♥ I Never Thought I'd Love You ♥

~Chapter 25: You're The First

~Chapter 25: You're The First

            “What?” I asked. “You don’t… what?”

            “Remember when I was in your room and I told you I didn’t like you anymore?” Niall asked.

~Flashback (Chapter 11)~

            “Niall… Can I ask you something?” I said quietly into the darkness.           

            “Sure.”

            I shook Niall’s arms off of me. “How much do you like me? Tell the truth.”

            There was a period of silence. “I don’t like you.”

~End of Flashback~

            “Yeah. I remember,” I replied, frowning.

            “Well, you never gave me a chance to finish.” I looked at Niall, astonished and trying to think back. I really DID never give him a chance to finish. “I don’t like you anymore, because I… I’m in love with you. I fell for you. I fell in love with you. Out of everyone in the world, you’re surprised it’s you, right? Well, I’m not.” Niall smiled. “You never thought you’d be loved by anyone else besides your mother. I told you I’d prove you wrong. You just wanted someone to accept you. But the truth is, many people have already accepted you for who you are. The lads, me, Adriana…” He shrugged. “You just didn’t open yourself up to see it.”

            Niall… is… in love… with… me? I thought. “You said you wanted one chance…”

            “And you gave me one, and I proved you wrong. You CAN be loved, Cordelia. You just don’t believe yourself. It’s always easier to put yourself down. But it’s never easy to bring yourself up. That’s what I’m here for.”

            I nodded and swallowed, taking a deep breath. “Well, I have something to confess to you too,” I admitted.

            Niall looked up, his eyes dancing. “Really? What is it?”

            I took a deep breath. "I... I actually use to be scared of you Niall," I confessed. "I felt like you were just invading my personal space, but you ended up helping me. And I'm grateful for that." I looked at him and smiled. "I know I'm too scared to make sure, but I know I really like you, Niall James Horan. I like you more than any other person I've ever met. I've never even really liked anyone. So, you're the first." I took his hands in mine and said, "I was just scared to admit it to anyone, mostly myself. But the thing is... I'm not scared anymore. You know?" I looked up at him.

            Niall smiled and hugged me. No words could be used to describe the moment. "I love you, Cordelia. Please don't ever leave my side. Please."

            I closed my eyes and a tear ran down my face. I was scared to say the three words back, not sure if I truly meant them or not. "I...," I started, but Niall stopped me.

            "It's okay, Cordelia. Don't push yourself." Niall smiled.

            I leaned over toward him and kissed him softly. "Only you'd understand." This time, we held in the position longer, enjoying each other. I pulled away and threw my arms around him, crying. “Oh, Niall. I always thought I’d never fall for anyone in my life. Before I met you, I felt that nothing in the world could ever help me anymore. I felt like no one could get to me and that no one could help me. But then, you come along and you change my whole world within a few days,” I spilled everything out. “You don’t know how much that means to me, Niall.”

            Niall patted my back and replied quietly, “It was all because of you, Cordelia.” He pulled away and held my shoulders. “You were the one who chose to stop hurting. You were the one who chose to open up. You were the one who let me into your heart. Without your own choices, I never would’ve made it through to you.”

            I smiled at him, but then the boat stopped suddenly. “What’s going on?” I asked.

            Niall got up and walked to the controls. He came back a little while later. “Uhh, I don’t mean to startle you, but the boat’s out of fuel…”