High School Reunion

The music pumped through the amps as I looked around my old high school gym. My 10 year high school reunion was tonight and I was excited to see everyone and see how people have changed.

I brought along my boyfriend, Jason, to this event. But at the moment, he's talking it up with some blonde bimbo that I don't remember. I rolled my eyes in frustration and sipped at my cocktail. I was currently sitting at a table in the back corner as all of my high school "friends" were out dancing on the dance floor.

Everyone was married by the ripe age of 23 while I was stuck in the world of pompous douchebag college students and interns. My current boyfriend, for example.

I took the final swig of my drink and grabbed my clutch from the clothed table and started to head for the big double doors. I knew I'd be going to the hotel alone but didn't think I'd be going home single.

"Oh shit!" The man I bumped into shouted as his cold drink made its way down my dress. "Fuck. I'm so sorry." I apologized. I looked up into the blue eyes of the one and only Niall Horan.

"Paige Cantanello?" Niall asked shocked. I nodded and dabbed at my dress. "Yeah. Niall? Niall Horan?" I asked. He nodded his head and pulled me off to the side. "Damn, you've changed a lot." He said as he did a once over. "Yeah, lost about 'hundred and fifty pounds and dyed my hair darker. Lot less pimply too." I said a little too snappy.

He chuckled and grabbed a few napkins from the punch table. I took them and continued to dab at the wet spots on my dress. "How about you mister Horan? You're hair goes up towards the sky and your teeth are perfectly straight. I guess the celebrity life has, uh, changed you?" I said looking at him. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and laughed a little. "Yeah I guess you could say that."

Niall used to make fun of me when we were in high school. You could say that we're kind of friends but never actually hung out outside of school. He used to tease me about my weight and would always make fun of me for my oily skin. I have changed honestly.

"You look, uh, you look great Paige." He said awkwardly. I knitted my eyebrows together and looked at him strangely. "Thanks, Niall. You don't look too bad yourself." I replied. He smiled and rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Let me pay for your dry cleaning. I wasn't watching where I was going an-" I held up my hand to stop him. "You're fine, Niall. It's just a dress from Kohl's. I probably won't ever wear it again." I said mostly to myself.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Paige, I'm really sorry about everything that happened in high school. I was a dumb teenager and I thought I was cool for making fun of you." Niall apologized. I stared at him appalled. He was searching my face for any kind of reaction. I crossed my arms over my chest and kicked my shoes on the floor. "It really did hurt me emotionally, Niall. I actually....cut...because I was so hurt. I just wanted to fit in." I admitted.

I'm not ashamed of what I used to be anymore. It was a rough time in my life but through patience and determination I got my life back together and learned to realize the goodness in my life. My therapist just told me to breathe through the hard times and think of the good.

Niall was speechless now. He must know what I mean because I'm not some person that's lived under a rock all my life. I go on social media and I see the online articles of the teens who take their lives because of bullying. One Direction has taken it into consideration and I know they do everything they can to fix any broken teen, hell they've written a song about it. Unfortunately there will always be scars; no one can escape their past.

I looked up to see his reaction but was completely gob smacked when I saw Jason getting into a taxi with that blonde bimbo. I know what you're thinking, I should've seen this coming but honestly I had a lot of feelings for Jason. He may have been another douchebag that likes boobs and watches cartoons all day but he had a gushy boyfriend side. Surprise flowers, my favorite chocolate, romantic movie dates: it was a girls dream.

Tears brimmed my eyes as I watched the taxi drive away. "Paige?" Niall brought my attention back to me when he put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up to him and brushed my eyes. "I'm sorry. I have to go." I mumbled and slipped from his touch. I ran as fast as I could down the corridor with Niall trailing behind. He shouted my name over and over again but I didn't stop. I was heartbroken yet again.

I turned down a hallway only to be met with the cleaning ladies cart. Fortunately, Niall was right behind me and caught me before I fell right to the floor. "Oh, miss, I'm so sorry!" The maid apologized. I couldn't talk from all my blubbering, so Niall shook his head and held me under his arms. "Don't worry ma'am. It's not your fault." He said. He moved me out of the way and brought me to the elevator lobby. After clicking the up button, he rubbed my back soothingly and softly asked, "What floor?"

"Three." I sobbed. The elevator arrived with a ding and Niall brought me into the elevator. He pushed the button for the third floor and wrapped his arms around my trembling body. "Calm down. What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

I didn't say anything to him. I've never seen this side of Niall in person. It was so foreign that I didn't know if he was being real or not. I clenched his nice button shirt with my fists and cried harder, soaking the shoulder of the shirt.

The elevator sounded once again before opening to the third floor lobby. Niall walked me out and asked, "Which room?"

I shakily pointed down the left side hallway and said, "Three-Fifteen". My eyes were heavy with tears and my body was tired and ready to give up, so the quick thirty second walk felt like an hour’s tread up the side of the mountain. When I was face to face with the door, I pulled out my room key and opened the fresh room. I turned around to see Niall already walking down the hallway with a hand buried in his hair.

