Chasing Pavements - A Niall Horan Fanfic

Chapter 16: She Counts on Stars

Niall pulled on Becca’s hand so she’d follow him over to a booth in the club. The place was crowded, but there was a booth marked for One Direction. Everybody had some sort of seating in the place. The rest of the boys followed the two of them. Niall was a little tipsy. No one was really sure where, but Becca had managed to hide a flask somewhere on her person. Niall had been slipping sips of the tequila and sour mixture. The VMAs had been a blur really, except for the moments that had to do with the boys. They had performed. They had won. And, everyone was reeling from the night. It carried into the afterparty.

The green-eyed monster had gotten a hold of Becca some time during the ceremony. Demi had come up to them to congratulate the boys during one of the commercial break. It probably would have been fine if Becca hadn’t met the girl the day before while attending rehearsals with Bree. She had watched as Niall blushed and sputtered while the now blonde singer paid him just enough attention to cause that reaction. When they got back to the hotel that night, she was all Niall seemed to talk about. Niall could tell Becca was jealous of the girl. She had even told him, but he didn’t understand why Becca couldn’t see past his crush. Didn’t she know he’d given up on having anything with Demi long ago? 

As they sat in the booth, Niall wrapped his arms around Becca and rested his head on her shoulder. Girls with trays full of drinks circled around the party, and no one was really checking any IDs. When one passed, Niall grabbed one for Becca and himself. He didn’t know what it was. All he knew was it was blue, and he wanted a little something in his system to celebrate. He already felt good. The night had been amazing. Perfect actually. And his date was flawless. Having Becca there was probably the most special thing of the night, and not just because she’d been a fan since the beginning. Niall knew, he could tell, how proud she was of him…of the boys. He remembered looking back at her as they went to get their award, and she had been wiping away a tear. He felt like a kid again. He had made someone proud of him so it validated being proud of himself. It made his heart swell to know he was sharing something so special with someone who knew he could do it all along. That was why he didn’t really care about anyone seeing him sitting so closely to the girl. All he wanted was to hold her for a minute, feel her next to him while he rode out the high the night brought him. 

But he could also sense something strange with her. He knew she was upset about Demi. He knew he should probably have done something about it. Maybe he really should have let Demi’s hand go when she took his hand in hers and kissed him on the cheek while saying she’d see them later. 

“What’s up?” he asked in her ear; the music entirely too loud to speak normally. 

She shook her head and sipped her champagne. “I’m just a little tired.”

Becca watched as Danielle leaned into Liam’s ear. A goofy grin covered the boy’s face before he motioned for Louis and Eleanor to let the couple out of the booth. They were going to dance. Louis and Eleanor followed them onto the dance floor. It wasn’t long until Zayn and Perrie went as well. Harry nudged Bree, but she shook her head. Becca guessed Bree could probably sense something wrong too. Bree didn’t abandon someone when she thought they were in trouble. 

Two songs played, and the three couples hadn’t come back. Becca tried to look for them in the mess of dancing bodies, but they were nowhere to be found. What she did see was Demi staring at their table. She looked away. If she didn’t look at Demi, then maybe Demi would stay in her little group. No such luck. She looked up again quickly to see if she had been right, only to find out she had been very wrong. Demi was heading their way. Becca didn’t really have a problem with Demi as an artist. Becca was a fan and had been since Demi was on Disney. She was still a fan of Demi, but she wasn’t quite sure about Demi as a person. Well, she wasn’t sure about Demi when it came to Niall. Demi, or Demi’s people, must have thought it was fun to toy with Niall’s emotions. Demi said one thing while she said another thing to the press. Then Demi would play it off like the press had twisted her words. The cycle just repeated itself over and over. Niall started to ignore it, but Becca certainly didn’t. Becca did feel like Niall would take the opportunity to be with Demi if Demi ever presented him with it. And, Becca expected him to. Who would give up the chance to be with their crush? Becca wouldn’t.