Chapter 18
My P.O.V
I quickly looked away from Niall and took a step back, trying to catch my breath and slow my heartbeat. Niall let go of me and handed me the coffee that Lola had brought me. I smiled and thanked her, completely shocked about what I almost just did. It's not that it was bad- in fact; it was everything I wanted, just not in front of my parents. I rarely introduced guys to my parents (partially due to me not dating many guys), let alone kiss the guy in front of my parents. I saw Niall check his watch as my parents suggested that we should leave. "Do you want to ride with me?" Lola asked, excited because her 6 months of driving without friends in the car was finally up. I glanced at my mom, seeing if she approved. She nodded and I smiled, nodding back at Lola. I hadn't driven with Lola and was excited to start! "Niall, do you want to ride with us to? That way we can go straight to the concert so you'll be less late?" The thought of spending time alone in the car with Niall made my heart start racing again. I couldn't get caught up in his boyish charm. I needed to tell myself this again and again and try to make myself believe it. He smiled and nodded as he moved his arm back to my waist, securing me against his hip as we began to walk. My parents told me to have fun as they walked out, arm and arm. They normally didn't do anything like that, but I was glad that they were, especially seeing as it was their 26th wedding anniversary coming up in a month. I smiled as I watched them walk away, making both Lola and Niall give me a questioning look. Lola dismissed it- she knew half of the time I was smiling at stupid stuff, so she didn't both asking. "I'm going to bring the car up front, ok?" she asked, already out the door. I nodded and turned my attention back to Niall. "I'm fine." I told him, separating my body from his. He gave me a disbelieving look, releasing his arm from around my waist. I wanted to do this on my own. I took a step- the pain wasn't bad so I kept walking. Niall thanked the nurses at the desk as we passed. I took a few more steps before the pain started setting in. My knees buckled under the pain and I was about to hit the floor when I felt two strong arms catch my waist as I fell. Time seemed to stop as we stared into each other's eyes, not noticing anything else going on around us. He now had a concerned look on his face as he helped me back to my feet, not taking his hand off of my waist. He never said anything as we continued walking out of the hospital. I scanned the parking lot for Lola’s car but didn't see it. With that, I turned to face Niall, knowing that he had something on his mind, as I could feel his eyes on me. "What." I said to him, not making it a question but rather a statement, demanding him to finally tell me what was bothering him. He stared into my eyes as he answered, "I'm just glad you're ok," He started, as he brushed my hair out of my face." You are ok, right? You seemed a little uneasy..." I could see the pain that was in his eyes. I didn't know why it bothered him so much- we'd just met and I was barely injured. But then I thought about it in a different scenario. I thought if it was him that got injured, and if whenever he walked he would fall. I would be extremely concerned. I nodded and smiled at him, reassuring him that I was fine. I was after all- the medicine just had to kick in. Before I knew what was happening he brushed another strand of my hair out of the way as he leaned in. I wanted this to happen desperately, and based on how he was acting I felt like he did to. I leaned in, yearning to feel his soft yet strong lips crash against mine. We were centimeters apart before I heard Lola’s horn beep. We both jumped apart startled, seeing Lola’s face through the passenger seat window. I went to start getting into the car when Niall pulled me back, keeping a firm grip on my arm. I turned my head, giving him a questioning look as he leaned in again; this time faster and towards my cheek. I felt his warm lips brush against my right cheek as he moved his hand to find mine. I smiled at him; butterflies filling my stomach as I thought about how our fingers intertwined perfectly like puzzle pieces. His warm hands felt good against mine and his strength held me up as we walked to the car. He was only slightly paler than me, but his blond hair made his body look even more tan. He opened the back seat door for me, lifting me bridal style and placing me inside. I looked up embarrassed as he smiled down at me before shutting the door and going behind the car and getting into the seat next to me. "Why am I riding alone?" Lola asked, making a joke as all of our eyes glanced at the open seat next to her. "We're saving it for Louis." Niall joked, making me laugh and Lola’s cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Niall and I smiled at each other without having to say anything as he wrapped one of his arms around my shoulder. My head rested on his shoulder as I inhaled his Armani Mania cologne. I read how Niall was supposed to smell the best out of the band in some of the magazines that I read, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to test that theory. It was weird how comfortable and normal I felt with him, like he wasn't even famous.
