If I Stay - Niall Fic

Part 2

The screaming of sirens jolts me awake. Opening my eyes, I begin to take in my surroundings before slowly picking myself up off the ground. Although I don't feel any pain, I still examine my body to see the damage that's been done. It takes me a few seconds to wrap my brain around this but...there's nothing wrong with me. I can't find a single scratch or even a little drop of blood, for Christ's sake.

The sound of sirens getting louder tears me away from my confused daze. Next I hear the slamming of car doors and frantic voices echoing throughout the barren street.

"Where is she? Where's the girl?" Panic.

I assume they're looking for me, so I start walking towards the ambulance. It's only a few yards away, so I figure they'll be able to see me soon enough. The voices are getting louder now that I'm getting closer, and I notice the huddle of paramedics not too far from where I'm standing.

"Hello?" I call out to them. Nobody seems to notice.

"I'm right here!" I say even louder. Still nothing.

Before I know it, I'm running towards them now, determined to get their attention; to let them know that for some odd reason, I'm completely and totally fine. As soon as I reach them, however, I'm met by a crumpled up body laying helplessly on the ground. The paramedics carefully lift the limp body onto the gurney that's sitting there eerily. I take a few steps closer to the scene only to see the waves of brown hair and the gray pea coat covered in dirt and blood. The girls face is hidden underneath a pool of matted blood and gravel, and one of her arms is twisted in an unnatural way, like it's not even a part of her body anymore. Her head's hanging to the side and bouncing along with every movement of the gurney.

The girl is now all the way inside the ambulance and the paramedics are shouting things at each other, frenzy and terror written all over their faces. A tall man in a neon green vest reaches forward and pulls shut the ambulance door, all the while looking directly at me. Yet nothing registers on his face. It's as if I'm some sort of ghost...and that's my body.

14 Months Ago

I'm awakened by the beeping of the seat belt sign and the flight attendant beginning her landing speech. I lazily put my seat belt back on and reach into my bag to fish out a piece of gum. Since I've heard this speech a million and one times, I turn my attention to the window on my right and I immediately notice the breathtaking view of London below. The clumps of buildings are separated by streets, making them look like little tiny puzzle pieces. I smile, I'm finally here. I've wanted to move to London ever since I was a little girl and mom would tell me story after story of all of the beautiful people and this "city of dreams." Perhaps deep down that's the real reason I'm here; so I can somehow have a little bit of her in my life again.

The landing is smooth, thankfully, and the chaos of getting off the plane is enjoyable enough so that I'm not groaning when I finally set food in the Heathrow Airport. Despite the bustling people around me, there's a welcoming vibe to it. There's people on their cellphones scurrying every which way and there's couples linking arms and laughing softly to each other like they're the only ones left in the world. There are numerous families with little children radiating excitement and joy, and I can't help but to smile at the pure happiness that's buzzing all around me. I'm careful in my observations, making sure that I take in every little detail of my new life. It's in my reverie that I completely run into someone and land on the ground face first.

Groaning, I get up to my knees and frantically begin picking up my bags that have just been scattered all around me. All of a sudden there's a hand right in front of my face.

"Here, let me help you." The words float in the air, like a bubble you can't bring yourself to pop. Looking up to find the source of this sweet voice, I'm met by a stunning blonde boy smiling down at me.

Utterly speechless, I take his hand and try my best to regain my composure. Well, whatever amount of composure I can possibly get when I've got someone who looks like this standing in front of me.

"You alright?" He asks, breaking the moment of not-quite-awkward yet not-quite-comfortable silence.

I still can't muster up any words whatsoever, so I lamely nod my head and try to flash an award winning smile.

"Good," he smiles back, "now let's get ya out of the way."

Bags in my hand, he grabs hold of my wrist and leads me through the maze of people. Eventually we come to a side door and much to my relief, we've finally escaped the overwhelming crowd of travelers.

He finally let's go of my wrist, thank god, because that was almost too excruciatingly wonderful.

"I'm guessing you're new to London?" He asks, looking me up and down

And of course, of course I'd be wearing my worn out leggings and a grubby old T-Shirt that probably hasn't been washed in days. And of course I haven't so much as even glanced in the mirror since my flight landed. Of. Course.

"Is it that obvious?" I'm finally able to speak again, which is a start, I guess. All I know is that the last thing I want to do is make a total idiot of myself in front of him.

He shrugs his shoulders and gives me a wink. And okay, there is no possible way that he has not practiced that wink a million times in his bathroom mirror, because it's not even remotely fair how good he is at it. He apparently takes my dumbfoundedness as embarrassment, because he throws his head back laughing. My stomach starts doing flips and turns as soon as I hear his laugh. I notice the way his eyes crinkle up and how his hands rest on his stomach and, wait, focus Lucy, focus. But I can't help how contagious his laughter is, and before I know it, I'm laughing right along with him.  

After our laughter dies down, he looks at me with a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Need a cab?"

It takes him about ten minutes to finally flag down a cab, but he finally succeeds. He takes the bags out of my hands and starts loading them into the trunk before opening the door for me. Once I'm in I turn to face him in order to give my thanks to him because, let's face it, this was just the welcome I needed.

His arm is just hanging over the top of the door and he looks at me with a smile.

"I'm Niall, by the way. It was nice meeting you...?"

"Lucy." I answer a bit too quickly, blush rising to my cheeks.

He chuckles softly, "Lucy, Lucy. Luce. I'll see you around, Luce."

And with that, he closes the door and gives me a slight wave as the cab pulls away into the busy street.