hazy || niall horan

3. cubicle dialogues

Aoife has this embarrassing habit of talking to the inanimate characters in her novels.

Niall has excellent hearing.

He doesn't realize somebody is talking until an exaggerated sigh wakes him from his quiet rest he's been taking. It's more of a frustrated grunt really but they're in a library and he really can't call it much more than a sigh.

He peers his head out from his cubicle and see empty rows of books. He wonders quickly if the voice was in his head but it sounds again, this time yelling at a boy Declan for something he's done.

Niall's eyebrow raises in question and peeks once again at the empty rows of the back of the library.

Had he have been a normal human he would have concluded the conversation was personal and not to be interrupted but of course Niall was not normal, nor did he value privacy. He didn't know what privacy was seeing as his entire was out in the open for all.

Niall slowly got up from his chair and made his way out of the cubicle he was in. He thought it weird to just look at whoever was talking and so he quickly and briskly walked towards a shelf that contained enough coverage for him to spy on the person without drawing too much attention.

Niall thumbed through a book about insects, carefully trying to pick up books that would show him more of the girl he now knew was sitting down and reading.

She had short brown hair that Niall thought didn't suit her very much. He studied the book she was reading and studied her clothing and came to the conclusion that he wasted his time in getting up to see what was wrong.

Aoife could feel someone staring at her. She wasn't used to it and so the few times it had happened she felt it. Aoife tried to ignore it, she focused on the task at hand, the task of the hero of her novel. But the stare increasingly got hotter and hotter.

Finally she became frustrated and uncomfortable enough to speak to her stalker.

"Can I help you find something?" She said.

The person at large moved from behind the shelf they were hiding behind. It was Niall Horan, a boy in Aoife's literature class. He was Niall Horan, king of whatever he well-pleased.

"I didn't mean to pry, you were speaking with someone and I wanted to make sure you were okay. You sounded frustrated." Niall stood straight and he talked seriously but Aoife could see the blush creep onto his cheek and so she closed her book and turned towards him.

"I'm quite fine thank you," she looked down at his dress shoes and saw the mud caked around them. "Conditioner and water."

"Excuse me?"

"Conditioner and water, they take out those stains," Aoife pointed towards the muddy mess on Niall' s feet.

"Right, I'll probably just get a new pair later."

"Ah pardon me, I forgot with whom I was speaking. The famous Niall Horan. Well if you have a particular liking to those shoes, now you know how to wash them. But I'm sure daddy's money does wonders as well."

Niall could sense hostility in her words but also hurt as well. He was not used to people saying things like that but he found himself being okay with her words.

Niall studied Aoife in a way that was bound to make her uncomfortable but for once he was unafraid of his wandering eyes.

Yes her brown hair did not suit her but it was still nice and pretty. Her eyes were hazel and soft. They weren't special but they were something. She reminded him of his mother. It was strange.

Aoife studied Niall in a way she'd never studied someone. His hair was neat and prim and his suit was tailored to fit his body perfect. But there was something in his eyes that struck her as odd. Something about his demeanor took away the anger inside of her. He reminded her of a small boy who'd been hurt. It was strange.

Aoife's alarm went off and she quickly looked at the time. She was late already; her first alarm had already sounded. Patricia was not going to be happy with her. She quickly gathered her things, stuffed the book into her bag and got up to leave.

"I've got to go, nice talking with you," she mumbled as she walked past Niall and towards the front of the library.

Niall looked after her for a moment before he too gathered his things and left.

Cubicles were becoming more and more comforting and Niall took note of that.

Hello everybody! I'm back but let's be honest who knows how long that will last. Thank you so much for everything y'all have already done and I hope y'all enjoy this chpter.

Much love. Megs.