The Runner (Niall Horan Fanfiction)

One Step At A Time

“Hold up.” Kaylie dug around her bag for a moment, before turning around and grinning. “Smile!” She giggled, lifting a video camera up to his face. “Introduce yourself!” She laughed. “Right, well, erm, I’m Carter, I’m 18, I’m from Mullingar, but now I’m in France with the beautiful Kaylie.” Niall told the camera. “Your turn.” He took the camera and spun it to face her. “I’m Kaylie, I’m 18 I’m from London but right now I’m sitting on a bench eating Froot Loops with Carter.” She grinned at the camera. Niall laughed and turned the camera off. “Kay, the camera can stay if you give me your phone.” He said. “Why?” Kaylie asked, confused. “Cause there’s to be no outside contact.” He lied. He was scared she’d figure who he was. He was also scared of what rumours would surface about them. Kaylie reluctantly handed over her phone and Niall went and threw both in the trash can nearby. Hopefully no one would find them.

“Erm, never have I ever... Done drugs.” Kaylie grinned. Neither of them raised their hands. “Really?” Niall questioned. “Never.” They’d decided on playing stupid games to get to know each other better. They were getting close to Orleans now, Niall knew it. He just somehow didn’t want their journey to end. He took the camera from her again, and trained it on himself. “So, we’re almost in Orleans. We’ve been walking for about 5 hours now.” He laughed. “Anything to say, Kay?” He spun the camera to face her. He’d started using the nickname that Kaylie had said she’d been called back home.  “Just that France is absolutely beautiful, C.” She had hated being called Kay, and pretended to still hate it, but it sounded so adorable coming from the Irish boy’s mouth. But she wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing that. He laughed loudly at the acid in her voice when she called him C. “See how mean she is to me?” He pouted at the camera before shutting it off again. “You know, you sound cute when you call me C.” He smirked. “I am 18 years old, Carter. I am not cute.” She frowned, making Niall laugh even louder. “Faggot.” She muttered, turning away and shaking her head.

The city rose around them, buildings appearing out of practically nowhere. Kaylie grinned at Niall, holding up the camera to film him. “Okay, so here we are in Orleans, the first official stop on our journey around France.” He told the camera, pushing his hand through his hair. “Uhm, there’s not much really here except for the Cathedral and a few parks, but those are boring, so we’re gonna go bowling.” He grinned, grabbing the camera and turning it on Kaylie. “Is that cool with you Kay?” He asked. “Yeah, sounds fun.” She shrugged, still pissed off by the nickname. The sun was setting, causing the sky to turn orange and pink. “Stop.” Niall said, grabbing Kaylie’s arm. “What the hell Carter?” She said, exasperated. He simply shook his head and lay down on the concrete, staring up at the sky. Kaylie laughed slightly, used to the crazy antics of him by now, and followed suit.  “You don’t get this in London. Too much smoke, too many buildings.” He said. “Enjoy it as much as you can.” He pulled the camera from his bag and layed it in between them, pointing up at the sky. He grinned, tilting his head to face her. “You know, you really are beautiful.” He said softly. Kaylie blushed and bit her lip, turning to face him. “So are you.”