Heartbreak Weather | Niall Horan

30

I probably should have stayed home tonight, but it's too late now.

Lewis is in high spirits though, talking away and having a good time. He doesn't have a care in the world. His life, at this moment in time, is simple. I need to be a bit more like Lewis.

His carefree persona and loud bolstering laugh makes up for my lack of involvement in pretty much every conversation. I'm not going to be a complete buzzkill. Using my mediocre acting skills, I have a smile on my face and I hope that I look like I'm having a great time.

"Oi, lookie there." Lewis calls. He raises his hand that's holding his drink and gestures behind me. "Someone's got their eye on you."

I carefully set my bottle down on the bar counter and twist around. Instantaneously, I catch her eye from across the room. She holds her drink in one hand and lightly sends a wave in my direction with the other.

Memories of the night I met Béa come flashing back, and it takes almost everything in me to shake them away.

Her dark hair falls in waves over her lightly tanned skin, creating the illusion out of the corner of my eye that she could have someone else. Her brown eyes only flicker away from mine for a second or two before her gaze settles back on me.

After what felt like an eternity of our unofficial staring contest, she gets up from her spot. She says something to friends that I couldn't catch because of the loud music, before starting the short journey to where Lewis and I are sitting.

"That's my cue. Good luck, buddy." Lewis laughs, patting my shoulders before disappearing off somewhere. I turn to see where he'd run off to but he's nowhere to be seen. By the time I turn back to where I had been facing before, she was only a matter of steps away.

"Hi." She says sitting down on the stool next to me. She crosses her legs out in front of her, a large butterfly tattoo pokes out from the bottom of her almost too short skirt. "I'm Gabby."

"Niall." I respond. Her facial expression doesn't change, that same smile stays exactly how it's been since the moment I first saw her. I have a feeling she already knew who I was.

"Oh yeah. I've heard of you." Gabby chuckles, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"You have?" I playfully question, "Hmm, I wonder where."

"Oh you know, the blond bloke from that boy band turned brunette solo star."

That about sums up my entire life.

"We'll it seems you know so much about me, yet I know nothing about you."

"I grew up in Manchester but I live in London now. I'm an Aquarius, but don't worry, I don't believe in all that astrology garbage. My actual first name is Gabrielle, but only old people call me it." She pauses, tapping her fingernail on the side of her drink, "Oh, and I hate football."

"Nope." I playfully shout, "There's a line and you crossed it by saying you hate football."

"I can't help it. It's brothers' fault I can't stand the stupid sport."

"You wound me." I tell her.

After a while of talking and laughing, and even a little bit of harmless flirting, the dynamic between us changed. Gabby starts to lean in, and I do the same copying her actions. But, she leaned back before I even realized what was going on.

She threw me some bait and I bit it; hook, line, and sinker.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" She asks, taking a sip of her drink, her eyes never leaving mine.

I sit back, crossing my arms across my chest, "Why shouldn't I?"

"What about that girl you were with? The actress."

"Oh, her?" I question, "We're not together."

Keep it short and simple and hopefully the mention of her will drift from both the conversation and my mind.

"Okay, good." She chirps, "I won't have to feel guilty about this."

In one swift movement, she presses her lips against mine and without any thought, I kiss her back. Without breaking us apart, she gets off her stool and stands against my legs so that she can deepen the embrace.

Gabby pulls away first, still leaning against me. I listen to her breath steady itself and she stands with her body pressed up against my legs.

"My apartment is just around the corner." She tells me, her hands fidgeting with the sleeve of my jacket. "Do you want to get out of here?"

I don't allow myself to think too much and I have to remind myself to just go with the flow.

"Let's go." I tell her and her smile grows even wider.

There was no need for any form of time-wasting conversation. We both knew what we wanted, why delay the inevitable. We're both aware that this is a spur of the moment thing with no expectations of what comes after.

***

Cameras flash, snapping photos of us as we walk hand in hand down the pavement. My jacket Gabby's heels clack against the concrete, imitating the pounding in my chest. Surely these pictures will be all over the internet in a matter of days, potentially even hours.

But none of it matters.

Let them take all the photographs they want. Who cares?

Béa might.

Béa doesn't want me anymore. I need to just face that reality already and move on. There's no point in pining after someone who doesn't want to be with me.

Gabby wasn't joking when she said she lived close. Less than a minute's walk and she led me up the concrete steps to her flat. Rampantly, she jams her keys into the lock and swings the door open.

Her lips are back on mine the second the door closes behind us. This time the kiss is full of nothing but anticipation. She pulls her jacket off her body and does the same to mine, tossing them in the direction of her couch. After kicking her shoes off, he leads me further into her home.

"Do you want to do this?" I ask her.

"Yes." She breathes, her eyes full lust. "Do you?"

"Yes." I answer. "Where's your room?"

"Upstairs." She answers, leading the way.

Surprise! It's only been like a month! (My bad!) Finally the long awaited "Small Talk" chapter is out? Did it live up to you expectations? Probably not, but at least I finally updated. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed.

I didn't feel like proofreading so ignore any mistakes.

Thank you all for being so patient with me. You all own my heart. Hopefully I will see you all super soon! MWAH!