Take Me Back

Prologue

"Jenna, promise me that if by the time we graduate college and are both still single, you'll come back to me?"

"Sure. Whatever you say, blondie". Genevieve Samson, called Jenna by everybody she knows, sat under the bleachers next to her best friend, Niall Horan. At fifteen, what else would they be doing? Since the Irish boy moved in next door, Jenna and Niall were inseperable. Every day, after the bell rang, the two would meet underneath the rusty school bleachers towards the end of the football field. Once they loitered enough, they would walk home together to their neighboring houses. 

"I'm serious, Jenna. I'm not about to be one of those guys who stays single forever and dies alone. At least being with you means I have a friend".

"And I was serious too. If for some unknown reason you haven't got girls practically drooling over you, I will gladly join you. Being life partners is pretty sick". Jenna knew that Niall's little joke was totally unreasonable. He was a charmer. All the girls wanted a piece of him, but Niall never lasted with any of them. He was too sensitive and soft, and it led to him being used like a tool. The poor guy could never catch a break. Jenna told him many times to stop going out with the skanks, but how could he listen? Part of his amazing personality meant trying to see the best in everyone. Besides, all of those girls were a distraction from the one thing he knew he couldn't have.

Her.

Everything about Jenna made Niall swoon, but he could never let her know. Their friendship was priceless to him, and ruining it? He would never forgive himself. So, all he got were those stares into the bedroom window directly across from his, while she danced and goofed off all alone. Or when she laid on her bed, giggling on the phone. On a rare occasion, he would catch her changing after a shower. It was so wrong, but it made him feel so right. After all, he was a teenage boy. 

As a few years passed, our dynamic duo prepared to say a hard goodbye. In the fall, Jenna would be moving to London for university. It was hours away from their small town, where Niall would be attending a local school. The distance was going to be unbearable, but they swore they would keep in touch.

After they parted ways, Niall escaped from Jenna's thoughts. On the other hand, Jenna was all he could think about. Oh, how he missed her sweet smile and the laugh she made whenever he cracked a joke. Each night, whilst he laid in bed, Niall imagined what his best friend was doing at that moment. This night, he looked out at the night sky and pictured her doing the same. Strangely enough, she had been counting the stars above her.

The hard thing about time is that it never stops, no matter how desperately you want it to.

Graduation came and went, and soon interviews were the center of attention. Our lad, the brilliant Niall Horan graduated from business school and built his own company. A golf management team. Through the years, he never had somebody to keep him company, so he resorted to the tees. Golf had become his happy place. When it came time to build, his team agreed that having it in the small town of Juniper wouldn't bring in any business. So, Niall made the executive decision to put it in London. Of course, he had to be close to his company, so he packed his bags and set off for his new chapter.

It never crossed his mind that the oh-so-familiar face would be there too. Jenna was no longer the only thing on his mind, and soon Niall forgot about her. All the memories were tucked away into the back of his head, where they were hard to reach. But, the lonely Irishman knew that there was a piece missing from him. He never had connected with anybody again after he went to college. No relationships and no steady friendships. Sure, he had work and golf, but what else was he there for? Those thoughts consumed him as he walked on the sidewalk on the foggy October morning that would change his life.