking that just a few months ago Niall and I were just talking to each other via DMs on twitter and now here I was, on tour with him.


"C'mon," he said finally, his voice slightly husky suggesting he was close to falling asleep.


I pulled him off the bed and we made our way downstairs. Sitting at one of the restaurant tables were Harry and Louis.

"Hey guys," Niall muttered, flopping down into a chair.


"Hi," I mumbled quietly, feeling shy and intimidated even though I had got on with them perfectly well the day before.


"Sleep well?" Louis winked at me. I blushed, knowing that he was teasing me about sharing a bed with Niall.

"Yes I did," I poked my tongue out at him.


"Me too," Niall smiled, oblivious to Louis' teasing. 



"Right," Paul said, striding over to our table. "Get some food down yous and then let's get out to the van and down to the arena. Twenty minutes, okay?"



The boys nodded and Paul left. Harry and Louis went back to their rooms whilst Niall and I scoffed some beans on toast, laughing at each other as we raced to finish first.



After hurrying back to the room, I grabbed my rucksack and a jacket and we made our way back downstairs. The screaming of the fans could be heard even from inside the lobby, and it was terrifying to say the least. 



"You okay?" Niall said, leaning down so he could speak into my ear. I nodded in reply, but I still grabbed a Niall's hand in mine for comfort. He traced circles in my skin to calm me down and it did help to soothe me.



Paul started ushering the boys out the door and I hung back with Perrie whilst Niall went ahead. She gave me a reassuring smile as we headed out of the lobby.



The hundreds of girls were held back by a barrier, but that didn't stop them reaching and grabbing for the boys as they walked past. Not that I blamed them; I'd be exactly the same. When Perrie walked past, they went insane again. Shouts of 'Perrie!' and 'Little Mix!' were heard.


They seemed more confused when I stumbled at the back, though.


"Who are you?"



"Are you with Niall?"



"Go home!"



"Stay away from Niall!"



These were a few of the shouts directed to me that stood out. I tried to ignore them as I walked quickly to catch up to Perrie.



I realised I was shaking a little so I balled my hands up into fists. Perrie suddenly grabbed my hand, sensing my despair, and I clutched hers gratefully as we finally reached the van. We had barely spoken in the past day, but she seemed lovely and I was so thankful that she was there.



Climbing in, I crouched down and I was so busy concentrating on not bumping my head I almost walked past Niall. He grabbed my waist and pulled me down on the empty seat next to him. 



I was still shaking a little, I think it was from the shock, and Niall looked quite worried, wrapping his arms around me and rubbing my skin to warm me. I rested my head on his shoulder feeling pretty pathetic, but I was too content to move. 



The van started up and we quickly pulled away.



***



To put it bluntly, the arena was absolutely fucking massive. I stood in awe as I twirled around in a circle, taking in the thousands of seats, the VIP boxes and the stage where Niall would be performing later on.



"Crazy big, isn't it?" Harry said, appearing next to me.


"Uh-uh," I said, my face a look of wonder. "What's it like performing in front of thousands every night?"

"Dream come true." The curly haired boy grinned.


"You sound like Niall," I smiled, thinking back to when he said the exact same thing.


"You know him really well, don't you? Like you're really close?" Harry said, his eyebrows now furrowed.


"Uh... yeah?" I said, it turning into a question because I wasn't quite sure where this was going.


Harry's expression changed once again, his face now held a knowing smirk. "And you like him?"



I ignored the butterflies that erupted in my stomach. "Yes, he's one of my best friends."



"That's not what I'm asking." Harry raised his eyebrows.


I blushed furiously, giving myself away. "Um, I don't like him like that," I said pathetically.

"Yes you do!" Harry's smile was huge. "I knew it!"


"Harry, keep it down!" I hissed and he grinned even wider at my defeat. "Promise not to tell Niall, okay? Please please please?!"

Harry's smile dropped a little but he nodded. "I promise. But why?"

"Because he doesn't feel the same way and I don't want to ruin our friendship. He's my favourite person in the entire world and I don't want to have to go home yet." I said emotionlessly.


Harry now looked sad. Jeez, what was up with this boy's emotions?! "I won't say anything." A guy on the stage shouted down to tell Harry to come over. "Kay, got to go. See you in a bit."



He rested his hand on my shoulder before walking around to the stage, muttering something to himself.




***



For the next two hours or so I watched the boys at soundcheck. I'm not going to lie - I was totally fangirling. It was like a private concert and I couldn't help but dance around like a maniac during the upbeat songs and get teary during Little Things. It was still so surreal; I couldn't believe I was here and that I would be watching the show every night. Only a year ago I had spent all of my savings on a ticket and the merchandise. I never would have thought even in my dizziest dreams that I would be here, with Niall, invited on tour.


"Enjoy that?" Niall said when he came down from the stage to join me on the seats. He was smirking smugly so I knew he had seen me throwing around some shapes.



"Yes actually, I did." I poked my tongue out at him. This was the greatest moment of my life and I was not embarrassed to have enjoyed it. 



"You'll enjoy the show later then." Niall grinned, pulling me up from my seating position. He turned around to walk away but I jumped on his back.



"Oof!" His breath rushed out as I shocked him. "What am I, your slave?" He didn't really mind though; he held under my thighs and hoisted me up a bit further. 



"Piggyback me, slave!" I demanded and Niall chuckled, before running off as fast as he could with fat-arse me on his back.



"What's going ooooon?" Zayn said in a terrible American accent as we appeared in the doorway of the dressing room.



"Meet Niall the pony, my loyal steed." I said, patting the top of Niall's head. He made a 'brr' sound with his lips so he sounded like a horse. Zayn looked at us like we had been declared officially insane but then he just laughed, shaking his head.



I jumped down off Niall's back to give him a break. I knew he had bad knees after all, and I refused to be the cause of his pain.



Harry walked into the dressing room and grabbed my wrist, pulling me over to the sofa. I sat down next to him, confused.

"What's up?" I said, frowning slightly. Niall was now talking to Zayn, but I could see him glancing at Harry and I regularly, probably mystified to when we had become friends.



"I've been thinking about..." Harry said quietly, nodding his head subtly in Niall's direction. "I think you should tell him."



"Harry," I whispered, panicking a little. "Be quiet, I don't want anyone to hear!"



"It's fine, calm down!" He said, placing his hand on my knee. I saw Niall's eyes narrow as his gaze was fixed on Harry's hand so I gave him a reassuring smile to let him know everything was fine.



"Look, I'm not going to tell him. Why would I?" I said, more calmly.



"Because I think you'd be surprised at wha - "



"Hey guys!" Niall said, his cheeriness sounding forced. He jumped on my lap, forcing Harry to snatch his hand away. "What's going on?"



"Nothing," Harry and I said at the same time, and then I glared at him because that was more suspicious than a murderer holding a body bag.



"Well... I have to... yeah." Harry stuttered, getting up and moving away to the drinks machine. Niall looked round from his place on my lap to look at my face but I buried my face in his shoulder so he couldn't see the blush filling my cheeks.



This was getting difficult.

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Hey guys :)

I seem to be getting less and less votes with each of the most recent chapters, I'm not sure whether it's just because you guys aren't enjoying these chapters as much or something, so i hope this one makes up for it and i hope you enjoy it! I tried to update early to make you happy:)

The BIG CHAPTERS (aka the most exciting ones that i know youve all been waiting for) are *drumroll*.... gunna be up in a few days! So keep voting and commenting and reading and I'll make sure they were worth the wait.

I love every single one of you people that read this story

keeeeeeep smiling

- Laura x