Choose Me (Niall Horan fanfiction)

1. JESS

A song starts playing over the speakers inside the record store where I'm sifting through vinyls with a friend. I start humming to the song and my friend smiles at me from across the room because his head is bopping to it while he looks at jazz and blues records. Next thing you know I start singing quietly but loud enough for him to hear. He looks at me again with a smile and laughs to himself.

Every time I try to walk away

Something makes me turn around and stay

And I can't tell you why....

"You don't like my singing?" I ask playfully, not looking up from my search for the record I want to get.

"I didn't say anything!" he replies. "But I really didn't think you knew the words to any Eagles songs."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I challenge him, finally looking at his face.

"Nothing!" he laughs finding my defensiveness funny. "You're just more into hip hop and R&B music. Jess, I've seen your playlists and there's not much classic rock in there."

"Ok yes, you are right," I admit. "But what can I say? My parents listened to that stuff and I have to listen to it in your car all the time. Plus some songs just get me, like this one." He nods in agreement. The Eagles are his favourite band of all time.

I continue humming and we both get back to the vinyls in silence.

Someone else enters the store and I quickly glance his way. He sees me and smiles and I smile back. He comes towards me and starts sifting through the vinyls on the rack next to me. He starts humming along to the song that's about to end and we both notice we're doing the exact same thing. I kind of giggle and so does he.

"Hey, cool record," I point to the one he's picked up. It's an old classic by A Tribe Called Quest.

"You like Tribe?" he asks excitedly.

"I mean, who doesn't?!" I reply and roll my eyes at the absurdity that there would be someone out there who didn't like A Tribe Called Quest. We laugh together and I'm about to ask him what his favourite Tribe song is when I finally find the record I'm looking for and take it out of the rack. I close my eyes and hug the record like it's a soft, squishy teddy bear.

I feel someone put their arm around me. "I see you finally found it. Ready to go, gorgeous?"

"Yes!" I say turning around to him with the biggest smile on my face. "This is what you're getting me for my birthday."

I show him the very rare limited edition 'Controversy' album by Prince that I'd been searching for in so long. I even had him looking for them at record stores in all different cities whenever he travelled that my bugging him had started to become really annoying. On this occasion we are out of town but it's one of those rare days when both of us are surprisingly not working. He got wind of this little unknown but very well-stocked record store outside of the city centre who he called to ask if they had this record. So we go there and unfortunately the person minding the store is this young kid who doesn't know where anything is and I volunteer to look for it myself in amongst the thousands of records in there. My friend looked for it only half-heartedly because he was constantly distracted by other vinyls and kept taking them out to read the sleeve.

"Jesus, finally the search is over," he says with a big dramatic sigh. I hit him lightly on his chest but then kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks Niall. You're really spoiling me today on my birthday." I reach for his hand that's dangling over my shoulder and kiss it, too.

"Well, it's because I love you," he responds.

We walk to the register and Niall takes out his wallet to pay. We're about to walk out when I hear someone call out from behind.

"Happy birthday." It's the Tribe guy.

"Thanks!" I say and walk out with Niall.