Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Paparazzi Or How Niall Became My New Best Friend

Hi guys, I am so excited to tell this story that I just finished the next chapter. I am not sure if anyone other than my best friend is even reading this but in case anyone does, here is chapter 9. I hope you enjoy it! All the love, Summer xxx

We waited a couple of seconds, Lily nearly breaking the bones of my right hand in the meantime. Then the door swung open and Louis stood in the door. "Claire!" he exclaimed and pulled me into a tight hug. "Louis!" I said equally excited and returned the hug. He smelled so good and I had totally forgotten how good his hugs felt. He pulled away, but didn't let go of me completely. "It's good to see you, love." he said with a wide smile. "It's good to see you, too, Lou."

Then he looked over at Lily and gave her a friendly smile. "And you must be Lily, Claire's other best friend." he said with a cheeky smile. Lily acted offended. "You mean, her ONLY best friend." Lily replied, tugged at my arm and playfully glared at him. I cleared my throat. "Guys, I think I can decide for myself who is my best friend, but thank you for your concern."

Harry chose this very moment to join our conversation. "Surely we can all agree that I am Claire's best friend. Isn't that so, love?" He smiled down at me and his dimples appeared. Next to me, you could hear a faint whimper from Lily.

Harry pulled me into a hug and swayed me a bit from side to side. Then he turned to Lily who stood next to me and Louis. "And you must be Lily, Claire's friend." Lily nodded and held out her hand, but Harry just pulled her into a hug. "You really do give very good hugs." Lily blurted out and blushed lightly. Harry chuckled and then turned to face me again. "So... Claire. Who is your best friend now?" he asked with a smirk.

I glared at him. "Well it's definitely not you." I said. "Ha!" Louis shouted and gave Harry a triumphant smile. "Well it isn't you either." I said directed at him and he pouted. "It can only be me anyway." said Lily. "I am definitely the best option here." She put her arm around my shoulder but I shook it off. "Actually, I have decided that Niall is my new best friend." I grabbed Niall, who happened to be walking into the room in that moment and pulled him over.

"Claire! It's good to see you." he said with a bright smile which I returned. "It's good to see you too, bestie." I said and put an arm around his waist. "See guys, now Niall is my best friend. We have a lot in common, you see? We both love food and music and golfing." Lily snorted. "You don't like golf. You keep saying that it isn't really a sport." Niall looked down at me in disbelief. "Is that so Claire? I don't know if we can be best friends if you don't appreciate the art of golfing, love." I looked up at him with my best puppy eyes. "Oh Nialler, I am sure if we went on a little golfing adventure I would love golf just as much as you do." He looked down at me for a few second while the rest looked at us expectantly. "Oh alright. I'll be your best friend." he gave in. I cheered and did a little happy dance. Everyone except for Lily, who was used to my weirdness, starred at me like I was mental. I stopped. "Sorry." I looked down at the floor.

"She is a bit of a weirdo." Lily explained to the others in a hushed whisper. "Am not!" I protested. "Oh don't deny it, Claire. You are a weirdo, but that's why I love you." She pulled me into a side hug. The others awed and then we all erupted in laughter.

"Soooo, the night is still young. We were planning on heading out to a club or a bar to celebrate the start of the UK leg. Are you guys in?" Louis asked, looking at me expectantly. Lily and I exchanged looks. "We are so in." I said with a wide grin and the boys cheered. "Then we're off to the cars." Louis said and threw an arm around my shoulder. "Oi, Liam! Sandy! We're off! You guys coming?" Louis shouted over his shoulder. A couple of seconds later Liam and Sandy appeared next to Harry and Louis started dragging me towards the exit. I threw a look over my shoulder and said hi to Liam and Sandy. Lily seemed to having a great time chatting to Niall and Harry and gave me thumbs up when she saw me looking at her. I turned my head back and looked up at Louis who was smiling down at me. "You alright, love?" he asked. "Never been better." I replied with a wide grin and he squeezed my shoulder and then took my hand into his, pulling me into one of the waiting cars.

We ended up taking to separate cars because we were too many to fit into one. Louis, Harry, Lily and I hopped into the first car and Sandy, Liam and Niall into the second one. "I'll see you in the club, bestie!" Niall shouted at me before a security guard closed their door. I chuckled and leaned back in my seat. I was squeezed in between Louis and Lily while Harry was sitting in the front next to the driver.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I asked Louis curiously. "I think it's either gonna be The Funky Bhudda or The Box because it's Liam's turn to choose tonight. Their car goes first so we'll just be following them." My stomach did a somersault. Lily and I had imagined going clubbing with One Direction in the Funky Bhudda for years now. Harry turned his head around to face us. "Have you guys ever been?" he asked. Lily shook her head. "We've always wanted to but we never really got the chance. We usually go to smaller clubs when we go out." Harry smiled. "I'm sure you guys will have a great time. We'll take care of you." he said with a wink. "Why thank you, Harry." I said with a grin. "We will probably be looking more after you than ourselves." I said and Harry stuck his tongue out at me and turned back to continue his conversation with the driver.

Louis, Lily and I continued chatting among ourselves until the car came to a stop. "Aaaaand, we have arrived." Louis exclaimed excitedly and opened the door. He held out his hand for me and helped me out of the car, while Harry helped Lily out. Louis, however, didn't let go of my hand. Suddenly we heard the fast clicking of cameras and the four of us were blinded by flashes.
Louis cursed under his breath and pulled me closer to him. The others, who had just arrived as well, helped him and Harry to shield us from the paparazzi. I kept my head down and tightly held onto Louis' hand while Niall had an arm around my waist shielding me from behind. Liam, Harry and Sandy had taken Lily into their middle and we safely made our way into the club. Louis guided us upstairs into a VIP area.

"Are you okay, love?" He shot me a concerned look and the others looked very concerned at me as well. That's when I noticed that I was shaking violently, tightly holding on to Louis' hand who pulled me into a hug. "Shhhhh, Claire. You are okay. You are safe now. They can't get in." It took me a couple of minutes to calm down again. Louis kept me in his arms, gently stroking my back. After a bit, I pulled back.

"Oh God, I am so sorry. I just... I hate crowds and I wasn't expecting that. I completely forgot that you guys are famous. It won't happen again, I swear." I apologised. Louis tilted up my head and made me look him in the eyes. "Hey, no need to apologise, okay? We were all scared at the beginning. Niall still hates them. No one is blaming you."

We all sat down around the tables while Liam and Sandy had gone off to get some drinks. Lily who was sitting next to me gave my hand a light squeeze and I squeezed back, silently telling her that I was fine. We chatted a bit, but it was difficult to have a proper conversation over the loud music. Louis yet had to let go of my hand, not that I was complaining or anything, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, trying to fight another panic attack.

"We are baaaaaack!" Liam shouted and he and Sandy approached us both with a tray full of shots and a selection of drinks and cocktails each, providing the perfect distraction from my panic. "Now, let's get this party started!" Niall cheered and we all grabbed a shot and clinked our glassed together. "To a successful UK tour!" shouted Sandy. "And to new friendships!" added Harry and winked at me.