Foreign Exchange (A Nouis Story)

Chapter 18: Graduation Part One

Louis POV

Today is the day. Niall's graduation day.

I stood in front of the mirror and looped my striped tie around my neck, staring at myself. This was the first time today that I had more than 5 minutes to breathe. I had been running around all morning vacuuming and spraying and setting up and stirring all of the food in my mother's crock pots because nearly the entire town was coming over after the ceremony for Niall's graduation/going away party, as well as his own parents and older brother, Greg, who surprised Niall by getting plane tickets just in time to see him graduate.

And due to my mother's hospitality obsession, she insisted that the Horans stay the night also, because we have "plenty of room, really, we'd love to have you".

So they were coming. All the way from Ireland. To meet me.

To put it lightly, I was a train wreck.

I stared in the mirror again, straightening my tie. Just looking at myself now, it was like I was a different person. I used to hide behind my fringe and glasses, but now I wore my contacts more often because Niall said he hated how my glasses hid my 'pretty eyes'. Would things change after he was gone?

It was a weird feeling, knowing that the person who made the biggest impact on my life, was leaving in just a few short days. Days now. Not months, or weeks anymore. Pretty soon, it'll be hours.

"Lou? How do I look? Is this thing too short?"

I turned around to face my favorite boy coming down the stairs. Niall was wearing one of the school's ugly rental graduation robes, but of course he managed to still make it look good. His infamous white Supras stuck out the bottom of the gown, and his flushed cheeks matched the color of the robe.

"You look adorable, obviously," I rolled my eyes as I wiped an imaginary piece of dust off his shoulder. "But what on earth happened to your hair?" I gasped, pushing him down on the kitchen chair to fluff up the soft, blonde pieces as I tried to recreate the quiff I carefully sculpted in the bathroom a few hours earlier. With the help of my mother's hair dryer and some styling products I stole from Zayn, of course.

"Sorry! But what's it matter how my hair looks, anyway? I'll be wearing a hat the entire time anyway," Niall whined.

"Cap," I corrected, hairspraying. "And besides, you'll be throwing it in the air at the end of the ceremony, and my boyfriend cannot be caught with bad hat hair!"

Niall sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Almost finished?"

I nodded, scrambling to make my final touches. "There."

Niall sat up in the chair and grinned. "Thanks, Lou." I squealed as he started to tickle my sides, pulling me down on his lap.

"You look nice today," he whispered, his voice low in my ear. I grinned slightly, not really in the mood. Niall took the hint, and we sat there for a few minutes in silence, me on his lap with his arms around my waist.

"You nervous?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, playing with my hands. "Excited too."

"Same," I agreed, my voice cracking. "Mostly nervous though."

"About my parents?"

I nodded.

"Don't be," Niall squeezed my hands in his. "They'll love you. Now, up," he instructed, bouncing me off his legs. "Let's get this show on the road." He pulled on his cap and led the way to the car behind my parents, neither of us mentioning the real reason I was nervous for the next 24 hours.