Broken (a Niall Horan love story)

Chapter 30

***Navaeh's P.O.V.***

So, Niall James Horan is pretty much the best friend that anyone could have and no one is going to be able to convince me otherwise. I mean, he got me a fucking phone for my birthday! I was especially thankful for the gift since he had to leave for a week in the states the day after my birthday. Now, I wouldn't have to worry about my old flip phone cutting him off when I was on the phone with him, and he said that we might even be able to FaceTime each other. Niall and I had always relied on texts and email when he went away, so this was beyond exciting. Even Cody gushed about how nice of a gift it was when I showed it to him.

"It really is a great gift," Cody told me as we walked through the familiar streets of London. My right hand was held in his left hand, and he swung them back and forth as I showed him the phone and the case. "The drawing kit I got you pales in comparison," he chuckled, and I leaned my head on his shoulder for a moment.

"No, I love the drawing kit," I assured him, and then I sent a smile his way in encouragement. We were out on a little date; school had finished an hour prior and he didn't have work that day so we decided to walk around the city for a little bit before going to his house for dinner. I had never been to his house before, and I was a little nervous about it because he said that his mother would be home. It was a lot of pressure to meet new people, and new adults were even worse in my opinion. Cody and I had known each other for about a month now, and we had been technically dating for two weeks.

The whole situation was a lot to handle and I often found myself growing nervous with how fast everything was going. I mean, we hadn't kissed yet; I was way too nervous to do anything like that, and Cody understood completely. He would always leave me with a hug or a kiss on the cheek and he assured me that he didn't want me to do anything until I was ready. So, I was at ease when I heard those words but going absolutely nuts until he reminded me of them. I was just scared of messing up or getting to that next step. I didn't exactly have the best experiences when it came to things like kissing.

"I'm glad," he grinned, and he squeezed my hand lightly. When the words had left his mouth, my eyes caught on something close by. It was the short line that led up to the London eyes, and the group was just going into one of the observation bubbles. With a large smile on my lips, I practically dragged Cody over to where the money/ticket collector stood and quickly dug out my birthday money.

"Navaeh, wait-," Cody tried to protest, but it was already too late because the man was taking the money with a grunt and telling us to step inside. I pulled Cody along, and when we were inside of the bubble I looked up at him with my large smile. "Oh god," he mumbled out when the whole thing lurched and began to rise. I looked up at him only to see a petrified look on his face; a face that was starting to turn a little green.

"Are you okay?" I wondered, and I got a feeling in my stomach that told me that I probably should have asked him before pulling him onto the London Eye with me.

"Yeah," he sighed out even though I could feel his hand growing a little slick with nervousness. "I-I'm just not too fond of heights."

Yeah, I really should have asked him first. "Oh, I am so sorry, Cody," I rushed out but he quickly shook his head before giving me a smile to try and make me feel better.

"The first rule of truly living is to do the thing that you're the most afraid of," Cody sighed while we stood there in a capsule on the London Eye. I could tell that he was beyond nervous; his breath was uneven and he was constantly glancing down. I just was hoping that he wouldn't have a panic attack. "So, I guess it's my time to face this particular fear," he tried to let out a laugh, but it sounded very forced. After glancing at me, his eyes decided to focus on me, and mine had already been trained on him before. I knew what I was afraid of; I was afraid of letting myself get into something more with this boy beside me because I had never had a relationship before, and my step father didn't make me feel very comfortable about it. I wanted someone to actually love me, but I had told myself a while ago that that was too much to ask for. After all, girls like me don't really get the whole 'happily ever after' storyline. Even letting myself think that I could be happy with someone who loved me without insult, and helped me without hurting me, was a very alarming thing.