Someone Like You: A Niall Horan Love Story

Chapter 14: You Need Me I Don't Need You

So I'm continuing with this story! (It's been forever, I swear.) so lemme know what you think! Love ya :*

Piper's POV:

Niall and I sit together backstage, waiting for our turns to sing. I'm in the girls category and he's in the boys (obviously) so we won't be going around the same time, unfortunately. I'll need someone to hold my hand.

We're sitting on fold-up chairs with dozens of other contestants milling around us, but I barely notice because of the constant pounding in my ears. What is that? Oh yeah, my own darn heartbeat.

"You nervous?" Niall asks, twining our fingers together. We always do this whenever we hold hands but lately it's felt different. Probably a combination of our now awkward friendship and my newfound crush on him.

I feel like saying "duh, I'm about to sing for four people who are going to judge my every move" but I don't. Instead I just nod and rub the back of his hand with my thumb. It helps to clear my head.

"Yeah. I'm terrified of Simon," I say quietly. He chuckles softly and smiles at me. I lift my gaze from my Converse to his blue eyes and let out a smile.

"Who isn't?" He asks with a twinkle in his eye. Damn, he's so cute.

"Piper Bradley, you're up." An unfamiliar British voice calls my name and I swear every gut in my system does a gigantic flip-flop.

My eyes widen and I look to Niall for help.

"I can't. I can't," I say pleadingly to him.

He unexpectedly lifts his hand to my cheek and brushes hair off my face gently. I don't flinch because it feels so natural. And amazing.

"You're fantastic, Pipe. You'll do fine." I nod and before I realize it he's kissing me softly and quickly on the lips.

But I don't have time to react since I'm being pushed onstage by a person with a clipboard. Here we go.

Niall's POV:

That was stupid. That was so, so, so stupid, holy crap that was stupid.

Of course, just when our friendship is going back to normal I go and ruin it by kissing her again.

I lean my head back on the chair, closing my eyes and frustratedly running my fingers through my hair. I wish I would freaking think things through before I did them.

I look up and see a camera crew in the corner of the room. Oh no. Great, they probably just caught ALL of that on tape for millions to see.

Shoot me now.

Piper's POV:

Bright lights wash out my limp brown ringlets and pale skin and I feel so tiny on this huge stage. Well, tinier than I already feel. I'm only 5'3.

I clutch my guitar to me, the strap digging into the back of my neck. I shouldn't have worn this dumb shirt.

"Hello Piper," Simon says with a satisfied smile, chewing on the tip of his pen.

I smile and wave, trying my best to look natural.

"Hello."

"What will you be singing for us today?" Louis asks.

I take a deep breath. This is the scariest part of the audition for me since I definitely picked a risky song.

"'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' by Ed Sheeran."

This song is risky for several reasons. One, Ed Sheeran is definitely not well known. I found him on YouTube. Two, this song is basically a rap. And young white girls are not typically known for their rapping skills. Three, I've had a cold lately so my speaking voice had been a little odd.

But I'm doing the song anyway.

"I've never heard that song before," I hear Nicole whisper to Simon. Immediately my heart starts beating double-time. Maybe this was a

mistake. But it is literally too late to back out now.

I close my eyes for a second to calm myself before strumming simple chords on my guitar and start singing the intro before the rap.

"I don't wanna bruise your ears

Or hurt you again

But I got back-stabbed by a black cab

When I needed a friend."

My voice sounds clear despite the cold, leaving them unprepared for the rap coming their way.

"But now I'm in town, break it down, thinking of making a new sound

Playing a different show every night in front of a new crowd

That's you now, hello, ciao, seems that life is great now

See me lose focus, as I sing to you loud

And I can't, no, I won't hush

I'll say the words that make you blush

I'm gonna sing this now."

I add a little more vocal riffs to the song but overall the judges look pretty impressed by the time I finish.

I don't get any feedback but I'm relatively confident about my performance as I walk back to where Niall is sitting. He jumps up and runs over to me, a worried expression on his face.

"How did it go? How do you think you did?" he asks earnestly, taking my hands in his. I grin at him in response.

"Awesome! Niall, I rapped." His jaw drops and I giggle at his reaction. "I'm serious. I sang Ed Sheeran and I think they liked it." He shakes his head, a disbelieving smile on his lips.

"You're awesome, Pipe." We sit back down but I can't bring myself to let go of his hand. It's just so...soothing, I guess, to know that he's there for me.

"You're up soon, right?" I ask quietly. I can barely hear myself over everyone else in the room.

"Yeah. It's gonna be terrifying." I nod, knowing that he's exactly right. It feels so weird having people judge you. Weird and unnerving.

"Niall, I want you to promise me something," I blurt out. He jumps in surprise but trains his eyes on me expectantly. "I want you to promise me that no matter how famous one of us gets, we won't forget about each other. Because I don't want to lose you." Tears prick my eyes but I will myself to not make a fool out of myself.

His eyes are watery too, making them seem even bluer.

"I promise."

We hug for a long time. I don't want to let go. I feel like I'd lose him if I did.

-•-

Was it any good? I hope so, but let me know in the comments what you thought :) thanks for reading!!