Deep [Niall Horan]

Chapter Eight

It's Niall. Again.

His jovial smile brightens my mood and warms my heart. I am glad that I had to introduce myself to him instead of a stranger, but I am still trying to avoid him.

Why am I trying to avoid him?

I can't be surprised that he's here because I never asked him about college and he is only twenty. I just wish I would have asked him before to prevent my current reaction.

My mouth drops open and I stare into his blue eyes until he interrupts my thoughts.

"And you are...?" he says to try to be funny, and laughs obnoxiously in my face.

I turn around in my seat and face the front of the room.

As I am looking at the seemingly unused chalkboard at the front of the classroom. I feel a breath on the back of my neck.

"I've missed you Emily." he whispers into my ear.

My cheeks flare and chills travel from my head to my feet and my body subtlety shakes at the sound of his deep, sleepy voice and his warm breath on my skin.

Ignoring my body's reaction to him, I turn around and glare at him with clenched teeth.

"Don't even."

I turn back around and I feel his breath on my neck once again.

"Emily, I know you think I'm an asshole. But I just want you to know that I-"

"Okay, class!" the professor interjects removing Niall's warm breath from my neck cooling my body back down. "Let's get started. I'm going to pass out a syllabus with a schedule for the entire year."

I am extremely happy because I can get ahead on my work so I have time for-

Time for what?

I ignore the thought as the professor hands me a stack of syllabi to pass to the students behind me. I look at the syllabus and the teacher's name is Professor Hugo.

To avoid contact with Niall, I hold the papers behind my head whilst facing the front of the classroom.

I feel a warm hand wrap it's fingers around my wrist and slowly move up my hand until gently slipping the papers from my grasp.

I quietly gasp and my legs tingle as I continue to face the front of the classroom.

I feel a large finger run up and down my back as I feel a warm breath on my neck once again.

"Something wrong, my love?" he breathes into my ear.

My heart begins to race as my eyes flutter. I start breathing faster as my chest is moving up and down and my-

"Are you okay, miss?" the professor interupts my lustful thoughts as he is staring at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah...sorry...I'm fine." I say as my face glows red with embarrasment as always and I hear Niall softly chuckling behind me.

The class passes by slowly because I keep thinking about Niall sitting behind me. I can hear him tapping his fingers on the desk and I listen to his breathing and my heart starts pounding at the thought of his chest moving up and down.

The class ends and as I collect my things, I feel a hand grab my elbow and there is only one person it couuld be.

"Hey, Emily, what's your next class?" he says as I turn to face him.

"Oh, um, American Literature." I respond and my mind can't decide whether I want him to have another class with me.

"Damn it, I don't have that class, but can I walk you there?" he says with a smile.

Why is he being so nice to me? I've rejected him multiple times. Why does he keep coming back for me?

Do I want him to?

"No, I can walk by myself, but thank you."

"Emily..." I hear him say as I walk towards the door without turning around because I'm afriad to see sadness in his eyes once again.

I have to walk quickly to my next class because Niall slowed me down, but I still am able to arrive five minutes early and sit in the front seat once again.

I pay attention to the other students walking in because my mind cannot take anymore surprises. Niall may have been lying when he said he did not have this class.

I don't see him out of the students entering and I am relieved yet sad at the same time because I want to see him again.

I look at a girl and she is smiling at me as she sits in the seat to the right of me. She has long black hair and I know she is African-American, but she has fair skin. She is beautiful.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie." she says aas she smiles at me and I instantly feel welcome.

"I'm Emily." I reply and smile back.

"So is this your first year here?"

"No, I was here last year."

"Oh, well I've never seen you around."

"Yeah."

The awkward silence between me and Stephanie is interrupted by the door opening and I'm hoping it's the teacher but to my surprise a brown-haired boy steps into the classroom.

It's Harry.

He pushes his hair above his head as he walks past my desk towards the back of the classroom.

"Hey Emily. What's up?" he smiles at me.

"Hi." I nervously say.

I look at him as he sits in the back of the classroom and I turn back around to see a wide-eyed Stephanie.

"You know Harry?" she says with a surprised tone.

"Yeah I met him once. Do you know him?"

"The whole school knows him." she sarcastically says and rolls her eyes.

"Why is that?"

The door opens and a young man in his late 30s enters the classroom with a briefcase and his suit jacket in hand.

"I'll have to tell you later." Stephanie laughs as she turns to face the front of the classroom.

After class, I walk out of the room and I stop Stephanie in the hallway. She is as surprised as I am that I want to talk to her, but I'm very curious of the cause of Harry's popularity. I wonder if it involves Niall.

"Hey...um...Stephanie?" I stammer.

"Hey Emily! Where are you headed to?"

"Well my next class doesn't start for another hour. What about you?"

"Me too! Want to go to Starbucks and grab a coffee?"

I never get invited anywhere, so this is a surprise to me.

"Yeah, sure." I say and smile a genuine back at her.

The walk to Starbucks is about five minutes from where we were and the walk is quiet between us. We arrive, buy coffee, and sit at a vacant table by a window.

Surprisingly, I am the first one to speak.

"So, why is Harry known by everyone at school?" I say and take a sip of my coffee.

Stephanie places her coffee on the table and grows a serious look on her face.

"Get ready Emily, because it's gonna be a lot to take in."