Lights, Camera, Action [N.H]

11

my first chapter over 10k words! enjoy :) also - the suggested song of the chapter is 'haunted' by Beyonce. 

I had basically told myself to sit still for the rest of the night and wait for Niall to contact me. Then I realised if he decided to go out, I needed to be ready. I also realised that waiting by my phone and checking it every 5 seconds was a bit desperate. So, I settled on scrolling endlessly through Netflix to try to find something to distract me. I landed on a basic rom-com. I needed a movie, not a TV show. Something I'd not seen before to keep me engaged. But, unfortunately at the 40-minute mark, I could barely keep it together. I needed something else, I was barely hanging on by a thread. I picked myself off the couch in the small common space, heading to the bedroom and throwing things everywhere in an attempt to find a good outfit choice for both options. For the outing option, a deep but vibrant red mini dress. It was satin, a silky texture that separated right under the bust, an opaque red lace material bridging the gap around the under-bust. It was a gorgeous dress, I'd worn it plenty of times. It said classy but didn't stray too far from slutty with a hint of 'look at my body' hidden in the undertones. For the comfortable option, a simple grey tracksuit with a cute lilac jumper. I sighed, standing back and looking at the options and feeling content. I grabbed my phone to check the time, realising it actually took me longer than expected to pick the outfits so I decided to start getting ready, moving to the bathroom.

The lounge room within earshot, I turned up the TV from the bathroom to have some background noise to do my makeup to keep me more occupied. I turned on my laptop, playing some cute and fun music to keep my mood upbeat. The thought of being a bit too loud did cross my mind, remembering that Claire was across from me - and asleep - and I didn't really know my other neighbors. What I don't know won't kill me, right? I sprawled every piece of makeup I brought with me onto the bathroom sink, sitting in the bowl in an attempt to get comfortable. I brought almost everything I owned, multiples of so many products for literally no reason other than because I could. I stared at each piece, and after doing skincare wondered what to do. If it was restaurant, full glam. If it wasn't, basic face. I sat and contemplated. I sat for so long, just staring at my makeup and brushes lazily thrown everywhere, no organisation to any of it. I sat for so bloody long that I wondered if Niall had actually texted me in the meantime. I got up from the sink, wandering into the living room to check my phone. I thought it would time perfectly, like a fairytale or something. As I lit up the screen, I saw no text.

Instead, divine timing appeared in the sound of someone knocking at my door. I wandered over to it, opening it up. And there stood Niall, just like the other night, it felt like a breath of fresh air but nerve-racking at the same time. A combination I was entirely unsure of how they came to coexist so peacefully.

"I couldn't decide either." He muttered, his hands behind his back as I examined his posture. I focused on his clothes, they looked about halfway in between the two options I had chosen for myself. I took in his presence, the aura of the clothing that clung to him from top to bottom. A pair of basic white sneakers sat on his feet, the chocolate-toned grey pants pooling at the bottom, almost covering them. A sage green shirt, it had 3 buttons right at the top of his chest, of which none were done up. The space in between each button perfectly exposed a white undershirt, but I still somehow managed to catch the eye of the few stray chest hairs peeking from the top of both shirts. The sleeves were rolled up, exposing his golden arms. I wondered how he was so tanned, he certainly didn't tan well considering his Irish ethnicity, and we were in London of all places, one of the hardest to tan in. Maybe he got in a sunbed or something. A hilarious thought.

"Couldn't decide what?" I asked, trying to make it not seem like I was just fucking staring at him. Unfortunately, he took so long to respond due to the fact it seemed like he was returning the favor. I swear I could feel his gaze, working its way up from the bottom of me to meet my eyes, like a laser I felt exactly where he stared. I wasn't wearing anything nice yet, I wasn't even prepared. I didn't even have a text message from him yet, and here he was.