Always [N.H]

What if

The crowd roared in appreciation of Niall Horan, the greatest musician alive. Ok, perhaps that wasn't true, but it's definitely how he felt as he played the final strum on his guitar, head tilted back as he raised his hand, eyes closed as he basked in the glory and shouts from the crowd. Chanting his name again, and again, and again, it was a remarkable feeling, one that was too difficult to put to words, it was like he was running a race, the finish line in sight and he was winning, a grin on his face, he was winning, winning the race of life.

The crowds hadn't always called out his name like this, he hadn't always had heard the cries of appreciation but instead echoes of disappointment and warnings;

"It's a childish dream."

"Put down the guitar and put on a suit."

"You're ok but I've heard better."

Niall wished he could see all those people now and laugh in their faces, stick up his middle finger and grin as he would tell them to look at him now. Yeah, the road to success hadn't been easy but it all turned out to be worth it and continued to be worth it. With every fan that asked for an autograph, with every tweet he received demanding for more music, he realized how much more there was to achieve, how much more success still awaited him and he couldn't wait, he couldn't wait because to him, in that moment, everything was possible.

Arden.

Even in the midst of a concert, basking in success, the chants of his fans ringing in his ears, she's still all he could think about. Her smile, her eyes, her pretty plump lips, an image that his mind refuses to ever delete. She's there with him, supporting him enthusiastically, the two had locked eyes several moments during the concert, Niall winking at her while she blew back a kiss. This was the happiest she had been in awhile and Niall prayed it would last, that for once, her mind would have mercy on her. They acted like the world didn't exist and it was just the two of them, always just the two of them.

However as the instrumentals began to play, signaling the end of the concert, Niall waving happily at the crowd, bringing both his hands to his lips as he blew kisses, causing his fans to grow even wilder, smile so wide, it was physically beginning to hurt, at this point feeling like he had to be dragged away from the stage, he realized it wasn't just the two of them because she was gone, nowhere to be found as if she wasn't with him in the first place.

The cheers died down as he got backstage, he handed his guitar to a stage hand, while his back and shoulders were assaulted with the amounts of excited claps and squeezes from numerous stage hands, sound engineers, back-up singers and instrumentalists, all congratulating him on his first major concert. He smiled half-heartedly at everyone, distracted, as his eyes wondered through the numerous faces, looking for her.

"Jessie!" Niall called, spotting his assistant on the phone near the exit. She looked up at him and smiled, putting the call on hold as she pulled him in for a hug.

"You killed it out there, Niall, my phone is buzzing with emails and calls for interviews and photoshoots, they love you Ni." She exclaimed and he nodded.

"Have you seen Arden anywhere?" He asked and Jessie's smile faltered slightly, pulling him aside from any prying ears.

"I think she's having another bout, she was clapping and singing along with you when she suddenly just stopped and walked away, I tried to stop her however, there was a lot going on and she was gone before I could reach her." Niall took several steps backwards, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

"No, she was so happy, happiest she's been in a long time a-and I thought-" He stopped himself, realizing that wasn't what was important right now, he had to find her that was all that mattered. She couldn't be alone, who knew what tricks her mind would play on her.