"I'm so hungry, I could probably eat a bear right now!"
"Don't exaggerate, I bet you can't even finish one pizza." Your friend glances at you with a sarcastic look in her eyes, pinches your arm and you sigh deeply.
"I don't understand how you never get my jokes..." You speak and your friend bursts out laughing.
"It's because they aren't jokes!" Annoyed, you turn your face away from her. You've been shopping with your best friend, but this time it hasn't worked out that well. Your solution to every disappointing shop date mostly contains eating somewhere in a nice restaurant. It kind of helps to cheer you up.
You bite your lip, closely watching the road, and a cute building gets in sight. You immediately forget the little argument you've just had with your friend and hear your stomach making noises as you indicate the building with your thumb.
"What about that place? It seems like they serve really good pizzas over there?" You say with a frown and your friend nods, hooking her arm around yours.
"Alright, whatever you want, it's your party, but I still think you're not able to finish one whole pizza."
"I'm serious, it has been half an hour, or even more!" Your friend starts to get a little bit irritated and keeps turning her head around at the bar, where lots of employees are busily walking back and forth.
"Don't get too upset, they're just busy", you whisper, but you start to get a little bit worried now as well.
"Wait here, I will walk over to the bar to ask why the waiters are running so late." You get out of your seat and carefully shove it away under the table. "Be right back." Your friend looks at you thankfully when you walk away from her. The atmosphere in the restaurant is really cosy: it smells like some sweet scent of flowers mixed with a godly odour of pizza.
You sit down on a stool in front of the bar and try to reach one of the employees.
"Excuse me?" You speak and a boy with a darkish skin behind the bar turns around. "My friend and me", you say and you gesture at the table at the front windows, "we have been waiting for around twenty minutes and we were wondering if we could order." The boy, he must be around twenty-five, looks at you with a surprised expression on his face and his dark eyes quickly glance at the table you have pointed at.
"I am so sorry, young lady", he says. "Have you already chosen?" You quickly tell him your order and he makes sure it will get there in no time, adding a few more apologies to that. You just want to get back to your table, when you hear someone speaking next to you with an Irish accent. Your heart skips a beat when you realize how well you know that voice.
"Niall!" You exclaim. "Didn't expect you to be here!" Niall turns his head around and smiles at you with twinkling eyes.
"Well hello [Your Name]! Why not?" He asks, raising one eyebrow. You just shrug and turn a bit red behind your ears.
"Hmm, well, I..." You can't even think of a good reason and when Niall notices, he laughs.
"Don't you know the pizzas here are like heaven?" He says.
"I haven't gotten the chance yet to try them", you say, feeling a little bit awkward.
"It's true!" Niall says and he receives some little paper from a woman behind the checkout. "You should try the one with mozzarella and pepper, it's delicious." You smirk a little, because that's the one you've just ordered.
"Are you here on your own?" You ask and you walk back to your table with Niall, no idea what he has just done at the checkout.
"Yeah", Niall speaks and he runs his fingers through his blonde hair, looking a little distracted. "Liam has gotten me this coupon, but I couldn't see how much money it was worth. Silly, silly." He grins while his sparkling braces are visible and shows you a green coupon. His blue eyes meet yours and you feel your cheeks get a bit warmer. Your thoughts are a complete mess, but it's now or never.
"Would you mind sitting with us for a while?" You slowly breathe out after you've asked him. Niall shows you a crooked smile and shrugs.
"Sure, why not, I don't have anything to do anyway." He goes after you through the restaurant and you arrive at your table.
"Hey, Niall!" Your friend looks surprised and quickly glances from you to Niall and back, you turn even redder than before. A mischievous smile appears around your friend's lips and she winks at you, unnoticed by Niall. She's kind of the only one who knows you've been crushing on Niall since a few years already. "Why don't you sit down?" She says and Niall doesn't realize how nervous it makes you. You sit down in front of your friend and Niall takes a chair next to you. He leans on the table with his elbows and feels extremely close, getting on your nerves.
"I've ordered our pizzas and something to drink", you say uncomfortably. Your friend clearly enjoys the moment and kicks you under the table with her food. "What?" You shout and immediately shut your mouth. "I-... I mean, don't you want anything, Niall?" You ask him and he shakes his head.
"I've already eaten. Probably later."
