Guarded

||six||

"Don't you look pretty," Niall smirks at me as I open my front door for him.

I roll my eyes. "Thanks, I hate this dress."

"Then why'd you buy it?"

"My mother did."

"Oh, I see." His smile widens as he motions for me to step out of the door.

I say bye to my mum and grab my phone and purse.

"So, do you know where this restaurant is?" I ask Niall as we settle in the car.

"Yeah, it's Lou's favorite restaurant. We go there all the time."

Niall turns on the radio and I sit back in my seat.

"So, how come you're so against relationships?" Niall blurts out.

"Um, I'm just not interested right now," I tell him. "I'd much rather just focus on my studies."

He looks at me with bright blue eyes. "C'mon, it can't just be that. You need like a solid reason."

"I have a solid reason, but I'm not going to tell you," I say, turning my gaze out the window.

"Fine, then. Don't open yourself up and let people in to get to know you. Just stay closed. Stay guarded," he whispers to himself. He should really learn to whisper better because every time he does, I can still hear him.

"Some peoples' hearts are guarded for a reason, Niall."

-

"Cassidy! Niall! I'd like you to meet Lindsay," Louis exclaims as we walk up to their table.

"Hi, it's so nice to finally meet you guys," Lindsay greets.

"Lovely to meet you, too," I reply with a smile.

Niall says his hello and we sit down at the table.

I pick up a menu and start skimming through the main dish section.

I whisper over to Niall, "Do they have any fish and chips here?"

"It's called fish with French fries," he whispers back with a smile. "But I wouldn't recommend. It doesn't sit too well with your stomach after a while. Something they do to it, I guess."

"Ah," I huff, looking at the other entrées. "What about the, uh, the cheeseburger?"

He smiles. "That's my favorite. It's a lot to eat, though."

"I eat a lot, though," I giggle.

"Well, if you want it. You can get it. But remember, I'm paying," he smirks.

"No-"

"Yes, Cassidy. I'm paying," Niall insists.

I roll my eyes and take a drink of my water.

"You're very pretty, Cassidy," Lindsay smiles.

I'm a little taken aback, since no one I've just met has ever called me pretty before.

"Isn't she?" Niall replies before I get the chance to answer. I glare at him and he stifles a laugh.

"Thank you, Lindsay. So are you," I say, my mood changing.

She giggles slightly.

"Isn't she?" Louis mocks Niall's previous comment and puts an arm around his girlfriend.

The waitress comes over to our table and we order. Niall and I both get cheeseburgers with extra fries, Linsday gets a simple house salad, and Louis gets a gyro.

"Thank you," I blurt out after we're all done ordering.

The waitress grows a wide smile across her face. "You're welcome," she says. "Very few people ever thank me. So, thank you for being so polite."

I let out a small chuckle. "Everybody should have at least some manners."

The waitress's smile stays planted on her face as she basically skips away.

"You're too nice, Cass," Niall says as he tries to put his arm around me. I'm not sure why, but I let him keep it around my shoulders. He's quite warm.

"So, how long have you and Niall been dating?" Lindsay asks me after a few moments of awkward silence.

"We're not dating," I answer curtly.

"Oh," she says, obviously a little befuddled.

"Yet," Niall smirks and then winks at me. I roll my eyes but feel my face flush and I try to fight a smile.

The way he smirks and winks and hints that he's interested in me just makes my stomach do flips. When he looks at me with a serious expression and his gorgeous, bright blue eyes stare into mine, my heart starts to race.

I've never felt like this before. Nobody has ever made me feel the way Niall makes me feel.

I don't like it.

We eat dinner and I shove my cheeseburger into my mouth. I finish it within several short minutes. Niall seems impressed.

Louis, Lindsay, Niall, and I talk for about another hour or so, before Louis says that it's best we get going.

"Goodbye, Cassidy. It was so nice meeting you," Lindsay exclaims, embracing me in a hug.

"Bye, Lindsay. And same to you!"

-

"So, did you have fun, tonight?" Niall asks me as he opens my car door.

"Yeah," I smile. "And thanks for the ride home."

He shrugs a shoulder and I see him slightly blush. He shoves his hands in his pockets and follows me to my door.

"Thanks, again," I giggle, fiddling with my keys. "For everything."

He smiles. "No problem."

I look at him expectantly. He stares at me with these gorgeous, bright, blue eyes. He lightly touches my arm and leans his head in closer. He leans his head 90% of the way, so I can go the other ten. And I do.

Our lips brush against each other ever so slightly, but it's just enough to send my stomach into somersaults and my heart pounding against my chest.

Niall pulls away, smiling. I look up at him with a small smile on my face. "I've never kissed a boy before."

"Hey, neither have I."

~

Okay, so I'm going to start updating every other day instead of every day, just because I need a little more time to write and make this story better, because as of right now, I don't really like it and it kinda sucks haha

Anyway, thank you for reading :-)

leave a comment and vote on your way out maybe?

Ily.

-Anna xo