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birdy-bat-writes · 4 years

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New Year’s Bet

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Pairing: Tim Drake x Fem! Reader

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: Word vomit and weird writing? But mostly fluff.

Summary: You and Tim have liked each other for a while. It’s Your chance to confess at the New Years Eve party.

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Sometimes, life overcomplicates things, and when you’re a teenage superhero that fights crime in between your homework, you don’t want any more complication. That’s why you really resented today. You had just come back from a mission with the team. When you got back with the rest of your Alpha teammates, you noticed that Beta had already been here for a while. Typical. Still, it was sweet that you found Tim waiting for you. His hair looked a little more ruffled than when you saw it last, and he looked as tired as you felt but it didn’t stop him from flashing you the smile that could light up your whole world.

“Hi, Boy Wonder.”

“Hey, how’d your end of the mission go?”

“Not bad. No injuries, so that’s good, but I, for one, am exhausted.”

“Same here.”

“How’d your end go?”

“Well, I guess you’ll find out in about 30 seconds because Batman is calling us for a briefing.” You laughed and headed over for the briefing along with your teammates. Seriously, Batsy could not have picked a worse day to send you on a mission that ran for 14 hours. It was peak winter and New Year’s Eve. When you were deployed, you could tell by the looks on your teammates faces that they weren’t too thrilled either and just wanted to be in their beds. You all practically exuded lethargy. Although, as much of a toll as the covert op took on you, the emotional ache of trying to confess to your crush for a week and failing was far more crushing. That’s why you were so exhausted. For the last two weeks, either you or Tim were called away for something before you had the chance to tell him, and now you were back to debating if you should even try. See? Complicated. You were pulled from your thoughts when you saw the crowd around you disperse, indicating that Batman was done talking.

“Briefing over, Nap time!” you exclaimed.

“Nap time? Its 2:30 pm.” Tim huffed a laugh.

“Yes, and that means I have not slept in 27 hours. You and I both know that’s never a good thing.” He smiled and looked like he was about to say something. Presumably sarcastic, before,

“No one’s napping. Y/S/N, Robin, you both said you would help me decorate the party hall today.”, M’gann said. She was right. A few weeks ago, the Justice League members had decided to throw a New Year’s Eve party and invite all the members of the junior team. M’gann was tasked with decorating. You had promised to help, and you weren’t one to break a promise.

“You’re right, I’ll be right there.”

“Great! Robin, you too, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Of course, Tim was going. You were going to be there and there’s no way he’s missing any opportunity to talk to you. Especially since he had been trying to tell you something rather important for over a week now. He was hopelessly in love with you and now he really wanted to tell you. What better place than a party, right? Gosh, he hoped you felt the same way. I mean, Conner and Gar insisted that you did.

The two of you Zeta tubed over to the hall of justice and saw that Bart, Conner, Jaime and Dick were already there. By the looks of it (the looks of Dick covered in confetti and holding a glitter banner with his foot), they were also roped into helping M’gann. Understandable since the room you were standing in was enormous. This was just one of the spare rooms on the top floor of the Hall of Justice. The back of it was a wide balcony overlooking statues of esteemed heroes, and beyond that, the city skyline. The air was icy but still refreshing. You were admiring the sight when the first order was barked, surprisingly, not by M’gann.

“Okay! Tim, Y/N, you guys hang the banner. Seven feet up on the left wall.” Dick ordered. “Bart, Jaime, you two set up the tables. Conner, make sure they don’t eat all the food. Anyone that can fly is left responsible for the disco ball. I don’t trust any of you with the sound system so I will be picking the music.” He looked a little too happy about that last part. He’d better not play 80’s music all night.

***

“It’s going to happen…” Bart whispered under his breath.

“No, you will not eat the-”

“Not that! Look at Robin and Y/S/N. Today’s the legendary day.” He cut Jaime off.

“Oh yeah, you said they get married in the future. Today’s the day they get together?”

“Yeah, and we’re going to see it live. Now I’ll know who actually wins the bet!”

***

You dragged the step ladder over to the wall while Tim came over with the banner and measuring tape. Honestly, you had no clue that Dick was such a stickler for organization. Still, it wasn’t as boring or tiring as you thought it was. Joking around with Tim brought some life into you.

