My Lucky Star (One Direction Affection: Book 2)

10: Asking For It

♧ 10: Asking For It ♣




"You know, when you first asked me to do this, I thought you were kidding."

"Of course I was serious. But you sure you want to go through with it?" I ask Niall.

He nods his head, licking his lips nervously. "Lets just do it."

"I mean, once we've started, thats it. There is no turning back," I tell him. 

Once again, he nods.

"So, you're not scared about what Trinity might do once she finds out about this," I say pointing between us.

A flash of guilt passes through his blue eyes. I can tell that he is debating what to do. "I-Just do it, okay?"

"If you insist."


A smile spreads across my lips as I flip on the switch to the garbage disposal. It roars to life. I hold the arm to the tux jacket as the jaws of the garbage disposal chews it up, bit by bit. Smiling, I watch as the leprechaun suit gets devoured. 

Surprisingly enough, the leprechaun suit isn't what I expected. Yes, it's green but it's not In-Your-Face Green. It's like a nice subtle green. And there is no top hat or Irish cane. I was a bit disappointed. 

Suddenly, the disposal stops and I glance over my shoulder at Niall, whose hand is hovering over the switch.

"What was that for?" I ask, trying to pull the sleeve out. I tug the jacket harder the second I feel it not give way.

"It sounded like it was breaking the disposal," Niall says as he takes a step closer, looking into the sink, where the sleeve is still very much stuck. "Can you get it out?"

I pull the sleeve once more. Again, no budge. "Crap. I didn't think it'd actually get stuck."

"Have you done this before?" He asks me curiously.

"Well, not on purpose," I say as I drop the sleeve with a sigh. I stare at the jacket as it hangs from the garbage disposal. 

"Wait, you actually got clothes stuck in the garbage disposal before?" Niall asks in shock.

"Well it's not like I was trying to," I say in my defense. "And it wasn't clothes it was a dish rag, thank you very much. Anyways, thats not important right now. We need to get this jacket out."

"Okay, okay," Niall gives me a smile before taking another step closer to me. 

I can't help but recognize the closeness. The same closeness that we had two days ago at the dress shop. I can feel the heat from his side pressing into my arm as he reaches forward, taking hold of the jacket. His pinky brushing my skin cause me to take a short breath. Once again, I try to calm my heart beat.

"On my count," Niall says, his Irish accent thick at my ear. "One, two, three!"

At three we both pull hard, taking a step back trying to get as much force as we can. However, there is no budge.

"Wow, this is really stuck," Niall observes.

"Ya think?" I say sarcastically.

"Well, this wasn't my brilliant plan, Miss. I'll Take Care of Everything," Niall shoots back giving me a teasing grin.

"This was a fool proof plan. Now, do you think you can pull any harder?" I ask, poking fun at Niall.

"I am trying my best," He answers defensively.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize your best was to pull like a three year old girl," I say as I pull the jacket a little harder. 

"Hey!" Niall complains. "Three year olds can be pretty strong."

And with that Niall tugs harder and the second he does, I hear a small fabric tear. Then, before I can even realize what's happening, another rip sounds and Niall and I stumble backwards, hitting my back against the island. 

"Ow," I groan as I drop my grasp on the green suit and to the spot where the counter just stabbed me. 

"You alright?" Niall asks, putting his hand out defensively.

"Oh, yeah, never better," I say brushing it off as I turn my gaze to the suit. "At least we got it out."

"Right," Niall lifts the jacket up with a lopsided smile. That's when I notice the sleeve is completely ripped off and still stuck in the garbage disposal. 

"Oh, god," I mutter.

Niall's eyes grow wide as he realizes what we just did. He turns back to the sink in a hurry, handing me the jacket as he attempts to pull the sleeve out of the sink. Just like every time before, it didn't move an inch.

"God, what's your garbage disposal made out of?" I comment with wide eyes. 

"Great," Niall sighs after a minute of pulling while ignoring my comment  "Liam is going to have my head tomorrow when he sees that we're going to have to get this fixed again."

"Again?" 

Niall smiles at me shyly. "Well, you're not the only one with garbage disposal mishaps."

"Join the club," I smile to myself as I look back down at the fabric in my hands. Holding it up, I examine what the damage is. In all Honesty, the suit looks pretty much the same. If you take out the fact that it's missing one sleeve. "You know, I hate to say this, but Trinity might still make you wear this."

"What? But it only has one sleeve!"

"Yeah," I say in agreement as I lift the other sleeve up. "But if you just take the other sleeve off and take the inside lining out, you're in the makings for a vest."

"A vest?" Niall asks in horror as he looks between the jacket and the garbage disposal. 

