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Safe Haven

Goodnight

The next morning I was woken up by the sound of an incoming text message.

Niall: Hey ! what time did you wanna meet up later ?
Me: How about at like 1?
Niall: Ok. Meet at your dorm and walk together ?
Me: sounds good☺ I’m in 221 B
Niall: ok see you soon !

I now had approximately three hours to shower, shave my legs, do my hair, and choose an outfit. That should be enough time, right? I’m sure I’ll be ready with time to spare….

Well at least I thought so before I spent almost an hour in the shower because I had gotten distracted while I was belting out the lyrics to every single song on the high school musical soundtrack…but let’s not talk about that. I then spent another hour attempting to straighten my hair (which actually turned out nice for once). Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was almost noon and I was still only wearing my bath towel. I was losing time fast, and I still needed to pick out an outfit.

Looking at my overstuffed closet filled with a mix of dirty and clean clothes, I knew that I was having a wardrobe crisis which I definitely did not have time for. This was a job for Kelsey. I unplugged my phone from its charger and opened up FaceTime, clicking on Kelsey’s name.

“Hey, girl!! What’s up?”

Without speaking a word I pointed the camera towards my messy closet.

“Having trouble picking an outfit again?”

I nodded. “Kelsey I only have fifty minutes until Niall gets here and I have no idea what to wear. Help me!!!”

“Whoa there, slow your roll. It’s gonna be fine! Your personal stylist is here to help.”

I smiled, thankful for such a talented friend. My best friend back home helped me with a lot, but she definitely wasn’t as interested in fashion trends. Within ten minutes, I had found a cute but casual outfit to wear for…this afternoon. The weather was getting cooler, but it was still a sunny day so I chose (well, Kelsey chose) a pair of white jeans, an ombre top, a long black cardigan, and my white converse. Accessorizing with one of my favorite necklaces, a pair of sunglasses, and a black beanie. With ten minutes left to spare, I quickly applied some makeup and a subtle amount of lip gloss. Done! And just in time….

Niall knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern. “Just a second!” I called out. I took a moment to glance at my reflection and to mentally prepare myself. I’ll be fine…I CAN control myself…I CAN resist his gorgeous body…I canNOT resist melting at the sound of his voice. No, no, no! Stop it Autumn. Stay strong.

I grabbed my satchel and my keys and greeted Niall outside of my door. Why did he have to look so good? He always looked so damn perfect…from his fluffy blonde hair all the way down to those jeans that were always so tight around the crotch…. “Hey!” I said in an attempt to sound peppy, but it came out as more of a squeal. “Hey, where ‘re we headed?” he asked, smiling slightly. Even though we were both wearing sunglasses, I felt like he was staring straight into my eyes and soul, reading my every thought. Deep breath, Autumn. “Um…the address on the syllabus says the place we pick up supplies is on 17th street? I hope that’s not a far walk.”

“17th street?! That’s miles away! Don’t worry though, we can take the subway.”

“Oh, sorry. I had no idea.” It was then that I had realized I’d been in the city for almost a week and still hadn’t taken a grand tour of Manhattan. As if reading my mind, Niall replied “Well then, I guess after we get the stuff we need for class I need to take you on a tour!” He smiled so big that his perfectly white teeth almost blinded me. “I’d like that, Niall.” We began walking toward the nearest subway station, pausing every now and then so that Niall could show me where they have “the best pizza” and where the “best falafel in the world” was served. Niall *really* likes food, as I’ve learned in these few short minutes.

Once we had gotten on to the subway, we started talking about the project some more. “So I was thinking…what if instead of doing a little movie or short film or whatever, we interviewed people asking them about how they define love and then put it all together as a sort of documentary?” I hadn’t expected him to actually offer any feasible suggestions, but it seemed as if he actually showed some interest in the assignment.

“I thought you said documentaries bored you.”

“True. But we could make this interesting! We wouldn’t want Harry’s good ideas go to waste on some cheesy film now would we?”

He had a point there. “Okay, well you better be right about this. If it turns out to be a disaster I am blaming you!” I giggled.

He leaned over closer to me - so close that his hair tickled my forehead and I could feel every breath - and whispered “I’m always right, babe.” My eyes fluttered closed for only a second or two, but I made sure to capture everything of that moment. The way his soft hair brushed against my skin and his gentle voice in my ear; the strong scent of his cologne filling my nostrils. He gave me goosebumps. If we hadn’t reached our stop or had stayed on the sub any longer, I swear I would’ve tried to kiss him right then and there. But, (un)fortunately we had made it to 17th Street and it was only a short walk to the Video and Sound Equipment store.

