The Lift (A One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter Fourteen

"I want to come to school with you tomorrow," Niall bursts out while we're eating sliced apples in front of the television later that night.

"What?" I ask with a mouthful of apple. Realizing my lack of manners I chew the slice thoroughly and swallow so I don't spew any of it onto him. "Why would you want to do something like that?"

"I don't know," Niall shrugs. "You're always talking about it and I want to see what it's like."

"You know what high school's like," I sneer, shaking my head. "You just didn't finish what you started."

"Oh I don't give a shit about 'the high school experience,'" says Niall with the help of obnoxious air quotes. "Quite honestly if I hadn't gone on X Factor I'd probably be failing everything right about now. I meant I just want to see your school."

"Well you can't just pop in anytime you please, Niall," I point out. "We'd have to call the school and give them a good reason why you should be able to sit in on classes."

"Say I'm planning on going to your school and I want to see what it's like." Niall smiles and then shakes his head simultaneously with mine. "I tried."

I laughed, grabbing another apple slice. "Maybe we could say you want to get a feel for American schools? Like, a bit of a culture change?"

"That could work," Niall nods. "Or I could tell them I'm a famous. They'd probably let me in without another word."

"You're probably right," I admit. "But I think it'd be smarter to try the culture thing. Don't want a bunch of old lonely secretaries freaking out about having a celebrity in the main office."

"I guess." Niall adjusts his seating on the ground next to me, our backs leaning up against the couch. Our apple slices are sitting in a bowl on the coffee table in front of us.

"So let's say my mom says it's okay that you come to school with me," I begin. "And then let's say the school doesn't flip the fuck out on the short notice. Aren't you afraid you'd be, like, eaten by my classmates? They're pretty darn ravenous."

This statement gets me thinking. How the actual hell has Niall been able to walk around town with me and no security? His pinky finger alone is probably worth more than I'll ever make in my entire life. They can't just let a guy like that stroll around a pretty populated town with only a wimpy ginger as his protection.

"Don't worry." Niall grabs another apple slice. "My managers sent me over here with a couple of bodyguards."

"What?" I ask incredulously. "Where've they been, then?"

"Well when we walked around they sort of followed us in a car," Niall regales. "I text them with wherever I am at the moment so they know where to be."

"Where are they right now?" The thought of two bulky men sitting outside my apartment building in a black SUV in the dark gives me an extreme case of the heebie-jeebies.

"You know the Marriott a few blocks away?" I nod. "They've got a room there. Whenever we go out I tell them where we're going and they follow behind. Not creepily, just around the corner or something."

"That would have been lovely to know a couple days ago," I point out. "But who cares, really?" I stand up and do a strange little movement that I immediately regret. "I'll be right back."

I scurry away.

As expected, my mother says it is fine for Niall to come to school with me. Facepalming, I realize that there'd be nobody at the school so late at night. I tell my mom this but she calls anyway. By a stroke of luck, it turns out a couple of secretaries were hanging back tonight for some reason. Surprisingly, they are not bothered with the short notice. My mom doesn't even mention Niall's name before the old lady on the other end tells us all the things we must do tomorrow morning so it's done correctly.