Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Niall’s POV:

I didn’t hesitate in asking the flight attendant for food. I flagged her thin frame down and asked her what our options were. “I’m sorry sir but since the flight is so short, we don’t serve food.” I sighed as she walked back to her spot in the back.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as a much younger woman came up to our row. I looked up at her and saw that she was a flight attendant as well. “Can I help you?” Her hand slid down my shoulder onto my bicep. I know what she’s doing. But, I was going to milk every bit of the situation.

“Yeah,” I started. “Look, I was wonderin’ if we could get some breakfast. There’s gotta be somethin’ you can whip up back there.” I pointed to Danielle and myself.

“Sure thing.” She made and extra effort to sway her hips and she turned to walk away. Pathetic.

You see, I wasn’t into the girls who went the extra mile just to get my attention. I found that out about myself. I liked the shy ones. I liked the ones who wouldn’t be the first to flash me with their friends. I liked the chase. I liked the puzzle. I liked to try to put all the bits and pieces together even though it could be frustrating; because in the end it was all worth it. In the end, I’d have unwrapped a fragile human being. I’d know the quirks and tweaks of someone. I’d understand them inside and out.

Those girls who flung themselves at the boys and myself bothered the hell out of me. I honestly felt bad for those girls. I wish they had enough self confidence in themselves to recognize that they deserved someone who would be there and someone who would take care of them. Now, in their world, maybe the lads and I were. But, I knew that we could never be there for them. We would never be able to be enough. I knew that I could never be enough for an extremely outgoing girl. I was not implying that I could never date one. I was just saying that there is a huge difference between an independent woman and an outgoing woman.

The touchy flight attendant came back with packaged donuts, two apples, a few cereal bars, and a couple individual cereal boxes. “This is all I could find.” She dumped the load into my lap. “I’ll go get the orange juice. I can spot a hangover from a mile away!” She hurried off. As if your partying is going to impress me.

I glanced over to Danielle who was busy munching on an apple, my iPod in her hand as she scrolled through my playlists. She was so oblivious. She looked up at me and raised her eyebrows. I put my arm around her shoulder. Her ignorance was cute. I played with the ends of her hair and watched her slump into me. I was glad that she appeared to become more comfortable with me.

The slimy girl returned with our drinks. I watched her free hand brace herself on my shoulder as she handed a bottle to Danielle. Danielle thanked her quietly and stayed silent beside me. That flight attendant disgusted me.

Danielle’s POV:

I curled my legs up underneath me and stuck my feet against Niall. Airplanes were always so damn cold. I watched him munch on an apple while I sipped on my juice. His free hand grazed the skin on my legs and feet.

I pulled my feet away. “Gross! You don’t know where those have been. You don’t know what germs could be on them.” I switched the position of my legs and sat up. I can be a freak about cleanliness.

“Yes I do.” He stammered through his full mouth and raised an eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes. He reached down for my legs and tucked them back beside him.

The flight attendant came back for the twelfth time and asked if we needed anything. I saw she reapplied her pink lipstick. Her eyes were a chocolate brown. I watched her hand make its way to Niall’s forearm. I stayed tranquil and instead, watched Niall’s expression. He glanced down at her hand and looked back up at her. His lips formed the word no, the syllable ending with a thin line crafting on his lips. His touch on my chilled skin never ceased.

I figured that I would let her have her fun. I could tell that he was already annoyed with her. Nothing would make him chase after her. She was too loud. Too… here I am, pay attention to me. I didn’t know him inside and out, but I guessed that he dealt with those kinds of girls allthe time. I guessed that was a huge turn off for him. But, I could  have been wrong.

-

Niall opened the door to the big SUV for me and I slid in. I shot Catherine a quick text telling her that we were on our way. She replied with many exclamation marks and multiple smiley faces. I grinned to myself as the message glowed across the screen. Niall eventually sat beside me and put his arm around my shoulder; He texted with his free hand, his thumb flying across the keyboard. Large bodyguards adorned this also very large SUV. I wondered when they would leave him alone. One man with huge hands gave a phone to Niall. I watched him place it next to his ear. His tone of voice changed. He must have been talking to someone important.

The dumb airport had lost our luggage in all of the rush. It sat back in Ireland somewhere. I felt bad for Niall because he felt responsible… when really it had been both of our faults.

We eventually made it back to Cat’s place. It was nearing noon. Niall helped me inside. I heard the rustle of running water coming from the bathroom. She must have been in the shower. I showed Niall around the downstairs of the tiny brick house. There wasn’t much to show, so our tour ended with time to spare.

I sat on Cat’s unmade bed and slumped down onto my back. Her sheets smelled just like her. Niall came over and stood in front of me, his hands at his sides. I watched him slowly descend on top of me; his hands held his weight and his legs lay right beside mine. His head leisurely met mine and he lightly bumped his forehead with my own. I felt the rise and fall of his chest, his breathing deep and slow. His lips met mine; the kiss gentle and smooth. Niall braced himself with one hand while the other caressed the side of my face. He drew steady lines into my skin with his thumb. We kept kissing for awhile; every movement becoming more of a hurried motion. I heard the water turn off in the bathroom. I felt like the two of us were even more exposed. No clothes were off, but the water appeared to muffle our kissing noises. To my own ears, it almost sounded like we were underwater. I felt a warm hand at the hem of my shorts while he moved down to kiss my neck and collarbones.

“Niall.” I said through his heavy breathing. He stayed where he was, intent on getting his job done. “Niall.” I said again; this time a little louder.

“Mmm?” His lips still caught around my collarbones.

“Not right now. Not like this.” I lifted his chin from my skin.

“Who said anythin’ was goin’ to happen?” A smirk spread across his face. “…So this means that something will happen?” Both of his eyebrows rose. I huffed beneath him and he chuckled at my annoyance. “Meet you again here around… sevenish? Bring Cat. Look nice.” He bounced off of me and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Nice as in?” I started.

“Wear heels.”

“Is this a date?” I sassed him. “Does Cat need a date?”

“Well…” He began. “I don’t know if the lads are bringing anyone or not so… just have her see if she can find one.” He helped me to my feet and I brought my arms around his neck. “I’ll bring ya some clothes too. I’m sorry about the mishap. Ya think ya can find something of Cat’s to wear?”

“I’ll manage.” I shrugged the thought off of my shoulders. He needs to stop worrying. It’ll be fine. I watched him walk back up the steps and towards the door. “Oh! Danielle?”

“Yeah?” I scurried over to the bottom of the stairs.

“If you have a Twitter, don’t check it yet, okay? I have some explaining to do.”