The one that got away - ON HOLD

Chapter 23 - Nerves And All That

Chapter 23 – Nerves And All That

Niall’s P.O.V.

So far so good, I thought to myself, emptying my drink. Jules and I were still sitting comfortably in our chairs under the sun screen outside of Starbucks, chatting along about anything we could think of and hadn’t asked last night. It felt like we never stopped, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would.

“Wanna go for a walk?” I asked, eying the park in front of us. There were only some little kids playing, a view grown-ups a little farther away keeping an eye on them, but no teenagers in sight.

“Yeah, sure” Jules smiled, getting up and throwing her cup in the bin a view feet down. I followed her example, before crossing the street and heading into the park.

I don’t know why I had the sudden urge to walk, but it somehow just popped into my mind to go for a nice walk. If there were teenage girls around, it would probably the last thing that I would want to do. It would only start rumors and gossip.

“Do you come here often?” I asked, glancing around the park. Jules smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. Used to come here as a kid with my grandparents, ‘cause I’ve spent a lot of time there. And I went to a sporty faze where I used to run through here at least 3 times a week. But now it’s more a place I go to when I need to get out of the house or just collect my thoughts” she smiled.

I nodded understanding, glancing back and forth between Jules and the park surrounding us.

“It’s nice” I spoke softly. Jules smiled and nodded, running her hand through her hair.

“How long have you been here?” she spoke suddenly, staring at her white shoes before looking up to meet my eyes. I felt my smile grow as I stared back, her eyes slightly visible behind her sunglasses.

“I don’t know. A month now, maybe less. We’ve just been recording and doing small gigs and meetings which is more relaxing then the whole touring thing. It’s just.. it feels kind of like a holiday and neither of us have had that for a long time so..” I answered. Jules smiled that adorable soft smile again, making my stomach go nuts.

God help me.

If this was the way I would feel around her already, things could turn out way different then that I thought it would when I started this whole school thing. I knew the lads always warned me not to get attached to soon, but that was something that just happened. I knew how to keep my guard up around strangers, I learned that right at the beginning, before we became this big, but with girls like Julianna, it was harder.

“Let’s play a game” Jules suggested. My mind was pulled back to the two of us, as I followed her to a bench beside the walkway.

“You seem to be a fan of games” I chuckled, as we sat down. Jules shook her head and even with sunglasses on I knew she was rolling her eyes.

“I am. Now let’s play” She smiled.

“What are we playing” I asked, glancing around the park before resting my eyes on Jules. The sunlight coming from the trees shined perfectly onto her face, giving her an angelic glow.

“1, 2, 3 he’s yours” she smiled. I narrowed my eyes, giving her a confused look.

“Do explain”.

“it’s easy. You look at the people walking by, and I say 1. The first person to walk by is yours. Unless you choose to go for someone else. Then we go to the next person walking by. You can pick that person, or take your chances with number 3. But if you do that, you’re stuck with them” she explained, like it was nothing. I chuckled softly again but nodded.