We arrived at the Taylor’s house quicker than usual- although Lola was a new driver she often drove faster than most people. She pulled into a reserved spot at the top of the driveway as Niall took his arm off of my shoulder and unbuckled. I grabbed his arm before he was completely out of the car. He turned around and looked at me, a confused expression on his face. "Good luck Niall." He smiled before winking as he shut the door. I watched him do his little leprechaun jog through the Taylor’s house. I giggled as Lola helped me out of the car. The medicine had kicked in and I felt like I could walk; my foot was numb so I took that as a good sign. We walked around the house to the back, seeing the hundreds of fans cover my neighbors' backyard. I never knew her yard was that big, but seeing so many people made it seem larger. There was a makeshift stage complete with curtains and lights, which surprised me for being an outside concert. We had to push our way through the crowd. Most of the people there went to my school, so they said hi and waved as I passed through. I went to the edge of the crowd; it was the only open space Lola and I could fit. After about 3 minutes of talking to Lola about how excited we were, I looked up to see both of my cousins' heads floating above the crowd. They were both tall and could easily see above everyone else's. I waved, catching their attention as they walked over, giving both Lola and I hugs. They knew her too, so we all started talking as Nicole asked me how my foot was and what happened. I explained it to her as I heard familiar voices echo through the speakers. "Whose ready to have a good time tonight?" I heard Liam shout, getting the crowd all wiled up. I saw Niall scanning the crowd, hoping he was searching for me. They announced the songs they were going to be singing, and answered two questions from the audience.
They already had sung I want, and was in the middle of I wish when Niall and I's eyes finally met. He was singing the chorus as he smiled, momentarily not singing the words, making Zayn nudge him as he walked by. Niall giggled before finishing the chorus. One thing was next, and it was my favorite song. I didn't want to scream but I did. Extremely hard. I listened to every word the boys sang, letting their words wash through me. When Niall began singing his solo, he pointed at me, making me blush every time. I was glad that he was far enough away that he could see my smile, but couldn't see my blush. The rest of the song was perfect, and I wanted to cry as they sang moments. Finally it became time for the boys to do their dedications before they sang What Makes You Beautiful. Louis began saying their dedications as a band before they said their individual dedications. "I think we'd all agree to dedicate this concert to two people. One, Sarah Taylor of course, you have a beautiful house! Also, we'd like to dedicate this concert to Gimpy. You know who you are." Louis winked at me, as I mouthed "thank you" to him, blushing once again. "Now, I'd like to dedicate this song to one person specifically. Lola? Are you out there?" I turned to Lola who was standing next to me. Her jaw dropped and her eyes began to bug out as her cheeks turned bright red. "Come on up here!" He said, beckoning her to come on stage. We smiled at each other as I pushed her towards the stage, smiling as I watched her go up. Zayn dedicated the song to his younger sister, who couldn't make it to this concert. Liam was next, who of course dedicated it to Danielle who also couldn't make it. Niall was second to last. "I'd like to dedicate this song to someone I just met yesterday. She showed me that not only is she beautiful on the outside, but beauty also lies within. Christina, would you come join me?" He flashed his smile at me, practically making my knees go weak. The crowd went wild- the other boys didn't really give a speech and they loved Niall's. I made my way to the stage as Niall literally picked me up and placed me on the stage next to him. "She broke her ankle yesterday, and still refuses to use crutches." He finished putting his arm around my waist as we stared into each other's eyes. "Well you two love birds... moving on..." Louis interrupted, urging Harry to finally say his dedications. I looked to Lola, who was looking back at me smiling, her hand in Louis'. I looked back to Harry, noticing how he was frantically searching the crowd, before he suddenly stopped. "That girl. Right there." He started, pointing directly at my cousin, causing her to get red in the face and start to turn around and run. "Please don't leave, I want to sing you this song while you're on stage. You're beautiful." I couldn't even believe this was happening and it wasn't even happening to me. Nicole turned back around and started to make her way to the stage, the audience cheering as Paul lifted her up the stage into Harry's waiting embrace. She seemed confused but completely excited at the same time, making an effort not to fangirl. "You're insecure, don't know what for..."