You had climbed up to the four-foot mark and taped the banner edge to the wall. Nice and even, but you didn’t step quite right while getting down and tripped. A fully trained hero of the night like you would have had no trouble landing on their feet, and you didn’t, but you didn’t get to land on your feet because you landed in someone’s arms. Tim Drake’s arms.

“Are you alright?” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I am. Thank you.” Your arms clung onto his shoulders and his hands tucked under your knees and waist.

“Are you sure? You didn’t hurt your ankle, did you?”

“I don’t think so. How’d you catch me that fast?”

“Um… my protective override gives me superpowers?” You both laughed at this. His eyes were so genuine and pure. It was only when you felt his chest heave from laughter against your body that you realized he was still holding you, and suddenly, you could feel your heartbeat get faster.

“Hey, guys, is the banner up?” You heard Dick’s voice approaching and scrambled to your feet. Tim rushed to straighten himself.

“Yeah, everything’s great here. All done!” Tim spoke a just fast enough to sound suspicious, but Dick ignored that. He just might win that bet tonight.

“Perfect. You guys can go home and get changed for the party. Everything is pretty much done around here.” With one last smile to Tim, you zeta’d back home with M’gann so she could help you choose your dress, and you skipped the entire time.

***

“He caught you?!” M’gann was your biggest cheerleader and she was like an older sister to you. Tim was your best friend, but she was the one you went to when you needed to talk about feelings and the girl stuff. You know, like how to keep your hair up during a fight.

“Yeah! Does that mean something?”

“Obviously! I’ve seen both of you jump off 20 story building and land on your feet. There was no reason for him to catch you unless he really wanted to be your hero.” You were positively giddy.

“Maybe I should tell him.”

“Maybe? DEFINITELY! And you can do it in this.” She pulled out a simple black tulle dress that hemmed just above the knee. You really liked it. Paired with a pair of silver shoes and some light jewelry, you were ready to go.

***

By the time you made it to the hall of Justice, the room was already filled with people. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman sat in the corner of the room. You were sure Supes and Wonder Woman were trying to convince Batman to actually leave the corner but were not succeeding. The decorations you had put up were gleaming in the lights that contrasted the fading daylight outside. Then you saw him. Tim was dressed in a black suit with a dark red tie. He stood next to Bart, smiling that smile again and you felt the butterflies come back. You weren’t alone though. When he saw you, the whole world melted away. You looked absolutely beautiful. With the way your hair fell so gracefully over your glowing skin and how your dress fit you so perfectly… It probably wasn’t possible to be more in love with you than he already was but if it were, he would have fallen hard. ‘Butterflies’ was an understatement.

“So, are you going to go talk to her or would you rather just keep staring at her?” Tim’s thoughts were interrupted by a very amused Garfield Logan. “She’s waving at you. Go talk to her.” He urged. Tim started walking and looked back only once to see gar with the biggest smirk on his face.

“Y/N, you look really nice.” He said. You tried to hide your blush, but he saw it.

“Thanks, so do you.” The smile was audible in your voice and the thought of you smiling at him made the corners of his mouth pull up even more. He wanted more than anything to hear your voice, see your smile, to gaze into your gorgeous eyes forever. “They effort we put into decorating this place paid off. I never thought I’d see Batman under a disco ball.”

“Funny, it’s my sixth time seeing that. One time, there was a shark involved.”

“Someday, you have got to tell me that story.”

***

Minutes turned into Hours and you spent most of them in the back of the room with Tim.

“Capes are functional!”

“How?! Edna Mode said-!”

“Yeah, but mine is bullet proof!”

“Tim, your whole suit is bulletproof! There’s no point of a cape!”

“Fine, it gives me flair.” He joked. In the distance, Bart was watching the two of you giggle in each other’s company.

“It’s 11:30, Jaime, we just have to wait half an hour”

“Dude, this is creepy.”

“But necessary.”

M’gann passed the two of with Conner by her side. She waved at the two of you and joined Artemis and Wally. Both couples looked so happily in love. “You know, I think Conner’s planning on proposing.”

“Really? M’gann will be so happy! I can’t wait for the day he does.”

“Do married couples kiss at midnight on New Year’s?”

“I guess so. I mean, the point of it is to kiss the person you want to spend the new year with, right?”

