Casual Affair (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter 10

"You look really tired," Ella says as Niall pulls his jacket on.
"I am tired. Jet lag got me screwed up." Niall rubs his eyes and zips his jacket. Today is the photo shoot for "Teen Vogue." They arrived in America last night and went straight to bed. She took the king size while he took the sofa. This is just the beginning of the many interviews, photo shoots, and appearances for a good month.
"Are you sure I'm allowed to come along?" Ella pulls on her brown cardigan and buttons it up.
"Yeah! You are my girlfriend, so I don't see why you couldn't." Niall manages to force a smile.
"I guess." She grabs her purse and walks over to him. Standing in front of him, she fixes his bed hair. Niall didn't even bother combing it when he woke up. "What am I going to do?"
"Just chill and enjoy yourself." He looks at her and shrugs. "I don't know. Eat all the fruit there and drink as much champange as you want. Whatever they have there."
She laughs and pats his cheek. "Riiighht. As if I'll drink on the job, especially THIS early."
He stares at the way her eyes crinkle when she laughs. Aw...
"C'mon, let's get going Horan. Or the New York traffic will eat us!" She pinches his cheek gently and quickly steps away before he can react.
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"Welcome Niall! It's so nice to meet you! I'll be your photographer today. I'm Julie Roja." Julie introduces herself and gives him a hug.
"Hi Julie! Nice to meet you also," Niall glances as Ella. She's smiling and points towards the 'lounge.' He nods slightly and smiles.
"Are you ready for your hair and make up to be done?" Julie asks, her heavy Spanish accent showing.
"Yep! Bring it on!" Niall is then quickly led by a small red headed girl to the prepping station.
As the girl starts putting on make up, he sees Ella walking towards them in the reflection of the mirror.
"I didn't know you loved make up," she teases.
"I totally do! Y'know, makes me feel like a woman." He raises his voice a bit in an effort to sound womanly. His failure caused the both girls to laugh.
Ella stands beside him, opposite of the red head girl, and bites her lip. "Aww, you'd make a pretty girl babe."
Babe? Babe. Niall bites the inside of his cheek to prevent a smile bursting onto his face.
"I know. My mum always told me that." He chuckles and reaches for her hand. "Don't worry, I'm still a man...physically. If you catch my drift, love."
Ella smacks his arm and rolls her eyes. The red headed girl giggles at their..flirting? Is this flirting? Hmm..
"Ha. Ha. Very funny Horan." Ella pokes his cheek. "Now stay still so this young lady can make you pretty."
"But I'm already pretty." Niall replies and sticks out his lower lip in a pout.
"For God's sake Niall!" Ella groans and grabs the chair behind her. She sits down and crosses her legs. "Just stay still and quit talking."
...So demanding....
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"Okay, that was fun." Ella says as they walk out of the studio.
"You just liked seeing me being embarrassed." Niall squeezes her hand. "I can't believe she said that! I don't look like a zombie who is in need of brains."
"It was so funny because of the way she said it!" Ella laughs and kisses his cheek. "Don't be mad. It was really funny."
"Whatever, I'm just glad it's over with." He mumbles and pulls Ella closer as they walk into the swarm of people. "Do you want to go eat something?"
"Sure, that'd be really nice. The fruit really isn't fulling." Ella hooks her arm through his and rests her head on his shoulder.
Niall really shouldn't feel this comfortable. But...he does.
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"So what does your tattoo mean?" Niall asks as he eats his salmon.
Ella raises an eyebrow. He nods towards her shoulder.
"Oh! That one, it's just a a flock of birds." Ella explains. "It expresses my feelings towards freedom from the world."
"Ah." Niall chews and swallows. "How many tattoos do you have?"
"I have 3 in total. Got one on my hip and then one on my rib." Ella cuts a slice of her chicken. "I can show you later if you want."
"That'd be nice. I always wanted to get a tattoo. But I always back out." He sips his water. "I don't know. Maybe I'm not sure yet what I want."
"Something meaningful of course." She smiles and wipes her mouth. "I really want one on my back though. Like a big tattoo."
"Oh so all of yours are small?"
"Yep! Small tattoos for now." She shrugs. "What are the plans for tomorrow?"
"Well, tomorrow I have to wake up at 6am to film the interview at 9a.m. Then after that, we can go out if you want."
