Call Me Ella (ft. Niall Horan)

Chapter 21 - The Plan

Chapter 21 - The Plan

“So, aren’t you gonna ask me about my plan?” He says, pulling me back to reality and away from my train of thoughts. I blink a couple of times before I fully grasp what he asked me.

“Do I want to know?” I ask back and he grins so widely, so vividly. The only times I’ve seen him like this is at the ball, when we were laughing… and when we were horse riding. He really looks excited.

“Of course you wanna know! I’ll tell you, even if you don’t,” he replies sticking his tongue out at me and I can’t help the smile on my lips. It’s nice to see him this cheery.

Niall grabs my hands and pulls me away from Ares, away from the stalls. Woah, I underestimated how happy he is.

“I have the mask she dropped when she ran away, so I’ll make every blond girl I see try it on and that’s how I’m going to confirm it’s her.” I bury my heels in the ground and stop him from pulling me further. “I know that once I see her eyes through the mask there won’t be any doubt about it. I’d make you try it on, too, because you’re blond and everything and have the same eyes, but you say you didn’t go to the ball and why would you lie to me about it? Plus, Harry confirmed your alibi,” he winks at me and I step back, my heart racing in my chest, scared, not,! Even worse, terrified! “So I know I’ll find her and we’ll get to know each other better and it’ll be great.”

I fight as hard as I can to put myself together, to breathe normally once again instead of freaking out and storming out of the stables. He doesn’t even suspect it’s me, or if he did, I killed those suspicious when I told him over and over again that I didn’t go to the ball. And running into Harry the morning after the ball only helped. Now Niall won’t even make me try the mask. For sure he’ll never find out who the real mystery girl is.

I shake those thoughts away. This is for the best. He’ll get tired of the unfruitful searching and everything will be back to normal.

“So,” I start, my voice a bit shaky, so I clear my throat before carrying on. “So you’ll go around like the prince in Cinderella, looking for the owner of the glass slipper?” I inquire, trying to sound as sarcastic as I can. Using the analogy of the fairy tale actually helps, it makes me mad.

Niall chuckles, though, as if I just said the funniest joke ever. “That’s a way to put it, although I’m gonna be using a mask, but still. The intention is what counts. I guess I’ll be looking for my Cinderella, then.”

“I may puke,” I say out loud and he laughs even louder. “I’m serious. You’re so cliché is not normal. I thought Charlie was made of fluffy Disney movies, but you win.”

“Oh, come on!” Niall exclaims, stepping closer to me, excitement bubbling from every pore of his body. “Being sappy is okay, it’s natural. And just picture it,” he adds, stepping even closer, his hands rise to my face and I freeze. “Imagine that moment I put the mask on her and I look her in the eyes, like I’m looking at you. Right into her green eyes and it’s like in that night.” I gulp when he says that and my heart races when his hands cup my face as if like that he would be holding the mask on my face. “And I would smile at her, because I finally found her. And she’d be happy that I finally found her. That can’t be something bad, can it?” He asks, taking a step even closer, his hands still cupping my face and I think I have my heart hammering in my throat.

I can’t speak, I can’t move, I can only look him in the eyes, breathing heavily. It’s like at the dance all over again, that moment before he kissed me and I feel this force pulling me closer. And then Niall loses his smile, but his eyes are still on me and he strokes my cheek with his thumbs and my heart jumps in my chest and it’s like all my body jolts and I do the unthinkable: I lean closer, standing on my toes as he lowers his head, right when Ares snorts, demanding for attention. And that’s my wakeup call.