The After Show {Niall Horan}

Chapter 11~

Yesterday was Monday which was supposed to be my workday but I asked my boss if it was okay if I go to class instead and work on Tuesday and he was fine with it which had me relieved. I'll get to stay home two days in a row and then Friday since I'm gonna work. Unless he makes me go out to take photographs. Right now, I edit the photographs with different filters for magazines and newspapers which I'm very happy with. I make a good amount of money and I get to do something I love. It's 9 in the morning and I bring my laptop to bed. Niall is still sleeping next to me and I'm starting to work. I realize I don't have many photographs to edit today so the day will go by quicker since I'll be getting a lot in the next couple of weeks because of winter and Christmas. I'm sitting up on my bed and my laptop on my thighs and all of a sudden Niall's arm flings around my waist and that brings a huge smile to my face. I rest my free hand on his arm and we lay like that. After about 10 minutes, he wakes up.
"Good morning you busy woman." He teases with a yawn. I ruffle his hair and smile, "Good morning you sleepy bum."
"Hey hey you're not the one traveling and singing songs almost every night." He laughs.
I shake my head and smile and continue working. He looks over and asks about what I'm doing. I explain it to him and he just watches me.
"Do you want breakfast?" I ask.
"Yeah but I can make it."
"Oh no you're not. You're my guest and I'll make it for you." I jump out of bed and go to the kitchen. I open my fridge and try to find something to make. Wow I really need to go grocery shopping.
"I should go grocery shopping real quick." I tell him.
"I'll come with?" He proposes. I look at the time and it's around 10:15. I don't think anyone will see him at this time. I decide to go to the grocery store out in the neighborhood I grew up in before I moved out to the suburbs in the middle of high school. It's a good 15-20 minutes away from downtown and I haven't gone to that neighborhood ever since I started the new high school. I feel a little nervous for going there but I think it'll be fine.
We're in the car on our way to the store and Niall decides to play his own music which I completely don't mind. We're singing along and having a great time. As I drive off the highway, and head towards the neighborhood, I start feeling a little anxious.
"I haven't been in this area for so long." I say.
"What do you mean ? Do you not know the way ?"
"No, no I do. It's just after I moved, I never bothered coming back here."
After another 5-10 minute drive, we arrive at a little grocery shop 2 blocks away from my old house where I grew up. I look around. This neighborhood has changed so much. It's not as well maintained as it used be which hurts. The people walking around on the streets are pretty much trashy. I wonder how many people I've known stayed here.
We walk inside the little store and grab what we need. There's still older and teenage people still working here which brings back memories of me coming here. Luckily, I haven't seen anyone I know.
"Nicole?!" I hear from behind me. Crap. I turn around. And who do I see? Of course, it has to be Taryn's, my ex best friend's mother. I totally forgot they still live here. Don't get me wrong, I love her mom. She's the only person I miss from that family.
"Hi!" I say. Niall stands next to me and he can tell I'm uncomfortable, and hell I am.
"How have you been?" She asks smiling brighter than the sun.
"I've been great, and you?"
"Well I can tell!" She motions at Niall, but gladly she doesn't know who he is. "But I've also been good. I know you don't care and you won't ask, but Taryn has been not so great."
"Why is that?"
"She's been going to parties a lot, got a few tattoos, and has been smoking. It's worse than we thought." I'm not surprised.  She's always been a party girl. All she wanted to do was go to parties. And a party I went to with her is the reason we stopped being friends, but I'll get to that later.
"Oh wow, I'm sorry." It gets a little awkward.
"No don't be sorry. Not your fault at all. Trust me I still feel terrible for what happened between you two. You didn't deserve that."  She hugs me. I hug her back, "It's okay, it's the past now."
"Yes it is and I'm glad you're happy. Anyways I'll get going, it was nice seeing both of you!" She walks away.
I look at Niall and he looks at me, "who was that?"
"My ex best friend's mom." I say shyly.
"Why ex?" He's obviously very confused.
"I'll tell you when we get home." I pat his arm.
We check out and this time I finally pay. We get in the car and drive back home.  
"So will you tell me?" Niall asks lowering the volume while we were of course having a great time singing.
"You're so curious aren't you?" I tease. I know I'm gonna say  this for the millionth time but he's so damn adorable.
"Well it'll help me get to know you better." He winks.
"You're good Horan." I laugh. "I'll tell you when we get home."
"Ok ok I'll wait." He rests his hand on my thigh and I feel a ton of butterflies in me. How does he do it?!
Once we get home, I put the groceries on the counter. Niall comes up behind me and hugs me. "While we eat breakfast you should totally tell me." I nod my head and laugh.
I take my pans out and pour the stuff for making pancakes and make bacon on the other pan. Niall site on the couch with the cat . I smile at it since it makes me so happy.
I finish making at least 8 pancakes and a ton of bacon. I place everything on the table and Niall goes to sit down. I quickly run to my drawer and take out both of my high school yearbooks, from my old school and my then new school.
I sit down, "so you wanna see my yearbooks?" Niall grabs the one from my old school. He starts looking through it and it was from freshman year so I'm cringing. "I was a freshman in that one." We find my picture and we laugh it and then we find my picture from the lacrosse season. Yes, I played lacrosse. "See! I already know something new about you!" I blush and show him my other pictures from my new school.
Then he asks about Taryn.