(almost) famous ♪ narry au

ix. vip.

Niall decided that avoiding Barkley's because of Nick was becoming increasingly depressing. Barkley's was Niall's happy place. Regardless of some silly barista boy who stood him up. He wasn't going to miss out on his coffee simply because Nick was a douchebag. 

So the next day, he walked right into Barkley's with his head held high. 

 Well, with his head hung down and his eyes burning a hole into the floor beneath his feet. 

Same difference.

He waited in line, keeping his gaze down as he scooted forward with each person.

"Niall?" 

The voice was obviously Nick's, however Niall had no intention of making eye contact.

"Can I just get a medium vanilla iced latte?" He mumbled.

"Vanilla? Really? Even your drink order sounds angry and sad." Nick commented. Niall scoffed. How could Nick turn this whole situation into a joke? Of course he was angry and sad. How could he not be? He'd been stood up. Kind of.

"Will you talk to me? Please? I'm sorry about the other night. I was having a bad day and-"

"It's fine. Forget it happened." Niall said, shooting Nick a small smile without actually committing to it.

Niall slipped Nick the money and went to the end of the counter to retrieve his drink. He had been in such a positive, confident mood. He didn't want to allow Nick to ruin it anymore than he already had.

_

Niall had to run the weekly errands for the flat, which was okay with him. In fact, he typically ended up running the errands. Liam was always too busy with work, and Louis preferred to steer as clear of people as possible. Niall loved going to the grocery store, as well as stopping at any other small places along the way to do whatever was left on the to-do list.

This week, he'd only been given a grocery list with money attached to cover the two separate orders. Liam's was short and concise with multiple bills while Louis's seemed never-ending and only had a fiver attached which seemed about right. 

Niall went through the rows, throwing boxes of sugary treats for himself, protein bars and shakes for Liam, and random assortments of junk for Louis into the cart. Liam was the only one smart enough to put items on the list for making meals, but Niall was ignoring that because he hated looking at the raw meats.

Once he got to the checkout, he began placing the items on the bar for scanning. He scooted his cart to the end of the line and almost died at the sight before him.

"You're Zayn. From In-Debts!" 

"That would be me. And you're Niall right?" Zayn replied, his voice a low monotone.

Niall was excited. Of course, not as excited as he would have been if it were Harry, but excited nonetheless. 

"You remembered my name!" Niall thought for a moment. "Why are you working here?" 

"Gotta pay the bills somehow, you know?" 

Niall was under the impression that the shows they performed were enough to pay for all of their living expenses. He didn't realize that the members of the band might actually have real jobs.   

"So does Harry have a real job?" Niall asked excitedly. Zayn laughed, ignoring the question.

"You're the one who has quite the thing for Harry, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" Niall asked.

"Li- I mean- I just had a hunch," Zayn covered cooly. Luckily, Niall remained oblivious.