Nothing Like Us // Niall Horan [AU]

Chapter 1

Kaylie laughed loudly at Harry’s story, taking no notice of the elderly couple staring.

“You, Mr Styles, are full of shit!” she giggled as she brought the fork of spaghetti up to her mouth, letting the delicious food completely please her tastebuds.

“It’s true! The psycho woman chopped off a bit of my hair and told me she was ‘going to make a million of me until one turns out straight’!” Harry exclaimed, making wild hand gestures and turning around showing his best friend the bald spot on the back of his head. 

She laughed again, spitting the mashed up meal out of her mouth and watching as it splattered all over Harry’s shirt.

“Shit,” she cursed between laughs, “I’m sorry!”
He snatched her napkin out of her hand and wiped the bits of meat off his shirt. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t like that shirt anyway…” she admitted taking a sip of her wine.

Harry put his hand over his heart in mock hurt as he reached over to grab the already buttered bread roll on Kaylie’s plate. She gasped as he took a bite. She was about to snatch it back when her phone vibrated in her front pocket.
She excused herself to Harry as she pulled it out.

To: Kaylie
From: Nialler

Love, call me!! I need t talk ASAP!!

She stared confused at the text. Harry noticed the sudden discomfort Kaylie seemed to be feeling, sitting silently opposite him.
“What’s wrong, are you okay?” he asks, intently studying her features.

Her long brown wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her bangs that she decided to wear dowb for the occasion, shaped her face perfectly. Her breath-taking smile and rosy pink lips are hidden and curved down in a frown. Though, it's her normally bright and beautiful brown eyes that radiate the pain she is feeling.

“It’s Niall,” she sniffled, “he wants to talk.” She looked up from the screen to look at Harry.
He smiled apologetically at her and felt his hear drop as he saw the tears brim up in her eyes.

Kaylie didn't enjoy talking about Niall and what happened between the two of them. She tends to go quiet whenever someone talks about him. Although, Harry was curious this time and really wanted to know what happened between the two of them that makes her feel like she does. “You want to talk about it love?” He asked, smiling warmly at her.

Kaylie took a breath in and sculled the rest of her wine. She has known Harry for almost two years now, she knew sooner or later she’d have to tell him, and she assumed today was that day.

“I loved him.” She sighed just audible.

Harry laughed obnoxiously and she shots him a look, “What?”

“That’s pretty obvious.” He answered looking back into her eyes, “What I want to know is why you go quiet and sad whenever he texts you or comes up in a conversation?”

She looked away from Harry and begun buttering the only leftover (cold) bread roll. She didn't know where to start. This would be hers and Harry’s first conversation about this and she didn't know how he would handle it, or even worse… how she would handle it.
She laid the butter on thick and put the knife down, suddenly losing her appetite.

Harry waited patiently, his lips curved downwards as he watched his best friend struggle. “From the beginning,” he said, almost as if he read her mind.

Kaylie smiled at her friend but didn't look up.
She played with hem of her coat as she begun, from the very start in a ‘short but sweet’ manner.

“We were best friends all through high school, or so he thought. What he didn’t know, was that I was madly and deeply in love with him. He had no clue and I had no guts to tell him, so we went about our usual lives as friends. Don’t get me wrong, sharing an apartment in Dublin was extremely hard; watching him bring home his one night stands broke my heart almost every time.

“But then this one night, after he came home from the pub – drunk and alone – and it just happened, the kisses, the mind-blowing sex – everything… until I woke up the next morning. Empty bed, empty house but one note sitting on his navy blue pillow. There was only two words written on it: 'I’m sorry', signed it with a hug and a kiss.
So, I packed up my shit and moved to Cheshire where I met an amazing gay man that not only introduced me to a whole new wardrobe and lifestyle, but welcomed me into his arms as a long lost sister, um yeah, The End!” Kaylie said, trying to smile the best she could.

Harry shifted his gaze between her eyes and his empty bowl of soup - one question playing on his mind, “’I’m sorry?’”

She nodded her reply. Harry suddenly became angry, “Love, ‘I’m Sorry’ could have meant anything! He could have been sorry that he drank all the milk and had to go to the bloody shop to get a new carton!” Kaylie cringed at his aggressive tone, “Have you even talked about that night with him since?” Harry questioned.

“No? Harry its fine! We both agreed not to talk about it. It's in the past, no use bringing it all back up.”

He raised his eyebrows at her, “Is that right?” he asked crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you still love him?”

“Of course,” she replied almost immediately.

“Do you still want him, even after everything?” He asked again, the softness returning to his voice.

“Harry, I’d still want him if he shrunk to three foot tall and turned into a leprechaun.” Kaylie admitted smiling slightly at her joke.

“Aye, then you’d be the perfect two!” Harry laughed, trying to pull off the best Irish accent he could.

His best friend erupted into a fit of giggles at his failure, putting her hand over her mouth as she snorted and gained more stares from the people dining around them. She laughed until her sides hurt and could have laughed forever if her phone buzzing on the table didn’t gain her full attention.

Kaylie picked it up and tried to hold it steady in her hands, looking at the caller I.D. and then back at Harry in disbelief.

"Answer it babe," Harry assured, he placed his napkin from his lap to the table and walked around to sit beside her on the same side of their booth. He placed his hand in Kaylie's, "It must be important if it can't wait."

She took a deep breath before answering the call and holding it up to her ear, "H-hello?" she stuttered.

"Kaylie, its Niall," The voice on the other end sent immediate tears to her eyes. The aching in her heart only grew stronger as he continued, "It's been a while I know, but I miss you a lot... which is why I'm hoping that you'll do me a huge favour?"

She nodded rapidly, "Of course, anything."

"Be my unofficial best man?" He spat out quickly. Kaylie felt her heart shatter into a million pieces and let the tears trail down her face as he clarified, "I'm getting married... and I need you here with me."