Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Sixteen

Danielle’s POV:

I dozed off for a couple minutes but woke up from slight turbulence. I peered through my eyelids, gazed over to my left where Niall was sitting, and reached for the iPod sitting in his hand. His left hand rested in his lap. I looked up and him and watched his eyes flutter as he tried to stay awake. His eyelids were giving in and they eventually shut tight. His lips stayed parted and long breaths began to fill his lungs. I tugged the iPod free and scrolled through the music. I shifted slightly in my seat and his grip on my side tightened.

Thirty minutes later, the pilot was chattering through the intercom and Niall woke. The pilot spoke of landing and how the weather was. I was itching to be on solid ground again. Niall stretched his limbs and let out a sigh. He yawned and rubbed his face.

“Are ya ready to meet my home?” He asked nodding towards the window.

“I’ll meet it once we’re on the ground.” I laughed.

“Although, ya won’t get a view like this.” He raised his eyebrows.

I knew he wanted me to look out the window. Why wasn’t he going to let this go? I slowly brought the plastic covering up and looked out. It was darker now. Clouds spiraled around the plane. I peered down and saw dark rolling hills. I imagined them lush green in the daylight. In the distance, water sparkled. The moon reflected off the ocean as best as it could, trying to peek through the clouds. I didn’t feel afraid anymore. The beauty sitting before me was too magnificent and breathtaking to fear. No wonder he seemed so proud of his homeland. It was beautiful.

“Well… whadaya think?”

“No wonder you love it here. Everything is so spectacular. In fact, part of it reminds me of home.” I muttered at the glass. My breath fogged up the cold window.

“Oh yeah? What reminds you of it?” He scooted over to my seat even though the seatbelt sign was on and studied the outside world along with me. I could feel his warm breath near my neck and shoulder.

“The ocean.” I whispered.

The flight attendant came by and asked for us to sit in our seats as we were making our decent. We slummed back to our spots and buckled up. Niall jiggled his leg impatiently and ran his fingers through his hair as he fumbled with his hat. He caught me sneaking a look at him and flashed a cheeky smile at me. The plane flew down quite a bit and I reached for his hand. He cackled, his head falling back with his face pointing towards the ceiling. He squeezed my hand in reassurance.

The plane landed and the pilot drove up to the airport. The other passengers got to their feet to grab their things from above the seats. Everyone seemed impatient. Niall let go of my hand and reached up for my purse and his backpack. He put his backpack on and handed me my purse. I lifted the strap up over my head and onto my shoulder. I stood to my feet and pulled my shorts down. He watched my hands pull down the tight fabric hugging my crotch, and turned bright red when I caught his eyes. He fumbled with his hat nervously and bit at this bottom lip.

The door opened and people began to push us forward. He was in front of me and I had a face full of black backpack. He nodded politely to the flight attendants and I smiled at them before we sauntered out of the plane. He reached down for my hand and I laced my fingers with his. I was happy to be more comfortable around him.

We walked past the small crowd of people waiting for our plane to be fueled so they could take off to their destination. Both of us then eyed various shops and stores as we followed the few couples in front of us. I felt Niall tug on my hand in his direction and I followed. He led us into a small store and I watched as he contemplated on a pair of sunglasses.

“Those are definitely not the right shape for your face.” I leaned on the counter that they were displayed on.

“No. But they are for yours.” He stated and handed them to me. I slid them on and peered at the small dirty mirror. He was right. “Ya need some, especially if you’re going to be with me. It gets bright and they act as a disguise.” I handed them back to him and he went up to the register to pay.

He came back and took the tag off. I slid them in my purse and zipped it shut. We made it to baggage claim just as the luggage came sliding around the carousel. Our bags were together and I watched him pick both of them up, his back muscles stiffened and his arms flexed. He set them on the ground and we headed out the door for a taxi. Thick Irish accents flooded my ears. Busy streets were filled with cars end to end. Niall eventually flagged down a taxi and we both slid into the backseat.

He mumbled the address which I’m sure he knew by heart and crossed one leg over the other. He opened up his backpack and pulled out two bags of chocolate. He tossed one to me and ripped one open for himself. I pulled my phone out of my purse and turned it on. I called Cat and listened as the phone rang. My call went to voicemail and I left a quick message saying that we had landed and that I would text her once we got settled in. I ended the call and shoved my phone back into my purse. I tore the plastic bag open and popped the sweet candy into my mouth. I felt a hand on the ends of my hair and looked over at Niall. He was rubbing them between his index finger and thumb.

“It’s goin’ to be a long ride so ya might as well get comfortable.” He said and shifted his snapback over his eyes. I slipped my shoes off and positioned them underneath me. His fingers still grazed the ends of my hair.

I looked out the window to a city I had never seen. Dublin was beautiful. Irish folk played through the speakers of the taxi at a low volume. The driver whistled along with tune and eyeballed the two of us through his rearview mirror. After a few minutes, I felt Niall’s hand go limp. His strokes were slow. I glanced over at him. His head rested on the top of the backseat. I watched his chest rise and fall. I wondered how much sleep he got on a regular basis.

After an hour of driving, the city lights were dim in the distance. Our driver was now on bumpy back roads. He drove quickly over a big bump and Niall stirred. He let out small noises from his lips and rubbed his face.

“Eh, just turn left up here, lad.” Niall yawned. The driver pulled up to a brightly lit house and parked. Niall paid and thanked him. We got out and grabbed our things from the boot of the car. “Ya ready for perfect chaos?” He asked.

I’m sure I had no idea what I was getting into.