ChatRoom101

Chapter 16

After an hour or so in and out of the water, the boys finally decided they wanted lunch. Not wanting to get them mobbed, I volunteered to grab the meal.

Since I was mostly dry, I put my dress back on and headed towards the direction of the shops. When I got there, I turned to the closest food joint I could find. It turned out to be a seafood place. I ordered about a kilo worth of battered fish and hot chips before sitting down and waiting for my order.

When it was finally ready, I grabbed it from the counter and turned to head out. "You must be hungry," a male voice chuckled behind me.

It sounded familiar so I turned around. "Jason!" I smiled. Jason was a friend of mine that I met in university. He'd classify as my second closest friend to me, after Alexis of course.

"What are you doing here? And why've you got so much food? Surely that's not all for you," he said.

I laughed, "I'm here with a group of mates, actually, including Alexis. I've got hungry mouths to feed," I joked.

He chuckled and said he was here with his friends and girlfriend too. I decided it wouldn't hurt the boys if I waited a bit longer for Jason so we chatted shortly before he got his food too. Together, we walked back to the beach, just talking mostly about uni and the work load.

"Hey, wanna come over to say a quick hello?" I suggested.

He shrugged, "Sure, why not. My friends are just over there anyway." I looked to see another clump of teens, several meters away from my own group and I nodded.

When we got back to the group, the boys were glad to see I'd come back. I  chuckled and set the food down. "Jason!" Alexis grinned.

Jason smiled and gave a little wave. Suddenly, Niall's face turned into a scowl. "Boys, this is Jason, my friend from uni. Jase, this is the boys from One Direction, Louis, Liam, Niall, Zayn and Harry." I pointed to each of them.

"Hello there," Jason greeted them.

"Hey," they greeted back. Niall just gave a grunt to acknowledge him. Rude much?

Jason seemed to sense the tension and backed away. At least someone had a common sense, I thought. "Well, I probably should get back. Catch ya later, Luc and Lex." He smiled at the both of us before giving a small wave to the boys. "Nice meeting you all." Then he turned and left.

I sat down with the boys and began to eat. I looked at Niall to see him still wearing a frown, his face flushed. What was up with that boy?! I thought but I let it go, I'll talk to him later.

After lunch, the boys were up and on their feet again, this time determined to play soccer. We teamed up, Liam, Louis and I on one side and Zayn, Harry, Niall and Lexi on the other. We played good heartedly, laughing and mucking around, the boys all showing off tricks and things. Near the end, I was facing off with Niall, he had possession of the ball. He ran towards me and I stood in his way, prepared to block when he barged through, hitting my shoulder hard. I didn't expect him to be so rough, it caught me by surprise and I stumbled a few steps back before regaining my balance.

I was expecting a sorry but when it didn't come, I turned around to face him. His face slightly softened when he saw that I was hurt but I was too angry to care. He's been rude to Jason and now he's being rude to me. The game had stopped, all eyes on us. I didn't want to make a scene so I grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him along until we were out of earshot.

Then I faced him again, feeling the anger boiling inside me. "Alright Niall, spit it out! What the hell was that?" I seethed, controlling my voice.

All the softness on his features were wiped off and his face turned unpleasant. "What was that, Lucy? You're asking me?! I'm not the one who goes around flirting with other boys while her boyfriend sits around and waits for her!" he said, voice rising.

I was taken aback. "Really Niall? Do you really think I'm that shallow?" My voice barely came out as a whisper. It hurt.

"Well maybe if you care to explain yourself, I wouldn't."

I looked at him square in the eyes. "Maybe if you bothered to stick around and listen instead of jumping to conclusions I wouldn't need to explain myself!"

He huffed, "I'm listening now."

"Oh yea? Well get this, Niall. Jason is a friend of mine and Alexis' from university. He and I bumped into each other when I was ordering the food and we got talking. If it makes it any clearer, he has a girlfriend and he knows I have a boyfriend." I said all of this slowly, so he could take in every word I said.

His features softened again. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed so easily. It's just, we're so new that I feel like someone's gonna take you away. It's not you that I don't trust, it's other guys. I can't help it if I've got a beautiful girl." He smiled weakly at me.

I sighed but accepted his apology. "Niall, it's your last day. It's OUR last day together before you go again for months! I just don't want to spend it fighting."

He pulled me into a hug and I rested my head on his chest. "I know. I'm sorry. I just ruined your day. I'm such a jerk."

I shook my head, "You're not a jerk, Niall. I understand where you were coming from."

He rubbed soothing circles on my back and he laid his head on top of mine. I closed my eyes and felt a teardrop fall on my cheeks and onto his shirt. He let me go and held my shoulders then tilted my head up with his hand.

"Oh no, now I've made you cry. I'm so sorry, Lucy. I didn't mean, it, I swear. Please forgive me," he said, pleading.

I buried myself in his chest again and he held me tight. "I'm not angry anymore, Niall. I'm just gonna miss you so much when you leave," I sobbed.

He pressed his lips on my head then said, "Hey, it's ok. I'm still here. How 'bout we save the waterworks for tomorrow?"

I nodded and wiped my tears away. "Do you think you could stay the night?"

He smiled, "Only if your parents would allow me."

I nodded, "They won't mind."

"Let's go home then." He grabbed my hand and lead me back towards the rest of the group.

He let the boys know he was staying the night and no one objected so he was cleared. The ride home was peaceful and quiet. We stopped by their hotel so Niall could get a change of clothes then Louis drove me home.

That night, I slept snuggled closely to Niall. Not once did he let me go. That night, I slept soundly and content. I didn't worry about the bitterness tomorrow would bring, instead I smiled as I fell asleep, happy to be in the arms of someone so loving like Niall.