The Bucket List (A Niall Horan Fanfic)

Chapter 15: Bending, Breaking, Beaches, Best Friends

I threw my arms around my best friend once I had reached where she was expectantly standing.

“I’ve missed you so much!” I screamed as I heard her giggle muffled from my hair. I turned around to see the five boys walking up to us. “So, you already know, but this is Zayn, Liam, Niall, Louis, and Harry. Boys, this is Christina,” I said, eyeing Harry who was dazedly staring at Christina.

 Oh gosh. This is not happening.

All five boys smiled and waved as Christina who was nervously smiled back at them. I rolled my eyes as I linked my arm in between hers and said, “Come on crazy girl, we’re going surfing.”

“You like Niall don’t you?” Christina asked, ginning as we sat on the beach, watching the sun go down the next day after a long day of surfing in the crystal blue ocean.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked, trying to hide a smile as I pulled my knees up to my newly tanned chest. I looked over to see the five boys attempting to build a sandcastle… from where we were sitting, it just looked like a heap of sand.

“Only a little,” she said, smirking at me.

I frowned, rubbing my hands along my legs, “I’m so scared he’s going to hate me.”

“He could never hate you,” she protested, trying to look me in the eye.

“When he finds out, he’s going to hate me,” I said, shaking my head.

“I don’t think he could. Though it has been a little weird calling you Hope,” she said, trying to lighten the conversation. I had told her the whole story before we got to Australia so that I wouldn’t have to deal with any problems or confusion. I let a small smile to let her know that I’d manage. “I think he loves you,” she said blankly, after a long pause.

“He doesn’t even know me,” I said, looking out at the clear sky that was smeared with florescent colors of orange, red and purple and a ripping ocean that reflected the sky.

“But he wants to,” Christina said, quietly.

“And then there’s Harry,” I finally said, biting my tongue throwing Christina a big smile. After she just sat there shaking her head at me, I exploded, “He thinks you’re hot! Well I’m sure they all do, but the rest of them have girlfriends.”

“No way! He’s …” she paused trying to think of an excuse, “Harry Styles.”

I laughed as I dug my hands into the sand behind me and said, “But he is a good guy.”

“You really think that he likes me?” she suddenly asked quietly, while looking down.

I felt my eyebrows narrow in and my nose crinkle in confusion, “Of course, any guy would be crazy not to.”

“I’m tired of boys being so fickle. One moment they act like they’re in love the next they’re into someone else,” she said slowly looking over her shoulder to watch the boys. “Is he one of those boys?” she asked, eyeing him. I paused for a moment. I didn’t want to say that he was… but I couldn’t guarantee that he wasn’t.

“I don’t know… he is a pretty big flirt,” I said, finding myself snickering.

“I’m just done with flirts,” she said, running her hands through her dark brown hair. I could hear the hurt and frustration in her voice.

“Those boys, they’re stupid. They screwed up. They’ll never find someone like you again. But you’ll find the right one,” I said reassuringly, offering her a sympathetic smile.

“Girls! Come see our sandcastle!” Louis shouted over to us. We stood up and brushed the sand off of our hands and shorts. We walked over to judge their architectural masterpiece… which still looked just like a pile of sand.