first impression (a Niall Horan fanfic)

chapter 11

-Niall's POV-

We spent half an hour sitting in Hayley's hospital room talking about everything that came to mind. I really felt like I could open up to her and tell her anything. She told me about her parent's divorce and the living arrangements. she talked about her mom's new boyfriend and her brother. I really loved her American accent, I don't know what it was but something about it made me want to listen to her talk all day. I'm pretty sure she caught me staring at her a few times but everytime she'd just look at me and continue talking. i told her a little about touring and just work itself. I also told her a little about life back in Ireland.

Our mingling session was brought to a close when Zayn and Harry appeared in the doorway. Louis walked in with a huge teddy bear saying 'get well soon' while Liam followed behind him shaking his head.

"Hey!" Louis exclaimed while handing Hayley the bear, " You must be Hayley. At least I'm hoping so otherwise this is slightly awkward." Leave it to Louis to ease the tension. Hayley nodded as she took the giant bear out of Louis' hands. "Well I'm Louis. You already know Niall. That's Liam, Zayn, and Harry."

"I know who you guys are but it's great to meet you." Hayley smiled.

Louis made himself comfortable on the bed between Hayley and Zayn. Harry sat in the free chair while Liam leaned against the wall. They talked about their tattoos and poked fun at each other.

"You have any tattoos, Hayley?" Liam asked.

I noticed Hayley stiffen at the question. "Uhm," she cleared her throat, "yeahh I have one but, uhh, it's not particularly something I'm proud of." She explained.

"Fair enough, maybe another time." Louis said. The others nodded and changed the subject to movies. I looked at Hayley, she had her eyes cast down at the floor. I slipped my hand into hers, intertwining my fingers with hers. I felt her smaller hand close around mine and give it a slight squeeze. I noticed the corners of her mouth turn into a small smile before she turned her attention towards Zayn as he argued with Harry about which superhero was the best. As I scanned the room I saw Liam nod his head towards Hayley and I's intertwined finger. I shrugged my shoulders slightly before Liam smiled and nodded in approval.

Hayley was in the middle of talking about her hometown when there was a knock at the door. We all turned to see the doctor and Hayley's mom standing in the open doorway.

"Oh, sorry." Liam said standing up straighter. "we will get out of your guys' way." Liam jerked his head towards the door signalling for the rest of us to leave. Each of the boys waved to Hayley before exiting the small room.

I gave Hayley's hand a tight squeeze before letting go. "We'll be waiting just outside in the hall." I said with a smile. She nodded as I walked towards the door.

-Hayley's POV-

I did as the doctor told me. I took deep breathes when I needes to and listened to him explain the proper way to clean the wound. He gave my mother the final ok before telling us goodbye and walking out the door and down the hallway.

My mom mumbled curse words under her breath while I grabbed my backpack with all my belongings tucked inside. I Took a deep breath and followed my mom out into the hall. I found Niall, Harry, Louis, Zayn, and Liam all waiting in the hall like they said they would. I felt a smile spread across my face when my eyes landed on the blonde Irish hair. Zayn noticed me first and waved before nudging Harry. I told my mom to wait up before I turned to walk towards the group of boys. Liam and Louis stood instantly to give me a hug goodbye followed by Zayn and Harry. I could feel tears sting at the corners of my eyes, immediately I blinked them back. The boys rambled on and on about staying in contact.

"Well you know," I said, "I never got a picture with you guys." I watched as smiles broke out on all of their faces.

After taking a picture and exchanging phone numbers with each of the boys, I turned my full attention to Niall who had remained sitting. I tapped his shoulder resulting in him to look up at me with sad blue eyes. "I'd love a picture," I whispered, "and I'm not leaving without a hug." He laughed slightly before getting to his feet. I gave Zayn my phone to take the picture before wrapping my arm around Niall's waist.

Zayn handed me my phone as Niall took his arm away from my waist. I looked up at him waiting for him to take the liberty of putting his number in my phone, but he didn't. Reluctantly I said one last goodbye before turning away, taking one last look into the deep blue eyes of the blonde Irish boy that I had taken a bullet for.