For You I'll Be Superhuman

Numb3rs

When Emma gave Niall her number his heart stopped, he thought maybe this was the girl for him- the princess he had waited 18 years for. Niall took it instantly and pocketed it in his trousers. There was no way he was going to lose her again.

He could feel his palms get sweaty as he began to think about this perfect girl. Her chocolate brown hair, layered like wafers and cream, fell perfectly without a strand out of place. Her hazel eyes were so warm and gentle, much like her smile.

She walked off as Niall awoke from is trance. “She’s gorgeous Niall. Why didn’t you tell me about her before?” That was Harry; he’s always been such a ladies’ man. “I don’t know anything about her. Just her name,” Niall reached around to his back pocket, pulled up a crinkled piece of paper, and smiled, “and her number...” Harry’s stare was focused upon the paper; Zayn, however, just yawned and went back to DMing bitches. Niall replaced the paper into his pocket and began to walk towards the Food Court- it was lunch time again...

“Welcome to Nando’s, may I take your order?”

“Three chicken wraps, hold the mayo, extra lettuce, one lemon and herb, two medium, 3 cans of coke and a large serve of seasoned chips with extra seasoning.” Niall requested. The cashier looked shocked, hesitated, and then called the manager for assistance. Niall became agitated after having to repeat himself an additional two times, but after the order was ready the lads began to talk over their meals.

“When are you going to make your move?” Harry inquired.

“When I feel the time is right. Besides, for the moment I just want to be friends with her before anything more serious develops.” Niall took a huge mouthful of chicken and washed it down with a swig of Coke.

“So... friends with benefits?” Harry sniggered.

Niall swallowed and glared angrily at Harry. Harry knew he had said the wrong thing, not that he was remorseful about it. Harry and Niall finished their meals, Niall finished Zayn’s meal, and then the three lads went back to their own apartments.

Niall’s POV:

I stumbled into my apartment, switched on the light, and slumped into an armchair. The fabric was cold but it gave me a feeling of warmth to know that it would always be there to comfort me.

A tedious voice in my ear was urging me to give Emma a call but my heart was telling me to wait. Now, don’t get me wrong, Emma was all I could’ve hoped to find in a girl, but I didn’t know how she perceived me. I didn’t want to jump the gun and get into another pointless relationship where my heart was, once again, broken. But at the same time I didn’t want to lose any chance I had of getting to know her better.

I needed something to help me think. Food always helped. I got up out of the fetal position in the chair and walked across the freshly laid carpet to the clammy kitchen tiles. No matter how I tried, my fridge always seemed to be empty. My face dropped as I discovered, for the third consecutive time, that all the food on offer was bread and apples. Not that there was anything wrong with bread or apples, I just longed for something more substantial.

Chomping down into a juicy red apple, I began to consider my options and the implications or consequences my choice would have on any possible development in a relationship. What if Emma doesn’t actually like me? Nah, if she didn’t then why would she give you her number. What if she already has a boyfriend? Will that just make any friendship between us awkward? I ate another huge mouthful of apple.

And then, like a miracle, I knew what I should do. It was so obvious yet so clever: I would text her. “Hey Emma,” it read, “I was 1dering if u would lyk to hav a drink wif me nxt wk. Love Niall. P.S. U can bring ur friend if u want. J” I reread through the text message but it didn’t seem right, I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

After much deliberation, I rephrased the whole text and changed my spelling until the updated text read “Emma, would you like to go for drinks next week? Nialler :)x” Much better. I hit SEND and sighed a huge sigh of relief. I couldn’t wait.

The phone woke me around three o’clock. I almost jumped out of my skin. 1 NEW MESSAGE it read. I got my hopes up. Did Emma agree? What did she say? Would she like dinner too? With my heart thumping louder and faster than the time I won a prize in the school raffle, I opened the message...

“Oi Niall, mind getting me cornflakes nxt time you at the shops. H” I felt my heart shatter into a thousand pieces. My face dropped. It was only Harry. I slammed my phone down in desperation and hung my head in my hands. Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this? There was nothing left to do- I ate a slice of bread and gave Emma a call...

Emma’s POV:

I was sitting in Starbucks enjoying my regular Skinny Latte. Niall’s text message vibrated my handbag. If Natalie was here she would’ve done her usual “Emma, your bag’s vibrating.”

 I took out my phone to see 1 NEW MESSAGE pop up in the centre of my screen. “Emma, would you like to go for drinks next week? Nialler :)x” A huge smile spread over my face and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  I thought you’d never ask! I took a sip of my latte and began to type a response.

“Hey Niall,” it read, “I would be delighted to go have a drink with you next week. Whatever date suits you. Emma xx” I reread my response and grinned with satisfaction. Perfect. I clicked SEND and waited.

 2 minutes later my handbag vibrated again. Niall’s replied already?!  I took my phone out again. But instead of seeing a text from Niall, I had a depressing text from my service provider. “Your credit has expired. You’ll need to recharge before you can send messages. Call 1349 to recharge.” I was devastated. How else am I meant to contact Niall? What if he thinks I don’t like him?

I slurped up the rest of my drink, much to the displeasure of the customers on nearby tables. Frantically grabbing my belongings I left Starbucks and headed straight for my car.

The leather seats were quite new and made my ride a much more comfortable one. I pulled up at a set of traffic lights on Macquarie Street.

That’s when my stupidity hit me. I didn’t know where I was going. My brain had been functioning in a flurry of excitement and nerves but I hadn’t realised I didn’t know Niall’s address.

The lights turned green and I received an inpatient honk from the Mercedes behind me. I revved up the engine and took off down Macquarie Street. I was heading towards the corner store where my parents used to live; I knew I needed a recharge voucher. And fast!

Hey there Delilah began to play. I turned the radio up before realising the radio was still broken. It was my phone that was ringing. I pulled over by the dirty kerb and rustled through my handbag. Chewing gum, compact mirror, gel pens, tissues... URGHH my phone always hid from me. “...Tonight you look so pretty.” I became increasingly frustrated. Finally I found it in the bottom of my bag, conveniently, and answered with “Hello, this is Emma...”

 “Hey Emma, so glad I could get through to you. It’s Niall, how you been?”

To Emma his words were sweeter than sugar. Her mind was a blur but tried to keep her cool.

“I’m great thanks, even better now that you called me.” There was an awkward silence before Emma continued, “I am so sorry for not replying to your message, I ran out of credit and I was literally about to buy-“

“Don’t worry about it babe.” Niall cut in, “So what would’ve your response been?”

“A definite yes! Just name the time and place and I’ll schedule around it.”

Niall picked remnants of bread out from between his teeth as he thought. “Ermm... Is Friday at O’Reilly’s suitable?”

“It would be my pleasure; I’ll see you at 7 then?”

“See you at 7.”

“Bye.”

“Bye Em.” Niall hung up, beaming with excitement. Emma, on the other end of the line, was smiling elatedly.