Taking The Chance [A Niall Horan Fanfiction]

// Chapter Five //

Sooner than I realized, our time on the train came to an end. I spent the last couple of minutes on the train absorbing the new scenery around me, imagining the new opportunities I would have in a place like this. Niall woke me up from my daydream as the train approached St. Pancras station. “We should start getting our bags out so we can get out of the train faster.” I started to stand up to attempt to reach my bags, but he stopped me, lightly laughing as he remembered how tall I was. “Well, I’ll get them for you since you can’t exactly reach your bags.”

I sat back in my seat and giggled. “Thanks again, for putting my bags up there and for bringing them down.”

“It’s no problem, really,” he paused, bringing down my duffel bag slowly as the train car rustled back and forth so he wouldn’t trip. “It is my job to make you smile, even if it means doing heavy labor.”

I automatically grinned at his response. “Well, you’re doing your job right then.”

He took down my rolling luggage and proceeded to take his. We both stood in the aisle, bags by our side, and waited for the train to pull into the platform. The train jerked suddenly and I flew back due to gravity. I struggled to regain balance but failed to do so; luckily, Niall had caught me before we both crashed to the ground. We have made more body contact than any two strangers would on a train ride, especially in a span of about two and a half hours of knowing each other. The train smoothly started to stop into St. Pancras station as I scrambled to stand upright. Blushing, I looked down at my feet. “Sorry, wasn’t expecting the train to stop so suddenly.”

He chuckled, patting my shoulder. “It’s okay, you get used to it after riding a train multiple times.” He continued to talk, forgetting that the distance between us was minimal when he caught me in his arms. “Now, when the train comes to a complete stop and the doors open, we have to run out and away from the platform, or else we’ll be stuck in a sea of people.” I nodded. We stood in silence until the train came to a complete stop. When the doors opened and the sounds of the bustle of people in a busy train station flooded into the car, Niall gave me the signal. “Let’s go!”

I followed him swiftly, dodging passengers, tourists, trash cans, luggage, little children, and everything in between to keep up with his fast pace. Man, he really was used to travelling by train. He only looked back every once in a while to make sure I was relatively close to him. He reached the front of the station and I staggered behind, out of breath. “Did you have to run so fast?”

He glanced over his shoulder at me, before laughing. “Hey, breathe. Yes, I had to run fast, but look at all that people.” I looked behind me at the crowds of people waiting for their train and rushing into various trains. “You don’t want to be there when you have to be somewhere else.”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

“But now that we’re out here, where do you have to get going? Mullingchire, I assume?” He watched cars drive by on the street.

“Yeah, I’m already going to be a little bit late for my move-in time.” I frowned, peering around for someone that would look like a Louis. “I’m supposed to find my driver…”

“Here, we’ll look on this street for him.” He led me to the side of the station, where various drivers held up signs with passengers’ names on them, waiting to bring them to their destinations. They all looked incredibly bored, dreading the wait for the tourists probably backed up in the traffic of the station. I silently thanked Niall for making me rush out of there, since I didn’t want Louis to wait longer than I made him. As we passed each of the drivers, I squinted, trying to read every sign.

I heard Niall’s footsteps behind me stop; turning around, I saw that he was frozen where he was, looking at one of the drivers near our current position. I tilted my head to the side, concerned about his sudden paralysis. “Are you okay?”