“Right. So, do you think Dick will kiss Barbara or Wally?” You chuckled. “I say Wally.”

“Never tell Dick, but I agree with you.”

“Are you going to kiss anyone at midnight?” The question had you flustered to say the least. You weren’t expecting him of all people to ask you that.

“Well, I-”

“Guys, have you seen the cake they’re bringing out? Its massive! Come see.” He tried to pull the two of you toward the kitchen, but Bart was having none of that. It was too close to time and things weren’t about to get off schedule now. So, he sped over.

“Hey, Gar! What was that about cake? In the kitchen you say? Cool, let’s go now! Y/N, Tim, have a lovely evening.”

“Wai-” And they were gone. You and Tim looked at each other with eyebrows raised. There was a non-verbal exchange of “That was weird, right?” and “Eh, not for them.” Tim went to get two drinks and you made your way to the balcony. The bright lights of the city skyline looked so alluring for no explainable reason. They looked like stars scattered among the buildings and you couldn’t help but think of all the nights you’d spent staring at the stars until the sun came up next to Tim. You really wanted to tell him tonight. It was 11:55 by now, imagine if you had your first kiss on New Year’s. But that won’t happen. Pssht.

“Two glasses of punch, lots of ice.” He handed you a glass.

“Thank you very much.” Tim’s mind was racing silently. He kept thinking if he should or shouldn't confess. With your own mind racing, you broke the silence "I never answered your question...I- No, I don't have anyone I plan to kiss tonight." His face relaxed for a second before a fiery blush crept up "Do you...plan to kiss anyone?"

He responds "I wouldn't say I plan to. Just…" Should I…? Ah, screw it he thought. He's in love with you with you and he wants you to know. "Y/N?"

“Hm?”

“I really like you. A lot, and-" he's interrupted by a shout, It's 11:58 only two minutes ‘till New Years! You were smiling uncontrollably. "Two minutes till midnight, wow. I know you probably don't feel the same, but I just wanted you to know that since the day I met you, I've been so unbelievably happy. You make that way." Someone started a countdown from 60.

You began, "Timmy, I like you too." You placed your hands on his and the countdown reached 35. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the heat of the moment, but you felt particularly bold and said, "Tim, we kiss people on New Year’s because we want to be with them for the new year. You make so happy all the time and I love being around you and-and- " you stammered while the countdown reached 10. "Will you spend the new year with me?"

5, 4,

"I'd love to."

3. You both looked into each other’s eyes, glanced at each other's lips. He placed a hand on your cheek and gently drew you in.

1! His lips were on yours. Happy New Years! The crowd cheered while you moved your arms up to pull Tim closer into the kiss. It was soft and warm and perfect. You both pulled away grinning like idiots. Bart looked over at you two, Crash.

***

Later on, the Justice League is watching from afar how cute you two are. Wonder Woman and Canary were awing while Arrow and Green Lantern were giving you the "Way to go kiddo" head nod.

"I’d better ask Tim who confessed first." Batman said. Superman looked at him questioningly. "I had a bet with Nightwing. My money was on Y/S/N"

Superman just smiled and said, "You're going lose your money, Bruce."

"Were you actually listening in on their conversation?"

"Um..." Batman looked at him with faint surprise and gave a nod of disapproval. "Oh, what can I say I was rooting for them!"

"I'm disappointed in you Clark. Now quick, tell me what they said."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Taglist: @anothertimdrakestan @offendedfishnoises @comicsandhoney @river-bottom-nightmare @catxsnow @cries-in-fangirl-23 @batarella @idkmanicantenglish @sonofrobin16 @l-horizon11

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1dffexchange · 5 years

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White Flag

To: Natasha @wokeuptired

From: Jess @thefangirlingbarista

Summary: Harper and Niall have never known life without the other present in some capacity. They met for the first time when Niall was seven months and two days old and Harper was a day from two weeks. Their moms, best friends since seventh grade, always dreamed that their future children would be the inseparable, each other’s constants in an ever changing world. Nothing, not even their husbands silently judging them with amused smiles, or the fact that when Niall and Harper were in the same room for more than two minutes, one or both of them would start squealing, would change their minds. They had a dream, and they were determined to see it through.

Author’s Note: Nat! I had so much fun writing this little fic for you, and I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for sending such fun prompts!

