Chasing Pavements - A Niall Horan Fanfic

Chapter 4: Split Screen Sadness

Two months passed since Niall almost kissed Becca, and he still felt terrible for not having done so. He thought about it all the time; dreamt about kissing her when he had the chance. In total, he had three that he passed up one. Playing tag, at the statue, and before he left that night. The lack of kiss didn’t make things weird between them, but Niall knew he messed up somehow. She treated him the same. They talked pretty much nonstop. They were even going to start talking on Skype soon. He broke down and got an account. Mostly for Becca but also for Demi Lovato. Ever since that one interview where Louis said a little too much about Niall’s crush on Demi, they had been talking. He wasn’t sure if management reached out to her or if she reached out to them. All he knew was he had to juggle talking to Demi and talking to Becca at the same time. Most of the time he rudely texted Becca while on camera with Demi, but Demi didn’t really seem to mind. At least, he never caught on that she did.

Demi was sweet, a little flirty, and very understanding when he couldn’t talk for long. After all, she did the same thing he did. They understood each other, and she liked that he listened to her complain about whatever. Having had a lot more girl friends than guy friends, Niall was aware that most girls just wanted someone to listen to them. He was a good listener. She even mentioned that he was a good listener, despite him seeming like he wasn’t paying attention. Sometimes it even seemed like she liked him. Not that he was putting much stock in any of it. There was a chance she was just being polite and looking for a friend. He would rather she was looking for only a friend anyways.

He and the boys were going to be leaving for Australia soon. Niall had been before, but the boys were fairly excited. The only thing none of them were looking forward to was the long flight they would have to endure. More than twenty hours, Niall knew there was no way any of them were going to sit still. He hoped to sleep through most of it. That’s why he asked Becca to stay up with him. She agreed thankfully. He should have been getting a good night’s sleep, but he wanted to sleep through the flight.

Walking around his flat, he tried to gather a little bit of food. Becca texted him about grabbing something to eat before she headed home. He had already eaten dinner, but Niall was never above having several snacks until he went to bed. After getting his food, he grabbed his guitar and set it on the couch. Looking around, he felt like he was forgetting something. He had to be. Then he saw the box sitting on the table. He grabbed it so he could get her address. Inside was a present for Becca. In one of their conversations, she mentioned how she really wanted the Peter Pan and Tinker Bell Pook-a-Looz from the Disney Store yet she couldn’t find them anywhere. While he was out with Liam, he found both of them. He bought them without a second thought. Now they were sitting in the box, waiting to be shipped to New York. He just needed her address.

Skype started ringing, and he rushed over to his laptop to answer. Becca’s smiling face popped up on the screen. “Nialler!” she squealed.

“Hey, babe. Gimme one second to get situated. I need to find a pen,” he mumbled the last part. Becca nodded, and Niall walked off. He grabbed a pen from his desk, walking back over to the laptop. “Right. Now first things first…while I have it on my mind. I need your address.”

“What for?” she asked, paper rattling in the background. .

“I got you something.” He peeled the shipping label and stuck it onto the box. “Don’t argue. It’s already done and loaded up.” He held up the box for emphasis.

Becca sighed. “You really need to stop spending money on me.”

“It’s no problem. Address now,” he said. She rattled off her address twice so he could be sure he got it right. Then he kissed the top of the box. He grinned at her. “I’ll ship it before we leave.”