She nods and chews. "Yeaahh, I'm not waking up that early."
"I didn't expect you to." He laughs. "Do you want to chill out tonight? I'm exhasuted."
"Yeah, a movie night please? Oh! We can watch The Hunger Games.."
He tunes her out and instead watches her animation when she's talking.
Is this what falling in love feels like?
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"What the fuck?" Ella mumbles and looks at her phone.
Niall rubs her shoulder and looks at her. "What's the matter?"
"Dean is calling," she says. "Um, I'll be back." She stands up and walks towards the kitchen. Niall tries his best to ignore the conversation. But it's tough when her voice sounds so hurt.
"Stop it. It's not like that. God, I'm okay. I can take care of myself. I didn't need to tell you. Yeah? Okay, whatever." Ella hangs up and sighs deeply.
Niall turns around and sees her hunching over the counter. He hates seeing her this way.
"Ella?" He says quietly. "Are you okay?"
She shrugs and looks down. "Yeah. I'm okay."
The tone in her voice sounded so hurt. His heart is aching so bad.
Niall stands up and walks slowly towards her. She looks up at him when he was beside her.
"He's such an arse." She whispers and closes her eyes.
Niall wraps an arm around her waist and uses his free hand to rub her cheek. "Don't worry about it Ella. You don't need to stress over it. Please?"
She moves her fringe away from her forehead and pouts slightly. "I just...I just...wish that he would understand. He thinks I'm doing this because you're forcing me. But I want to do this because I want to help."
He kisses her forehead and pulls her against him. She rests her head against his chest.
"He'll understand. Give him time. C'mon don't be worried." He squeezes her tightly. "Please? I hate seeing you this way."
"You're so comforting," she whispers and looks at him. She smiles softly and allows Niall to take her back to the sofa.
"Enjoy the movie. Fall asleep. I don't care! As long as you're not worried." He pulls her down on the soft sofa and drapes his arm on her shoulder. Allowing her to lean into him, Niall hums quietly and feels her body relax.
Within an hour into the movie, Ella fell asleep. Niall looks at her lashes and how they fan over her cheek. Her mouth forms into a small pout. She looks so innocent that it makes his heart melt.
He slowly stands up, supporting her with pillows. Niall bends over and picks her up bridal style. She groans and moves a bit as he walks to the bedroom. He lays her down slowly and takes off her slippers. He pulls the duvet up to her chin.
"Good night." He whispers and starts to stand up. She turns over and groans softly.
"G'night," she mumbles and falls back to sleep.
As he gets ready for bed, Niall can't help but think about the feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why?
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When Niall woke up the next morning, he sees it's only 5am. He quickly gets off the couch and makes his way to the bathroom in Ella's room. He slowly opens the bedroom door. He peeps his head in and sees her dead asleep. Cute...
He tip-toes to the bathroom with his clothes in hand and shuts the door behind him.
After the nice, wakening shower, he goes back to the couch and checks his phone. He sees a text from Louis...
"Niall, remember, don't speak about Ella unless they ask." Reads his text.
He rolls his eyes and sighs. He's not dumb. He knows better.
"Niall?" He hears behind him. He quickly turns around and sees Ella standing at her door.
"Ella? What are you doing? Why are you awake?"
"I had to use the bathroom. I just...just wanted to check if you're still here." She rubs her eye and yawns deeply.
"Go back to bed Ella." Niall stares at her as she sits down beside him.
"Can't sleep...you know Jet lag and what not." She pulls her knees up and folds them underneath her. "Are you about to leave?"
"Yeah."
"Can I go with you?" She asks and scoots closer to him. "I feel like I'm not going to be able to fall back asleep once you leave. And I honestly don't want to be alone."
"Are you sure? I mean, it'll be a while." He tucks his hands into his hoodie's pockets. "Plus, it'll be boring."
"Either way, I'll be bored." She shrugs and pokes at his cheek. "Please?"
He looks at her and she's pouting. Really? Really. Niall is so done...
"Sure. Get ready, we leave in 15 minutes."
"That soon?! Ah! Okay, okay, wait for me!"
He watches her as she scurries towards the room. He hears her cursing when she apparently hits the side of the bed with her toe. Oh dear.....
