Dear Patience (n.j.h.)

chapter four,

As Niall stopped the treadmill he realized he didn't get Eva's number and groaned. 

I am seriously the world's biggest dumbass.

He grabbed his water bottle and keys as he made his way out of the gym. He looked down and saw his knee was red and he cursed.

He quickly got to his car and began thinking about Eva, he knew he wasn't that famous but he at least expected her to recognize his face.

He wondered if she was acting so he would continue talking to her, he remembers how Liam explained how that almost happened to him a few years back.

Dating outside of the 'celeb realm' wasn't something most people did. And it wasn't something Niall ever contemplated because it would just be a difficult transition for the person. Plus he didn't want to date someone who already knew so much about him.

He found it odd.

After a while of jamming to Fleetwood Mac on the car ride home, he went inside his apartment and showered. 

Per usual, he sat on the couch and watched Netflix while eating leftover ramen, the only thing different was that now Eva was occupying his thoughts. 

I wonder what she's doing.

The next morning, Niall woke up extremely in the mood for coffee.

He got ready and paid more attention to his hair than usual. After a while of choosing his socks, he got into his car and drove to Starbucks.

He might've gone over the speed limit once or twice but nothing Santa won't forgive by Christmas.

He finally got to the Starbucks and immediately found the person who he'd come for. Eva.

She looked up from the computer screen to greet him and realized it was Niall. 

She smiled as Niall walked up to her.

"Niall! Hi! I mean what can I get you, sir?" She said and changed her tone as Malone walked by.

Niall laughed as he thought back to what he prepared to say to her. 

Maybe a joke. A cheesy pickup line.

"Hey, Eva." He said completely blanking on all creative greetings.

He noticed the store wasn't busy at all which he has glad of because he could talk to her more.

"So, not that busy today I'm seeing," He said.

"Unlike the other day it has been pretty slow, thank god." She replied.

"You haven't encountered any racists during your shift?" He asked jokingly but realized it didn't seem funny when he said it out loud. Luckily she chuckled!

She shook her head. "No, unfortunately, no. But! I did happen to meet someone who fell off the treadmill at the gym." She said smiling.

"Ugh, poor fella. What that must be like... couldn't imagine because I never fall." He responded sarcastically.

"Right of course, the law of gravity just doesn't apply to you." She said. "I saw you had a pretty bad scrape on your knee, how'd that happen?" She asked overly curious.

"Well," He said smugly. "If you must know, I was rescuing this cat from a tree. I was coming down from the tree, you see, and yea I just scrapped my knee while in the midst of a heroic act." Niall finished and she clapped slowly.

"Thank god LA has its own Superman." She said.

"It's difficult but," He said dramatically and looked out the window, "If they don't have me, who else will the lost cats in LA turn to?" He said and finally broke character.

"Alright, Superman. What can I get you?"

"Oh right. I'll just get a grande cold brew." He ordered and she nodded.

He paid for the drink and they continued chatting. With a couple of stares from her coworkers, of course. He wondered if they'd told her anything already. By their stares and whispers he chould tell they knew who he was.

"So, I usually come here. Did you just start working here because I haven't ever seen you." He asked. 

I would've definitely remembered if I saw Eva.

"Oh yea. The day you first met me was my first day actually. First job in the States. A barista." She said, gesturing towards the empty cafe.

"Wait, so you're not from here?" He asked even though her accent gave her away. It sounded posh, British almost but you could tell she was from the Middle East. To Niall it was wonderful.

"No, I came to LA from Afghanistan about 3 weeks ago. I got a grant to study at UCLA for my last year of undergrad." She smiled.

 He could tell that was an achievement she was proud of. 

"Holy hell, a grant to UCLA? Should I even be talking to you right now?" Niall laughed.

"Psh, shut up." She joked.

" Well, that's awesome! Welcome. As you can tell by me own accent I'm not from America either." I said pulling off the best country accent and she laughed.

Niall was feeling pretty proud of himself for how well their conversation was going.

"Let me guess. Ireland?" She said.

"Bingo! If you said anything else, I think we would've had to stop being friends." He said jokingly.

Unless she already knew that.

Niall didn't like having to constantly worry about Eva's intentions. Her being from Afghanistan made him think that maybe she didn't know about him.

Did he have a following in Afghanistan?

"I'm glad I got it right, then." She said smoothly and handed him his drink.

Niall smiled but felt like he was blushing, Eva was really checking off all the boxes.

"So, do you close today?" He asked and took a sip of the cold drink in order to cool himself off.

"Yea, unfortunately. It's so scary walking home alone in the dark but I don't live that far to order an Uber or drive." She said while cleaning the counter. "Like anything could happen, you know?" She said letting her mind wander while she searched for spots on the counter.

Niall nodded his head and secretly took his sunglasses off and placed them in front of the display of gift cards.

"Well, I'm gonna head out. And I'm sure you'll protect yourself pretty well. I mean, I wouldn't want to mess with you after I heard you defend yourself the first time." Niall joked and Eva looked up to give him a smile.

She didn't want him to leave, it was honestly the best part of her day.

"Right, if only I could scream all the way home. That would definitely send the message that I'm sane." She said. "But thanks. Take care, Niall." She said with a smile.

Niall waved before walking out, one thing in his mind.

Eva's smile.

* * * 

i love eva and i want niall to love her too.

<3