"Niall Horan, not hungry? Miracles do exist!" Your friend says. For some reason you feel the urge to strangle her right now, the way she's sitting there in front of you with a complacent grin on her face. Niall just laughs and stands up.
"Now will you excuse me, I have to go to the toilet." He smiles at each of you. As Niall disappears behind the big oaken door, your friend's eyes pierce into yours and she smiles cheekily.
"This is your chance", she says. A shiver goes down your spine, caused by the sentence she's just spoken out.
"W-what do you mean?" You say with a stuttering voice and your friend chuckles.
"Don't you understand?" She says. "The corridor over there is so narrow, if you're heading off for the toilets right now you'll be passing him for sure." You frown and bite your lip, not sure what she's indicating.
"And...?" You say uncomprehendingly.
"Dear lord, [Your Name]! I noticed the way he was looking at you, really. No one but him is at the toilets right now and you'll get to spend some time alone behind that big brown door." She just laughs at the expression that adorns your face right now.
"Hmm, okay, but just because I trust you." You wish your cheeks weren't that red and your head wouldn't pound so much right now, but you stand up once again and walk over to the toilets with your heart beating loudly in your throat. Your hand trembles when you touch the doorknob and carefully open the door. You take a deep breath and close the door behind you, causing a loud smack to echo through the corridor. It's really narrow indeed, if you want to pass each other around here, you will most probably have to be pressed against the wall. Soft lights are attached to the ceiling and you walk further, until you hear another door creaking and you're nailed to the ground. The first things you see are a white tank top, black jeans and a pair of dark red Supras. When you look up, Niall's blue eyes meet yours again and you don't know what to do, feeling a bit caught.
"You're going to have a hard time getting over here, I almost got squeezed in between of these walls", Niall speaks, his eyes laugh, but he doesn't move. Neither do you. You just stare at him from a distance as he speaks and his melodious voice sounds through the corridor. Niall slaps his belly and grins widely: "I should work out some more", he jokes. A weak smile appears around your lips and don't even dare to talk when you slowly start to walk over to him. He steps forward, just one step, but keeps watching you.
"Niall", you start in a whim, when you're about one meter away from him. You open your mouth again as Niall comes a bit closer and a soft breath escapes from your lips, taking away your ability to speak.
"Don't say anything", Niall whispers, his blue eyes don't remove from yours for a second. You obey and keep silent, when his fingertips touch your cheek and softly shove under your chin to lift it up. He closes his eyes and his lips press onto yours, no longer than two seconds. You look at him breathlessly and your lips feel like they're on fire, when Niall's blue eyes start to twinkle and the corner of his mouth curls up. "Do you know..." He starts and his right hand searches for your left as your heart starts to scream. "I knew?"
"What did you know?" You ask, looking up at his gorgeous face.
"I knew you liked me. I've known it all along", Niall says and he chuckles, stroking your cheek with the back of his fingers.
"You did?" You say and you can't help it but feel embarrassed again.
"I did. But you didn't realize..." Niall says and it's like his Irish accent is exaggerated just for you. "How much I liked you too."
He kisses you again and his lips feel like the touch of an angel. Without saying anything, he lets you go and grabs your hand. You almost get squeezed in between of the walls, like you've both expected, and you burst out into laughter. Your laughs sound in harmony, like they're meant to sound together, and only together.
"You didn't have to use the toilet, did you?" Niall daringly whispers in your ear, after it turns silent again and you chuckle.
"You got that right."
Somehow you manage to get out of the corridor and walk over to your friend, who has a big smile on her face.
'I knew it!' her eyes tell you when you sit down again, Niall touches your arm.
"Why did it take you two so long? The pizzas already arrived and are turning cold!" She says acting irritated, but in her eyes you read her excitement. With a joyous smile you grab your plate and feel Niall tapping your shoulder.
"Hey, if you're not hungry anymore, I'm willing to help you with your pizza?"
After having your delicious meal, you pay at the checkout and talk a little at your table. Unfortunately, at some point, Niall needs to leave.
"Hey girls, I've had lots of fun, but I have to go now", he finally says, especially paying attention at you. His soft lips leave a little kiss on your cheek this time and he squeezes your hand. "I will call you."
You grin and wave at Niall, who leaves the restaurant with a big smile on his face and a quick wink. Afterwards you face your friend again and close your eyes, leaning back in your chair:
"You were totally right. I couldn't finish a pizza myself."
