Waking Up In The Dark (Niall Horan)

Chapter 11

Niall's P.O.V

I couldn't help it. The sight of her bewildered eyes was enough to almost make me fall on top of the chocolate fountain. My chest felt like it would burst from trying not to laugh, like it would explode from all the pressure. She was like a gazelle caught in headlights just looking at the rows of food. If she loved this, how would she look when she first performed?

I carefully balanced my plate in my hands, then rushed towards our table. And, of course, I ran straight into Rose.

She gasped and tried to stop her momentum, the same time I did, but she rubbed against my fried chicken. A wet grease mark now stained her hoodie, along with dust, blood, and stains that I couldn't even tell what they were.

"Oh! Sorry, Niall!" Rose smiled sheepishly, but continued on towards the beginning of the line, snatching up a plate and looking at the selections carnivorously.

I chuckled in her wake, and went to the table. She reminded me of myself when I had first seen the cafe, too. Rushing in and basically eating everything in sight. Ah, newbies. The same thing happened to almost everyone who came in, except they only ate a small amount. "Small amount" never applied to me. Ever.

Louis sat across from me with a plate full of baby carrots. I smirked. "Living up to the X Factor diaries, huh?"

"I swear, I have actually liked carrots more since then. It's almost obsessive now." He munched on one, spacing off in the direction of Rose, who was on her second plate, now piling it with cake, biscuits, and pudding. "Dear God, she's like your twin."

"Not really. What would you do if you never had a proper meal in forever?"

"But look at what she has on her plate. Almost everything you have on yours, but more. If that's even possible," he said with a glance at my plate. "Seriously, how many kilometers is that?"

I ignored him and got up to walk over to her. She didn't even notice, her hungry eyes trying to choose what would take her last, crucial place on the plate. "So, how many times do you plan on coming back?"

She jumped, dropping the tongs she had in her hands. "Oh," she sighed. "It's you. I honestly have no idea."

I laughed. "Come on, you're making the cooks go on fire-mode." Which was true. People in aprons rushed in and out, replacing empty plates and refilling them moments later. They were now in absolute chaos, hurrying in and out, leaving business men fuming. "The boys already have theirs, and they were all behind you."

"I guess I can always come back," she shrugged, and reluctantly followed me back to my seat, where she took the unoccupied space beside me.

The boys looked at her, then to her plate, then back to her. "How much food do you need?!" Liam exclaimed.

Harry was full of shock. "I think we have enough Nialls right now, we don't need another!" He turned to me. "That's the fastest you've ever brainwashed someone!"

"I think that's the only time he's ever brainwashed someone," Zayn scoffed. "But still, she's like a mini-Niall."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You try not eating for three days straight. At all." She grabbed a fork and dug straight in, not caring about manners, just eating away like a starved wolf with fresh prey. We all stared.

She stiffened. "What, do you guys say 'grace' or something?"

"No," Louis said. "But...you can eat faster than Niall. That's...amazing, if not disturbing."

I huffed. "She does not eat faster than me!" No one could eat faster, or more, than I could.

"Sadly, yes, she does," Harry agreed.