On My Own

Chapter 5

Olivia widened her dark hazel eyes as she looked down at my lap and back up at me. I stayed silent, not sure what to do.

"Aren't you gonna get that?" Liv said raising a brow with a wide smirk on her face.

"It's probably just my mom," I said digging the phone out of my back pocket.

As I looked at the lit up screen, I could see the unfamiliar number.

"1 New Message" I read as I stared at the phone.

"Your mom huh?" Liv said before ripping the phone out of my hand and running into the small kitchen.

"Liv! Stop messing around!" I said following her.

"Me? You are the one who is acting like this isn't a big deal!"

It was a big deal, but I wasn't going to make something out of it and get my hopes up. I knew that the only reason this was happening was that he felt guilty from almost running me over.

"Read it!" She said handing me the phone.

I nervously unlocked the phone and opened my messages.

"Hi, Adrianna. It's Niall. I was just wondering if you would still like to take me up on my offer?" The message said.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Liv screamed looking over my shoulder, "Answer!"

"What do I even say?" I asked her.

Of course, I wanted to see him again, but again I know that the only reason he is doing this is to make up for the events of last night.

"Obviously you tell him yes!" She said with a confused look on her face.

Given the years behind our friendship, I could tell Liv knew what was going through my mind.

"Stop it." She said putting her hands on my shoulders and looking straight at me.

"Stop what?" I said shaking my head.

"Stop trying to play this down, or put yourself down about this. A few years ago you would have been dying for this moment. So you are going to go and meet up with him. You are going to have a good time, and show him what an amazing person you are. And whatever happens from there, happens."

I knew she was right, I had to go. Even if I never talked to him again after this, that was more than a lot of other people could say.

I nodded my head, "What do I say?" I asked handing her my phone.

"We are just gonna play it cool," She said beginning to type. "How's this?" She said handing the phone back to me

"Hey! I'm free today if you're available?"
I nodded and smiled as we sent the text. Liv went to change and finish getting ready as we waited for a response. After what seemed like a lifetime of staring at my screen, my phone finally buzzed again.

"Liv! He answered!" I yelled to her in the other room.

"This afternoon is good, let me know what time." The text read.

After giving Liv my phone, and a few minutes of bickering back and forth over what to respond, we decided on,

"Is 4 okay?"

To my surprise, this time he answered back fairly quickly,

"Perfect! I'll meet you at the same place as last night :)"

"Oh my god. This is seriously happening! We need to get you ready!" Liv said as she grabbed my arm and dragged me down the narrow hallway to my own room.

The room was empty when we arrived, but the housekeeping service did come to make the beds and straighten up. I decided not to change and to keep on my black skinny jeans and the light pink shirt. Liv insisted on me putting on some more makeup and straightening my hair, which I obliged with. We went into the bathroom and I worked on my makeup, as Liv straightened away my blonde curls. Since she has a natural wave to her hair, she has always been fascinated with my tight curls she jumped at any chance to do my hair.

I finished up my light makeup, as Liv was still slowly straightening my hair. I glimpsed at the time on my phone hoping we wouldn't run out of time.

"Stop worrying," Liv said reading my mind.

She was right. I needed to relax. I put my phone away and watched her through the mirror as she continued to do my hair. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop my nerves from getting to me.

"Okay, I think you're ready to go." She said putting her hands on her hips.

I stood up and ran my hands through my hair.

"Do I look like I am trying too hard?" I asked turning to face her.

"Aud, I'm not going to tell you again. Stop doubting yourself." She said with a stern look on her face.

"Okay," I said letting out a deep breath that I didn't realize I was holding.

As we walked out of the bathroom, and into the main room, there was a knock on the door coming from the hallway.

"Hey," I said as I opened the door to see Dylan and Cody there.

I moved out of the way to let them enter the room.

"We are going to grab some food if you guys wanna come," Dylan said walking into the small kitchen.

My eyes immediately turned to Liv. Although I was extremely close with both guys, I didn't want them to know about my plans. I didn't want anyone to know about it really. I knew it wasn't a big deal and nothing was going to come out of it, so I didn't want to say anything about it until after the fact.

"I'm not really that hungry," I said before Liv could say anything "I am just gonna call my mom and hang out for a bit but I can catch up with you guys after."

Cody raised an eyebrow at me, giving me a strange look. Thankfully Liv took my hint and grabbed her small purse and phone off the table.

"I'm down." She said walking towards the door. "I'll text you when we are on our way back."

I knew she wanted to say more to me, but she gave me a reassuring smile as she opened the door. I smiled back, watching them leave the room. I ran a hand over my face. What was I getting myself into?

I looked at my phone, I had about 20 minutes until I needed to meet with Niall. I tried calling my mom while I waited but got her voicemail. I left her a short message saying my day was going good, and I would call her later. Not sure what else to do, I decided to grab my things and begin on my walk. I would be early, but I would rather be early than late.

I arrived at the corner, Niall was not there yet. I leaned against the side of the stone building and pulled out my phone to check my social media. The street was very busy, and there was a lot of foot traffic passing me. I frequently picked my head up every time someone passed by thinking it would be him.

"Hey!" I heard a soft voice say as they approached me.