Like Water {Niall Centric}

Chapter 2: Uniform

It was the next Saturday when Niall, accompanied by Claudia and his father, walked inside Nobility Prep's lobby and went to the front desk. Honestly, he would rather be anywhere else, but not only would his parents kill him for not taking the opportunity, but Claudia would throttle him. "We're here for the three o'clock appointment with Ms. Dreary," Niall told the secretary.

"Name?" The secretary asked for confirmation.

"Niall Horan."

"Three doors down to your left. Knock before you go in," She smiled and waved goodbye to the motley crew, before resuming her paperwork.

When they got to the third door on the left, Niall knocked three times before walking in. "You must be Niall Horan," An old woman smiled. Her hair was gray and brittle, but her face didn't look a day over forty.

"Yes, I am," Niall sat down in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk, biting his lips nervously. Everywhere inside this school was so fancy; it was intimidating him beyond belief.

"Here's your schedule, information packet, handbook, and a map of the school," She handed him a thick stack of papers. "Do you have any hobbies or extracurriculars?"

"I play guitar and the violin, and I used to be in choir," Niall answered, his fingers tapping against his knee. "Oh, and I ran track back in freshman year."

"Well, here then. These are sign-up sheets for a few clubs. You are required to join at least two," She added on to the already too big stack of papers. "And what size uniform?"

"Oh, um. . . about that-"

"Yes, Mr. Horan?" Ms. Dreary was all strict business, no friendliness in sight.

"I'll need a girls' uniform as well, both in adult small."

"Excuse me, Mr. Horan?"

"You can't expect a girl to wear a boy's uniform, do you?" Niall cleared his throat, voice shaky with nerves.

"I'm not sure I understand," Ms. Dreary raised an eyebrow, hands knitted together atop her desk as she leaned forward in her seat.

"I'm gender fluid," Niall swallowed a lump in his throat, his words echoing in his ears. "Some days I'm a girl, some I'm a boy. There's even days where I'm neither."

Ms. Dreary was silent for a long time and thus, so were Niall and his company. The minutes ticked by, until the clock striked four. It'd been fifty minutes since Niall's confession, and Niall was ready to jump off a cliff.

"Very well," Ms. Dreary agreed. Niall sighed in relief, not feeling like a ticking time bomb anymore. "Diversity is what we strive for at Nobility Prep, but I warn you. Kids can be cruel, no matter how refined  they are."

~.~.~.

Of all the fucking days, Niall just had to feel like wearing pink bows, glitter, and skirts. On the first day she was to start Nobility Prep, Niall was a girl.

Niall got dressed in the black plaid uniform skirt that reached mid-thigh, white blouse, black blazer, and white knee-high socks. It was also required to wear a pink tie, but Niall just threw that to the back of her closet. She had very little luck when it came to tying ties.

"You're so pretty today, Niall," Claudia was here again as usual, only today, she wasn't walking Niall to school. She was seeing Niall off. "Lemme do your make-up."

Niall also had bad luck with eyeliner, her hands were just too shaky. "Okay."

All Niall wore was eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. She wasn't a big fan of make-up; boy, girl, or in between. "Those blue eyes are going to make every guy drop when you walk through those thousand-dollar halls."