Evanescence | n.h.

.2

Picture of Rose above! I imagine her as Lindsay Hansen, who is a beautiful person inside and out!!

--

Rose was a simple girl; she had dreams and wishes and beliefs. She didn't ask for much, but she was well-embodied with life, grace, and compassion. These traits defined her from the other girls who frequently mobbed Niall.

She stuck out to him like a sore thumb. Beauty was one of her best aspects; but not in a stereotypical way. Her beauty stemmed from her actions. Had she been rebellious and feisty, her frail body and delicate face would not have matched. Had her body been perfect, her timid personality would not have fit. Any one trait of hers on someone else would have been a horrible mis-match, but somehow she made it work. She was beautiful in her own right, and she never stopped to wonder if she was doing something wrong.

She was completely and utterly independently free. Niall was in no way free or independent or anything Rose was. He was monitored, controlled, and given rules. The freedom that he saw in Rose was soulful; she was herself. Maybe that's why he fell in love with the girl he met on a train. She was everything he wanted to be, but couldn't.

A simple ride to some tiny town shouldn't have been as important as it was to both of them. Had she taken the next train, or had he not been delayed by his sister, we wouldn't have our story.

But fate's funny like that, you know?

//

Amidst the many people on the train, Rose struggled to find a seat unoccupied. Stumbling on coats and bags strewn about the floor, she clumsily made her way to the far back of her assigned train cart, where there were two seats empty. Snagging the opportunity of solitude, Rose quickly claimed the seat and settled down. A few other passengers idly made their way down the aisle, and Rose prayed none of them would take the seat next to her.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Rose sighed. Flashing the boy a fake smile, she offered the seat and moved her belongings from his space.

She gave not a second glance at the stranger until almost ten minutes after the train had left the station. Her eyes were diverted from the window; cautiously brought to the male beside her. His attention remained glued to his mobile device, and was only ripped from it as Rose dug around in the bag separating them.

Fumbling through all the clutter in her bag, Rose managed to dig out her headphones. If she was going to sit on this overcrowded train for four hours, she was going to tune out the chatter and annoying rumbling of the tracks.

"What's your favourite band?"

His accent caught Rose off guard, and she wondered how she couldn't have noticed it before. Her eyes drifted from concentrating on her phone towards him, and her dull brown eyes met his blue ones.

"Uh...I like Train a lot."

He nodded in what seemed like approval before she returned her eyes to her music list.

Niall knew that this girl, whatever her name was, didn't seem like the kind to listen to the 'Billboard Top 100' and she didn't seem like she knew who he was. He was relieved, for once in his life he could be himself and make conversation without the girl interrupting him every fifteen seconds.

"I know a few of their songs; Drops of Jupiter?"

Rose met his eyes once again and wondered why this boy was talking to her. She wasn't pretty, and she wasn't the best, socially. She was awkward at making conversation; she always seemed to say the wrong thing. After a while, she just stopped talking in fear of embarrassing herself.

"What kind of music do you like?"

This boy obviously loved to talk, so Rose figured she might as well let him talk about himself. Her playlist and headphones found their way back into her bag; she knew she'd be talking to him for quite a while. He seemed to be a people person. Just my luck.

"Uh...pretty much pop. Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus."

Rose shook her head, the three names not unfamiliar, but if you asked her to name any of their songs, she'd draw a blank.

"I get the feeling you don't know what I'm talking about."

Niall laughed softly, the awkward conversation slowly becoming a bit easier for Rose.

"Okay, let's scratch all that. Hi, I'm Niall, your neighbour for this four hour train ride. I think we ought to get to know each other, so what's your name?"

Rose smiled. Nobody had ever been this friendly to her.

"I'm Rose."

"You have to do better than that! How are you today, why are you on this train; c'mon, we have to get to know each other!"

His playful tone immediately calmed all of Rose's nerves, and she decided sitting next to Niall for four hours wouldn't be that bad.