Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Harry’s POV:

I was almost always the one to wake up before anyone else. I lied on my back and listened to her heavy breathing. Her head was smothered beneath the covers but a lone hand rested on my arm. Why was this one night stuff so easy? I wanted to find someone and something that was real. I didn’t want to wake up the next morning and have the urge to slip out from underneath the blankets, brush off whatever happened last night, and skip right out the door. With any luck, she would think that last night never happened. That it was just her imagination.

My movements were slow and quiet just as they always were. I got up and put my clothes back on, ran my fingers over my messy curls, and slipped out of her flat like nothing ever happened. Nothing happened. Nothing happened.

Cat’s POV:

I turned on my stereo and turned up the volume. I rung out my hair with a heavy towel and grabbed for my phone. I wondered when Danielle would be back. Instead, I found a message from an unknown number.

Unknown Number: Hey, apparently I’m good enough for you. I was afraid I wouldn’t make the cut. Meet me at Pizza Express this afternoon? You can pick the time. :)

Me: Ah, yes. I remember you. How about I meet you there in an hour or so?

I remembered offering him a cigarette but he declined. I remembered his quick glances towards me the night before. I had time. I wasn’t scheduled for work for a while.

Unknown Number: Meet you there.

I saved his number into my phone quickly and brushed through my hair. I had no means of transportation, so my only way to get there was by walking. I needed to race out the door considering it was quite the walk. I’d heard of Pizza Express before but I had never been there. It’s said to be amazing but expensive.

I knew his name. I mean, come on. Danielle was just an innocent and very ignorant girl. I knew a few things about him, but I wanted to play it like I was just meeting him. Almost as if he wasn’t a celebrity. He was just a normal guy trying to hook up with me.

Niall’s POV:

I walked out of the bathroom in a towel. She had already cleaned up the kitchen and started the dishwasher. She was trying her best to make my huge bed. “Ya don’t have to do that.” The echo of my voice made her jump. She must not have heard my footsteps.

“I had nothing else to do. Besides, I’m kind of a control freak.” She tucked in the sides and reached for the pillows sitting on the floor. She finished and stretched out onto the made bed. Her hair was still up and my baggy clothes wrapped around her tiny frame. I sat down next to her and brushed her feet with my fingers. “Tickles!” She giggled and moved her feet away from me. I scooted next to her and put my arm underneath her. She moved closer to me and rested her head on my chest. “You smell good.” She breathed in my scent and hugged my side. We rested there for awhile until she broke the stillness. “We can’t go back to sleep. I need to go shower.” She sat up but I grabbed her sides and pulled her back down.

“Five more minutes.”  I breathed into her face. I felt water trickling down the sides of my face from my wet hair. “I don’t want to go shopping.” I whined and undid her hair tie. Even though her hair was matted, it was still soft. I ran my fingers through it and twirled strands around my fingers.

“That feels good.” She hummed into my neck. Always stating the obvious.

“My pleasure.” I loosened my grip on her and let her get up.

“Do you have anything girly in there?” She motioned towards the bathroom.

“No but we could pick something up for the next time you spend the night.” I winked at her. She rolled her eyes and shut the bathroom door.

Danielle’s POV:

“I need to get a job and then go shopping.” I said and motioned toward the outfit I was wearing. I was still in Niall’s clothes but at least they were clean this time.

“What? Ya don’t like wearin’ my clothes?” He asked. He set a few packs of beer in the bottom of the cart. “Wine for the lady?”

“Champagne too.” I pointed to my favorites and he set them in the cart gently. “Anyway, it’s not that I don’t like wearing your clothes. It’s just that when I’m out in public, I feel like I’m wearing a huge blanket.” I motioned towards the crackers and let him pick out whatever he wanted. Besides, it was his paycheck.

“I bet we can find ya a job.” He piled the boxes on top of the bread. I searched for the loaf and quickly set it on top of the cheese. I didn’t want anyone whining about squished bread. “Oh, and next time, remind me to go to the liquor store instead of the market.” He pointed to our alcohol sitting in the cart. “My favorite store is out of the way, so I guess this will have to do.”

“Picky picky.” I teased. “Where am I going to find one? I feel out of place without a job. I need one, or at least something to do; something to keep me busy.” He placed packages of cookies on top of the crackers.

“Why don’t ya help me redecorate the place? I’ve been wanting to for so long and I’ve just never gotten around to it. I could pay ya.” He compared between brands of tea while I placed coffee grounds into our cart.

“Maybe. Let me think about it. But, I won’t feel like it’s a real job. It’ll be time consuming but maybe something else on the side?” I was thinking aloud and still waiting on him to decide which tea to get. Instead, he just placed both in the cart.

“How ‘bout this? You don’t have to go with it. It’s just an idea. How about you start by redecorating? I’ll give you a few pointers of what I do and don’t like and then set you free. You wouldn’t really have a limited budget which will help your creativity. After you’re finished, you can look back and see if you liked doing it. If you did, I can help you start something up. I know plenty of people who are always looking to redecorate or build something new. All ya would probably have to do is take a few classes and get a degree. Or, you could try to start a company under my name and go from there…” I was silent. He was spitting out way too much information in one conversation.

“Let’s just start out by helping you redecorate.” I said. “Maybe I could look for a part-time job too. I know that the preference will be on a U.K. citizen, but I might as well try.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Sorry. That was a lot of information.” Was all he said.

“It’s fine. You never know. Maybe I will find someone else who wants my help. I’m good with decorating anyway.” He walked in step with me as we made our way down the shampoo aisle.

“The whole clothes thing will get better because I plan on picking up our luggage tonight.”  His hand rested on the small of my back. “There are a few more things that we need to talk about.” His voice grew more serious. “Remember when I told you not to go on Twitter?” I said yes. “Well, the reason for that… this might sound creepy… is because the fans somehow got a picture of your passport.”

“The fans?” I was confused.

“Yeah. You know the One Direction fans?” I nodded. “Well, a long time ago they somehow got pictures of the lads and my passports. Now they have yours. They know your name, your age, where you used to live, and all of that. I just wanted you to be prepared.” I nodded again and picked up some soap. I was still confused but I let him talk. Instead of him going on, he was silent.

“Anything else?” I asked. He had stopped in his tracks. What was going on?

“Um, yeah. What are we exactly?” His eyes darted everywhere and refused to lock with mine. I laughed at him. How can he be so confident and then switch over to being so insecure?

“Whatever you want this to be.” I pointed at him and myself. “I’m all in if you are.” Deep down inside, I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. I was still scared to get into any sort of relationship.

“Well,” He started. “I want this to be something.” The whole situation felt like I was in the middle of a movie. All of the words coming out of our mouth almost seemed to be phrases on a script.

“Then it’s something.” I placed womanly items into the cart.

“Cool.” He said.

“Cool.”