At that moment I know exactly what he is considering.

"I don't think putting the rest of the jacket in there will help," I say laughing. 

"I know," Niall sighs sadly. "I guess I'm stuck with this then."

"Not necessarily," I tell him with a sly smile.

"What do you mean?" He asks looking at me as if he already knows that I've come up with a plan to help him.

"I said I'd take care of your suit and that's what I intend to do," I tell him. "Now, Ireland, I need you to get the messiest foods you can find. We're going to have a little food art thing going on."

Niall makes a motion towards the fridge but then stops in his tracks. "Wait, we aren't going to waste any good food, are we?"

I give him a dead look. "Do you want to wear that thing to the wedding or not?"

"Well, no..." Niall trails off. "But I mean, it's perfectly good food gone to waste."

I sigh. "Fine. Then we'll just stick to sauces and maybe some chocolate pudding."

"Sauces?" Niall says giving me a look of concern.

"Okay, why can't we use sauces?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"They are the flavor of life!" Niall tells me convincingly. "We can't just throw it all away because then life would be..."

"Flavorless?" I offer up with a small chuckle.

"Yes! That!" Niall says pointing at me excitedly. "Can't we just, I don't know, throw it into the fireplace or something?"

"Well, where is the fireplace?"

"Um, we don't have one..." Niall says letting out a nervous laugh.

"You don't have a fireplace?" I repeat dumbly. Who doesn't have a fireplace these days? "Then why'd you suggest it?"

Niall's smile fades as his shoulder slump in defeat. We both know that I won this, so what he says next doesn't come as a surprise. "I guess I'll go get the food."

"Good idea."

And in a couple of minutes Niall has managed to fill up the whole left side of the island with an assortment of messy food items ranging from ketchup to chocolate sauce to canned strawberries. I smile just thinking of the possible fun we can have. 

"Is this enough?" He asks as he closes the cupboard shut. 

"More than enough," I say, nodding my head in approval as I reach forward, taking the ketchup bottle in my hand and hand it to Niall. "Care to do the honor?"

Taking the bottle in hand, he asks, "So I just... Squirt it?" 

"Well, yeah," I say, grabbing the chocolate syrup. "I mean, the point of this is to stain it so bad that you won't have any choice but to toss it."

"Makes sense," Niall agrees as he flips open the cap, aiming the bottle at the jacket that I laid out. "Well, here goes nothing."

And with that, a stream of ketchup lands right on top of the green suit. At a glance, I'd say the jacket now has a very Christmas-y feel to it. The red on green really puts me in a jolly mood. Niall's uncertain face soon turns to one of laughter as he continues shooting the ketchup out. 

"So," Niall says triumphantly, admiring his artwork. "How is that?"

"Well, I would say it's pretty good, but I think you missed a spot," I say teasingly.

"I did?" Niall asks,

"Uh, huh," I say nonchalantly as I carefully open up the chocolate sauce. "Here, I'll get it for you."

Without warning, I lift up my arm and point the bottle towards Niall's shirt, squirting a load of chocolate right across his stomach. 

Niall's jaw drops. "What was that?"

I don't answer. I just lift up the bottle again and this time I aim the chocolate right at his face, getting it into his mouth and nose.

"Okay, Maddy, that's it."

That's when it started. The War of 2012. Maddy Green Vs. Niall Horan. Battle to the Death...Or at least until one person gives up.

Clutching the syrup, I duck behind the counter as a glob of ketchup hits me square on my cheek. Getting the whiff of tomato substance, I scrunch my nose in disgust. 

"Hiding, are ya?" Niall teases, his voice echoing off the counter top.

"No, I'm just waiting for the perfect moment to strike," I counter as I peer over the side, spotting Niall's sock covered feet. Figuring he is facing the opposite direction, I begin making my way towards him, careful not to make any loud noise as I crawl. As I get closer, I readjust my grip, preparing myself to get him.

Right when I'm about to hit him, I feel a small tap on my shoulder. I look behind me and freeze.

"Gotcha."

I have no time to react. My face gets covered in ketchup. I attempt to shield my face from the streams of red, and that's when I notice that I'm not only covered in ketchup, but mustard as well. 

"You're such a cheater! You can't use two!" I complain as I attempt to squirt him back. 

"There is no rule against it," Niall says as he continues shooting.

"God! Haven't you ran out of ketchup yet?" I whine as I attempt to get up.

"You asked for this!"

Soon enough, the kitchen gets covered in splatters and streaks of red, yellow and brown. It not only covered ourselves but it covered the cabinets, the tile, the counters, the stove. Every single object in that kitchen had either chocolate or ketchup or both. 

