Climbing the Walls (a Niall Horan love story)

Chapter 21

Chapter 21






*Dani's P.O.V.*


As we sat in the car the butterflies just grew more and more, continuously reminding me of how nervous and giddy Harry made me. Reminding me how special he was. I was staring out the window at the blackened scenery of the night as we cruised along, listening to Cher Lloyd's 'Over the Moon'. I loved this song so much, it had such a fun vibe and Cher was amazing. I started singing along with the chorus, and then launched into the second verse. Harry looked over at me with slight amusement on his face. "You rap?" he chuckled. I rolled my eyes and blushed.

"Only with the radio," I replied. Normally I would've said something that was dripping with sarcasm, but there was something making me act more polite. I wasn't sure what it was about Harry... Then I realized: I cared what he thought about me.

Wow. I am honestly shocked that I ever thought that. I'm not sure if I'd ever given one fuck about how people see me before I met Harry. Yes, I wanted Halez, Julez, and Meggy to continue liking me, but I never had to think much about that. I mean after all, we all knew we were practically soul sisters. But with Harry... It wasn't that I felt I had to make myself into something I wasn't, but he changed me. Not in a bad way, like he made me a monster or shit, but like he made me a happier person. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but he just made me feel different than my normal fuck-society-I-don't-give-two-shits self. And I liked it.

"Well, you're not too bad," he complimented with a winning smile. I think I understand that saying know, because his smile completely won over my heart. He didn't just smile with his mouth; he smiled with his eyes and his heart as well. He was incredible. I just smiled at him like a creepy creeper.

"Thanks," I replied, blushing. "Not really a hobby of mine, but I guess talking quickly to a beat is fun." He smiled again and chuckled a bit, making my heart flutter as his crystalline jade eyes flickered from the road to me. I might have been imagining, but I thought I sensed some real feelings for me within those eyes, like I was making him feel something positive. Which was a very good thing. I smiled, high on the feeling of a blossoming relationship, and stared out the window. I noticed we were driving down the coast of a beach, driving away from marked beaches. I turned towards him and raised my eyebrow quizzically.

"No peeking!" he scolded like a child playing hide-and-seek. I giggled at his adorableness. With his curls, wide green eyes, dimples and charming smile he seemed a bit like a little kid. No one else would really notice it, and a lot of the time it was masked by his perverseness, but during that sentence he just seemed so young and cute. I held up my hands in mock defense, and then used them to cover my eyes. "Much better." I snuck a glance at him out of my peripheral vision, not wanting to miss one amazing smile he flashed in my presence. I mentally swooned for about the millionth time since I met him, and actually obeyed as I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt the car swerve slightly and come to a gradual halt. "We're here!" he announced happily.

I smiled as I looked out of the window at the dark, mystical beach. I smiled once more when Harry's perfect face appeared in front of me as he opened my door for me like a gentleman, flashing me his million dollar smile. He offered me his hand and I took it graciously, stepping out of the car and holding his hand as we made our way down the beach. "One sec," I said, quickly slipping off my heels. Nice call, Halez, I thought sarcastically. Without the shoes I was now noticeably quite a bit shorter than Harry. He smiled down at me and I blushed back.

"You're cute," he complimented me, making me smile down at my feet as they sunk into the cool sand with every step took.

"You're not too bad yourself," I shot back, looking up and smiling into his stunning green eyes. He grinned back, chuckling a bit.

"Why thank you." Only then did I realize the picnic basket and the blanket he was carrying. Wait, how had I missed that...? Probably caught up in his perfection, I reasoned in my mind. I gestured to them quizzically and he smiled at me, but we continued approaching the water. The black waves were crashing on the silver sand, and then receding with a beautiful, uneven rhythm, which just set the scene perfectly. Harry set the basket on the sand and began unfurling the blanket. I took the corners opposite of him and set it down neatly, placing a shoe on either corner. He slipped off his dress shoes and did the same, placing the picnic basket in the middle of the blanket. He sat on one side and I sat on the other, smiling at him dreamily and appreciating his beauty as he opened up the woven basket of food. "I hope you're hungry," he said with a smile, lifting his green eyes to meet my cocoa colored ones.

