♥ I Never Thought I'd Love You ♥

~Chapter 33: It's Not Okay

~Chapter 33: It’s Not Okay

            I raised my fist up to punch her, but Niall stopped me. “Don’t make a big fuss, Cordelia. It’s okay.” He took my raised hand and held it in his, leading me away from the trailing group.

            The girl continued to call after us. “Hey, you! The blonde girl. Are you going out with Niall?”

            “No,” I growled. “We’re not going out.”

            “That’s bullshit, because we obviously see--.”

            I felt the anger boil up inside me. I spun around, fire in my eyes. Niall tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen. “I’m sorry, what?” I asked sarcastically and took a deep breath. “I ought to know my own relationship with this boy right here. And you don’t. So rack off.”

            “Don’t tell me what to do. If you wanna go around with some guy from One Direction that isn’t even attractive--.”

            She just crossed the line. “How DARE you say that. How DARE you.” My gaze seemed to shoot right into the eyes of the girl who’d said that. She glared right back. “Do you know him? Do you know Niall James Horan? No, you don’t. You don’t know him. NONE OF YOU KNOW HIM. You have no right to judge him. You don’t know what he’s been through, how much hate he has to face, or how many lives he’s saved.” Why was I even so defensive anyway?

            “I don’t care.” She stood up straighter and flipped her hair.

            “Well you should. Because he’s saved more people than you ever could. He saved me. He saved my life. You don’t know Niall James Horan like I do. That gives you no right to judge. He left his home, friends, and family behind to pursue a dream by himself. He’s done nothing wrong, and yet, this is what you guys say to him?!” I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

            “It’s none of our business what he’s been through--,” the girl started.

            “So, it’s none of your business to hate or judge someone you don’t know.” I clenched my fists and stared at her straight in the eyes.

            “Nobody cares,” another person dared to shout. “Yeah!” another person agreed.

            “Cordelia, it’s okay.” Niall touched my shoulder softly.

            I turned to him. “It’s NOT okay, Niall.” I looked at everyone gathered around, and then back at Niall. “It’s not okay.” I took his hand in mine and called out, “Do you guys all see this boy? His name is Niall James Horan. He’s caring, he’s sweet, he’s funny, he’s considerate, and everything you could ever want in a guy. He’s the kind of person to walk a thousand miles through a blizzard just to see you when you’re down.  He’ll be the one to do anything for his loved ones.”

           I turned to Niall, looking in his eyes, speaking more to him than anyone else. “It doesn’t matter how he looks. To me, he’ll always be perfect. Because once you fall in love with someone’s personality, everything about them becomes beautiful.” I smiled. “You can all turn your back on me, insult me, but as long as this boy, right here, still loves me, I won’t care. And if any of you insult him, you’ll be dealing with me.” I looked out into the crowd, staring each person in the face. “Because if you hurt Niall, you hurt me too.”

            Everyone was silent for a moment. Some people started walking away and the crowd broke down.

            “Let’s go, Cordelia.” He took my hand and led me away. I was too shy to look at Niall afterwards. At least nobody bothered us anymore. A few people asked to take pictures with us, but that was all. We walked past Hollister and all those stores without saying a word, just smiling.

            I picked out a few cute shirts and so did Niall. Later, we chose some matching shirts. Then, Niall insisted on buying me some new dresses, even though I strongly protested for him not to.

            Finally, the ultimate question came. “Did you really mean it, Cordelia?” Niall asked while we were getting food.

            It was difficult to avoid his question. I pretended to be looking at the menu, too shy to answer him. He stayed silent. At last, I looked at him. “Hm?”

            “Did you mean it all?” Niall looked at me straight in the eyes. “Everything you said?”