Burn // NH

41. Please talk to me, Niall

"Niall!" I exclaimed, seeing his little head pop up on the phone screen, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You're missing it!"

"Hello, El. How's the feast?"

"Amazing!" I smiled, looking over at all the smiles on everyone's faces as Niall's employs loaded up a hot paper plate with a form of meat, a scoop of baked beans, a few slices of vegetables, and a handful of chips before serving it to men and women. A few men with large black cameras had found us and taken a few pictures that I'm sure would be in an upcoming magazine or paper. A few news channels had stopped by as well, making the event even larger than what it already was.

We all sat along the path of Central Park, centered directly in the heart of Manhattan. Niall's team had been busy busting their asses all morning, trying to cook and get things set up. And although the event had been advertised for nearly two weeks now, we had quite the turnout. I was just bummed that Niall couldn't physically be here to see for himself.

"Thank you so much for making this happen, Niall."

"Don't thank me! It was all your idea."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be possible without you, so really, thank you."

Niall gave a soft smile before quickly adding to the conversation so it wouldn't die out. "Your name is going to be blasted all over the media, El. How do you feel about that?"

"First of all, our names, along with Horan Incorporation probably leading as the headline." Niall gave a small and subtle wink, causing a mass amount of butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I let out a light sigh, thinking about our conversation.

Media was first posted of Niall and I back in November when we went to that Gala together, and then again when we were caught on the shore of Staten Island. And now, just a few short months later, it would arise once more. I wasn't sure how to deal with it the first two times because we weren't technically together, yet this time was different.

We were together now and hell, we were moving in together within the next week.

People would surely start to know that something really was up between us and on one hand, I didn't want my boyfriend to be noticed by the people as the world's sexiest and most eligible bachelor, but on the other, I wasn't so sure if I was ready to receive all of Niall's public attention. That most eligible bachelor had finally settled down and that right there was headline-worthy enough.

I didn't fit into that parallel world of his and Lord only knows that stories of me would go up left and right in a matter of seconds about how I fell down a staircase outside of a town hall, or how I bitched at some rich hoe, or how I wasn't exactly fit for Niall. I wasn't sure if I was ready to encounter that side of his universe, yet.

"Baby, I just want you to know how proud I am of you, though. This wouldn't be possible without you and those men and women are getting a miraculous meal that will completely fill them up tonight. You did such a wonderful thing, today, Ellie."

I liked when he called me that. It wasn't very often, but I knew that when he said it, the name held nothing but pure love and affection.

"I just wish you were here to see it, Ni. It's incredible and it just feels so good." He smiled once more, displaying his perfectly white and aligned teeth. He was so fucking hot– I'm dead.

"Me too, darling. Did you end up bringing April?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she and Harry are both having a meal, themselves." A small giggle slipped from my lips. "I haven't told her the news yet, though. I don't want to hurt her and I have a feeling that she's going to be disheartened."