I catch up with Niall, walking beside him for the short duration of our walk. Once we reach the coffee shop, he opens the door for me. I give him a small smile before walking in, Niall behind me. Inside, the atmosphere is very calm, studious even. There's only about 4 other people sitting in chairs and tables.
"It can actually get quite busy here," Niall leans into me and says softly.
We order our coffee, and it's ready quickly. Finding a table with two chairs and a nice view out of the window, Niall and I sit down across from each other. I drum my fingers on the side of my cup while I wait for it to cool down a bit. Niall makes a beat on the table, looking out the window.
"So, Vanessa," he looks at me with sparkling eyes and a happy smile, "did you just graduate from high school?"
"Uh, yeah," I look down nervously, still not sure of my decision to come here with this total stranger, and let him in on personal facts.
"Cool. So you're 18 then?"
"No, I got my diploma early. I'm still only 17," I bit my lip.
"Seriously? You look like you could be 19, easily," he laughs.
"You know, most women take older ages as an insult," I smirk at him, and his cheeks pinken a little.
"Shit, sorry," he runs a hand over the back of his neck, smiling apologetically at me.
"It's fine, I don't mind," I let out a laugh that comes out almost like a giggle, and I mentally pinch myself. Niall grins at me, and I smile back, awarding and scolding myself at the same time for coming here with him.
"So, do you live in Seattle? Even if you aren't going here?"
"I live in Olympia, but I'm thinking of moving into an apartment or something in town so my friend won't have to be here alone," I nod, more to myself than Niall. Deciding to turn the tables, I ask Niall a question, "You go to the University, right?"
"Yeah, I'm just starting here this fall. I pushed coming here off a year to try out the music industry,"
"Oh, really? Do you sing or play instruments?" My interest in Niall keeps growing every second.
"Both," he takes a sip of his coffee before continuing, "Me and a few of my mates are in a band together. We only scored a few gigs here and there, nothing big," Niall's eyes glimmer, and I can tell he's passionate about what he does.
- - -
We talk until my phone buzzes with Natalie's name, which saddens me some becuase I was actually enjoying my time with Niall. Natalie tells me the tour is over and asks where I am. I reply to her text with as little detail as possible of my impromptu "date" with a stranger, but she still pleads for more information. We agree on my filling her in when she picks me up, and I tuck my phone away. "My friend is going to be here in a few minutes to pick me up," I say awkwardly, not really sure how to continue, "Um, thank you for the coffee. I think I'll definitely come back here," standing up, I smile at Niall. He hurries to get on his feet and almost knocks over his coffee. Playing it off, he shoves his hands in his pockets after brushing his fingers through his hair. I stifle a laugh and bit my lip to cease from smiling.
"Yeah, no problem, that was fun," I sling my bag over my shoulder and pick my book up off the table. I walk to the door and Niall opens it for me again.
Natalie's car comes into vision as she pulls up in front of the coffee shop. "Um, thanks again. It was really nice meeting you, Niall," I tuck some hair behind my ear, biting my bottom lip.
"You too, Vanessa. I'll see you around?" Nodding and giving him another quick smile, I climb into Nat's car. He waves to me as Natalie drives away, gushing to me about how she wants every single detail of ever single thing that happened. This will be a fun car ride back.
