A Hopeless Addiction // Niall Horan

Chapter Seven

RebeccaCatherine: Just got out of a LONG recording sesh. Nap time! Xx

        I had been in the recording studio, working as hard as I could for nine hours a day the past three weeks. But now I was taking a break for a few days and heading to Ireland to surprise Niall for his birthday. It was so exciting to be going on my first solo trip abroad. And seeing him for the first time in what felt like forever was pretty cool too. Skype just wasn't enough sometimes, but luckily work kept me distracted.

        After a long dig through my closet, I found a decently sized bag to start packing. According to my phone, it was a quarter after four, and my plane left at seven. That's when I began to stress out. I had never really been a good packer, and I didn't even know what the weather was like in Ireland this time of year. So I decided to throw a bit of everything in.

        My cat, Jade, trailed around my feet, as always, begging for attention. I smiled and picked her up, cradling her like a baby.

        "Do you want to come to Ireland?" I asked, bouncing her as I packed more. "You could meet the rest of the boys. Harry would love you."

        Jade just stared at me. I laughed, kissing the top of her head, before setting her back down. A call came on my phone.

        "Hey, baby," I answered immediately.

        "Hey, love, I'm just callin' because I miss ya," Niall told me, sounding extremely tired.

        "Aww, I miss you too, Niall. A lot more than you know."

        I slung my carry-on bag over my shoulder and lugged both bags out and down to my waiting cab.

        "Are you busy?" he asked, obviously hearing the bags bumping around.

        "No, I'm just heading out."

        "Do you want me to call ya back tomorrow, then?"

        "My phone's going to be off for a while. I'll call you, okay? I hope to see you soon."

        "I'll keep me fingers crossed. Bye."

        I sighed and hung up. Niall sounded so dismal; it made me want to cry. But the fact that I would be seeing him in just eighteen and a half hours was worth it.

-

        On the plane, I got my laptop out, meaning to work on some writing. Ultimately, though, I started looking through the file of my and Niall's photos. There were some Skype screenshots, a few from his visit, and loads from New York. The woman sitting next to me—a beautiful older woman—glanced over.

        "Your boyfriend?" she asked, seeing the picture from the pool the night of our first date. Zayn had sent it to me—of Niall threatening to throw me in.

        "Yeah," I replied quietly, touching the screen. "That's why I'm on this plane. His birthday's in two days."

        "Oh, long distance," the woman said in her Southern accent. "My husband and I had that."

        "How did you meet?"

        Very rarely did I hear a story that I was not interested in, so I took this opportunity with open arms. At least I would have something to do on the flight.

        "Well, I was seventeen, and he was nineteen when we met," she started. "He was in the army and was based in Fort Benning, Georgia, at the time. My high school was nearby, and we had a program where we gathered donated supplies and gave them to the troops so they would have plenty when they were deployed. I had an internship job in the front office, so when the boxes were picked up twice a month, I got to see the soldiers."