Lucky Strike (Niall Horan)

3.<3

Lucy didn’t realize the kind of deal she made when she shook Niall Horan’s hand. She had wanted this so much and at her age she was willing to do almost anything to make it into the boxing world. She had big dreams for herself: a title belt, Olympic gold, endorsement deals, but she couldn’t accomplish any of those dreams if she stayed in her Uncle’s gym. He was family and she was grateful for all the training he gave her but she needed someone who knew their shit and could build her into an unstoppable fighter.

Her parents were split in her decision to get up and move to Ireland. Her father of course was thrilled and was extremely proud that his little girl was finally being recognized for her talent but her mother was completely heartbroken. Her mother cried and cried which actually made Lucy really uncomfortable. Nothing she said could convince her mother that this was a smart move for Lucy; she only saw that her baby girl would be moving out of the country and she couldn’t protect her.

The most heartbroken had to be Lucy’s little sister Miranda. She was about 5 years younger than Lucy and was just finishing up high school. Most of her worries came from the idea that her sister wouldn’t be around to see the end of her senior year: no prom, no graduation, and no fun summer before college. If there was one person’s opinion she cared about it was Miranda’s. It was hard to feel like her sister didn’t support her but she also knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sometimes you had to take the disappointment for the moment in order to get the pride later on.

It took Lucy a few weeks to square away her business in Boston. She had to apply for a visa, cash out some of her trust funds, and ship some of her goods to Niall’s home in Ireland. Throughout the process Niall was very sweet and helpful which was surprising to Lucy, she hadn’t expected him to go out of his way at all. He even came to visit Lucy’s family to assure them that he was properly fitted to take on Lucy’s training and housing needs. She was rather impressed with his cool and easy-going demeanor though deep down she still felt like there was a side to him that he wasn’t showing.  She wondered when the dark side would come out and when it did if she’d be prepared for it.

Niall stayed around for about 2 weeks after he signed up to be Lucy’s manager and would come to her trainings and tried to hang out with her a bit so he could get to know her better. She was moving into his home after all and although this was a business venture he wanted to make sure that he could live with this woman. The thing that really sold it for Niall was Lucy’s ability to be just one of the guys. She had a harsh sense of humor and didn’t take shit from anyone. Niall felt at ease around her and was never against having another friend to call his own. Once his two weeks were up he headed back to Ireland but kept in contact with Lucy making sure that she was following a specific training regimen before her arrival.

After about a month the final arrangements were made and Lucy found herself on a plane to Ireland. It was exciting, she had never been to Europe before and was ready for the adventure but as she was flying she wondered how her life would change and if everything was worth it. It was too late now.

Lucy slept through most of the flight and groaned softly as the plane came to a sudden halt as it landed. As the lights in the cabin came on she rubbed her fists against her eyes to expel the sleep from them. Blinking a few times she looked out and saw the sun setting in the distance and knew that she sure as hell wasn’t in Boston anymore. Standing up she gathered up her things and pulled out her phone to call Niall.

Lucy held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder as she slipped on her backpack and adjusted the loose beanie on her head. Her long brown hair swayed back and forth as she shuffled herself out of the cabin of the plane and into the gate. She grew impatient as the phone rang and rang, wishing that Niall would pick up.