Daytona Baby [N.H]

29

Olivia Campbell

This is the best night of my fucking life.

Victoria was right when she said I've never had a good time until I tried this. No bar, club or house party I've ever been to is comparable to the euphoria I feel now. Of course, I know I'm lucky it's turned out this way. I could've just as easily had a bad trip. Paranoia, anxiety, terrifying hallucinations—and no way to stop it.

I'm glad I get to experience this with Niall, and I can tell that he's enjoying it just as much as I am. Good company makes all the difference.

We were at the sliding door, about to head inside to find somewhere private, when Niall stopped abruptly halfway in the door. He was staring past me, off to the side of the house.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning slightly to try and see what he was looking so intensely at.

"I saw something, c'mon." He jetted off towards the narrow path along the side of the house and I had to take a few quick strides to catch up to him.

I nearly tripped over Niall a second time when he halted suddenly and crouched down at the edge of the garden, peering into the bushes. I joined him at his level, eager to know what it is that he saw.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, hoping for a straight answer this time.

"A gnome."

He said it so casually, as if that was something you might see every day, then he tilted his head further towards the ground as he looked around through the plants.

"A gnome?" I asked, thinking that surely I must've misheard him.

He nodded. "Yep. I just saw him run in here somewhere."

"Oh," I replied. Now I'm actually a bit disappointed that I didn't get to see it. "He probably has a little house around here," I suggested. Although I couldn't see any indications of that either.

Niall simply nodded again, too engrossed in his hunt for this gnome to respond. I took it upon myself to look around the rest of the garden. There were taller, leafy bushes at the back against the house, with some shorter ones of a lighter shade in front. Different types of flowers of all different colours were speckled across the nearest edge of the dirt, stems intertwining as they fought for room to grow.

What caught my eye was the patch of little yellow flowers right in front of where I was crouched down. Some varied in the exact shade of yellow, but they all looked to be the same type. They were swaying lightly, side to side, as if they were dancing to a tune I couldn't hear. I leaned closer, for good measure, but still couldn't hear a thing. They look happy.

I'm happy too.

They were all smiling, just content with existing. They weren't bothered at all by my presence or the fact that they were being watched, but they just kept on dancing.

Niall came back over to me, crouching down again, watching the little yellow flowers with as much admiration as I was. He must've given up on the search for his gnome, which is too bad; I would've liked to meet him.

I pointed out one of the flowers to him. "That one looks like you."

"Why?" Niall looked to me, then back to the one I showed him.

"I don't know," I hesitated, trying to conjure up the right words to explain the feeling. "He just looks like he's having the most fun, I guess."

We both watched silently, entranced by the little yellow flower bouncing back and forth to his own beat. He looked like he was enjoying himself more than the others maybe, having his own little party without a care in the world—just like Niall. As much as he loves to be in the spotlight, he doesn't need anyone else to entertain him; he seems just as content in solitude as he does in a crowd.