Trouble. (niall horan au)

chapter 2 - it's lilac

Word spread quickly about the new kid Niall. Walking down the hallway I heard snippets of conversation, all revolving around the lilac haired boy. Instead of joining in on these gossip fests I simply hurried my pace and continued on. Because if one thing was certain, it was that I didn't like him.

I don't like people touching me. Fingers felt like fire when met with my skin, and although I never understood why, it was just a well known unspoken rule that I wasn't touched. So I especially don't like the way he thinks he can after minutes of just meeting, and I hated that cocky smirk he got when he realized it bothered me.

Maggie thought I was over reacting.

"He's hot," she sighed, gazing dreamily off into the distance. "In like a, your parents will probably hate me, sort of way."

I sighed, chucking my books a little too forcefully into my locker. They banged off the back with a metal clang and fell onto the floor, spewing half-assed notes everywhere. I just stared at the mess. "If you mean a total ass, then you're right."

"But the purple hair is weird," she said. A pack of girls walked past, screaming and laughing in shrill voices as though ear splitting tones attracted more guys. One of them slipped on my paper and sent their entire group falling in a mess of too much eyeliner and overly straightened hair. Maggie and I quietly moved away.

"It's more of a lilac," I corrected instantly, because really, it was more of a pleasant shade of lilac found in the flowers growing in the park. And the fact I made that comparison bothered me.

But I didn't talk to him again until later on in the day, in the least likely place I would think to find someone like him. I had wandered back into the farther shelves of the library, standing on tiptoe to read the spines, occasionally pulling one out and thumbing through it.

Balancing on the toes of my sneakers, I stretched up and pulled down a particularly hefty novel. The unexpected weight sent me tumbling backwards. But instead of inevitably crashing onto another shelf and sending the entire library falling like dominoes, I fell against a warm chest with hands cradling my hips for support. These hands set me gently back on my feet.

"Holy shit." I exclaimed, spinning around and dropping the book.

"What awful language from such a sweet girl." the person tutted, picking up the book and smoothing the pages back into place before handing it to me.

In my frazzled state it took me a moment to realize who I was talking to. I blinked, suddenly recgonizing the lilac haired boy standing across from me in the cramped space.

"You." I said, taking an immediate step back, momentarily forgetting the shelf behind me. I banged the back of my head against the wood, causing another book to fall down. Niall reached up and caught it easily before it could smack my skull and cause a literary induced concussion.

I was confused as to why he was standing here, in the school library, so close to me. From this point of view I could not deny the underlying dark gorgeousness about him. He was undeniably fit, his shirt fitting his broad shoulders snugly and making it look like the uniform came from a Marc Jacobs runway. But he was doing that stupid smile with an 'Oh look at me, the total badass' look in his eyes that was simply infuriating.

"Well aren't you a clumsy little thing," he said, putting it back into place. He casually moved in front of the exit with an easy going smile. I was not fooled.

I wielded my book as though it was a weapon. "What are you doing."

"Oh, you know," he hummed with a shrug, "Looking for a book. And what do I find instead? A beautiful girl all by herself."