Coincidentally By Chance

Chapter 21

Niall finished his workout fairly quickly and went into the locker room to shower off and change from his sweat-stained clothes to his fresh and neatly-folded cologne-scented new ones. I was slumped against the wall next to the door with my bag seated next to me and the strap of it still on my shoulder, so I could easily walk away with it.

To be honest, I probably didn't need my extra clothes and whatnot. I had hardly even lifted a finger at today's gym session.

Note to self: Work twice as hard tomorrow.

I pulled my phone out of the side pocket of my duffle and swiped my left thumb to complete the pattern lock I had set when I first received it. I opened the Twitter app and scrolled down, retweeting, favoriting and replying occasionally.

Fangirls, fangirling, fangirling in all caps; basic day, really.

I checked the clock on the top banner of my phone, fifteen minutes have passed since I've sat down. I let out a quiet groan and let the back of my head tap the wall once. A man, maybe forty to forty-five years old sits down next to me.

"Waiting for that boy, Niall, isn't it?"

I nodded.

He looked towards the opposing wall and we stayed quiet. I mean, what are you supposed to do when a man of twice your age comes and starts a conversation with you? Spill your secrets? Tell him your name and address?

"You know, I was younger once too," He started. I bit back the urge to say something along the lines of no way, you remember that long ago? "Looking for love, flirting with girls, I took a few for smoothies, others for pizza, and I even took one girl for ice cream."

I glanced towards him from the corner of my eye as he continued to stare at the cream colored wall ahead. Lost in a thought I didn't feel the need to interrupt.

"This specific girl, looking similar to you actually- long dirty blonde hair, physically fit, and a sweet face-I had known from the very first moment that she wasn't like the rest. I had met her in a strange, un-typical place: the dairy isle in our local supermarket. She worked there, and I had come to pick up a few groceries and drop my best mate of at his place afterwards.

"I noticed her again the second time I drove my friend home, just a few days later. She was leaning over the deli counter, her long hair pulled into a ponytail I had come to admire. She had pushed the sleeves of her large jacket just above her elbows and smiled quite a lot. I think I might have fallen too quickly, because there was no stopping me at that point. I had no more than looked up and my breath stopped, memorizing every detail about her-the tiny gap between her teeth, the beauty mark next to her right eye, the way she stood slouching slightly on one leg, with her left hand in her pocket.

"By then, my good mate had come out and we made our way to the exit. I had tried to forget her, knowing I wouldn't meet her more than those two times. Coincidences just don't happen like that."

I wanted to tell him that you should never think that, I've ran into Niall tons of times by chance. Look, even today when we left for the gym I nearly bumped into him! I din't have to say anything because he continued.

"And boy was I wrong," He chuckled. "I'll skip you the time of our other encounters and fast forward to ice cream. I took her out and paid for us and we walked own the street. That night, I had made up my mind and asked her to be my girlfriend. Then low and behold, look at me now-a married man, happy with two children. Who would've known that one day at the supermarket could change my life?"

I let his words seep in, still sitting on the wooden floors.

"Well," He stood up. "It was nice meeting you, I hope I didn't bore you too badly."