Harper and Niall have never known life without the other present in some capacity. They met for the first time when Niall was seven months and two days old and Harper was a day from two weeks. Their moms, best friends since seventh grade, always dreamed that their future children would be inseparable, each other’s constants in an ever changing world. Nothing, not even their husbands silently judging them with amused smiles, or the fact that when Niall and Harper were in the same room for more than two minutes, one or both of them would start squealing, would change their minds.

They had a dream, and they were determined to see it through.

The first tangible memory Harper has of Niall is her third birthday. She vaguely remembers Niall’s birthday months earlier. Mostly that she was scared of Barney and she enjoyed carrying his balloons around the room. But she isn’t sure if she actually remembers it, or if it’s a memory of a memory. Her birthday, though; she definitely remembers.

It was in March, and her dad was outside grilling hamburgers for the adults while her mom cooked hot dogs and mac and cheese on the stove for her and Niall. Harper thinks there were probably other kids there, but that part of the day is blurry.

She was sitting in her favorite spot in the entire house—a giant green winged chair that sat by the back window that overlooked her back porch and the yard beyond it. At three years old, it looked much bigger than it actually was, and so full of adventures. She loved daydreaming about exploring and going on quests (her dad might have let her watch Indiana Jones a bit too early and too often).

She was sitting there, probably daydreaming about one adventure or another, when Niall pulled himself up in the chair next to her.

Harper glanced over at him, a little annoyed that he climbed onto her chair, but couldn’t get her complaint out before he dropped a piece of paper in her lap.

He smiled at her, “Happy birthday, Awppah!”

She picked up the neon pink construction paper and unfolded it. There she saw a drawing of two dolphins jumping in the water and two stick figures off to the side waving. There was glitter and stickers, and to a just three year old Harper, it was perfect.

The second memory Harper has of Niall, happens when they start kindergarten. Niall couldn’t pronounce Harper’s name properly until he was six. A fact that, when school came around for the two of them, prompted other kids to make fun of Niall.

Of course, Harper had to put an end to that almost immediately.

She had to sit with the teacher at recess for an entire week after shoving a boy off the jungle gym, but she did it without complaining. And when her mom found out what happened, she simply gave Harper a fist bump and continued with her day.

The first memory Niall has of Harper, is when they are four. They both received bubble gum from his grandpa when they were exceptional at daycare. While they were both excited, Harper might have gotten a bit too excited because one moment the gum is in her mouth, the next it’s in Niall’s hair.

There were tears. From both of them.

Niall cried again when his dad had to cut his hair.

The next day at daycare, Niall doesn’t talk to Harper until after snack time.

His second memory of her happens to be his mom’s favorite story to tell during the holidays. They were all—all as in both their mothers and the two of them—going Christmas shopping when they were five. They were walking past a store that had a dollar section right at the front. Harper zeroed in on the colorful rubber poppers and nearly cried when her mom told her she couldn’t have one.

Niall, being the best friend he was, decided to take matters into his own hands.

He stole not one, but two rubber poppers for Harper and himself.

They almost made it all the way home without getting caught. But then Niall got his rubber popper stuck on his chin, and when the moms found out, they very quickly did what was probably a very illegal u-turn and made Niall go and fess up.

(The owner let him keep them. He also gave Niall another to give to his brother.)

The next day, Harper gave him a kiss on the cheek while at recess.

In first grade, the other boys at school make fun of Niall for spending so much time with Harper. At first, he tries his best to ignore it, but after a few months of it he caves. He starts spending more time with them at recess, and less time with her. He stops sitting with her under the old oak tree during snack time, and, at lunch, he chooses to sit between two boys who live on his street rather than beside her. He misses sharing his lunch with her, trading his apple for her grapes, but he did his best not to dwell on it. He still hung out with her after school, so he figures everything will be fine.

And it is, until Harper went through the phase of always making Niall the butler or the servant or the sidekick when playing together. That’s when Niall decided he’d have enough.

“Ma, do I have to go to Harper’s?”

(At this point, he could finally pronounce her name correctly.)

“Of course, sweetie. Why wouldn’t you want to? You and Harper are best friends.”

Niall sighs. He thinks about rolling his eyes, but he got in trouble for that the week before, and he doesn’t want to lose the toys he had gotten back.

