Chasing Pavements - A Niall Horan Fanfic

Chapter 3: Choke

Becca had slept most of the day. After Bree had woken her and Niall up so Niall could leave with Harry, she and Bree stayed up talking about their nights. Harry had asked Bree to be his girlfriend while they were at dinner. Normally Becca would have told Bree to slow down. Obviously agreeing to be someone's girlfriend the day after meeting them was hasty, but Becca never said that to Bree. Maybe because she believe Bree shouldn't take the time to wait. As much as Becca felt like Niall would eventually forget her, she knew how unforgettable Bree was. Harry didn't stand a chance.

The boys must have stayed up that night too doing the same thing. Becca could really only guess. At some point during the night, Niall managed to get her number from Bree. They hadn't even known each other for two days, and their friendship had graduated from Twitter to texting. Not that Becca really minded, but if Niall was going to forget her, then it probably was best that they didn't talk much. Still, it made her heart race every time her phone made a noise. Her reaction was different than with Twitter. While she felt like the world was spinning faster and she might vomit at any moment, texting was a completely different ballgame. Twitter was effortless really. A person had to keep up with texting. Texts were always expected to be returned quickly no matter what. Twitter could happen whenever. No one stayed that roped to their phone.

Niall and Harry were coming over around four. Bree and Harry were staying in this time while Becca and Niall went out. It shocked Becca that Niall asked her to show him all of her favorite places in the city. Why it shocked her was beyond Becca. She understood that Niall was just being friendly. He had seen where she lived. Now he was curious as to where she hung out. It made sense, but she knew she was just setting herself up for major disappointment. It was like when her heart skipped a beat at his good morning text. He wished her a good day and mentioned how excited her was to see her again. After all, One Direction was heading back to theUKthe following day. He needed one more day with her. Those were almost his exact words. Yet another shock for Becca to work herself through and then remind herself he was just being nice. He was a kid, and Becca was not. Not anymore. She may have collected Hello Kitty memorabilia and decorated more on the whimsical side, but she knew her age. No eighteen year old boy really wanted to date a twenty-three year old woman.

Woman. That's what she was. A woman, and she was setting her sights on a boy. Though, Becca never identified herself as a woman. She didn't feel like a woman. Sure her being of drinking age and considered an adult should have clued her in. She just didn't feel it. So many things pointed to her not being a woman; more so than they pointed to her being one. First of all, she was a virgin. Part of why her ex-boyfriend left her she guess. Secondly, there was this second childhood she was experiencing due to her being away from family issues that forced her to grow up. Lastly, she had to take into consideration that she just didn't feel like an adult. Living away from her parents, paying bills, going to college, all of the things that were supposed to make her feel like one just didn't. So she didn't consider herself truly a woman. So what? It didn't mean she could openly drool over Niall and expect anything of it.

She stretched in the arm chair, curling back into a ball as she sipped her coffee. The boys were due over in less than half an hour. She still hadn't woken up. One of the many luxuries of being a graduate student was getting to sleep in. Wednesday always meant sleeping in. Assignments for classes were due, but she usually finished those over the weekend. Unfortunately, Bree didn't get the luxury of sleeping in on Wednesdays. Her Wednesday class was at ten in the morning. Given the fact she had been out most of the night with Harry and up for the rest of it with Becca, Bree skipped. Becca couldn't blame her.

The blonde girl walked out of her room. She smiled at Becca as she went into the kitchen. "Do you mind if I feed those cupcakes you made to Harry?"