"Wait!" I called out weakly. He stopped in his tracks and looked at me with his blue eyes. He didn't say anything and neither did I. He trekked all this way just to make sure I got to my room safe and let me ruin his nice shirt which I'm sure was worth a lot. I had to repay him somehow.

"Do you want to come in for a drink? We have beer and I really don't want to be alone right now." I asked the last part quietly. He nodded and started to walk back towards me. I opened the door fully and walked in. My makeup was still on the vanity counter and Jason's suitcase was still on the bed with the lid open.

Neither of said anything again, this becoming slightly awkward as we walked deeper into the room. Niall slipped his coat jacket off and placed it on the back of the computer chairs. I reached down into the mini fridge and pulled out a cold beer for him, tossing it to him when he was ready. "Thanks." He murmured and stood there looking at the bottle. "No problem."

We stood there looking at each other for a few moments. I didn't know exactly what to say. I mean, inviting him for a drink was just a thank you but now that he was staying I didn't exactly think through what to say after. I bit my lip and looked at my phone: the screen saying it was well past one in the morning. "I'm going to change. Feel free to take anything from Jason's suitcase. That fucker isn't going to get anything back." I muttered the last part again. Niall just nodded and waited till I was in the bathroom to move from his place.

I washed off the makeup and brushed my teeth before slipping into my change of clothes. When I walked back out, Niall was shirtless and about to put on a shirt of Jason's. I was kind of taken back. He wasn't as muscular in high school, but now his arms are huge. He looked back when then door made a noise as it closed. My cheeks turned a dark pink and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry." I blurted in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about, Hun." He said as he pulled his shirt on. I walked over to my suitcase and put my clothes in the laundry bag. Niall was now standing in the middle of the hotel room looking at me. "Would you like to maybe talk about what happened?" He asked.

I bit my lip and nodded, feeling that familiar dryness in my throat. I was going to cry again. He crawled into the kind size bed and patted the space next to him. I smiled and walked over, climbing into the bed and sitting against the headboard next to Niall. He looked at me with raised eyebrows. "So, where did you meet this douchebag?" He said bluntly.

I laughed and fiddled with the brim of the blanket. "I met him in the grocery store. I slipped on water and he was there to catch me. It sounds like a cheesy love movie really." I explained. Niall chuckled and nodded his head. "I don't really want to ask, but what did you see that made you run away?"

My smile faded instantly. The image of Jason climbing into the Taxi replayed itself over and over again in my mind. My throat kept getting dryer. "Well, Jason always liked to hit on other women when we went out in public. He would always drink too much. I always tolerated it because Jason was really a nice guy and a romantic. I questioned if I should have came tonight and obviously I came," I paused and wiped my eyes with the sleeves of my shirt. Niall's arm rested around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.

It felt weird being this close to him when he used to torture me, but in this fragile state he's the only one that wants to listen. "I spent the whole night by myself. This was the worst reunion ever." I said. Niall made a 'tsk' noise with his mouth and took a tissue from the side table and wiped my eyes. "A beautiful girl like you shouldn't waist tears on a douchebag like him. As for the reunion, there isn't anything I can do." He said as he pulled me closer. I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck.

"I know something I can do." He said softly. "What's that?" I asked.

"I'll take you anywhere you want tomorrow, and I mean anywhere. It'll be all about you." He said looking at me. I cocked my eyebrows and looked at him. "Are you serious?" I asked completely gob smacked. He nodded with a cute giggle and wiped the final tear away.

I studied his face and shook my head. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked softly. He placed his hand on the side of my face and rubbed my red cheek with his thumb. "Like I said earlier, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. Beautiful girls don't need to cry." He said back to me.

The moment was interrupted when a loud knock came from the door. Both of our heads snapped towards the door. "Baby! Come on and open the door! I miss you." Jason's drunken voice sounded through the wood door. I took in a deep breath and looked at Niall. He held up a finger and got up from the bed. I followed his actions and watched as he took all of Jason's stuff and walked to the door.

Niall opened the door and a some-what sober Jason looked at Niall funny. "You're not my girlfriend."

Niall shoved Jason's stuff into his chest and rolled the suitcase in the hallway. "You're right. And neither is she now. Have a nice night, asshole." Niall spat. Jason's mouth dropped to an 'o' while his eyes looked back to me. I stuck up my middle finger with a smile only causing him to become enraged. "I always knew she had a side guy! Ungrateful bitch!"

Suddenly, Niall's fist collided with Jason's cheek. Jason fell to the floor and starred up at Niall scared. "Don't come back, fuckface." And with that he slammed the door. I laughed happily and ran to Niall, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around him. "That was amazing Niall!" I shouted in joy. He laughed and wrapped his toned arms around me.

I fell back down to my feet and smiled widely. I but my lip and looked up at him. "Care to stay the night?"

He smiled and jumped on the big bed. "I would love to."

Notes

Hey guys! So this is my second book out right now, I also have another one called Dirty Little Secret and I would love it you guys would check it out:) I get so much support from everyone and I appreciate everyone :) I love you guys!