“We’re not best friends anymore.” He says with a puff, and crosses his arms over his chest all but daring his mom to contradict him.

She doesn’t, of course. Instead, she just looks curious and a little amused. “And why not?”

“She makes me be Robin every time we play Batman. Or she makes me treat her like a princess and I’m her butler! It’s no fun!”

His mom just smiles, which doesn’t make him feel any better about any of it, and pats his head. “Just tell her you don’t want to do that anymore. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

(He did tell Harper. She was not as understanding as his mom thought she would be.)

In third grade, Harper flat out refuses to get in the car when her mom tells her they’re going over to visit Maura and Niall.

Her mother, for obvious reasons, is quite confused about it until Harper finally relents and says, “Niall chased me around the playground yesterday. With a snake.”

Her dad does his best not to laugh, but she caught him covering it up, which just makes her glare harder.

“It’s not funny, Daddy! I nearly cried!”

Her mother, still amused but able to control herself better than Harper’s dad, goes to the other room to quickly call Maura and get the full story.

Quickly turns into an hour phone call.

By the time her mom comes back out, Harper has almost forgotten what had transpired earlier that morning.

She’s busy working a puzzle on the hardwood floor when her mom comes and sits down. They work a few pieces together before her mom finally speaks up.

“Harper, tell me what happened yesterday.”

Harper scowls. “Niall chased me with a snake.”

“Before that.”

“Niall told our entire class that he would kiss me.”

“Mhm. And what did you do?”

“I spat my gum in his hair.”

“Was that a nice thing to do?”

“No, but he wasn’t nice first!”

“Harper.”

She stares down at her hands in her lap and shakes her head, “No, it wasn’t nice.”

“I’m going to need you to apologize when we see him this afternoon.”

Harper looks up, eyes wide, “But mom! He started it!”

“Harper, I don’t care who started it. I want you to end it.” Her mother’s tone leaves no room for discussion.

The young girl mumbles under her breath, but nods and agrees to apologize to Niall.

(She doesn’t talk to Niall for the rest of the third grade, unless their moms are around.)

The summer before they both begin middle school, their families decide to go on a holiday together. When Harper finds out that she’s being forced to be in the same vicinity as Niall for two weeks, she almost refuses to pack her bag.

“I don’t want to spend my summer with Niall Horan! Why couldn’t we go on holiday with the Richards instead?”

Her mom, now extremely tired of this argument with her daughter, simply gives her a stern look.

After a moment she adds, “You and Niall can either both be miserable because you refuse to be friends, or you can try to get along and be friends like you used to be and have a fun summer. The choice is yours. But either way, we are going on holiday with the Horans.”

That night, when Harper’s mom calls Maura, both of them are at a loss.

“I just don’t remember when they stopped being best friends.”

“Kids go through phases, Denise. I’m sure our kids will be back at it soon enough.”

The holiday, much to Harper’s surprise, is actually fun. It’s awkward at first, especially with the two families sharing a cabin and her and Niall’s rooms being connected. But after two days of boredom the kids give in and start playing board games together while the adults do their own adult thing. After that, it just made sense to start exploring the trails together, chasing each other through the museums and gift shops, playing pranks on their parents, and laughing so hard that their stomachs ache.

By the time the holiday ends, Harper can’t recall one good reason not to be best friends with Niall Horan. For the rest of the summer, they spend every second together. On sunny days, they ride their bikes to the park that was halfway between their houses. When the summer showers begin, they watch Disney movies and make blanket forts or read to each other in their bedrooms.

At the start of school, they share a summer tan with more memories than they had in a long while, and they’re back to sharing their lunches together.

This time, no one teases them.

They stay best friends all throughout sixth grade and seventh grade. It’s not until the end of middle school in eighth grade that things begin to go south. Again.

“Do you want to go to homecoming together?”

It’s the beginning of October and the two of them are sitting in Niall’s living room. His mom is working a late shift, so no one else is home since his dad is traveling for work. If Niall’s older brother is home, Harper hasn’t seen him come out of his room.

They’ve successfully eaten the pizza that they ordered almost as soon as they got home from school, and moved on to the popcorn and M&M’s that they found in the pantry. They’re watching Hocus Pocus, Harper on the couch and Niall sitting on the floor in front of her.

