One More Night (Niall Horan)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Something Bad

The idea that against all the odds, that Niall and I were going to try for a third and final time to make our relationship work, was something that everyone found absolutely incredible, even Dani.

I’d officially moved back in with my best friend, my things were unpacked and she was happy to be living with me again, it was just like those years ago before I was dating Niall and the only over-complicated things standing in the way of our friendship happened to be Max-shaped.

After telling and re-telling the story of what transpired when Niall and I basically got back together, Dani merely had one thing to say.

“Where will the first date be?” I had shrugged in response. “Well, we’d better tell him it’s not going to be bloody paintballing because we’re going shopping for new clothes. And we can spend the entire day craving more and more shoes and trashtalking celebrities.”

“Excuse me, I happen to be one of those celebrities.” I joke back with her and Dani throws her head back laughing, makes a cheeky comment about my stay in rehab and how it was gossip-worthy, before ordering me to the bedroom to get ready for a day of retail therapy.

Well, any therapy was better than the therapy I endured in rehab with Stevie. Sometimes it was almost too brutal for me, no matter how much it helped me in the long haul.

As I grab my purse, I curse as I see that the insides are empty and inform Dani that before we go shopping, I have to get some cash, and we may as well cash in my pay-cheque at the bank.

It’s almost foreign to go through old routines that we used to go through before all the fame. Dani and I walked to the tube station down the road from our flat, we used Oyster cards, and mine actually hadn’t been used for a fair amount of time due to all the driving around that I’m usually forced into, and then it was even stranger to actually be shopping, because I hadn’t really done that for a while either.

We walked to the Bank of England and asked Dani to get me a large tea from Costa Coffee whilst I quickly ran into the bank to get the whole money-problem sorted out.

The queue was long when I got inside, I stood behind a guy around the same age as me, and he looked at me curiously whilst I pretended to be texting on my phone.

I am not a celebrity. Please don’t recognise me.

The male turned back around again, he too pulling out his phone and from the corner of my eye I could see him quickly typing away on his phone, before looking over his shoulder and back at me again.

Was it too much to ask that for just one day people wouldn’t recognise me?

“Sorry, are you?” I nod at him, and he whispers something under his breath before turning back around again and typing away again.

I attempt to cloud my annoyance by reminiscing about previous dates that Niall and I had, and wonder what we’d do for our second first date. Would we be spontaneous like with the paintballing? Or would it be a classic dinner?

Whatever it is, he definitely doesn’t need to worry about-

“EVERYBODY ON THE FLOOR NOW.”

I’m cut from my thoughts. My body is slower than my mind. But I’m on the floor. My hands cradle my head. Slamming of doors and the heavy footsteps of running people. They’re trying to get out, why didn’t I try to get out?

I don’t dare to even look up.

I see boots pass by my body, grabbing my arm, yanking me up and I’m pushed to the other side of the room, landing awkwardly on my arm beside the guy who was in front of me in the queue.