When Taylor had finally composed herself enough to face everyone again, she carefully took her time in walking down the stairs, not wanting to make any more of a fool of herself. Her dress was starting to cling even more to her figure thanks to the unbearable heat in this house and she sighed, wishing she had stayed home in her comfy pajamas over this. She needed some fresh air, and noticed the back door of the house was open as she made a quick break for it, hoping no one would notice her. The breeze was an instant relief to her whole body, cooling her off as she found a grassy spot away from the party to sit and think. It was now obvious to her that Lara was only trying to mess with her, and Taylor couldn’t help but feel like a fool that she hadn’t noticed at first. As she sat alone with her thoughts, the only sound she could hear was the distant music from back at the house.
“Mind if I sit?” The voice behind her startled her; she wasn’t expecting anyone to accompany her. When she turned around and saw it was one of the guys who had previously been hanging around with Harry’s group, she was unsure whether to interact with him. If he was anything like Harry, she didn’t want to be around him. But then Taylor remembered that friends were a rarity with her, and he didn’t seem too awful.
“Go ahead.” She nodded her head as he sat next to her immediately, rubbing his hands together before slightly adjusting his glasses. Taylor wasn’t sure if the glasses were one of those ‘hipster’ things or if he actually needed glasses, but she thought they really suited him either way.
“I’m Niall, by the way. And you’re Taylor, right?” Taylor immediately noticed his strong Irish accent, and the appeal of it threw her off a little as she became flustered. “Um ye… yes. I’m Taylor.” He chuckled, obvious to Taylor’s sudden nervousness.
“Is your arm okay?” His concern took Taylor by surprise; she wasn’t used to people caring about her, but it was nice. Even if she hardly knew the guy sitting next to her.
“Well the cuts are pretty deep but I’ll be fine.” His eyes gazed over her arm before looking to Taylor, right into her eyes. She was unsure of why he was here, why he was even talking to her. But he had a certain warmth to him that she enjoyed. What was the harm in talking to him? He may have been friends with Harry and Lara but it didn’t necessarily mean he was like them. He was giving her a good first impression anyway.
“So are you liking it here?” Taylor gave a sarcastic laugh, but quickly stopped, hoping he hadn’t taken it the wrong way. But she wasn’t going to lie, so she just shrugged. “It’s not exactly ideal but I’ll be okay. I don’t need friends. I’ll be fine. I’m used to not fitting it.” Taylor sometimes put up walls and a strong front, and this was one of those times. She didn’t want to come across weak, but she also didn’t expect to sit here telling Niall about her problems.
Niall looked at Taylor, completely interested in what she was talking about. He couldn’t understand why people were so cruel to her. He had seen the way people treated her at school and now at the party, and he knew himself that when he first arrived at the school he had a hard time fitting in as well. He had gravitated towards the football team and they had somehow taken a liking to him. “I’ll gladly be your friend.” Taylor was taken by surprise, but smiled. “Is this a sympathy friendship?” She was half teasing, but also curious as to whether he really wanted to hang out with someone like her. He had popularity and Taylor didn’t want anything to do with that. She was content with being an outsider, but also longed for friendships.
Niall shook his head. “I want to be friends with you.”
“What about…” Taylor couldn’t even finish her sentence when Niall interrupted her, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. I can be friend with whoever I want whether they like it or not.” Niall knew exactly who she was going to bring up, but he didn’t care. Having no friends was hard, and besides, Taylor was absolutely lovely.
Taylor was enjoying Niall’s company that she hadn’t even realized his fingertips were grazing hers as they rested on the grass next to her. It was nice; she had felt an instant connection with Niall and she could see them being good friends. He was different to the others; he wanted to get to know her and she liked that. As they sat having a casual conversation together, neither of them noticed the music dying down and the party coming to an end. Both were enjoying each other’s company too much to want to leave just yet.
