Without a Clue {Diall}

Chapter Nineteen: The Hopeful Boy

Chapter Nineteen Word Count: 5231 words

(a/n: there's a lot of swearing in this chapter, so don't read if that bothers you!!! also, i wrote this chapter in only six days so i'm very proud of myself. i'll be in europe for around two weeks, so i don't know if i'll have any time to write when i'm there, but i'll try to write on the plane!)

Niall looks amazing in a suit. Every time I think he couldn't look more attractive, he seems to prove me wrong, and this is definitely one of those times. He's sitting next to me in the back of this incredibly large SUV, a couple of people from both of our teams (stylists, managers, publicists, etc.) chatting lightly in the seats towards the front of the car. Niall's been looking at his phone for at least the last fifteen minutes. I can't blame him, really. He's not used to being without Grayson for this long, and while his mother is a perfectly capable babysitter, I can still easily feel his nerves.

"Niall." I say his name lightly, but he doesn't turn, as I don't really think he's paying attention to much besides the fact that his mother hasn't replied to his latest text and its been like, an entire minute.

"Ni," I repeat, and he looks up this time, his eyebrows furrowed in worry, "G is fine. I promise. Your mom will tell you if she needs you." I know my words can't do much to calm him. I've learned how to pretty reliably tell the difference between Niall's everyday nerves, and his anxiety. I know that this is his anxiety, and there's not much I can say that will make him relax. He knows that Grayson if fine, he really does. It just doesn't feel that way, and that's alright. I just feel bad for his mom who will be receiving a text from her son every thirty seconds asking if Grayson is still alright.

"I know. Just nervous s'all. Miss him." Niall mumbles, and locks his phone, looking up to me with his lip puffed out a bit in a pout.

"You'll see him soon, Ni." Niall puffs out a sigh and nods, pulling me into a tight side hug with a sound of approval.  Niall hasn't seen Grayson since we left my house at around six this morning, which is far longer than any amount of time that he's usually away from the baby.

"You clean up nice, Horan." I mumble, and I can feel the vibrations of his gentle laugh under my cheek.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Niall taps his fingers lightly on the exposed skin at my back, one small cutout resting there. The little pocket square in his suit jacket matches the lipstick I'm wearing perfectly, and the black of my dress is the exact same shade as his suit. It's surreal matching with him like this. It's our first formal appearance together, and it seems as if no one's going to be able to miss that.

It's so quiet when we pull up to the red carpet, everyone in the car seemingly holding their breath. This has to go well for us if we want to have any chance of maintaining our reputation. Really, though, I've got Niall by my side and the most adorable toddler ever in my life, so my reputation isn't really that big of a deal to me anymore, and I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not. Niall's the one that I'm worried about.

We've already been briefed on the types of questions they'll ask us. Naturally, most people are going to try to steer our responses towards releasing more information about Grayson, and that's the exact opposite of what we want. We're going to try to keep mentions of Grayson to a minimum, and only talk about our relationship when asked about it directly. To the public, Niall and I have been officially together for over a year, and Grayson lives with us both and we transfer between Ireland and the United States. It's not completely a lie; that's how our relationship has worked so far. Nonetheless, Niall plans on talking about his new album with the boys that was released around two weeks ago, and I plan on talking about my ideas for the future of Nick and I's record label.