The Fangirl // Horan [temporarily on hold]

Chapter 20

A/N: OH MY GOD I UPDATED.

Chapter 20

There is a knock on the door. We both look over at it like it is some alien species. When, in fact, it really is just a door. A rather badly painted one, to be honest.

Someone looks in, and Niall relaxes. I realise why when Louis Tomlinson comes into the room, a relieved look on his face. "The shouting's over, then?" he says. And I swear, his voice is like a fraction of Heaven. Of course, Niall is the other, bigger fraction, but still.

I can't help but giggle. Two minutes ago Niall and I were yelling at each other, and now we're just back to the way we were yesterday. It's hard to believe that that glorious Christmas Day was only yesterday. It feels like a lifetime ago.

"Yes, Lou, the shouting is over," Niall says now, looking down at me. "Right?"

"For now it is," I say. Then, looking at their surprised faces, I add, "I'll be talking to my mom soon enough, and it won't be a quiet conversation."

They laugh.

"The lads are waiting down the corridor," Louis says to Niall. "We're supposed to do a meet and greet with some fans."

Niall grins down at me. "Would you like to come?"

"Well...I don't think I should, after what...after, you know, what happened in that interview?" I say. "People will ask why I'm there, and..." I don't need to finish.

"Don't be stupid," Louis says suddenly. Niall looks up sharply - I know the word stupid said around me is a sore spot for him - though I am. Stupid, I mean.

Anyway, I ask, "What do you mean?"

"If people ask why you're there, you tell them the truth." He shrugs, like it's that easy.

"Lou-" Niall starts.

"Come on," Louis cuts him off. "Let's go, then."

I grip Niall's hand, and he looks at me, as if to say, You first.

We walk out the door together, the three of us, me gripping Niall's hand. I seem to say his name a lot, even in my mind. That's probably because it still sounds weird for me to call him my boyfriend, even though I know he is now.

We go down the corridor. I can hear more than a few clamouring female voices coming from a room at the end of the hall. I almost roll my eyes. Just a few months ago I was one of those girls and now I'm scoffing at that. Is that mean? Kinda. But true.

"You okay?" Niall asks, squeezing my hand. I nod. "Yep," I say. "I think."

Louis opens the door, and immediately the noise gets to me. The room is full of girls wearing One Direction shirts, screeching with excitement and jumping up and down. When they see Niall and Louis they go even crazier. Niall places his hand at the bottom of my back and we walk past the line of girls together. Louis waves and smiles, and so does Niall. I can almost see the girls recognising me. Then one of them yells, "Charlotte!" I stop, a smile growing on my face. I look up at Niall, gleefully. "She knows me," I say loudly, so he can hear me over the noise. I almost want to clap my hands.

He smiles at me. "Yeah, she knows you," he says. He turns in the direction of where the yell came from, and calls, "It's Charlie!"

There is another door at the end of the room, and a security guard has just opened it for us. Louis gestures for us to follow him and we do. We both wave to the fans before the door is closed.

Harry, Liam and Zayn are already in here, along with several girls. One of them, a tall girl with straight brown hair, is so close to Harry that he looks really uncomfortable. Niall laughs, and walks over to him, leaving me in the middle of the room, unsure what to do.

A girl of about fourteen, with curly blonde hair, walks over to me. "Who are you?" she asks, sounding confused.

"Oh, I'm just..." I don't know what to do. "I'm just...I'm no one," I shrug eventually. The girl shrugs too and wanders away over to Zayn.

Then Niall appears at my side again. "Do you wanna just sit down?" he asks. I nod gratefully.

He brings me over to a table in the corner, and I sit on it, swinging my feet back and forth, while Niall goes off to talk to some girls with matching shirts. I sit for a few minutes, as more girls come in to talk to the boys.

Suddenly, a small girl who only looks about seven or eight walks over to me. "Are you Charlotte?" she says. She has a slight lisp but it's cute. She fiddles with a strand of her dark hair.

"I am," I say, touched that she knows me. "What's your name?"

"Martha," she says nervously. "Can I sit beside you?"

"Of course you can," I smile, and lift her up to sit next to me.

"Are you Niall's girlfriend?" she asks, kicking her feet too.

"Um.." How am I supposed to answer? I look over at Niall for help, but he is busy signing a girl's poster. I just decide to tell her. She's only eight, it's not like she's going to tell the world.

"Yes, I am," I tell her.

"I thought you had pink hair," she lisps. "My sister showed me the pictures." She points over to a girl with the same dark hair as Martha. "That's my sister, Terri."

"I did have pink hair, but I changed it."

"Why?"

"I just felt like a change." Martha nods.

"Can you, can you sign my shirt?" she asks, and I almost faint. Someone wants my autograph. My autograph. She's only eight, but still.

"Of course I can," I say, unable to keep the grin off my face. I take her purple Sharpie and scribble my name. I'm unsure what to write, so eventually I just write, "To Martha, lots of love, Charlie x". She seems happy and then slides off the table to join her sister. I see her excitedly show her sister, Terri, her signed shirt, and I just about explode.

I don't want everyone to know me, but an eight year old girl wanted my autograph, and that feels better than seeing a real-looking Drarry edit on Tumblr.