It was a quaint, retro-style video store that sold everything from record players to electric guitars. I was absolutely in love with it. Before going up to the register and putting in our request slip to pick up the equipment that was issued and paid for by the school, Niall and I decided to have a look around. Remembering that I had bought an old vintage record player from a thrift shop a while back, I walked straight over to the records. They had almost all of my favorite 90’s hits and more current albums that had special record editions, it was amazing! I made a mental note to come back here one day to make a few purchases. After about ten minutes of sifting through music by various different artists, I looked around for Niall. I could see almost the entire store from where I was standing because of its open layout; all except for the guitar room. Slowly, I made my way to the wooden door leading into the room, peeked through the glass, and then quietly stepped in closing the door behind me. To my surprise, I found Niall with a guitar in hand, humming and strumming a familiar tune that I later recognized as the chords matching Heart Skips A Beat by Olly Murs. He looked so happy, like a kid in a candy store. With every strum of the guitar strings, he got more and more into it until he was in full-out rock star mode. After playing for a few more minutes, he finally placed the guitar back on its stand and took a deep sigh, admiring its beauty.

“I didn’t know you could play the guitar…Well done, Niall. Well done.” I said, giving him a literal round of applause. He jumped, obviously not having known that I had been watching him.

“How long ya been standin there?” he asked, blushing.

“Long enough, hahaha. But you really are good at playing the guitar.”

“Well,” he smiled, “ya learn somethin new every day!”

“True. Ready to go get the stuff? I wouldn’t want to take time away from my ‘Grand Tour of Manhattan’.”

“Of course!”

We headed over to the register and I handed over the slip of paper. “Down the hall, second door on your left. Take the box and the black bag with the blue label, which are on the top shelf, number 27.” Not once did the old man even look up from his word search on the counter. He only nodded in the direction of the hallway. “Okay…thanks, I guess.” Niall led the way down the dimly lit hallway and into the cold, damp storage room. There was only one lightbulb in the center of the small room with a pull-down chain (which took forever to find) and there were about 3 rows of shelves about seven feet tall each lining the back wall. “You check that side an I’ll check this one.” Niall said, pointing to either side of the room.

“Whoever finds it first gets to pick where we go for lunch!” I joked.

“Oh, it is on! If there’s food involved, I’m definitely going to win. On the count of three, ready?” Oh my gosh he’s so serious about this, it’s adorable.

“One…two-“ he bolted to one end of the shelf. “Cheater!” The race was on. It only took me about thirty seconds to spot the blue label; the only problem was that I couldn’t reach.

“Hey, Niall! I found it! But could you give me a hand, please?” He walked over to me with a sad look on his face, disappointed that he had lost, and huffed out a sigh. “Alright, fine. But only because you said please.” I laughed and stepped aside so that he could reach the shelf, but instead of getting the bag down himself, he picked me up so that I could reach.

“Whoa.” He was stronger than I thought…. I was lifted off of the ground seemingly effortlessly, and his hands rested on my thighs, right underneath my bum.

“Can ya reach, love?”

“Uh…yeah.” I grabbed the bag and the box and tossed them down to the ground before he gently placed me back onto my feet. “Thanks,” his hands slid from my thighs up to my waist, giving me a tight squeeze. He took a step closer, giving me a small smile.

“No problem. Now what’s for lunch?”

From sweet and romantic to hungry schoolboy just like that. Laughing, we gathered our equipment and headed out of the store. I had texted Harry to come pick up the stuff since he has a car and we didn’t feel like lugging the equipment all around the city. He was already waiting for us, “Is that it?”

“Yep. Thanks again for driving all the way over here.”

“Autumn, stop thanking me! You already did at least six times over text. And it’s no problem, really. I was headed out to meet Gemma for lunch soon anyway.”

“Okay, okay fine. But I’ll have to pay you back for this somehow.”

“Don’t worry about it, ok? See you tomorrow night?”

I smiled, remembering our Sunday dinner plans. “Of course! I can’t wait.” We hugged and said our goodbyes and then he was on his way. I turned around to see Niall looking oddly distant and slightly pissed, his sunglasses now covering his eyes and his arms crossed. “You okay, Niall?”

