One Thing (A One Direction Fanfiction)

What Makes You Beautiful

“And live while we're young!” Zayn finished. The crowd cheered.

“LOUIS!!!!” Cole yelled from beside me.

“LIAM!!!!” Georgia called from my other side.

“NIALL!!!!” I screamed. Niall's head snapped in my direction. He looked at me and grinned, winking slyly.

He moved over to Liam and whispered something; Liam looked astonished, but held his mic up to his mouth. “Okay, we have a special request from Niall,” he said. Niall pointed at me.

“You! With the cool bat necklace. Come on up here, girl!” Niall's Irish accent was adorable.

Cole grabbed my shoulders. “He's talking to you, babe!” He whispered excitedly. He and Georgia shoved me toward the stage.

“Go! It's your dream!” Georgia said. I started off in an easy jog to the stage-which wasn't far away, since we had floor seats by the soundboards-before breaking out into a light sprint.

When I made it to the edge of he stage, Niall held out his hand to help me up. I took it; his hand was warm and strong. Louis came to my rescue to grab my other hand. My shoe caught a hold and I sprang up to the stage... right into Niall's arms.

“And you are?” He asked.

“My name's Melissa.” I was breathless. This was a priceless moment. His crystal blue eyes stared into my hazel ones. They were filled with joy, surprise, and... love, maybe?

“Darlin', you just won a kiss from Niall Horan,” he said. His tone was light, but I could tell he was actually really happy. He released me, taking my chin in his free hand-the hand not holding his microphone-and tilted my head. Niall pressed a light kiss on my cheek. “And a date?” He asked softly. “Please?” He whispered, his face in my hair so no one could see.

“Yeah, I'd like that,” I whispered back. He moved away with a smile.

“Okay, well, I think that it's time we told you that you're beautiful,” Harry said. “Because you are. Like, really beautiful.” I blushed and he grinned at me. The green-eyed boy gave me a microphone and two clear earpieces. I put the earpieces on as Niall met eyes with Harry; the latter boy nodded to him in response.

“But this crowd...” My voice trailed off. My frightened whisper caught Niall's attention and he grabbed my arm, turning me to face him.

“Look at me,” he said. I stared up at his face. “Let the crowd fade away. Just you, me, and the boys.”

“That's still intimidating.” My voice shook slightly.

“Just you and me, then.” I gave him a “you've-got-to-be-kidding-me” look. “Okay, just you.” He took my hand, twining our fingers. “You've got this.”

No way, I thought. This is so not going to go well. I took a deep breath. “Wait,” I said, mouth away from the mic. “When do I sing?”

“You'll sing Harry's part after the na's and the chorus after it with us. Then you'll sing the last line,” Louis whispered to me.

“You're insecure. Don't know what for. You're turning heads when you walk through the door. Don't need make-up to cover up. Being the way that you are is enough,” Liam sang.

“Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you,” Harry sang.

“Baby you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell, you don't know, oh, oh! You don't know you're beautiful! If only you saw what I can see, you'd understand why I want you so desperately. Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe, you don't know, oh, oh! You don't know you're beautiful, oh, oh! That's what makes you beautiful.” All of the boys' voices melted together at the chorus.

“So c-come on. You got it wrong. To prove I'm right I put it in a song. I don't know why you're being shy, and turn away when I look into your eye-eye-eyes,” Zayn sang.

“Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you.” I was expecting Harry's voice, but was pleasantly surprised when I heard Niall. I glanced at him and my breath caught. He was looking right at me: he was singing to me.

The chorus hit again, then the na's that I had been dreading. My hand left Niall's and I stood, front and center, eyes closed, right hand holding the mic, left arm across my stomach.

“Baby you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell...” I sang, my voice strong and steady.

My eyes snapped open suddenly and I was staring at Niall, who had me in a dip with his free arm, staring right back.

“You don't know, oh, oh! You don't know you're beautiful!” The boys sang that line with me and the crowd erupted in cheers. It was like they'd been holding their breath, waiting to see what I was like. From the sound of it, they thought I was pretty good.

We all sang the chorus together, me with the guys. I had to admit... I loved this. Being onstage with Niall and the other One Direction boys was like a dream come true.

Harry, Louis, Liam, and Zayn turned to me expectantly as the end came up. I smiled at them and watched Niall.

“That's what makes you beautiful,” Niall and I sang it together, surprising me.

After hearing mine and Niall's voice combined, I nearly exploded. A mixture of delight, relief, and adrenaline coursed through me. He pulled me into a hug, kissing my cheek again. I tugged away with a smile.

Nothing mattered anymore, nothing but Niall's beautiful blue gaze, staring right at me. I didn't see the other boys walking toward us, I forgot that we were in front of over a thousand fans, I ignored the two individual screams that I knew came from Cole and Georgia.

“Thank you,” I said. Tears rolled down my face as I smiled.

Niall smiled back. “Thank you, Melissa.” His smile was genuine. He lifted our entwined hands and wiped my tears away with a soft brush over my cheek. “Stay up here with us.”

I glanced back down at the crowd, suddenly recalling the existence of my two best friends. “But what about-”

“Bring them up here, too. We'll make use of them. Can they sing?” Louis asked from beside me. I nodded. “Okay, call them up. You are staying with us for the time being.”