Deception

Chapter 4

89 days before

I put on some jeans and my favorite black and white shirt with my flats and waited for Niall to pick me up for our ‘lunch date’. The white Audi pulled up and I climbed inside.

“Hey.” He leaned across to kiss me on the cheek. I smiled back trying not to show how uncomfortable I was.

“Where are we going?” I asked, pulling the seatbelt across my chest.

“I know this place on the other side of town that you might like.” He answered, reaching for the radio. I could still see the CD and I stopped his hand.

“No, I just want to talk.” I said. He nodded.

“So how come I haven’t seen you around school since now?” he asked.

“I usually just stay with my friends and their group. I’m not exactly social.” I shrugged, checking my hair in the vanity mirror.

“Oh. You look beautiful today, by the way.” He blushed, taking a turn on a street I didn’t know.

“Thanks.” I looked at his 1988 World Tour ACDC t-shirt and black jeans and smiled. “You too.”

“I’m beautiful?” he laughed. If there was one thing I absolutely loved about him, it was his laugh. I shrugged, smiling.

“You are what you are.”

We drove the rest of the way in silence and when we pulled up in front of a small café, Niall practically jumped out of the car and ran to my side to open the door for me. In the harsh sunlight of 2 in the afternoon his eyes were the blue color of a clear lake behind his glasses. I found myself staring. I had never seen eyes like his. Louis’ eyes stayed one color and mine were dark green with little flecks of brownish-gold like the rest of my family. His would change from dark blue to light blue to an almost clear color with hints of blue in the middle and it fascinated me. I followed him inside and listened as he asked for table for two. A waitress led us to a booth in the back and handed us two menus.

“We’ll just have two of the specials.” Niall said before I could open my menu. I looked at him. “Trust me.”

“And a Sprite.” I said before handing my menu back to the girl. She was heavily tattooed with red and pink hair. Her nametag read ‘Chloe’. I didn’t make the connection before she raised an eyebrow at Niall.

“Hey, aren’t you Louis’ brother?” she chirped. Niall nodded. “I’m Chloe!” she held her hand out to him.

“Hi.” He said, shaking her hand. “I’ve heard a lot of you.” He chuckled.

“Don’t you mean ‘about’ me?” she asked.

“Nope.” He replied. I couldn’t help but laugh. She looked confused but she laughed along.

“Anyway, can you ask him if we’re still on for tonight?” My breath caught in my throat and I began to choke. I took a drink from my water and looked up at her. I was about to ask her what Louis and she were doing tonight but I caught Niall looking at me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah…it just smells like smoke it here.” It technically wasn’t a lie. Chloe looked at me, almost smirking.

“Louis told me about you. Anna, right?” she asked, pointing a manicured finger at me. I nodded. She smiled even wider. “Well, two specials coming up.”

“What was that about?” Niall turned to me. I shook my head and stared down at my lap until our food came. The special was some kind of pasta and shrimp. It tasted good but I couldn’t stop thinking about Louis and Chloe. Niall asked some questions about what I liked or what I did for fun and I answered in short sentences, not really up for conversation. When five o’clock rolled around, he paid the bill and we left the restaurant. Chloe gave me one last smile as we left. As I turned around, I could’ve sworn she said something about Louis.

“Should I drive you home or do you want to go somewhere?” he asked, clearly nervous. I really wanted to go home and go to sleep, forgetting about Chloe, but this was a date and I couldn’t just skip out on it.

“We could go to the park or something.” I shrugged, turning to look out the window. He reached for the radio again but I didn’t stop him. The music couldn’t be any more uncomfortable than the silence.  The park was about half an hour away.

I was greeted by a familiar piano melody. “I’m thinking, baby you I are undeniable.” I smiled.

“But I’m finding out, love’s unreliable.” I sang, earning a smile from him.

“I thought you weren’t going to sing along.”

“I meant to Christmas songs. Now sing.” I pushed him lightly. “Cause you're a pretty little windstorm out on the boulevard.”

“Something like a sunset, oh you're a shooting star.” He joined in, rolling his eyes. It must’ve been about 7 songs later, but we reached the park. It was pretty much empty so no one would mind two 17-year-olds acting like kids. I ran over to the playground.

“You are not serious.” He walked up to me as I sat down on a swing.

“Push me.” I demanded. He rolled his eyes and sat down on the swing next to me.

“You’re 17. You should know how to swing by yourself.” He laughed and started swinging himself back and forth.

“Damnit Niall, I’m trying to be romantic.” I yelled, laughing. He smiled and stood up.

“Whatever.” He sighed, but I could hear the smile in his voice. He started pushing me lightly and I yawned dramatically, getting up and running to the slide. I was about as tall as the slide but everything was fun if you went upside down. After I had run around half of the playground, Niall claimed I had tired him out.

“You’re no fun.” I pouted, following him back to the car. He stuck his tongue out at me.

“You’re just a 17-year-old child.” He countered.

“It’s fun being that way.” I shrugged, getting in the car. After a few more songs we finally pulled up in front of my house. He walked me to my door again.

“I had a nice time.” I smiled. I genuinely did. He began to open his mouth to agree and I don’t know if it was because of the fun we had or the resurfacing hatred for Chloe but I found myself pressing my lips against his. At first he didn’t do anything but after a few seconds, his arms found their way around my waist and mine around his neck. We stood there for a while until he pulled back and smiled at me, his eyes the dark blue of the eight o’clock sky.

“Goodnight Anna.” He smiled and turned to the stairs.

“Goodnight.” I said. As I turned to go inside, the realization of what I had just did hit me. This was all a dare and I’m leading him on. We have gotten farther in two days than we should have in three months.

What was I getting myself into?