Vigilant | N.H.

One.

The beginning.
December 22nd, 2015.

"CAUTION: WATCH FOR ICY ROAD" the reflective road sign beams and instantly catches my eye. All my life, that's all I've ever been—cautious. It's time for a change, so I'm finally going my own way.

I'm leaving this hell hole that some refer to as their home. It's honestly quite pathetic.

I'm only 19 and I just barely saved up enough money to get an apartment in the middle of Chicago. The only thing I ever really cared about was graduating and getting out of this town, so I guess I somewhat accomplished something in my life. I didn't know I had it in me to leave and to be honest, I'm terrified. For most of my life, I've been alone, so I'm not quite sure why I care so much.

This is all I've ever wanted and it's exactly what I'm getting, so for now, I plan on savoring this moment, this feeling. For once in my life, I'm doing something for myself rather than to please someone I don't even care about. I glance over to the driver's seat and am greeted by a set of soft, sage green eyes.

"I fucking love this song, turn this shit up," Delaney energetically yells.

Delaney is my best friend and has been since birth. Our mothers were best friends, so we were always together growing up. She's risky, which is the complete opposite of me; her free-spirited lifestyle is how I aspire to become. I'm surprised I'm not considering I'm with her 24/7, but who knows, maybe one day I will be.

I stare out the window and admire the beautiful December weather. I watch the delicate snowflakes dance around in the colorless sky. There are thousands of them surrounding one another, yet they'll never know each other— like strangers passing by on the street. That's how I've felt my whole life, like I'm just a stranger on a continuous road, watching people pass me by yet never speaking a word to any of them.

I let out a sigh before cranking up the radio.

"But I crumble completely when you cry, it seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye," Delaney and I scream at the top of our lungs.

505 by the Arctic Monkeys is one of the best songs to exist.

"You okay B?" Delaney asks in a fairly concerned tone. "You seem...upset."

"I'm just a little nervous to be on my own, that's all," I reply with honesty.

"You won't be alone, you have me, dumbass," she says, trying to cheer me up. "You'll always have me."

I nod in agreement and try to stop overthinking. This is supposed to be me finally moving on, so I need to put an end to my old habits. I begin to let my mind slip away into a daydream; right now, I'm picturing my best friend and I walking around the city with two giant pretzels, taking photos of anything and everything in our sight. Nobody knows us, so we can be whoever we want and do whatever we want to do—we're free.

"Blair Collins, the girl who has been cautious her whole life is finally taking a risk, and quite a big one, too," she says, interrupting my daydream. "I never thought the day would come."

"You and me both, D," I chuckle. We continue to listen to whatever comes on my playlist, which I specifically made for today. We begin to share a few heartfelt memories from our childhood and I can't help but feel a little sentimental. As much as I hated it, I do have to admit I've made some pretty good memories there. Every chapter must come to an end, though, and I don't plan on revisiting this one.

So long, Cincinnati.

The car ride flies by and before we know it, we're not in Ohio anymore. Delaney's eyes begin to squint as she gives me a cocky smirk.

"Chicago, here we fucking come."
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A/N: Hey guys, and welcome to my new story, Vigilant! Since it's going to be different from my first on-going story, The Moon At Canyon, so here's a little bit of background!

It's going to be a darker, Niall Horan fanfic! Also, Niall isn't going to be a member of One Direction, in fact, in this story, One Direction doesn't even exist, but they will all, Zayn included, be friends! In my book, Niall is currently 22, Harry is 21/22, Louis is 24/25, Liam is 23, and Zayn is 22/23.

I would also just like to say I probably got the boys' ages wrong because of how their birthdays fall but you get the idea! Also, Niall's is accurate so it's good!

I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks of it, so please feel free to comment, vote, or even message me. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read, I look forward to seeing you all in the next chapter!
Sending all my love as always,
T <3