Guarded

||two||

Over the past four days of living in New York, I've picked up some things about Niall.

He's kind of cocky and he likes to flirt with me. He's in three of my other classes, so I have to see him 5 hours a day, that's including lunch.

I'm not very fond of Niall. Don't get me wrong, he's really attractive, but he's obviously looking for a relationship, and I'm not ready for that. To be honest, I don't think I'll ever be ready for a relationship.

-

"So, what are you doing this weekend, Cassidy?" Marie asks, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Probably just sitting at home, eating and surfing the Internet. Nothing new," I reply.

Marie's eyes light up. "So, you're not doing anything? You should come over! Emme and I are having a sleepover, you should come," she encourages.

"Eh, I don't really know." I've never been one for sleepovers.

"Oh, c'mon, Cass," Emme nudges my elbow. "It'll be fun."

Should I go? No, that'd be weird. I've only known them for like four days.

Marie leans her head in closer, expecting an answer soon.

I sigh but reluctantly reply, "Yeah, sure."

Marie claps her hands together in joy. "I love parties."

"Oh, this is going to be a party?" I ask, swallowing hard. I don't like parties.

"No, it'll just be us. Marie gets excited a lot. It's rather adorable, don't you agree?" Emme giggles.

"Hey, babe." A rather deep British voice says. It's Liam, one of Niall's friends. He takes a seat on the other side of Emme.

"Hey," she smiles. "You remember Cass, right?"

"Course I do. How could I forget? Niall can't keep his mouth shut about her." He smirks and winks at me. I feel my face flush.

Niall talks about me?

What does he say?

Does he like me?

Does he hate me?

Before I could say anything, a tall curly, brown haired boy whispers something in Marie's ear and smiles.

Marie giggles as he takes a seat.

"Harry, you remember Cassidy, right?" Marie asks, motioning her head towards me.

"Ah, yes. The girl Niall won't shut up about," he grins and looks at me. "Pleased to meet you, again. I'm Harold, but you can call me Harry."

I return the smile. "Pleased to meet you, as well. I'm Cassidy, but you can call me Cass."

-

"So, you and Liam have a thing?" I ask Emme as we walk out of 6th hour.

"Yep. We've been dating since sophomore year. He's wonderful." Her eyes light up as she talks about her beloved boyfriend.

"And Marie and Harry?" I ask, just out of curiosity.

"Well, they had a thing for a while, but it was just flirting and things like that. It wasn't till this year they made anything official."

"Okay, and what about Michaela and-" I forgot the name. It started with a J right? "Jeremiah?"

Emme laughs. "Jeremy. They've had this weird relationship since freshman year, but according to Michaela, he hasn't officially asked her out yet."

"Ah, I see." All these relationships. Wow. I don't understand how someone could hold a healthy one for so long.

I mean, since sophomore year? That's a long time.

"Hey, Cassidy," an Irish accent says.

I turn to see Niall. "Oh, hey, Niall."

Emme smirks and says, "I should get going. I'll text you my address later, Cass. Bye." She winks and walks away.

How could she leave me alone with him? I'm so awkward with boys. Especially Niall because he obviously has some sort of weird interest in me.

"So, you doing anything tonight?" Niall smirks.

"I'm going to a sleepover with Marie and Emme," I reply, pulling my books closer to my chest.

"Oh, really? I was kinda hoping we could catch a movie or something." He looks down at the ground.

Now I feel bad. I didn't mean to seem rude.

"Sorry, maybe next weekend?" I'm not serious. It's just to make him feel better.

His head perks up. "Yeah, that's sounds good." He smiles.

Oh, no. Am I leading him on? I don't want him to get the wrong idea.

I'm just not interested right now.

A movie won't hurt, will it?

-

"So, what do you guys know about Niall Horan?" I ask Emme and Marie as we sit in our pajamas in Emme's living room.

"I've known him since he came here when he was sixteen," Emme says. "He instantly became friends with Liam, Harry, Louis, and Zayn and now they're like the fab five or something." She laughs at the ridiculous name. "Anyway, he's pretty nice. He's only had like one girlfriend, that he's having a little trouble getting over. He rarely flirts or-"

I stifle a laugh.

"What?" Marie furrows her eyebrow.

"Nothing," I fight a smile. "He just flirts with me quite often, that's all."

Both of their eyes get wide and they start grinning widely.

"He flirts with you, huh?" Emme smirks.

"What does he say?" Marie wiggles her eyebrows.

"Well, one time I said something like 'I get hot when I'm in front of crowds' and he was just like 'Well, I think you're hot all the time.' And another time I said that bunnies are cute and he was just like 'Cassidy's are cute, too.'"

I laugh because they actually sound really lame when they're not coming from Niall.

"That's so cute," Emme gushes.

I can feel my face flush.

"Oh my gosh. You guys are so cute," Marie says, grinning widely.

"What do you mean?"

"She means, Niall's into you. She wants you guys to become a thing," Emme explains.

Niall's into me.

I had my suspicions, but I don't know how he acts around girls, so I couldn't tell if that's just how he was.

But become a thing? No.

I don't want to be a 'thing.'

I don't need to be a 'thing.'

We could be a 'friend thing', but nothing more.

I just don't want to get hurt.