"Oh, trust me, I am," I assured him.

"Good," he replied. I giggled a bit as he pulled out two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and setting them out on paper plates. He looked up at me, amusement sparkling and dancing in his magical eyes. "What?" he asked playfully.

"Master chef Harry Styles has packed PB&J's?" I taunted good-heartedly, shooting him a teasingly quizzical look.

"I find pasta and all that is more of a second date kind of thing," he joked, making me giggle again. If I didn't feel so strongly about Harry, I would be disgusted with myself right now. I would think I was being a total ditz, but I hadn't realized until now that that's the effect love has on you. I'm not saying I was in love with Harry, but he was just so easy to fall for. And I wasn't against it. We ate our sandwiches, the soothing crash of the waves breaking filling the silence. He chuckled a little, and I turned to see that he was looking at me.

"What?" I asked self-consciously, mouth still full of my elementary meal. He leaned over, adding just the right amount of romance to his silly smile, and wiped a bit of jelly off of the corner of my mouth with his thumb. I blushed and grinned, wiping some peanut butter off of his bottom lip. Something about the touch just stuck a nerve, and not a bad one. Both of our smiles slowly faded as we gazed dreamily into each others' eyes. As my gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips and his did the same, I automatically knew what was going to happen next. His hand cupped my face delicately as I slid mine from his cheek to his neck, entwining my fingers gently into his perfect curls as we both leaned in.

When out lips met, it was like pure magic. Like the leap you feel in your chest the first time to jump off of a diving board, the thrill you feel the first time you board a rollercoaster, the awe you feel when you stare, amazed, up into the sky while fireworks light up the blackness. It was all of those sensations and more combined. I had always been against the idea of princes sweeping princesses off of their feet, thinking the concept was pathetic and unrealistic. But kissing Harry, the resentment I had always had towards fairytales dissipated. I surrendered to the wonderful connection I had with him as his soft, warm lips tingled against mine. The fireworks sizzled to the ground as his lips parted from mine, and I opened my eyes. I just smiled at him, our faces still just inches apart.

"You're beautiful," he mumbled, gaze not leaving mine. My heat warmed and my mind couldn't form an actual sentence to express the extreme feelings I had for him, so I just leaned in for another magical kiss. This one deepened, and he kissed me passionately as he lay me down on my back, hovering above me. The crashing of the waves just made the moment even more perfect. Eventually he rolled off of me, both of us staring up at the black sky which was dotted by beautiful spots of illumination. He wrapped his arm around me, protecting my bare shoulders from the cool midnight ocean breeze, and I snuggled into his chest. His hair smelled like strawberries, and I smiled as I closed my eyes.

"You're special," I told him softly. And it was true. No guy had ever made me feel the way he did, so giddy and bubbly. But he didn't just make me feel happy; he also made me feel safe. And that was one of the things I needed most. He responded by kissing my head, and I smiled up at the stars. "The sky's so pretty," I commented dreamily.

"You're so pretty," he shot back with a goofy smile. I rolled my eyes and smiled at his adorably stupid remark.

"Cheesy much?" I replied sarcastically.

"I'd say it was just the right amount of cheesy," he replied, winking at me as I smiled up at him. I sighed lightly and smiled up at the moon. It was hanging, a giant glowing crescent looking over the waters of the sea. After about another half hour of silly banter, I let out a yawn. "You're cute when you yawn," he smiled, making me roll my eye. "Well, I better get you home," he said, sounding slightly disappointed. I frowned, but agreed, knowing it was probably the logical thing to do.

We packed up the blanket and the picnic basket, taking our time as we strode up the beach to where the car awaited us. As we climbed into the car, the neon lights flashed the numbers: 1:07 AM. Fuck. Hopefully Derek won't mind... I hoped sleepily as my head lolled and I fell into a light slumber.



