Stole My Heart (A Niall Horan Love Story)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

First in the room was Zayn. When he saw Claire, he smirked and spread his arms, asking for a hug. Without hesitation, Claire threw the blanket off of her, leapt off the couch, and ran into Zayn's arms. The other boys remained in the doorway, smiling and laughing. It was hard not to love Claire. 

Niall turned his gaze away from my sister and focused his one hundred watt smile at me. Like Zayn, he raised his arms, asking for a hug, but added a quick double eyebrow raise.

I half rolled my eyes, smiled, crossed the room, and wrapped my arms around his neck. Niall pushed his face into my neck and I could feel him smile against my collar bone. Back in Maine, I was a very huggy person. No matter who it was I would greet everyone with a hug, earning me more than I could count over the years. But hugging Niall Horan? There was nothing that compared. His arms wrapped around me with just the right amount of pressure, making me feel safe and secure. He was warm too, and the feeling of being in his arms after longing to meet him as well as the other four boys now watching us was like a dream come true.

I could hear the other boys "aw-ing" and I could picture Louis' cheeky grin far too well. I vaguely thought I heard the click of the camera, or a camera phone.

We pulled away, Niall's eyes never leaving my face and I smiled at the boys, Harry busily typing something into his phone. Zayn and Claire had pulled apart only a second earlier, he clearly knowing how much the moment would mean to her, and I watched as he kneeled down in front of her so now she had to look down at him.

"Louis told me that you said I was your favorite member of One Direction," he said. The whole time, I watched them I was fully aware of Niall sliding his hand around my waist. How was this really happening?

Turning my focus back on Claire and Zayn, I saw her nod and start to play with her hair, something she only did when she was nervous. Zayn's smile widened and he pulled her in for another hug. I really couldn't believe how good they all were with kids. They really made Claire feel special.

Louis was the one who snapped us all out of our daze with a loud clap. He proceeded to rub his hands together as he talked, "so how about we all sit down and get to know each other?"

We all murmured our agreement and made our way to the various seats. Claire was the first to sit down. She balled up the blanket where it had landed on the couch into her lap, and patted the space next to her for Zayn to sit. When he did, she tossed the blanket over his and her legs. Harry and Louis both chose the chairs while Liam sat down next to Zayn. Niall and I, of course, took the only remaining couch.

With a cheesy, fake-casual stretch, Niall put his arm around me while I wrapped us up in my blanket that Claire tossed to me.

"You two seem to be getting on quite nicely," Harry commented with a grin. Everyone chuckled and Niall traced circles with his thumb on my sleeveless shoulder.

"Leah," I turned to Louis. "All we know about you is that you're seventeen, and that Niall is your favorite member of the band."

"And that she's from Raymond, Maine," Liam chimed in.

Louis nodded. "So what else can you tell us?"

I smiled, enjoying the attention. "Well, what do you wanna know?"

"What's your favorite color?" Harry asked with a cheeky smile.

Everyone laughed. "Purple," I said.

"Alright, here's a question I'm sure at least some of us are wondering," we all turned to look at Louis, curious. "How much do you know about us? I mean, are you one of those super fans, or just came because Claire here likes us?"