Possibility

Chapter 13 - Distracted

I didn't join the others playing football afterwards. Harry did, but I was too distracted at that point. What Harry had said in the car wouldn't leave my mind. This meant that I, not being in my right mind for a game of football, would have ended up either getting a ball in the face or shooting at the wrong goal.

Niall waved to me a few times, urging me to join them, but I declined the offer. Eventually, he came to join me on the sideline, and sat down next to me on the grass. It was clear that he had been playing. His breath was heavy and you could shimmer some sweat on his face. I didn't mind though, it was solely an observation.

It somehow made him even more attractive.

After slumping down on the ground, he turned to me smiling. He then pointed towards the bottle of water I had fetched a bit earlier. "Could I...?"

"Yeah, of course." I replied, and watched him as he picked it up off the grass and uncapped it. As he put the mouth of the bottle to his lips, I turned my eyes back to the game, to avoid ending up accidentally staring at him as he drank.

"So, you're not a big fan of football?" Niall asked after a few mouthfuls of water. I heard a quiet thump as I turned to him, and assumed that the sound came from the bottle that landed in the grass.

"Why would you think that?" I inquired. I had always liked football, even played it myself in my younger years. The main reason why I stopped was due to bad planning and management from the coaches. I still enjoyed playing the sport.

"Because you didn't want to join us." Niall said, as if the fact that I had declined their offer to join them had made it obvious that I didn't like football. It made perfectly sense that he would think that, even though it was a false assumption.

"I do like football." I told him. "I just felt like sitting here, watching you."

Niall's answer didn't come right away. Instead, he stayed silent for a few seconds as he looked at me, and then, as a cheeky grin spread across his face, he replied. "So, you've been watching me?"

For a second, I froze, just then realizing how it could have sounded, and then stuttered out an attempt at an excuse. "No, I mean... I..."

My heart was suddenly beating fast. I was scared I'd unintentionally given myself away.

"...I was watching all of you." Just mostly him, but I couldn't tell him that. That would only make it obvious that I fancied him. I felt my cheeks heating up, praying to God he couldn't read my mind. I then lowered my gaze to the ground, picking at the leaves of grass, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Of course." Niall replied then. "I'm just teasing." As he said that he leaned a bit closer, then reached out and nudged me. Ticklish as I am and unexpected as his action was, I squealed. My gaze quickly returned to him, and as the smile on his face grew into a grin, I realized that I was dangerously close to him.

"No, don't even think about it." I said, sternly, trying to sound as threatening as possible, which in all earnestly didn't work out very well. I could see it in his face; he didn't feel threatened at all.

I put my hands behind me on the ground and attempted to crawl backwards, away from him, but without any luck. I stumbled and fell, and my back soon after hit the ground.

I watched in terror as Niall raised one eyebrow and cocked his head slightly to one side, smiling cheekily. "You never mentioned you were afraid of people, Miss Harris." Niall teased me.

I couldn't help but let out a giggle at his words, and then quickly covered my mouth as I shook my head at him. It was an attempt to once again tell him off, but I was pretty certain it was all in vain.