As I try to steady myself, I end up stepping in a puddle of ketchup. Against the tile, that's possibly the worst combination. With the floor feeling slippery beneath my bare feet, I reach out for Niall's hand for support, which is another mistake I made that night, on top of not wearing socks to a condiment fight. Right when I come in contact with his hand, Niall loses his balance, falling straight on his back with a loud thud. 

With both of us on the floor, covered in an assortment of sauces and condiments, we had no other urge but to laugh. I'm surprised that no one has been woken up yet, and if they aren't up, we most likely just woke them with our hysteric laughs.

I turn my head and face Niall and the second I look at him, my laughs heighten. Niall Horan is no longer the palest member of One Direction. With the chocolate covering his face, I'd say he looks darker than Zayn. 

"You look black," I say in-between laughs.

"Well, you look like Ronald MacDonald!" Niall shoots back as he tries to contain his fit of laughs.

Just seeing him, his lips are once again pulling into a full smile. A smile where I can see all his braces and I can't help but smile with him. Once again, I lose sight of what is happening and just focus on the Irish boy in front of me. I don't know what it is, I don't know his problem, I don't know my problem, but I feel like as each day passes, Niall and I just keep getting closer. And right now, laying here, covered in condiments, it feels right. 

How can Niall not see this? 

Part of me wishes that he could just uninvite Trinity to the wedding. I mean, I'm sure everyone will have a much better time if she's not there. Not to mention that Niall wouldn't have to waste his energy trying to please her. I don't get him, or her. I don't get his appeal to her. Why would Niall even consider dating a girl like Trinity?

However, one good thing came from Trinity being involved.

Because of her, I got to have this amazing time with Niall and right now, this has been the highlight of my week.

"You know what I just realized," I say after we both calm down. 

"What?"

"We could've just returned your Leprechaun suit rather than destroying it," I tell him with a nervous chuckle.

"It's alright," Niall says turning his gaze back to me. Now, with a chocolate face, the blue of his eyes stick out like none other. I can't help but get lost. 

"Besides," Niall adds almost nervously. "It was better this way."

And I couldn't agree more.



~*~



"Are you all set?"

I look up from my open backpack to find Paige leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen, her hands at her hips with a small smile forming. She's dressed in causal clothing, shorts and a plain black shirt. Perfect for travel. Especially a short one hour trip.

"I think so," I say, patting the suitcase that was at my feet. "Thanks for letting me use this."

"Of course!" Paige says, walking into the kitchen, then grabbing the handle of the suitcase. "So, are you excited?"

"Kinda? I mean, I love weddings but it just feels a bit awkward since I don't even know the couple getting married," I tell her as my finger traces patterns on the counter, the same counter that was covered in ketchup not only six hours before.

"I see what you mean," Paige sympathizes. "But, Paul is a great guy. A bit intimidating at first, but he's a real sweetheart once you get to know him. And if it makes you feel any better, I don't know the wife-to-be."

"Well, that helps a little," I say, forcing a smile. A least I won't be the only one getting introductions.

"See, so stop worrying and start getting excited," Paige says giving me a very animated face. "Have you ever been to Ireland?"

"No," I answer sadly. "What's it like there?"

She shrugs. "I'm not sure. I've never been there either," Paige laughs. "I'm from Orlando."

I don't know why that was such a shock to me. I mean, I knew she was from America because of her accent, but I guess I just expected her to be from someplace foreign? I don't know.

"Oh, cool! I'm from Phoenix," I tell her, then quickly add. "Okay, well not really Phoenix, more like the outskirts. I just say Phoenix because it's easier..."

I trail off fully realizing that I just made that ten times more harder than it had to be. 

Paige looks at me, raising both eyebrows in amusement. "So, Phoenix?"

I laugh, nodding my head. "Yeah, Phoenix."

"You know, Maddy, you're very..." Paige trails off trying to find the right word.

"Awkward?" I offer up. She shakes her head. "Weird? Unusual? Annoying?"

"No," Paige says laughing. "I was leaning more towards quirky."

Quirky, I like it. Way better than annoying.

"Well, thank you! I try," I say, giving a small bow. 

Paige laughs again, and then says in a curious tone, "So, you and Niall were making quite the ruckus last night. Should I be worried?"

"Oh, you heard that?" I ask giving her a shy smile.

I know that's a dumb question. I mean, who wouldn't hear all the noise Niall and I were making last night. It shocks me that no one came and told us to quiet down.

"I'm sure everyone on the street could hear you two," Paige tells me with a smirk. "What were you two doing?"

