Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Six

Danielle’s POV:

I opened my eyes and had a sudden moment of panic. I jerked my body up into a sitting position and took a good look at my surroundings. I heard the loud hum of a blow-dryer and breathed out a sigh of relief. I took my phone off of its charger and slumped back down into my little bed. I had zero texts from anyone, including my family back home. My stomach sunk. Wow, I thought, No one really does care.

I set my phone back down and picked it up again only to read the time. I had four hours till my “date.” All of last nights’ memories came flooding back into my mind: The flight, restaurant, mystery man, the girl, and coming here.

The blow-dryer turned off and the girl came out of the bathroom.

“Oh! You’re up. Good, because I thought it was going to be a little awkward if I had to try to wake you. I don’t even know your name.” She said and put her earrings in.

“I’m Danielle.” I said and stood up.

“I’m Catherine. You can call me Cat or Caty if you would like.” She smiled at me.

She seemed like a whole other person. Her appearance was much different than last nights’ fishnets, mini skirt, and studded black bra. Her dark brown hair looked much fresher due to the shower she must have taken. I saw that her long locks had a slight red tint to it and seemed to be natural. Her makeup was slick and clean. No dark shadow or big bold eyelashes. Her cheeks were rosy and her lip was pink with gloss.

“Would you like a shower?” She asked and went over to her dresser to put some perfume on.

“That would be nice.” I said and walked towards her bathroom. I couldn’t help but notice how much more cleanly it was now, compared to last night. Just her blow-dryer sat on the small countertop.

She showed me how the shower worked and handed me a towel. I went back out to grab my worn clothes and was dreading the moment I would need to put them back on. Traveling did not leave me smelling like a rose.

“Use anything that you would like.” She said as she closed the bathroom door.

I took my shower and dried off, then put my grime filled clothes back on. I finished getting ready in about twenty minutes. I walked back out to Catherine and handed her my wet towel. She hung it over her closet door and grabbed her purse.

“Ready for some breakfast? I know this cute little café that serves the best bagels.” She asked and flicked her hair off of her shoulder.

“Oh yeah, I’m starved!” I exclaimed her and grabbed my purse.

We walked back up the stairs and out into the city. It was much louder than last night. I got a better glimpse of this part of town in the daylight, and could see that it was home to more of the less fortunate.

We walked past an elderly woman sitting in a chair next to a wood shed. I looked at her and gave her a friendly smile but she just sat there blankly. I felt Catherine leave my side and go to the woman. She bent down to her level and grabbed her hand gently. I just stood there not knowing what to do with myself. She whispered kindly to the lady and then got up and walked back over to me. She hooked her arm with mine as we kept on walking to our destination. I didn’t even know this girls’ middle name, but I felt like I had know her for a thousand years.

“That’s Maria.” She said nodding her head back in the direction that we came from. “She lost her husband a few months ago and hasn’t been the same ever since.” I looked up at her and she smiled sadly. We got to a major road and crossed it, dodging a few cars along the way. “She gave me a place to stay when I had nowhere else to go.”

“You did the same for me.” I said genuinely, hoping it didn’t sound too cheesy.

We got to the small café, went to the front counter and ordered. Catherine went fishing for her wallet in her large purse. I put my hand gently on hers.

“I’ve got this one.” I said and handed my American Express to the cashier. Thankfully, the machine took my card here. We grabbed our coffee and breakfast, and then headed back to a small table in the corner of the room.

“So…” She said eyeing her bagel and spreading butter on it. “Tell me about your encounter with the Niall Horan.” She smiled into her bagel and took a bite.

“How do you know his name?” I asked confused. I took a large sip of my burning hot coffee.

“How do you not know his name? You know the boy band One Direction, right?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Briefly… my little sister is in love with them.” I said taking a bite into my bagel.

“Well…”

“He’s a member?” I asked, crumbs flying out of my mouth and hitting the table. I thought back to the posters on my sisters’ wall and the few CD’s that she had on replay both day and night. Catherine was silent as she finished the first half of her bagel. “I can’t believe I never connected the dots.” I said, putting myself down. No wonder he looked familiar.

“I can’t believe you’re going on a date with him! You’re going to break millions of hearts.” She said laughing. I finished the rest of my bagel and stared down at my coffee cup, doubting myself. “It’ll be fine.” She encouraged, taking note of my sudden insecurity. Her fingernails brushed my bare arm and I looked back up at her.

“I’m not one to be in the spotlight.” I said shaking my head. “Maybe I should cancel.”

“No!” She exclaimed. People glanced over at the two of us. She mouthed sorry to the employees and everyone else. “You can’t. I forbid you… Plus, I already planned on us taking a mini shopping trip.” She said slightly above a whisper. “Surprise!” She said with a grin on her face.

We finished our coffee and I looked out the window. The city was already up and busy, people heading to and from work. I suppose.

“Not to seem nosy, but why aren’t you at work?” I asked her. She looked back at me and her hair fell off of shoulder towards her chest.

“We’ll talk about that subject later. Let’s head to the shops!” Catherine got up from her chair and I followed behind. We went out the door and walked next to each other.

It was light out but there were clouds overhead. I looked up at her and saw her hair flowing in the wind and her exotic skin shimmering with every step we took. My mind couldn’t help but flash back to last night when a broken girl came running to my side and wiped a stray tear from her face. I didn’t have much to offer but I swore to myself that I would try my best to help her in any way possible.