You Only Want Me Cause I'm Taken

Chapter 8

~Niall~

I stood with my back to the tree where Faith promised she'd meet me. We had talked that morning when Faith was on her way to school and we planned to meet up after school. I looked at my watch. Faith was twenty minutes late. I got out my phone and started to dial her when I saw her running in my direction.

"Niall!" She said breathlessly.

"Faith! Why are you so late?"

"I'm so sorry," she said, and I knew I couldn't stay mad at her.

"Hey, it's okay."

"So what's the plan?" She asked.

"Are you ready for a day of fun with the one, the only Niall Horan?" She wrinkled her nose.

"Depends what you mean by 'fun'."

"Oh trust me, we'll do whatever you want!" I said. "So what do you want to do?" She tapped her chin, deep in thought.

"We can ride a roller coaster." I raised my eyebrows.

"A roller coaster? Where's the nearest roller coaster to here?"

"Um...I think we went to one in Dublin once..."

"Dublin? Ok, not happening! We're not driving to Dublin today!"

"I know, I know. How about...we can go shopping?"

"Aww, that's a girl thing."

"Well, what do you propose we do?" She asked, cocking her head slightly.

"How about..."

"PAINTBALL?!" She screamed when we pulled up. "We're playing PAINTBALL?"

"Yep," I said proudly. You can always count on me to find the perfect place for a date. Now Faith was laughing. "What?" I demanded.

"Paintball," she said. "No one plays paintball on a date."

"What's wrong with it?" I asked. "It's fun!"

"Yeah, but it's just not a dating thing."

"Just come on," I said. Opening the door. Faith heaved a sigh.

"Let's...do this...thing."

"Ouch!" I said as a paintball hit my stomach. I'd forgotten how much they hurt! Poor Faith was dodging paintballs in an effort to not get hit. Luckily, she hadn't got hit once.

"You're out, Niall," said Faith.

"Aww, but-"

"Rules are rules," she said, wagging a finger at me teasingly. Then she got hit by a paintball.

"Hey!" She protested. "Jerks."

"Rules are rules," I say, wagging my finger in her direction.

"Aww, shut up, you."

"So wasn't that fun?" I asked as we were in the car driving back to Faith's house.

"No," she whined. "Look at this!" She showed me a golf ball-sized bruise on her hip.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie," I said, rubbing the skin around the black-and-blue spot.

"Not your fault," she mumbled. I pulled up in front of the Brennans' house.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," I said. Faith shook her hair.

"Ada's in there. She's mad at me because I kissed you."

"Still mad?" I said. "But that was two days ago!"

"I know," Faith groaned. "What can I do? Ada holds grudges. Oh, she'll never forgive me."

"Well, we don't have to go in there. We can stay here." I turned up the radio. Incidentally, it was playing a One Direction song. "Hey it's me!" I said and cranked up the volume and began to sing along. "Yeah, we'll be doing what we do, just pretending that we're cool, and we know it too! Yeah, we'll be doing what we do, just pretending that we're cool, so tonight." Now Faith joined in.

"LET'S GO CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY TILL WE SEE THE SUN! I KNOW WE ONLY MET BUT LET'S PRETEND IT'S LOVE! AND NEVER NEVER NEVER STOP FOR ANYONE! TONIGHT LET'S GET SOME, AND LIVE WHILE WE'RE YOUNG!" I continued to sing along, but Faith just stared out the window with a horrified expression on her face.

"What?" I asked. I looked. There was Ada, frowning as she came toward the car. Ada walked up to the car and motioned for us to lower the window. I turned the radio off too.

"What is going on?" She asked.

"Uh, nothing..." Faith said. Ada rolled her eyes.

"I'm sick and tired of this! You two are always seeing each other! It's not right!"

"How is it not right?" I asked. "Love is always right." I saw Faith's face taking on a blush, but I continued staring into Ada's angry blue eyes. "Does it bother you if Faith and I go out?"

"Yes it does, actually. And I'm going to put an end to it." I looked into Faith's eyes, filled with terror. "You two can't see each other or talk to each other anymore."

"What? No, you can't do that?" Protested Faith.

"Yes, I can. After all, I'm the oldest and Ma and Dad left me in charge." I realized that Faith and I were powerless. There was no reasoning with Ada. She was stubborn and would put up a fight. I hugged Faith one last time. Tears streamed down her face, and she was sobbed uncontrollably. I gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. My own heart was breaking. Maybe I only met her a few days ago, but she was so important to me. So special.

"Goodbye, N-Niall," she sniffled, burying her face in my chest. I rested my chin on the top of her head as we hugged. Then I kissed her on the cheek, and held her hand one last time.

"Goodbye, Faith. I'll never forget you." Now I sang. "You know I'll be your life, your voice, your reason to be my love, my heart is breathing for this moment in time. I'll find the words to say, before you leave me today." My voice wavered as I sang. It's the chorus from "Moments". I released her hand and started toward the car. I felt my eyes getting blurry and my throat closing up. As I drove away, I said, "I love you." I don't think she heard me.