Niall had noticed how distant Ana had been after his mother talked to her. He wasn't sure what was said and he wasn't sure how to prove to her that she didn't need to be distant, that he wanted to be with her. Niall was falling for Ana, and hard but he wasn't sure how long he could deal with her being distant and closed off.
Ana couldn't stop thinking about what Maura had said. If she truly didn't see a future with Niall then she would have to end it. She didn't want to, but it wasn't fair to either of them to continue something that would only cause more hurt in the end.
She knew there was one person who would give her an honest opinion, even if it wasn't the one she wanted. She felt nervous walking into the café they had met at hundreds of times before. It was like a blind date, even if you research and knew everything about this person you don't know how its going to go.
"Hey."
"Hi...you look good."
"Thanks, you look good too, I like the new hair."
"Thank you! Willie said it looked too grey."
"No, I like it. It has a nice purple tone to it."
Megan smiled as she sipped her drink.
"I'm sorry."
This caught Ana off guard, she didn't come for an apology, or to fight. She needed her best friend back. At least one of them.
"I didn't call you to try and get an apology...I mean i was kind of a buzz kill...I just... I missed you."
"I've missed you too...I just didn't know how to help you. I shouldn't have stayed with you I just, I didn't like seeing you so upset."
"I know it's...I went from looking at a house and planning a future for my family to having nothing...it was all gone in a second. I lost my baby and my best friend in the span of an hour. I felt empty, and I mean, I'm not expecting you to understand I just...it was hard."
"I'm so sorry I left you." Ana could tell Megan was about to cry, she had always been the more emotional one.
"It's fine, it's over and done with. A fresh start okay?"
"Yeah. Sounds perfect."
"Good...so you and Will?"
"Yeah...I really like him...like a scary amount..."
Ana smirked at her remembering a drunken conversation they had in college.
"So I take it the whole no relationships ever again rule is off the table?"
"Yeah, he just... remember when I said I didn't want to get tied down? I wanted to become a famous actress and travel the world and have adventures...I thought being in a boring adult relationship would stop that but it hasn't."
"I'm glad you found someone. So...will you be requesting my maid of honor services soon?"
"No...I mean, I'm happy with the way things are right now. I don't think we need to get married and have a bunch of kids to prove we love each other, right?"
"As long as you guys are happy that's the only thing that matters."
"So what about you and Niall? I heard you met the parents already."
"Yeah..." she said taking a sip of her ice coffee.
"Oh no. What happened."
"Nothing, they were really nice."
"But...?"
"His mom said that we need to talk about the future. Like, she said he couldn't stay in Chicago forever and was asking if I was willing to move for him and I guess it just freaked me out.
Like, this is the farthest I've been away from home and this was a scary move for me. Moving to another country, that's crazy. My family is here, you're here, my job is here!"
"I understand why it would be scary...are you in love with him?"
"I mean...I love him, I wouldn't say we should start planning a wedding, I just figured we'd take it day by day and go with the flow. I mean I definitely realized in Nashville that it wasn't just a crush, but this is all got me re-thinking things I guess."
"I think you should talk to Niall. I could sit here and tell you to move to London and live happily ever after or I could tell you to stay here and see how everything plays out, but I'm not the one that it effects. Only you two know what will work for you guys."
"When did you get so wise?" She smirked.
"Perks of dating an older man I suppose."
"He's only a like, two years older than us!" She laughed as they got up to leave.
"Not the point. Talk to Niall."
"I know...that was the last thing I wanted to do."
***
Ana was dreading this conversation since she left the coffee shop. Niall was going to be there any minute and she still wasn't sure what she wanted.
Niall came through the door and swept her up in his arms planting a kiss on her lips. He had been in such a good mood since his birthday, which she suspected was due to the fact had gotten to see his friends and family.
"How was your day? You and Megan good now?"
"Yeah, it was good, and we're back to normal again."
"What going on, you have that look on your face that says you're over thinking something."
Nothing much really, just trying to figure out if I'm in love with you.
The voice in her mind said as she chewed her lip trying to find the words.
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
"5 years? Hopefully still with the band. I know when we come back touring can't be as hectic with Freddie and everything. Maybe settling down. I want a family but I don't think I'm in a huge rush yet. I'm only 23, I got time right?"
"So, you want a family? Wife, kids, white picket fence with a dog?"
"I guess, yeah definitely want a few kids. Reckon I want at least three. That way they have someone to play with. Where is this all coming from?"
"I've just been thinking recently. Us old folks do that. I never talk about anything too serious, and Everytime I'm home I hear about all the people I went to school with getting married and having babies. Guess it's just been on my mind lately."
"That's it?" He could tell something else was bothering her, no matter how much he tried to cheer her up and be in a good mood it always seemed like she was forcing it.
"What happens when you have to go back to London? You aren't going to able to stay here forever. I really like you Niall, but we need to be realistic and figure out if this will work between us, before either of us get hurt."
He stood there stunned by the fact that she would mention this. He wanted to be with her. The way she paced when she was anxious, the way she squeezes his hand a little tighter when they went somewhere crowded and the way she ran her fingers through his hair when they watched a movie with his head on her lap. He wasn't falling for Ana, he was in love with her.
"Okay, how about we just take things day by day for now and then I'll have to go home for Christmas, but you can spend New Year's Eve with me in London. It will be a fresh year and we can see how we feel then."
Ana wanted to let that be okay, but she knew it was only prolonging things. He seemed so happy, and optimistic, that was one of the things she loved about Niall. One of them was going to have to be the realist though. She knew what had to happen, but what was three more months of fun before they had to deal with the hard stuff.
"Alright. After the new year, we can have our fresh start."
