Camp Direction

Chapter 8

A/N: omg... I had to write this. Sorry if it's cheesy, but I had a dream like this and HAD  to put it into words. Kay? read the end author's note, please xx

The two weeks went by quickly. Louis and Jenny had kept things normal between them, not once regretting the kisses they’d shared that one summer day. Celine had shown Liam how to do an actual handstand- not a head stand, which Liam was known for. Zayn and Penny had very slowly learned how to swim without life jackets, and Harry and Kate had had a paint fight or two at the arts and crafts center. Niall and Tori had gone out for a hike, Tori joking that a leaf was his girlfriend after that one picture a paparazzi had taken of him holding the green thing.

“I’m not dating a leaf…” he muttered, his face reddening. Tori had merely thrown her head back in laughter, receiving an attack of tickles from Niall.

During the last week alone – before the campers arrived – everyone began trying to sleep early, knowing that once the campers got there the wake up time would be seven o’clock. Penny and Zayn had a difficult time with this, but coped. The campers were coming on Friday, and it was Wednesday night when Niall jolted awake, covered in sweat.

He glared around the cabin, looking to see if anyone was there. He sighed, trying to keep his breathing steady as he turned on the light. His stomach grumbled and he groaned, knowing there was no way sleeping his hunger away. He grabbed a spare hoodie and pulled it over his bare chest, along with a pair of black sweats and tied an old pair of Supras onto his feet. As he groped around the room for the flashlight, he discovered there was light coming from elsewhere, not just the cabin.

Pulling the curtains apart, he looked down the hill and saw the lights of the mess hall on, a shadow walking back and forth inside. He finally found his flashlight and shivered from the cold as he exited the cabin, setting out to see who would be up at that hour in the mess hall. His digital watch – which Tori had given to him – read three o’clock in the morning. Niall had had to get used to not having a Rolex on his wrist every hour, and at least having a digital watch was helping.

He shined the flashlight on the ground directly in front of his feet as he walked, making sure there wasn’t a rock or tree root to trip over. As he made his way to the stairs of the mess hall, he smelled something that made his stomach growl even more.

Chocolate chip cookies.

He remembered being younger and his mother always baking him chocolate chip cookies when it was her week with them. His parents had divorced when he was five, and he’d lived by his father most of the time, so when he was with his mother, she never failed to surprise him with her delicious cooking.

As he made his way up the stairs, as if in a trance from the smell of the cookies, he walked through the brightly lit mess hall and squinted from the light. On the table was a large plate of cookies that seemed warm to the touch and a large pitcher of milk, along with a few cups. He looked down at the table, his hands stuffed into the large pocket of his hoodie to keep warm. His head snapped up when he heard the familiar strumming of the strings of a guitar.

Niall raised his eyebrows when he saw Tori sitting on the couch in front of the lit fire, a guitar on her lap. She silently strummed the strings, furrowing her eyebrows when she got the song wrong. Niall slowly walked over to the couch, sitting on the edge of it.

Tori felt the cushions sink from the weight of him and looked up from the guitar, a smile spreading across her face. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, dried tears sticking to her face. Niall’s smile slowly weathered away at the sight of her that way.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, noticing new tears brimming her eyelids. She nodded solemnly, looking down at her guitar again. A tear escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheek, splattering down onto the guitar. Niall grabbed the end of the guitar and pulled it out of her grasp, setting it safely down on the floor beside the couch. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her onto his chest, stroking her hair and telling her it’ll all be okay. “I’m still convinced something’s wrong, you know.”

“My parents divorced,” she replied, hiccupping. She motioned to the letter that was on the cushion beside her, signed by her mother and all. “I-I mean, I knew it was going to happen, but, I thought I’d be there when they broke the news.”

“Oh, Tori,” Niall murmured, rocking back and forth. “I know exactly how you feel.”

“You do?” she asked, sniffling. Niall looked down at her and nodded.

“I was five years old when my parents divorced,” he said, biting his lip. “My brother, Greg, was eight at the time, and we lived with our father.”

He found it ironic how he was thinking about the divorce not a long time before and Tori’s parents had divorced as well. Tori raised her eyebrows, hugging him back. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“Thanks for understanding,” she whispered in his ear, making him get chills. He felt the familiar butterflies in his stomach he got when he was around a pretty girl, and decided to show her. He put his hands on her shoulders, pulling away so that they were a few inches apart. He cupped her face with his hands and leaned in, crashing his lips onto hers.

Tori didn’t hesitate to kiss back, her arms looping around his neck. They stayed like that a few seconds, before pulling away for air. Niall smiled at her, wiping a tear away from her cheek with his thumb. She bit her lip and stared at the ground, trying her best not to blush.

“How’s about we eat those cookies, huh?” he asked, making her smile.

A/N: I LOVE chocolate chip cookies. I need to eat one right now... Anyway, so, like, this chapter was dedicated to TommoTease ;) I love her comments. There's no contest cause I got bored and can't think of anything...