Stole My Heart (A Niall Horan Love Story)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I see them!" Claire squealed and squeezed my right hand which had already been grasping hers firmly. In our free hands we held our prized Up All Night CDs. "Do you see them, Leah?" Claire tilted her head back so she could look up at me, her short blonde hair falling over her shoulders. I crouched down beside her to look from her perspective through the many people that were still ahead of us. Sure enough, as I looked, I caught small glimpses of the five boys that had been on my mind since the very first time I had heard their names.

"Yes I do," I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. Claire and I had only heard of this CD signing a few days ago. After lots of begging and assuring our parents that we would be safe, after all, San Diego wasn't known for it's crime rate. However, they weren't all too happy about us waiting outside in line for hours to make sure we could actually get in.

Several minutes passed and we continued our slow progress towards the much anticipated table. With each step, the boys became clearer and I could feel Claire's and my own excitement growing.

One Direction had been the main reason Claire and I had grown closer over the past few months. She was ten years younger than me and had Downs Syndrome but, for a while, I had been jealous of her. She had always been babied by our parents while, for the most part, I had to take care of myself. However, once we gained a common interest, we had something to talk about, and, soon enough, we weren't just sisters, we were best friends. Although our "favorite" member of the band was different, hers being Zayn, mine Niall, we never argued about it, and genuinely respected each other's opinions.

Smiling to myself, I glanced up from Claire to see only three people separating us from the first boy at the table, Louis.

We both watched as he signed a tall brunette's CD, and asked her minor questions about herself. The brunette beamed at him and absently played with the corner of her One Direction t-shirt. It was the same one Claire had wanted on our last trip to the mall. I had felt horrible when I'd had to explain to her that it was just too expensive.

Louis said one final thing to the brunette, and slid her CD to Liam who greeted her with the same warm smile.

The two girls ahead of us moved quickly. I looked to see that the brunette had passed through Liam and Zayn and was now at Harry.

I stepped forward with Claire in tow and, after far to much time waiting, was standing in front of the Louis Tomlinson. Without a word, we passed our CDs to him and watched him begin to sign.

"What's your name, love?" He looked up at me with an absolute heart-stopping smile. Eleanor was a lucky girl.

"I'm Leah Reed, well, Leah," I pointed to myself before smiling down at my ecstatic sister who couldn't take her eyes off of Louis. "And this is Claire."

His smile never faltered and I noticed for the first time that all five boys were wearing the outfits that had almost become their stereotype. Louis in his red pants, blue and white striped shirt, and suspenders. Liam in his plaid shirt. Zayn in his varsity jacket. Harry in his blazer. And Niall in his red polo.

Louis finished signing and, noticing the girls ahead of us were still talking, leaned in so he could be heard over the noisy crowd.

"So how old are you girls?" he asked.

"I'm seven," Claire explained. Louis smiled, nodded, and turned to look at me.

"I'm seventeen," I said. A mischievous expression passed over his face and he leaned forward a little.

"So, who's your favorite member of the band?"

I giggled and jokingly narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't you think that questions a bit unfair?" I smirked.