“M fine. Just hungry. Where d’ya wanna eat?” He said he was fine, but his tone suggested otherwise…so even though I was really craving sushi, I remembered he had pointed out a pizza place he said he liked on the way here. “Does pizza sound good?” he nodded. “Ok. You lead the way.” Still not speaking, he led the way to a pizza place a couple blocks away. It was awkward at first, because of his silence, but towards the end of the meal he loosened up a bit. He told me about his life back in Ireland and some of his favorite family memories, and he just seemed so interesting and fun and happy. But when he asked me about myself I felt like nothing I said would be able to compete with him. Still, we ended up having a great time.

He showed me around town, pointing out historically famous spots and taking a city-wide bus tour. We even took a walk in City Park, like true tourists. Honestly, it was one of the best days I’ve had in a really long time, and I never wanted it to end. Before we knew it, the sun was setting and we had explored most of the city. The last places on my list were Times Square (which I heard looks amazing at night) and FAO Schwarz.

Niall knew the city like the back of his hand. We weaved up and down the busy streets and back roads until finally we were standing right in the middle of the Square. “Niall…this is…this is-“

“Amazing? Spectacular? Phenomenal?”

“Breathtaking.”

“That too.”

I giggled. “Thank you so much…I’ve dreamed of this for like ever. I can’t believe I’m here!”

“Yeah same here…it’s not something you ever really get used to.” I looked over to see him giving me that strange look again, like he was staring into my soul…it made me feel very self-conscious all of a sudden. “C’mon, princess. Let’s get to that toy store before it closes, it’s getting pretty late.”

PRINCESS?! “Y-yeah. Let’s go.”

The store was absolutely amazing. It had giant nutcrackers, 1000 piece lego sets, and my personal favorite, giant teddy bears. “OHMYGOSH NIALL DO YOU SEE THIS? IT’S LIKE THREE TIMES THE SIZE OF ME I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE!” I didn’t even care that I was probably embarrassing myself, I was way too excited. Besides, he was too busy laughing hysterically to be phased by my wild behavior. He was literally rolling on the floor laughing, it was ridiculous. This boy finds anything funny. Anyway, back to the bear. It was freaking huge. But, sadly, it was fifty dollars and I am a poor college student. I walked away, pouting “Okay, Niall. I think we’ve had enough of this store…ready to head back to campus?”

“What, you’re tellin me you’re not gonna buy this bear that you *need* in your life?” he mocked.

“Oh, shut up. Let’s go before I collapse from exhaustion. We’ve been walking all day!”

“Alright, alright. Fine. There’s a subway nearby.”

We left the store with no bags (unfortunately) and went straight to the subway. Luckily, we grabbed the last two open seats. I tried my best not to fall asleep by planning out the upcoming week in my head. Sunday – dinner; Monday – class; Tuesday…. I didn’t get past Monday because I ended up falling asleep.

Twenty minutes later, I felt someone rubbing my shoulders and heard my name being called in the distance. “No…sleep…tired…bed.”

“Autumn, c’mon love. Wake up. We gotta go.”

I slowly sat up, reluctantly, and squinted my eyes open. A blurry image of Niall stood before me and I suddenly remembered where I was. Toy store. Times Square. Subway. Oh. “Sorry. Told you I was tired,” I joked.

“Haha, it’s alright. Let’s get you back to your dorm.”

We walked in silence once again, all the way to 221 B. Once we had arrived at my door, I turned to face him, unsure of what to say. Who’s going to be the first to say goodbye?

“So, I-“ we both began speaking at once. “You first.” he said. Crap why is he so polite.

“Um…I was just saying. Thanks. For everything. Today was great and I had a lot of fun.” I looked away, letting my hair fall to cover my face. “Hey,” he said gently pulling up my chin to face him, “so did I. And it’s you I should be thanking…wouldntve been as fun without you.” I could feel his warm breath on my skin, and smell the strong scent of his cologne and aftershave. I took a step closer to him, taking a risk and hugging him.

*Niall’s POV*
She stood there looking so sweet and innocent, and her small arms were wrapped so gently around my body. I inhaled deeply, taking in her aromatic scent of vanilla and lavender and fruity shampoo. When she began to pull away, I looked straight into her big brown eyes and leaned towards her, laying a gentle kiss on her lips.

Surprisingly, she didn’t hesitate or pull away like I imagined she would. She only kissed me back, softly. I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want to let her go, but I knew I had to or else things would get a little bit…heated. And very soon. But I kept a tight grip on her waist, for just one moment longer.

“Goodnight, Autumn.” She looked up at me smiling, her cheeks a bit red.

“Goodnight, Niall.” I squeezed her hips lightly, one last time before letting her go and walking away. “Goodnight.”

Notes

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