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When it was time for Niall to make his appearance for the short interview, he has to admit, he was nervous. They will surely ask about his relationship status, especially after the statement he made at the awards a while back.
"Tonight, ladies and gents, please a round of applause for Niall Horan!" Jimmy says. That's Niall's cue to walk onto the small stage.
"Hi Jimmy! How are you mate?" Niall asks as they shake hands.
"Pretty good! Love that suit on you. Doesn't it suit him every one?" Jimmy asks and the audience cheer. Niall can't help but laugh. At least Jimmy got a laugh out of him.
"So, Niall tell us, how is everything going? Tell us about your upcoming work with Ed Sheeran. I heard the album is going to fantastic!"
Niall clears his throat and adjusts his blazer. "Well, I can't give out much. I can say though it's a pleasure working with Ed. He's such an awesome guy. And I can't wait for the album's release."
"Right, all of us are so excited! Also, before I forget, let me congratulate you two on your award." Jimmy continues. "I have to ask though, how is your lady? Is she well?"
Ah, here's the question....
"She's very well and amazing as ever." Niall bites his tongue to not show the big grin that is wanting to form.
"She's a very beautiful young lady. I heard she's backstage right?"
Niall nods and shoves his hand into his pocket. "Yeah, she's um, backstage. Probably chilling in the dressing room."
Nah, she's probably sitting on the couch. Watching him make a fool out of himself. Or...probably you know, acting cute because she's sleepy and all that...Ugh.
"Or she's probably playing Candy Crush instead." Jimmy's joke makes the audience laugh, so Niall has to fake a laugh.
"Probably so! Who knows really!" Niall laughs nervously. This is so awkward now...and he has no idea why.
Jimmy asked a couple more questions about his upcoming work with other artists. Those two minutes seemed like two hours. Finally, when it was the end of the interview, Niall walks immediately backstage. He stops for a couple of pictures with workers at the studio.
Ugh, he just wants to get away..
"Niall," he hears her from down the hall. "Is such a great guy. Haha, yeah you could say he's quite a looker. But he has a such an awesome personality, which I really do love."
She likes his personality? Really? Or is she just saying that for the sake of the 'fakeship?'
He slowly enters the room and sees Ella talking to the hairdresser. They're giggling at something on the sofa. It's as if Ella sensed someone in the room because she immediately turned her head.
"Hey!" she says. "Speaking of the devil, heh, you did great Ni."
"Thanks," he replies. "You ladies having a great time gossiping and what not?"
"Gossiping? Nooo, never." Ella grins and stands up from the sofa. She pulls her long brown hair off to one shoulder and looks at him. Her eyes have a strange sparkle in them....
Niall sighs and reaches out for her hand. "Are you ready to go, love? I'm incredibly tired from waking up early."
She nods, obviously not caring to react to the nickname. "Sure."
And with that, he grabs her hand and doesn't even bother saying bye to the hairdresser, who left staring.
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Niall drops himself on the sofa when they arrived to the hotel room. He sighs deeply and rubs his face.
"Are you okay?" Ella asks as she sets her jacket and purse on the coffee table.
"Yeah, just really tired."
No, not really. Niall is honestly feeling extremely weird. When Jimmy started asking about Ella, Niall just felt a tug in his stomach. Ughhh...
He feels her sit beside him and she pats his knee. "Are you sure? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Yeah I'm sure. I'm fine just need a nap maybe." Niall fakes a smile at her. She looks at him and frowns.
"No, something is really bothering you. Niall, please tell me." Her brows furrow together, mouth forming into a firm line.
"It's nothing Ella." He shrugs and looks away from her stare. He can't look at her right now...
He hears her sigh and she squeezes his knee. "Well, whatever is bothering, I hope it goes away. But why don't you take a nap? Then maybe we can go out? Yeah?"
She's desperate to see New York, he knows it. But honestly, he just wants to stop this feeling and crawl into a hole.
"Sure, if you're up for it." He looks down at his lap and clasps his fingers together.
She lays her chin on his shoulder and pats his back. "You can take a nap in my room if you want. I'll probably watch T.V. or something until you wake."
He nods slowly and flinches when she gives him a light squeeze on his lower back. "Go to sleep Horan."
Niall stands up and makes his way to the bedroom. Hopefully he'll get some rest before their outing later.
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