Five Steps Into Your Heart [Nouis]

.01

C H A P T E R  O N E
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Niall Horan is nineteen years old when he meets Louis. Interestingly enough, their first encounter is a result of him bumping into the other lad as he is turning into the fiction section of The Cambridge Public Library.

Louis is supposed to be reading Julius Caesar for one of his college classes, but finds the assignment hard to do without getting a major headache. It is difficult enough for him to stay focused when reading normal novels; Shakespeare makes it ten times harder.

Niall is having a similar problem; he is bored out of his mind as he waits for his friend, Harry, to get done with their grocery shopping. Yes, the day would have been far more enjoyable for Niall if he had not been so stubborn and actually went along with Harry so he had someone to talk to, but Niall has given up on trusting supermarkets. The snickers from strangers and failed attempts at finding canned chicken noodle soup get old after a while.

So the two boys bump into each other— like, literally collide— and Niall falls flat on his butt, the brail edition of "Great Expectations" clutched tightly in his right hand.

Niall is not exactly what someone would consider very strong. He is only five foot seven inches and has not gained a single pound since his first year of secondary school; he blames that last part on his fast metabolism. Additionally, by surveying his face, it is safe to assume that Niall is definitely someone who can be shaken by even the weakest of blows. Despite being twenty-four, he has an unnaturally fair, youthful face which is accented by dirty blond hair, pale skin, and crystal blue eyes. He had his naturally brown hair dyed blond at a salon in hopes that it would make him look a little older to those around him, but it actually did the opposite.

To say the least, Niall stood no chance against Louis's fast-paced stride in the first place.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" Niall hears a voice apologize, and a pair of dainty hands are placed on his shoulders.

Niall looks in the general direction of the voice, but only sees a blob of brown and a really bright light illuminating the top of the blob's head which, he assumes, belongs to the person who ran into him.

The stranger's voice is like honey though and Niall flushes, looking away as if it will somehow keep the stranger from seeing his blushing face.

"It's, uh, quite alright," Niall says, biting his lip.

He is still on the ground and he figures he probably looks like a huge clown, which has his skin heating up. He is not good at talking to people, especially boys. When you rarely leave the house, you get used to not participating in frequent conversation. In addition, it is not every day that such an attractive-sounding blob knocks Niall off of his feet.

The stranger chuckles, removing his hands from Niall's shoulders. "Do you need help up, mate? " He asks.

"If you don't mind."

The stranger laughs again, the angelic sound caressing Niall's ears like a lullaby.

"Not at all."

Niall sticks his hand out to help the bloke, squeaking a little when he is tugged quickly to his feet. For such dainty little hands, the guy sure does have a forceful pull.

"Sorry about that again," the stranger says. "I have a bad habit of running into cute lads in public libraries."

And woah. Niall is blind, yeah, but that comment is enough to make him doubt his hearing abilities. Niall hopes that his shocked reaction is not too noticeable. He mentally crosses his fingers and hopes that the stranger does not notice the way that his eyes have widened as he chokes on his own breath a little.