Totally Not Me ( 1D/ N.H. / Niall Horan)

Chapter 7

Niall's POV

Great! Now that I'm in, where can I go without her knowing I was here? Text messages? No. The indicator would go away. Uhmmmm...pictures! I'll start there. I strike the icon and start thumbing through her album.

That's interesting! Not a single picture of her looking like she does every day at school. If she's in one, she looks similar to how she looked today. Maybe she is telling the truth.

I tap the calendar to see what she's got on there. Looks like she's trying out for volleyball on Monday, more guitar lessons in two weeks, and a weekly visit with a Dr. Lorenson on Wednesdays right after school. That doctor visit seems to be repetitive on her calendar for months. I wonder what that's about.

I jump out of my skin when I hear her voice at the register, "Is Niall still here?"

They direct her to the back room where I'm hiding out. I quickly return to her home page and lock the phone just in time to see her turn the corner and enter the room. Jeez! That was close! Too close!

"Wey hey!" I greet her as I hold the phone out.

"Oh my God! Thank you so much! My entire life is on this phone." She lets out a sigh of relief.

My curiosity is getting the best of me no matter how hard I attempt to beat it down. Plus, I still feel like shit for making her cry at lunch.

"So...who's the girl on your lock screen?" I just bluntly ask.

She hits her home button and a faint smile crosses her face at the sight of the picture making it obvious that it is someone of great importance to her.

"That's my best friend." She says with a distant smile still present.

"Does your best friend have a name?" I ask. Why isn't she as talkative as lunch? Did I really hurt her that much?

She sighs and begins to answer my question, "She did. Her name was Debbie and she was killed in a car accident two months ago." Her bottom lip begins to quiver as she attempts to hide it with a smile. Tears are welling up in her eyes.

Why the fuck couldn't I have kept my mouth shut and just handed over the phone like a normal lad?! I am such an asshole!

"I'm sorry." I say uncomfortably and look towards the floor.

"You didn't know." Her voice cracks making me feel even worse. She continues, "I better go. Thanks for grabbing my phone for me."

Before I get a chance to respond, she has exited the room. I impulsively make my way to the door of the room I'm in as quickly as I can only to see her exiting the store. I stand there watching her slide into the passenger seat of an old muscle car.

Cailin is a lot to process. Deep down inside, I want to believe her. The more she tells me about herself, the more I want to help her. This Cailin feels a lot more genuine. Maybe I'm thinking that way because I like this one better. What kind of situation does one have to be in to be told what to wear, how to act, and how to look? I can't even begin to wrap my head around it.

* * * *

Cailin's POV

It's the start to another week of hell. I'm anxious to get to school today. Between the Niall encounter on Saturday and volleyball tryouts today, I'm a bundle of multiple emotions. I need to get myself focused.

As Brent struts onto the school campus in all of his glory, I am greeted by an overly excited Lou.

"Are you ready for tryouts today?" She asks as we walk towards our usual spot we hang out at before school.

"I guess. I'm more nervous than anything" I shrug.

"Nervous?! Don't be! I'm sure you will be fantastic!" She smiles. She's got a smile that lights up her whole face and you can't help but smile back. It is at this very moment that I'm thankful to have met her. I just don't think I could let her in. That spot is reserved for Debbie.

You know that one person that you mesh so well with that you finish each other's sentences because they know you so well inside and out? Debbie was mine. God! I miss her.

"Did you hear what I said?" I distantly hear Lou ask as she pulls me out of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry. What?" I attempt to give her my full attention.

"It looks like someone missed you this weekend." She says as she nods towards the senior quad.

I follow her nod only to catch Ryan looking at me. He attempts to flash an award winning smile at me. I can only assume that he's expecting me to swoon. Uh....no. I half grin back and turn my attention back to Lou.

"I should start heading to class." I say as the bell rings saving my ass. She smiles and nods.

The morning drags and I keep checking the time every five minutes or so in the hopes it would get the hint to move faster. I haven't seen Niall all day but then again, I usually don't except an occasional before school sighting. Lunch is usually when he makes his first appearance into my day.

When lunch finally arrives, I meet up with Lou and we take our place in line to get something to eat. I should have dropped my backpack off at our usual table. This dress is made of some stupid material that makes it continuously slip off my shoulder. Ugh! I really need to rethink how to carry my gear if I make this team.

Lou is happily chatting away about her weekend and I'm only half listening as we grab a tray, our lunch, and pay. As we turn to walk towards "our table", my damn backpack begins slip and I attempt to keep my lunch from hitting the floor.

Immediately, a set of hands reaches out and takes my tray from me and a voice attached to them says, "Let me help you with that."

"Thanks, but-" was all I could spit out before I realize I didn't have much of a choice and my hands are empty. I move the backpack strap back onto my shoulder and glance up at my knight in shining armor.

It's Ryan and he's smirking at me. Fuck! Knight in shining armor, my ass! More like an asshole in tin foil!

He turns on his heels and leads the way to "our table". What in the hell is he doing in here? Seniors eat in their quad. The noise is cut in half as people stop their conversation or in mid chew to view this parade that is happening in front of them.

I glance at Lou and her mouth is agape. Once she realizes that we should follow him, she looks at me and mouths "Oh my God!".

My eyes scan the room and realize what a spectacle this has become. I am so embarrassed! Just before I can start staring at the ground, my eyes land on Niall looking at me with a completely expressionless face.

"Please! Please! Please! Understand that this isn't what I want! Can we just go back to the weekend?!" I silently plead to him but know there's no use. These actions completely contradict every ounce of our conversation we had. He just watches as I walk by.

I lower my eyes in defeat as we make our way to "our table". Ryan places my tray gently down.

"Thanks." I say just to be polite but really want to tell him to fuck off.

"Anytime." He flashes a smile and winks. He turns and leaves the room.

All eyes are on me for a couple minutes and then, the conversations begin again. I contemplate crawling under the table to eat my lunch.

I glance back up at Niall to see him still looking at me with his lack of expression still there. His friend, Louis, stands between us to talk to him and breaks his stare. I really wish I knew what was going on in his head.