Flashes of last night play through my head. Niall and I desperately trying to shove the suit down into the garbage disposal and then trying to get it unstuck. We're just lucky that none of the guys have taken the time to look at the garbage disposal. If they did, they'll see the missing sleeve shoved down the drain. 

Not to mention the food fight we had on the rest of the shirt. Using ketchup, chocolate sauce, and any other messy items we could get our hands on. Luckily, the suit took a decent hit last night, too. It'll take about ten washes for anyone to get those stains out and considering the wedding is tomorrow, I doubt he'll have to wear it.

Thank god I don't have to witness Niall and Trinity matching. Gross.

"We were just working on a project," I answer cryptically.

Paige narrows her eyes at me and then sighs. "I don't even wanna know. So, do you have everything?"

"I believe so," I say, nodding my head down at the suitcase. "It wasn't much to pack."

Almost sadly, Paige nods her head in understanding. 

From the other room, we hear the front door open, followed by a loud bellowing greeting. "Ding dong!"

I look at Paige curiously. "Um, who is that?"

"That's Noel," She informs me. "The boys new manager."

"Oh," I say nodding my head. That makes more sense. For a second there, I almost thought it was Trinity in her morning voice.

"Come on, we should probably get out there," She says, taking hold of my suitcase and rolling it over. "Everyone's waiting for you. We're meeting Eleanor at the airport."

"Yup, let's get this show on the road," I say, patting down the excessive tape that I spent all night applying to fix my broken backpack and I sling it over my shoulder. 

Following Paige out of the kitchen and into the living room, the first thing I see are the boys and Trinity. They're gathered around a taller gentleman with light brown hair that is styled with minimum fluff. His light blue eyes sticking out against his pale skin. Is it just me, or is this guy too young to manage one of the most popular boy band of the generation?

"Hello, Noel," Trinity says in a sweet voice. 

"Nice to see you again, Tiana," Noel greets, calling Trinity the wrong name and then quickly moves on to the boys, hugging each one. 

"It's Trinity, actually," She corrects as Noel is greeting Harry. "But, you can call me Tiana if you want."

Really? Kissing ass won't get you everything in life.

"Trinity! Right! I knew it started with a T," Noel repeats as if this is the first time he's heard her name. "So, boys! How're you this fine morning?"

"Tired," Zayn complains.

"Then sleep on the plane," Noel says excitedly. The boys all give Zayn a knowing look as Noel continues talking. "I just came here to remind you all that once you guts get back, we're in the studio. New ablum! I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty excited."

Immediately, the boys perk up. I can just feel the excitement radiating off of them. Like pee-in-your-pants excitement.

"Fantastic," Liam says excitedly.

"I can't wait," Harry agrees.

"Speaking of your new albu-" Trinity starts but gets cut off when Noel holds up his finger to silence her.

Noel looks up and locks eyes with Paige, a smile plays on his lips. He quickly steps past the boys, placing his hands against his mouth as if he is trying his best to remember something. "Penny, right?"

"Oh, very close," Paige says with a laugh. "It's Paige."

"Paige! Yes, now I remember," Noel says excitedly as he engulfs Paige in a bear hug. "I promise you, I'll get it one day and every time I get it wrong, I give you permission to punch me. In the arm, nit the face because that hurts."

"No, I don't think punching you will solve anything," Paige says laughing nervously.

"Seriously, Paige," Liam pipes in. "It took him about a week to learn mine and Louis' name. Don't be too hurt."

"Hey! In my defense, you both have L names," Noel says.

"For a week, I was Leo," Louis informs me sadly.

"And Liam was Lucas," Harry adds messing up Liam's styled hair.

"I learned your names...eventually," Noel says. "It's hard keeping track. I can remember everything else, but when it comes to names, I admit, I'm the worst."

"You got my name!" Niall boasts and I can't help but smile when he spoke.

"Quit braggin'," Zayn mutters. "So, Noel, are you sure you can't come to the wedding? It'd be cool if you came."

"I wish, but I can't. I have a few things I have to do here. I just came to see you off," Noel tells them and adds quickly. "Oh! And I wanted to give you this!"

Noel reaches into his messenger bag and pulls out a small box that's wrapped in light blue wrapping paper. He quickly hands it to Niall, who looks at it curiously.

"What's this for?" Niall asks staring at the package. "My birthday isn't for another month."

"Oh, it's not for you. It's for Paul," Noel tells us. Then in a whisper he adds. "Want to know what it is?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell us anyways," Harry says with a laugh.

