Back to You: A Niall Horan Fan Fiction

Chapter 17: Family Matters

Chapter 17: Family Matters

 Niall watched as sunlight began peeking faintly through the curtains in his room. He hadn’t just woken up before the sun came up; he hadn’t slept at all the night before. Not because he was out partying, or busy writing a new song, he just hadn’t been able to sleep knowing that Soleil wasn’t in the other room. She had left only yesterday, but he was already missing her with every fiber of his being. It had nearly killed him not to text her as soon as he had escaped the mob of fans in the airport, but he didn’t want to make the separation any harder for her. If she was feeling even a tenth of what he was feeling, it wouldn’t be fair to keep her pining after him while she should have been excited to head off to London. However, he couldn’t resist sending her a quick text before he went to bed. He just had to know she was safe.

 He looked at his phone briefly, debating whether to send her a text good morning before deciding against it.  Minutes later however, he greedily grabbed it off the nightstand, his fingers flying over the keypad.

 Niall: Good morning, Sunshine J Did you sleep well?

 Not even ten seconds later, he got his response.

 Soleil: Very well, thank you. It might have had something to do with the sweet text you sent me J How did you sleep?

 He hesitated before deciding to go with the utmost truth.

 Niall: Terribly, I didn’t sleep a wink. Probably because I was too busy missing you.

 Soleil: I’m so sorry! I miss you too, so much. But I wish you wouldn’t lose sleep over me, that’s silly.

 Niall: It’s not something I can help. I didn’t think it would be this hard.

 Soleil: I didn’t either….but I’m sure it will get easier.

 It pained Niall to see her words written on his phone. He could practically hear the doubt in her voice and imagined her biting her fingernail in worry. He sent her a simple message back in confirmation, barely restraining from begging her to come back to him. Then he set his phone down, and went to look for something to keep him occupied.

 ***

After allowing herself to wallow in sadness for the better part of an hour, Soleil pulled herself together and began to start her day.  She refused to sit around and mope while there was a whole city waiting to be discovered. Tying her hair up in a loose ponytail and grabbing her trusty Keds, she began packing a bag for the day.

 “Excuse me, do you mind if I borrow your pen for a minute?” One of her roommates asked Soleil.

 She held out the pen with a smile and watched as the girl scribbled an address on the back of her hand. The girl had inky black hair and a nose piercing, as well as multiple rings on her slender fingers.

 “Thanks,” she responded as she passed the pen back. “My name’s Kylie by the way.”

 “Soleil,” she responded holding out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

 “Whoa, cool name! Where are you from?” Kylie sat back on her bed gave Soleil a friendly look.

 “United States, Indiana to be exact. You?”

 “Australia, Sydney to be exact,” she said with a smile. “What are you doing in London?”

 Soleil paused. Should she really trust this girl with her plans? Deciding she could, she cautiously replied. “I’m traveling around for a year before heading back to go to college next year. I just got here from Ireland and I’m staying here for about two weeks before moving on to France.”