Popular - A Niall Horan Fan Fiction

Chapter 3

*This chapter is dedicated to Imaginator1D aka Anna, for inspiring me to attempt writing fanfictions of my own!*

Niall's POV 

I awoke to the sound of my alarm, playing into my ears from my ear buds. Yes, I knew it was 5:50 on a Saturday. On the weekends, I liked to run in the mornings to keep myself in good shape for cross-country. I quickly shot up out of my bed and walked over to my dresser, wiping the sleep from my eyes. I quickly pulled on some running shorts and an old t-shirt. I set my glasses on the dresser, and walked into the bathroom to retrieve my contacts. I usually wore these, if ever. They were only used for running, considering they were quite expensive and you can't exactly run with glasses on your nose. 

I was out the door ten minutes after my alarm clock rang, the cold air hitting my bare arms. I could see my breath through the cold air. It looked like smoke being blown out of my mouth. I pushed "play" on my iPod, clipping it to my shorts and began to run. 

Running was my escape, especially when done in the morning where no one could see me or make fun of me. It was foggy, barely any sun was rising through the clouds. My feet moved beneath me at a steady jog, my feet hitting the pavement with each beat of the song I was listening to. I flinched at each car that passed by, scrunching my eyes to get a glimpse of who might be at the wheel. Barely anyone drives by our street at 6 AM. 

After about 7 minutes, I had reached the entrance to the high school. I watched as the librarian opened her door to cross the campus, to make some copies, I assumed. She noticed my presence, and smiled as I walked over to her. 

"Why hello there, Niall! Practicing for cross-country I  see. Well this year should be a good one, then!" I blushed, even though my cheeks were already red from the coldness of the air. "Thank you, Mrs. Henderson. May I ask why you're here on the weekend?" 

"Well, I'm a little behind on my paperwork for renewing my teaching credentials. It's silly, I know. I'm not even a teacher! Anyway, I'm also making copies for my assistants upon their arrival on Monday. It's been hectic! Well, I best not keep you. Go ahead and keep running!" I smiled, though feeling slightly guilty that she had to do work on the weekend. "I'll see you Monday, Mrs. Henderson!" With that, she walked away waving and smiling, and I continued my run around the perimeter of the school.

Through the fog, I looked down upon the football field, and saw a figure running around and throwing a ball. The person was alone, I assumed, and was rather tall and bulky. When I got a closer look, I realized it was Jimmy. His lips were pressed in a thin line, and he huffed in frustration each time he failed to throw it far enough. I didn't know much about football at the time, so I had figured it was natural. Although, somewhere deep down, I felt bad for the guy. He only kept getting more and more angry at himself. He suddenly looked up, as if he could tell someone was watching him. I quickly continued to run down the sidewalk, still glancing sideways at him. 

Once I reached my house, I walked carefully up the stairs, making sure not to wake my mother. My room was empty and quiet as I grabbed a towel to shower. As I stepped under the water after I turned it on, the hot water met my freezing skin and I began to relax. After toweling myself off, taking my contacts out, and sliding my glasses back on my nose, I decided to spend the rest of my day playing FIFA, alone. 

It wasn't until 10 AM that I realized I had spent about three hours playing this game. I was awoken from my winning streak when I heard a knock at the door. 'Who would knock at my door,' I asked myself. Looking down, I realized I didn't have a shirt on. I grabbed one on top of my dresser, running down the stairs as soon as I heard my mom call for me. 

Pulling down my shirt while running down the stairs didn't allow me great footing and tried to catch myself on the railing as I tripped over the stair in front of me. Luckily, I landed on my two feet near the end of the stairs, and ran around the corner to the door.