imaginary || niall horan fanfic

My name is Lily, and I've recently turned 15 years old. Half way through the first year of high school, things are going great. Along with lots of great friends, my freshman year couldn't be better.

But it wasn't always that way.

When I was younger, I didn't have a soul in the world to talk to. Throughout elementary school, girls would stick their tongues out at me and boys would rant about how I had "cooties". No one liked me.

There wasn't even like a family friend or a really close cousin. I was nine, and I basically spent my life pretending my stuffed animals were real.

My parents didn't know, and I would even lie to make it worse. I repeatedly told them I had tons of friends, and I hated leaving school because I couldn't hang out with them anymore. And I even convinced my mother that I hated sleepover when she would bring up inviting one of my "friends" over.

Some nights I'd cry in my room on my windowsill and stare at the gleaming stars. I was silent when I peered at the stars; there wasn't anything to say.

But one night, when I was out of tears, a shooting star shot across the dark, foggy sky. Before I know it, the racing light would disappear, and I would be left with this miserable childhood. I needed to act fast, I had to wish for something that would make this all better. What would I wish for?

A sudden wish came to mind.

"I wish for a friend." I whispered to the sky. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as my fingers trembled.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes to find a blonde haired boy jumping on my bed.

My heart stopped. Was this my imagination? Could I actually see him?

He was laughing like crazy in his dark jeans and white shirt. His laugh was the funniest laugh I've ever heard, and it made me want to laugh along.

"Boy?" I asked.

He stopped jumping and looked over at me. His smile grew bigger as he flopped off my bed and ran over to me. I was taken off guard and backed up to my window.

"Don't be scared! I'm your friend." He said as he stood up tall, clearly proud of he was.

"Oh." I replied in a shy voice giving a slight grin. I put my arms behind my back and swayed in my long nightgown.

"I'm Niall." He spoke louder. This young boy had an accent, and I had never met someone with an accent.

"Shhh!" I shushed him. "My mother and father will hear you."

He chuckled. "No they won't. Only you can."

"Huh?" I questioned. "What do you mean?"

"You're the only one that can see me." He replied with another laugh. Niall didn't have a care in the world.

"Woah." I said in amazement as I smiled. "That's so cool!"

All of the sudden, my mother walked in. I glanced over at Niall, feeling completely terrified. He looked back at me and smiled which only made me smile too.

"Sweetheart, who are you talking to?" She asked. Niall was right, I was the only who can see him.

"Oh, um, no one. Goodnight." I responded as I flopped on the bed next to him as his giggles surfaced my mind.

My mother's face looked puzzled, but she said goodnight and shut my door quietly.

I turned to face Niall who was laying next to me in my bed. "This is going to be so much fun." I whispered.

He nodded revealing his teeth along with that smile.

"I know Lily!"

My eyebrows crinkled. "How do you know my name?"

"Ha, you wished for me remember?"

"You're going to be here forever, right?" I asked him unable to hold back my excitement of my friend.

His nose crinkled and he responded with,"Uh, yeah I'll be here forever."

"Good!" I stood up in my pink bed and licked my lips. "You're like a ghost."

"Don't think of me as a ghost. That's spooky!"

"What do you want me to think of you then?"

He thought about it for a minute and finally whispered, "Think of me as imaginary. A special, hidden piece of your imagination."