Harper thinks this might be one of her favorite days ever. She hopes she never forgets it, and when she hears Niall ask that, she’s sure that she won’t.

Niall doesn’t sound nervous, but Harper can sense him tense up when he asks the question.

“Just the two of us?”

“Sure. I think going with the group would just be stressful. And expensive.” He adds the last part almost as an afterthought. “Did you know they’re going to rent a limo? Who does that for homecoming?”

“Our friends, apparently.” Harper says with a laugh.

“Well, I think it’s lame. It would be so much better if we just went together. Afterwards we can go to your place and your mom can make us some gumbo and we can stay up watching all the old batman movies.”

Harper ignores the flutter in her chest, “Sounds good to me, Ni.”

The next Friday, when Niall and Harper are walking home together from school, Niall is unusually quiet. Harper almost asks what’s wrong, but chickens out.

They’re almost to Harper’s house when Niall finally speaks up.

“Would you be upset if we didn’t go to homecoming?”

Harper takes her time answering. She wants to be honest with him, the best she can. She thinks about it, and she has never really been keen on school dances anyway. She just always enjoyed being with her friends and Niall.

She shrugs, “Maybe a little, but not too much. I can survive. Why?”

He heaves in a breath and then, “Lillie Anne asked me to go with her.”

“Oh.”Harper breathes out. “Really?”

Niall jumps in front of Harper and starts walking backwards, so he can see her. A goofy smile is plastered on his face, “I know! I couldn’t believe it either. She has to be one of the prettiest girls in the school, wouldn’t you agree?”

Harper just hums in response, trying to squish down the hurt and jealousy swelling up inside of her.

“I told Lillie Anne that I would have to ask you first, though. Told her we had already made plans to go as friends. She thought that was weird. Actually she thought you and I were already a thing, isn’t that weird? I made sure she knew we were just friends. Maybe that’s why Eddie never asked you out at the beginning of the year, yeah? But if you still want to go, just you and me, say the word and I’m yours.”

He’s smiling at her, all crooked and gapped teeth and dimples.

Part of Harper, a very large part if she is completely honest, wants to say no. Wants to tell Niall that he has to go with her because that was the original plan. But another part of her, the smaller but even stronger part, just wants to make Niall happy. And she knows that saying no would shatter his crooked, but brilliant smile.

“‘Course you can go with Lillie Anne, Ni.”

Niall whoops and jumps in the air, and then pulls Harper in for one of the tightest hugs ever.

“You’re the absolute best, Harp!”

He ruffles her hair, just to annoy her as always, and then runs off with a promise to call her later that night.

Harper doesn’t spend the rest of her walk home imagining different ways to ruin Lillie Anne’s homecoming dress.

She doesn’t.

Niall ends up going to homecoming in the limo that he made fun of earlier, and Harper goes with a small group of girls who go to the pizza parlor beforehand and they have her dad take them to the school in his jeep.

They have a great time, even if Harper spends the majority of it between either glaring at Lillie Anne or avoiding Niall completely.

The following week, Niall trades sharing lunches with Harper with eating lunch in the quad with Lillie Anne and her friends.

When time comes for Harper’s annual Halloween movie night, Niall is suddenly in her life again. She’s only slightly bitter.

Eddie and her are getting the house ready for the rest of her friends to show up when Niall texts her, asking if people were dressing up this year.

Eddie leans over her shoulder and laughs, “You should tell him yes.”

She looks back at him confused, “Why?”

“Think of how funny it’ll be when he shows up in costume when no one else is.”

Harper actually thinks it would be a little mean and embarrassing for Niall, but she doesn’t say that. Instead she says, “Yeah, you’re right.”

Later, when everyone else is sitting on the couches watching The Grudge, Niall comes in late dressed as the Mad Hatter. Harper’s smile completely disappears when she sees the embarrassment on his face and hears the rest of their friends laugh at him.

When he turns around and leaves the room, Harper immediately follows him.

“You didn’t have to do that, Harp.”

He’s at the back door, his back to her and hand on the knob.

“I’m sorry, Ni. Someone said it would be funny and…”

He still doesn’t turn around to face her, “It’s fine. I’ll just go home and change and come back later.”

“Just change here, I’m sure you have clothes here.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

And then he’s out the door, and regret fills Harper so much so she feels like she might drown in it.

