The Intern

Chapter 3

Grace’s POV

I was jolted awake as the plane touched ground in Dublin. I stretched and combed my fingers through my hair as I tried to make myself look presentable. Suddenly I felt a pair of eyes on me and I turned around to see Harry watching me with an amused look on his face.

“What?” I asked slightly annoyed, I was not a morning person.

 “Nothing” he said with a smirk.

 I raised an eyebrow at him and he let out a small laugh.

“You talk in your sleep” he said before turning away to grab his bag.

Well that’s just perfect; I probably revealed all my secrets to some very attractive boy that I barely knew. I quickly got my bag and hurried off the plane, only to realize I had absolutely no idea where I was going. After waiting for everyone to get off the plane we took off to where the cars were waiting. As soon as we got past the security checkpoint I got my first taste of what it was like to travel with the world’s biggest boy band.

 Cameras were everywhere, there were so many flashes I couldn’t see two feet in front of me, not to mention the twenty or so screaming teenage girls who were bawling their eyes out. I had no clue what to do or who to follow; no one had bothered to warn me about all this. Suddenly I felt a strong hand on my lower back, urging me forward, and I turned around to see Harry behind me.

“This way love” he whispered as he guided me thorough the crowds.

We quickly caught up to everyone else outside and it appeared that my mishap had gone unnoticed by everyone but Harry, who was watching me with a concerned look. Before I could even thank him, Carmen grabbed my arm and practically threw me into a black Range Rover. We drove about 15 minutes to the hotel and I was about to head inside, when Carmen pulled me aside.

“Listen Grace, I’m trusting you to accompany Niall to Mullingar” she said in a whisper.

Wait, What?

“You want me to go with him? I barely know him. What am I even supposed to do?”

 I asked, completely confused.

“Well then this will be an excellent bonding opportunity, won’t it? Your job is very simple; you’re supposed to watch him, keep him out of trouble, make sure his trip goes unnoticed, and get him back here in time for sound check.”

Before I could even say anything, I was thrown into another car and we were off.

“Hey love!” a voice called from behind me.

 I jumped a little bit, not expecting anyone to be back there, and turned to find myself face to face with Niall Horan.

 “Hi Niall.” I said, sounding far more confident then I actually felt.

”Thanks for coming with me babe! I really appreciate it!” he said cheerily, making me smile.

“Oh no problem, happy to be of service!” I said back.

The car ride went fairly smoothly, we managed to get there in a little over an hour; stopping only because Niall needed something to eat. We pulled up to a modest house, one that I had a hard time picturing Niall Horan growing up in, and he practically sprinted to the front door. Charlie, our driver, and I got out of the car and let ourselves in after him. We found him and his parents engaging in their reunion before he turned to us.

“You guys have met Charlie, and this is Grace” he said gesturing to the both of us.

To be honest I was surprised he’d remembered my name, but it made me like him even more. Both his parents gave me massive hugs and thanked me for bringing him home for a bit. We hung out with his parents for about half an hour, they were coming to see the concert, and after grabbing another bite to eat we headed out to see his friends. I got to meet his best friend Sean and his girlfriend Kayla. Sean and I hit it off immediately and he told me all sorts of stories about the things he and Niall did as kids. After we hung out there, we went to find his friend Izzy. As soon as she saw him, she launched herself on top of him.

“Niall! I missed you so much!” she said as she clung to him.

“I missed you too Iz!” he said laughing and setting her down.

Suddenly she punched him straight in the gut and he doubled over.

“That’s for not visiting you bod. ‘Oh I promise I’ll come home all the time’, you’re so full of it” she said with a laugh.

It was then that she noticed me, looking me over from top to bottom.

“Who’s she?” Izzy asked with a hint of jealously.

“That’s Grace, she’s our intern. She’s here to make sure I don’t get into trouble” Niall choked out.

Izzy smiled at me and I felt my body relax.

 “Well it’s nice to meet you Grace! Good luck keeping him out of trouble though; it always seems to find him” she said, shaking my hand.

“Yeah I have you to prove that.” Niall said, which earned him another punch.

After he collected himself we walked around his neighborhood for a while before Izzy had to go.

“It was nice to meet you Grace, I’ll see you at the concert tonight!” She called over her shoulder, as she made her way back to her house.

Niall offered to buy me some ice cream before we hit the road and I happily accepted, my appetite was almost as bad as his.

“So what’s the deal with you and Izzy?” I asked as we made our way back to his house.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, a blush spreading over his face.

 “Oh come on Niall, I’m not an idiot! You two like each other!”

“That’s absolutely not true! We’re just friends! Bloody hell Grace don’t go making things up. She’d never like me in a million years” he said looking at the ground.

 “Look I’m just telling you what I saw; she likes you. Trust me, I’m a girl therefore I can tell.” I said, nudging him.

“You really think so?” He asked with the biggest smile imaginable.

I was about to answer him when I saw a group of four girls approaching. They were practically running towards us and I instantly stiffened up.

“Relax Grace, it’s just a couple girls.” He said reassuringly.

 I nodded but I had been a fan before; we were better than the CIA when it came to finding them. Where there was one there were always more. I texted Charlie our location and told him to come pick us up before things got out of hand.

 “Hi Niall!” the girls called in the most annoying voices I’d ever heard.

“Hi girls!” he called back enthusiastically, handing me his ice cream.

 “Can we get a picture with you?” They cooed.

“Course ladies!” he said.

Niall patiently took pictures with each of them and signed everything they handed him.

 “Is that your girlfriend?” One of them asked, gesturing to me with a look of disgust.

 “No, she’s much too good for me” Niall said, winking at me.

 I gave a small laugh and waited for him to finish. Charlie pulled up next to us and Niall said his goodbyes as we took off. One hour later we made it back just in time for sound check.

“How’d it go?” Carmen asked as she ushered us inside the arena.

“It was great, Niall got to see everyone he wanted and we only got stopped once” I replied back quickly.

Carmen nodded and we entered a large room where all the boys were getting make-up done.

“Okay Niall, time for you to get ready.” Carmen called quickly as she went to go speak with Paul Higgins, their tour manager.

“Thanks for the amazing day Gracie! I owe you one big time!” he said kissing me on the cheek and hurrying off.

I rolled my eyes and turned, just in time to see Harry staring at me. He looked absolutely pissed off and maybe even jealous. I shrugged him off and scolded myself for even thinking that. Why would he be jealous?