"It's a bubble bath set," Noel blurts out excitedly. "That's romantic, right? I'm not really sure what you're supposed to get people for wedding gifts because if it were me, I'd just want a new toaster oven and be done with it. Wait, toaster oven! That's what I sho-"

Suddenly he stops when his blue eyes land on me. He's looking at me as if this is the first time he's noticed another person standing next to Paige. I lick my lips out of sheer awkwardness. 

"Who are you?" Noel asks cocking his head.

"I'-" I start and then Noel quickly cuts me off.

"Wait! Let me guess," He says as he looks over his shoulder to the boys and then back at me. "Liam's girlfriend?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Noel, I'm dating Danielle, remember?" Liam tells him. I have a feeling that this isn't the first time he's told him that.

"Right, right!" Noel agrees as if he knew all along, "You're Niall's girlfriend, then!"

I freeze for some reason. I don't know why. I mean, I know the answer to that question. Its easy. It's no. And yet, I can't get myself to shake my head. I can't even speak. For some reason, my throat went immediately dry. It was so easy to deny relation towards Liam, why can't I do the same with Niall? 

"No she's not," Trinity pipes in.

I send her a dirty look. Oh how I wish I could just punch her right now. I wonder, if I start beating her up, would anyone stop me? Niall might. 

"I don't have a girlfriend," Niall says as if to contradict Trinity. It's my turn to look at Trinity with a smug look. Take that.

"You don't? I could've swore..." Noel trails off, then shakes his head with a shrug. "Okay, I'm stumped who is she?"

Now I'm the one that's stumped. Who am I? Yes, I'm Maddy Green, but what else? I'm Maddy Green, One Directions Charity Case, that's who.

"That's Maddy." Niall continues. "She's my...friend."

Friend.

"And she's my date to Pauls wedding," Zayn speaks up.

"Oh, so she's yours!" Noel says excitedly to Zayn as he reaches forward and shakes my hand vigoursly. "You know, I really need to start writing these things down. It's so hard keeping track of their personal lives."

"I'm sure you'll get a hang of it," I say reassuringly. 

"Yeah, at least you're trying," Harry agrees. "Which is more than what we can say for our last manager."

Everyone in the room grows quiet at the mention of their last manager. I remember reading something at Beatz about how One Direction fired their manager, Vincent Waller, of a year a couple of weeks after their return from their North American Tour. I remember the article and at the time I thought it was a bit sketchy how the boys just dropped him like that. However, now thy I know the boys, I'm sure they had their reasons. And I bet Noel is feeling the pressure. One screw up and he's probably out of there.

"Okay," Noel says clapping his hands in the silence. "I've gotta run. You boys have fun and don't get too crazy. Yes, Lou, I'm talking to you."

"What?" Louis protests.

Noel ignores him and continues talking at light speed. "Tell Paul and Cladough congrats on getting hitched and that I'm sorry I couldn't make it."

As Noel is talking he goes around hugging each of the boys. The type of man hug where it looks like they are punching each others backs. When he reaches Paige he leans forward giving each of her cheeks a small kiss, to my surprise she doesn't blush. And to my greater surprise, he does the exact same thing to me.

"It was nice meeting you, Maddy," Noel says cheerily, then turn to everyone else. "And I'll see all of you when you get back. New album! Get excited!"

He head for the door and before he steps out, he turns back and says, "Oh, and Trinity, I've been meaning to tell you this."

Trinity perks up, taking a small step forward as if she is about to hear the best news in the world. "Yes?"

"You've got a bit of eye gunk. Right there," He says, pointing to the corner of his eye. "Thought you ought to know."

And just like that, he is gone, leaving me trying to control my hysterics as Trinity's shoulder slump in disappointment and embarrassment.

This is going to be nice.

________________________________________

A/N:

**WARNING** This is not edited! So if you found a butt load of mistakes, its because I had to post before I go out of town! (Which is another reason why this chapter is filler)...I'll go back later and edit! I promise :)

Hellooooo! Yes, as you can tell, this is in fact a filler chapter! I felt like there needed to be a chapter before they leave for Ireland... Next chapter is the Rehersal Dinner and then after that is the Wedding! Woooohoooo!! :D So....yay! 

DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!!!!!!!! PARTAY!!!!

I'm going out of town for a couple of days so I don't know when I'd be able to update again...or even write, but i'm going to try to do it in the car, but knowing me, I'll get car sick :P Whoopee! :P

------------> I decided to share this pic! It's going to be my cover for my Watty Awards Story 2013! Switiching Directions! :D Isn't it cool? Compliments to Katt29! :D

Vote, comment, fan, read, have a food fight, and forget someones name! :D I do that alll the tiiime! haha 

Until chapter 11! I luff you all! :D