You Found Me

Hey guys! I hope you like my new story; I'm a bit new at this fan-fic 1D thing. Make sure to leave comments if you like it. (: xoxo, Nat.

Prologue;
It was a chilly January afternoon; nothing special, nothing spectacular. The snow drifted from treetop to treetop, and the occasional bird would chirp lively, creating a picturesque winter portrait. The river running through my backyard had frozen over quite a while ago, and the noise of the flowing water had been replaced by laughing children; the river was a very popular neighbourhood attraction. As I peered out my bedroom window, I saw two small boys throwing rapid-fire snowballs at each other from across the yard. My yard. Slowly, a grin spread across my face.

Must be the Horans.

I grabbed my Nokia from the nightstand and zoomed in on their faces. Greg had just barely missed tiny Niall's face with the snowball and, though both were flushed and shivering, they were laughing uncontrollably.

Click. The perfect New Year's shot.

Greg was going to kill me.

I opened my bedroom door and raced down the hallway, my socks sliding on the hardwood floor. I swung open the hall closet and snatched my coat and boots. Hastily dressing in my snow gear, I hurried outside, taking off down the hill as fast as my little ten-year-old legs could carry me. The wind whipped at my blonde hair and my bright green eyes sparkled.

"Aye, wait up!" I called out, my voice high-pitched and out of breath. Niall whirled around and was pelted in the back of the neck by Greg's incoming snowball.

I laughed, offering him my hand. Biting his lip, Niall grabbed my hand and stood up, brushing the snow off of his pants.

"Thanks," he said quickly, then darted behind me as another snowball came his way.

"You can't use a girl for a shield, idiot," Greg called from across the frozen river.

"Why not?" Niall taunted. For being five years his brother's junior, Niall put up a nice fight. Too bad the young boy wasn't the least bit intimidating.

"Because the girl has a hard enough time dodging snowballs herself, and she doesn't need you to make that more difficult," I said, pushing him out from behind me. Niall laughed and threw another snowball across the river at Greg.

"You missed, loser."

I raised my eyebrows, picking up a handful of snow and chucking it Greg's way. He ducked just in time, and it went sailing over his head to hit the neighbour's house.

"Lovely. The Murphys are going to have a cow," I muttered.

"Take it out on the instagator, then?" Niall grinned, pointing to Greg, and I laughed. The one-year gap between our ages might as well have been a fifty-year one; we still would have been the best of friends.

"Oh, it's on." I winked, picking up a handful of snow.

"Greg! Greg, behind you!" Niall called out, his voice shrill and terrified. He almost had me going for a minute, but I knew better.

Greg raised his eyes. The sixteen-year-old wasn't going to fall for it that easy. "What's behind me, little Nialler?" He grinned.

"The bear!" he shreaked, running over and hiding behind a large tree. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. That boy was such a faker. Good thing Greg was fatally terrified of bears. He turned around so fast that I thought he would trip and fall right onto the icy river below. At the last second he caught his balance, but at the same time, my snowball hit him squarely on the back of his head, sending him tumbling forward -- away from the river, thank Heavens.