Convalescence

VIII.

mood for the chapter :))

"I'm going on a date with Niall Horan tonight."

The sweet words echoed in Lili's head from the moment she opened her eyes and picked her heavy head up from the pillow.

She had been tossing and turning all night from nerves and knew the rest of the day would not be any better. 

Hopefully the dark circles under her eyes weren't too noticeable. Nothing a little concealer couldn't fix, anyway.

Anxious knots were forming painfully in her stomach, and she had to physically force some toast with butter down her throat for some semblance of breakfast. She couldn't even get coffee down.

Though it was hard, not eating all day would make her feel even more like shit at the end of the night. Putting something dry in her stomach helped settle it a bit but didn't rid her of the nervous burning in her chest.

She was actually going on a date with Niall. 

The two of them, meeting somewhere outside of the club for once, with no one to disturb them. She couldn't believe it. 

Of course she was excited; she'd been thinking about a moment like this for weeks. He hadn't said anything at all since the previous night so Lili knew nothing about what he was planning.

She had no idea if he was even a romantic guy or not so she had no expectations whatsoever other than that the night would be phenomenal.

Except she couldn't help being incredibly anxious over it.

She was, for the most part, comfortable with Niall. They'd really gotten to know each other over the past few weeks and she couldn't help but feel close to him. 

That whole 'feels like you've known someone your whole life' cliche was definitely real. There had never been another person in the world that Lili felt as physically and emotionally connected to this quickly as she had with Niall.

Maybe Jordyn, but that's about it. 

There were certain aspects of the date that were making Lili nervous, but the idea of spending quality time with Niall didn't scare her at all. It was what she was looking forward to the most. 

If he tried to make a move sometime during the night, she'd be more than happy. Lili felt completely, 100% safe around him - safe enough that she was willing to accept intimate affection from him so early on. 

It was rare that Lili didn't feel judged by another person, especially someone she was dating, so to experience complete acceptance from Niall made her feel really good. 

But, realistically, she'd only ever spoken to him through a screen or in the comforting familiarity of the club. 

That reassurance and lack of judgement could very well be something she made up in her head based off of their limited daily interaction. 

Being out with him in a new, public setting was a completely different situation - one that absolutely frightened her. It was new territory for both of them. 

Maybe these fears she had were irrational, but who wouldn't be a little nervous before a first date? 

Many of her hidden fears and insecurities were surfacing as she began the process of getting ready for the night. 

For one thing, Lili thought about how the only times she had really seen or spent time with Niall in person were when she was working and wearing a 'sexy' outfit. Even if it was one she felt good in, the outfit didn't represent her personal style at all.