Every Minute's Like the Last; A One Direction Fan Fiction by Niallerbeast

Every Minute's Like the Last; Chapter One Part One

Nikki, October 2010

Everyone's here

Everybody's watching you now

Everybody waits for you now

What happens next?

          Just breathe girl. It’s just a new school. High school. Just like your last one. I think to myself. But the other little voice in my head, the nagging one, the one that was constantly the little devil on my shoulder replied, Yeah, an elite school in another country. You don’t know anyone. They don’t know you. You’re all alone.

          I shook my head in a desperate attempt to clear my mind. Adjusting the straps to my book bag I pushed open the thick wood doors to Charter Oak School for the Performing Arts.

           “Hi. My name is Aleqzandria Nicole Santos. I’m here to pick up my schedule?” I said to the secretary behind the office desk just inside.

“Ah, yes. You go by Nikki, correct?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Here you go Nikki. Good luck in your classes. It’s only October, barely a month into the school year, so I’m sure you won’t be too behind. Just please have your teachers sign the yellow paper and bring it back to me at the end of the day so I can give you the materials you’ll need for your classes. Your concentration is in singing, correct?”

“Yes.”

“All right Hun. See you at the end of the day.”

Smiling at the kind woman, I went in search of my first class, Voice, in room 201. It was fairly easy to find, just up the spiral staircase. I pushed open the door and almost every student turned and stared .I could feel my cheeks flush, not an easy feat for someone with an olive complexion.

“Ahh, Aleqzandria?” the teacher asked, smiling.

“I go by Nikki, after my middle name. Hi.”

“Hello dear. I’m Mr. Tuckfield. Take a seat anywhere you like. There’s one here next to Louis if you’d like.” I followed his gaze to a gangly looking boy. The boy turns around and smiles, his cheeks widening almost comically to reveal a huge white-toothed smile. He ran a hand through his spiked up hair and waved. I smiled back, biting my lower lip, and went over to join him at his table.

“Alright class. I want you to pair up with the person at your table and run over our vocal warm ups that I taught you. Nikki, Louis, just hang tight for this one. I’ll have to teach them to Nikki later. Just get to know each other for now I guess.”

“I’m Louis, by the way.” The boy says. “Louis Tomlinson.”

“Nikki Santos.”

“So where ya from Nikki?”

“The Philippines. I’m boarding here at the school.”

“Oh, cool. I live just nearby, so I don’t board here. If you ever get lonely though, we should hang out. I’ve got 4 younger sisters, so if you don’t want to hang out with me, they’re always around.”

“Thanks,” I said, giggling. Louis was sort of doofy-looking, in that way that boys are right after they’ve hit puberty, before they come into their own. He wasn’t ugly, and he smelled pretty nice. And his eyes were gorgeous. The way his striped t-shirt fell on his chest, it was easy to tell that he was slender and had some muscle, just not any mass. “So, how old are you Louis?”

“17. I’m a junior here.”

“Cool. I’ll be 15 next week, on the 18th. Freshman.”

“Aww, a little freshie. Don’t worry kiddo, I’ll show you the ropes.” I smiled and was about to thank him, when the bell rings, signaling the end of the period I got up to give the teacher my papers to sign. It took a few minutes, but when I looked up, Louis was hanging by the door.

“So, where are you going to next off?” I showed him my schedule and he looked it over. After pointing me in the right direction, he disappears into his own classroom.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. After the last bell, I returned my paper to the secretary and gathered all of my books to bring back to the dorm room. Mom had finished putting all of my things away before her flight back home. The room was so empty, that the silence was almost tangible. Rather than going out and trying to meet the other boarders, I collapsed onto the bed. Out of nowhere, I could feel myself choking back sobs.

“Mom, why couldn’t you have stayed with me?” I asked the photo of my mother on the bedside table. A little while later, I must have drifted off to sleep.

Hours later, I was woken up by a knock on the door. I sleepily got up and unlocked the old fashioned lock, slowly pulling open the heavy door. On the other side was one of the most gorgeous boys I’d ever laid eyes on.

“Um, hello.”

“Hi. I’m Ethan.”

“I’m Nikki,”I responded, still unsure as to why exactly Ethan was there.

“I live in the room next to you. I thought I would come over and say hi.”

I glanced at my alarm clock. “It’s almost midnight. Why would you come over now? I’ve been in here since 5 o-clock.”

“Well, I heard you crying before, and I guess I wanted to check on you.” He said, looking down at his feet, his cheeks turning red. His blonde shaggy hair fell in front of his face, and his sneaker squeaked on the hardwood floor.

“I’m fine. Just tired. Look, it was really nice to meet you, but I think I’m going to go to bed. But tomorrow’s Saturday. Want to hang out then?”

He looked up and smiled. “Sure. I know just the coffee place down the street we can go to.” After thanking him, I shut the door and collapsed back onto the bed, rubbing my face in my pillowcase that still smelled like home.

**********

 Author’s note: please pay attention to the dates and names at the start of each chapter. The names let us know who’s perspective the story is being told in. this is vital to understanding what exactly is going on. Also, the dates just help keep some sort of timeline for the story’s progression. The song lyrics at the start of the chapters are just something I like to do on any story I write, but I really try to make them fit with the chapter somehow. So it’s sort of like me foreshadowing for you guys.