When Niall's alarm doesn't go off and he wakes up about 30 minutes from the start of his shift at the tiny little coffee shop he works at, he makes a conscious decision not to stress. There's no way he could make it on time, so he shoots an explanation text to his coworker, Ed, and prepares as fast as he can, without stressing. He is definitely not stressing as he tugs on his jean jacket and steps out of his flat, opting not to eat breakfast because he's already late and can get it at the shop anyway. It's not stress that causes him to take the stairs two at a time, instead of waiting for the lift, and then dash down the sidewalk to the bus stop on the corner. It is not because he is stressing in any small amount that he taps his foot impatiently, glancing down the road every minute or so for the bus.
It is with relief though, that he sighs and steps forwards when he sees the large oncoming bus.
Niall truly hates public transit, and that fact solidifies itself in his mind one again as he steps onto the cramped bus, brimming with men and women unfortunate enough to have to take their morning commute on the bus. Niall's eyes rake over the bodies occupying the seats, hoping to find a vacant one, and it is most definitely not with any sort of animosity from the seats being filled that he 'accidentally' stomps on a man's shiny black dress shoe as he shuffles down the aisle.
Niall silently sends up a prayer of thanks as he spots an empty seat closer to the back of the bus, and he squeezes past people with many "sorry"'s and a good few "excuse me"'s. It's absolutely, irrevocably not because he is the least bit bitter about how his morning has turned out that he plops down into the open seat, all the while decidedly not making eye contact with an old woman that had just boarded the bus.
Harry too is definitely not incredibly irritated with how his morning has turned out, even though the incredibly attractive man who has just claimed the seat next to him has suddenly made it marginally better. Nor will Harry admit to being equally as irritated with the mechanics in the shop who had confirmed that his car would be ready to be picked up yesterday, but last night had requested another day of work. They were doing the best they could after all (even though Harry had decided he was only paying them for 2 days of work, instead of the extra third as well).
Niall takes notice of the gangly, curly haired stranger with pretty green eyes and a furrowed brow hunched over a legal pad, scribbling away, next to him. Even though Niall is still definitely not annoyed OR stressed, he is curious, so he leans in a bit in order to see exactly what this attractive stranger is so avidly scribbling. Niall lets out a surprised snort of laughter as he reads what is written on the pad. The only thing on the paper is the word MUPPETS written in purple pen, underlined twice and starred. Niall averts his eyes as the strangers eyes meet his, but he can't smother the smile painted across his face.
This lawyer, or at least Niall assumes he is a lawyer judging by the legal pad with 'Martin & Sons Law' watermarked on the top right corner, is probably the oddest lawyer Niall has ever seen. He's wearing a suit, but it's a horribly patterned suit that fits snugly across his shoulders. His dress shirt is unbuttoned to his navel and Niall wonders fleetingly if that is even legal. Niall pulls out his phone, still chuckling, and texts his roommate, Zayn, who is probably still asleep, or high, or wooing people with his face or his eyelashes or, you know, his general presence, about this fit dude on the bus.
Harry has absolutely not been watching this man out of the corner of his eye as he taps away at his phone screen because wow his guy is actually the hottest man he's seen in a long time. That is absolutely not why he had begun scribbling on the legal pad in his lap in order to look busy, but all he could think of was the word MUPPETS, so he had underlined it twice to make it seem more professional.
Harry looks up and he feels his mouth go dry when his eyes meet the man's and his blinding grin, and Harry certainly doesn't feel the need to firmly tell his knees to stop going weak.
But he does hope that his tongue will remember how to work soon as the man sticks out his hand and introduces himself.
"I'm Niall"
**********************************************************************
This is the very last drabble that Zayn will be in, because a few days ago he made it very clear what he will continue to be involved in.
Since I support my boys, and Zayn is no longer one of them, he gets to be a normal 22 year old (and last I checked, normal 22 year olds don't have fans).
That's all. Sorry if that upsets you.
-Sam xx
