International Relations [Niall Horan Fanfic]

..::Chapter 12::..

I worked double shifts from Monday to Thursday to make up for the lack of staff. It was the middle of Thursday and I was planning on being here until 2 am. Open to close.

In all honesty, I didn't mind it. With being so preoccupied with work, Niall wasn't able to float his way into my thoughts as much.

Messages to and from Sophia weren't all that frequent due to busy schedules on both ends but at least there was something. I had no communication from any of the boys besides when Soph would mention that they said hi.

I missed them. I missed all of them.

As much as I wanted to send Niall a simple 'hey', I didn't have the guts. A person is hard to read from a screen so I was anxious for his return to see how we were with each other in person.

No point in denying it. I liked Niall. The magnitude of this crush though was undetermined. I didn't like thinking about it too much though because I tend to get too excited too soon, which always leaves me wanting more and the guy not reciprocating.

I guess you could say I was used to it but this was different. I fell hard for guys. I would take that leap of faith too early because I so desperately wanted to belong to someone that I'd blind myself to the simple fact that I didn't in fact have feelings for them. I wanted a guy for the title of having a boyfriend and I hated myself for falling into that category of woman. An important fact is that I never went for the guys I actually liked because getting denied by them would hurt so much more.

But with Niall... I enjoyed his company so much. The feeling I got when we kissed wasn't something I could ignore but I didn't want to lose a friend like Niall. My biggest decision wasn't whether or not I liked him, it was whether or not taking that leap of telling him would be worth risking our friendship. I won't even bother mentioning his social status because that just opens another can of worms and worries.

I definitely needed to talk to Niall when he returned.

"Jess, you're going to burn a hole right through." Brayden said.

Without realizing, I had been continuously spraying and wiping the same table as my mind exercised my thoughts.

Brayden was standing behind the bar smiling. Brayden was smiling.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked.

"Charlie mentioned how much you've been working and I need your help more on the weekend so go home and be back tomorrow night. I got this." He said.

"Thank you Brayden really, but you have a new baby and a new mother waiting for you. I can handle this."

"I'm sure you can but baby and mammy are sleeping and don't need me. Now get out of here before I fire you and you're forced to leave." He laughed at this. Brayden actually laughed.

He'd been so different since Sydney was born. Not that I think he wouldn't have offered me the night off before but it's the way he presents himself now. Before, he'd say something nice but it would always catch me off guard because it'd come from an upset looking boss. Now, his demeanor matched his words.

"Ugh, well thank you." I caved. "Have fun."

The plan was to sleep. Nothing more, nothing less. I laid in bed tossing and turning. I was exhausted and desperately needed the sleep, but it wouldn't come.

Because I was left to my thoughts, Niall found his way into them. I wanted so desperately to talk to someone about him. To gush about him. To... brag even? Then I got to thinking. Did I like Niall for the right reason?

It may sound ridiculous but I seriously struggled with this question. I liked Niall because we had a good time together but did I really know him? We talked about his home life a little bit and we shared some of our likes and dislikes but for the most part, most of what I knew about him was what every fan knew. Nothing too personal. Nothing like why he gets those nightmares.