*Harry's P.O.V.*


I smiled down at Dani as her eyelids fluttered in her sleep. She was precious. I had already phoned Derek, informing him that we were safe and on our way back and he had instructed me to take her to my house, as he was asleep and probably wouldn't answer the door. As we pulled into the driveway, I considered waking her up, but decided against it. I got out of the vehicle, softly shutting my door, and walked around to her side of the car. I smiled to myself as I remembered her confusion with British vehicles that she had displayed the day before. I opened her door and slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and gently lifted her into my arms, careful not to wake her. I shut her door softly and made my way up the walkway to the door. I tapped on the door with my shoe, and Dani mumbled something incomprehensible as she snuggled her face into my neck. I smiled sadly, wishing I had given us a little more time alone.

A tired looking Liam answered the door, but he smiled at us and winked, letting us through the door. I smiled back proudly, very content with how the night had gone. I recalled the magical sensation of her lips against mine and smiled dreamily once more. I noticed that Haley was asleep on top of Niall on the couch, popcorn littered all over them and the floor, the empty bowl on the table. My guess was they fell asleep watching a movie and Liam, being the sensible one, had turned off the telly and picked up the popcorn bowl. I thought about bringing the sleeping beauty in my arms up to my room, but ended up just letting her sleep on the loveseat. I turned to go get a blanket for her, but Liam was already there with one in his hand.

"Thanks, mate," I whispered with a smile. He returned it, handed me the blanket, and headed upstairs, obviously exhausted from waiting up on us. I draped it across her delicately, smiling down at her. I bent down, my lips barely grazing her forehead as I kissed her goodnight before heading up to my own room to retire for the night.

As I crawled under my pink and blue duvet, I couldn't help but smile. The only thing on my mind was Dani. She hadn't left from the moment I had laid my eyes on her when she was Skyping Haley. Even though her username was Dani Styles, I could tell she loved me for Harold Edward Styles, not just Harry Styles from One Direction. And with that thought in mind, I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.



*Dani's P.O.V.*


I woke up very confused, because I woke up on the floor of Haley's room. I sat up in a daze and wandered downstairs, seeing that I was the only one in the room and it was almost noon. When I got downstairs, predictably, Haley and Niall were in their loveseat, Liam was in his recliner, most likely texting Sydney, and Harry and Louis had left a space for me on the couch. Zayn was on the carpet leaning against the coffee table as per usual, but instead of Derek there was a stunning blonde chick next to him. She was literally proportioned like a Barbie, with huge glistening blue eyes, silky straight platinum blonde hair, and a skin tone that was the perfect balance of pale and tan. She wasn't wearing much makeup, just eyeliner and mascara, like I wore. And I envied how well it was done. She smiled at me and I smiled back politely.

"Dani! This is Michelle, my girlfriend," Zayn introduced proudly. I smiled even wider, very happy for them. Even though Michelle was gorgeous, she didn't seem like a bitch, and they seemed pretty smitten to me.

"Nice to meet you!" she chirped in a voice that was thankfully not an annoying one.

"You too," I replied, walking over and sitting next to Harry. He put his arm around me and smiled, planting a huge smooch on my lips. I blushed as everyone whooped, a giggled escaping my lips as he backed up and grinned proudly. "Well good morning to you, too..." I responded breathlessly, making him chuckle a bit. "Where's Derek?" I asked curiously, though I had a pretty good idea.

"We invited him, but he said he wasn't feeling well," Zayn answered sadly, he and Haley wearing matching sympathetic frowns. Oh god, I thought.

"I'm going to go be a good little sister and check up on him," I said dismissively, getting up and heading towards the door. I slipped on my heels, realizing I was still in my dress. God, I probably looked like a mess.

"I'll miss you!" Harry called. I rolled my eyes and grinned at his cheesiness.

"You too, curly," I replied. "Nice to meet you, again," I smiled politely at Michelle before leaving. She smiled back before I headed out the door and scampered across the street. (I'm good with heels, but not good enough to actually run.)

I made it to my door and entered the house. "Derek?" I called. No response. I kicked off my pumps and dashed upstairs. My heart broke at the sound of choked sniffles coming from my big brother's bedroom.






A/N***


Ello loves! Slightly cliff-hanger-ish, not really though. Were you expecting Michelle?

Well, I would like to thank all of my beautiful readers who vote and love the story as much as I do, I love you♥

Well, I hope you don't get mauled by a rabid squirrel! So have a rabies-free day!(;

LoVe ya
Z.