An hour later, when they’re about to start the next movie, she texts him.

About 2 start Beetlejuice u almost here?

It takes him ten minutes to respond.

Decided to just stay home with Ma tonight. Hope u have fun.

Harper wants to say sorry one more time, but she isn’t sure how.

They’re different after that. They still walk home together, but most of the time it’s in silence. They see each other in school, but don’t go out of their way to talk to each other. The only time they hang out outside of school is when their families get together, and even then they aren’t the same as they were.

They start high school the following year, and because of a hurricane and an influx of new students, new school lines are drawn. Niall and Harper go to different schools for the first time in their lives.

Schedules become busier, and they only see each other when their parents tailgate together and during the neighborhood’s annual New Year’s Party.

At first, Harper misses Niall, but then she makes different friends, and the hole that Niall used to fill didn’t seem as empty or as important as before. Soon, they’re just acquaintances that see each other twice a year.

College applications happen in a blur, and before Niall realizes it, he’s packing up and moving three states away.

His parents throw him a graduation party, and they invite Harper and her family. He doesn’t expect them to come, but is pleasantly surprised when he spots Harper by the drink table.

He goes over to say hi, and when Harper spots him she smiles.

“Congrats on surviving high school.”

He smirks, and nods towards her. “Right back atchya.”

She reaches up and tugs on a strand of blond hair, “Are you growing the blond out?”

He nods, “Yeah, figured college is the time for a fresh start.”

“Seems about right.” She takes a sip of her sprite, and then, “Are you nervous?”

“About moving away? No. About college? Yes.”

She laughs, and it’s the laugh that used to pull him in and cause him to laugh, too. This time is no different and soon they’re both laughing and catching up.

But soon he has to leave, make his rounds to thank all the distant relatives for their checks and make sure his granny has had enough to eat.

They hug, wish each other luck, and then just like that, she’s gone.

Harper doesn’t see Niall again until she’s twenty-three, jobless, and once again living at home with her parents.

It’s an innocent day late in September, and she’s a little upset that her mom tainted it.

And, actually, seeing him again is all her mom’s fault.

“Do you remember Niall?”

It’s six thirty in the morning when Denise asks this, and in Harper’s humble opinion, it’s way too early for any sort of conversation.

“I haven’t even finished my coffee yet. Why are we speaking?”

But then the words her mom asked her sink in and, “Wait, did you seriously just ask if I remember Niall as if he isn’t in every one of our family pictures?” She tiredly waves her arm towards the fridge where a picture of her and Niall from one of their beach trips is somewhere among the many pictures and family notes.

Denise doesn’t let Harper deter her, “I was talking with Maura, and she told me Niall moved back to town. I thought it would be good for the two of you to catch up. What do you say?”

At this point, Harper would say anything to get her mom to just shut up.

“Sure, don’t see why not.”

“Wonderful! Glad to hear it. I already confirmed that you would be able to get coffee with him tomorrow at ten.”

“Mom!”

“What? I was optimistic you would say yes. Besides, it’s not like you have much of a social life right now anyway.”

She glares into her cup of coffee, “I socialize just fine, thank you.”

“You socialize with a six and eight year old before and after they go to school. That doesn’t count. You don’t have any friends in the area and you haven’t been on a date in so long. I can’t even remember the last time.”

Harper is about to argue back when something her mother said catches her attention.

“Wait, is this coffee with Niall Horan a date?”

Her mom shrugs, a little too innocently.

“It’s whatever the two of you make it.”

“Denise!”

“I gotta got to work, sweetie. I hope you have a good day babysitting, and I’ll see you at dinner tonight!”

Before Harper can properly reprimand her mother, she’s out the door.

Riley and Corey are six and eight, respectively. They both have the curly ringlets for hair and are obsessed with Harper, though she isn’t sure why. All she does is drop them off to school and pick them up on the days their dad works.

Harper gets to their house at 7:15, ten minutes before the dad hurries out the door and twenty minutes before she has to pack up the kids in her car.

Riley, predictably, is running around the house with only her khaki skirt on. Corey is sitting at the bar, enjoying a bowl of honey nut cheerios and silently watching his dad run around the kitchen.

It takes everyone about thirty seconds to realize she’s there, and when they do, they all rush to her.

Instinctively, she reaches down to pick up Riley, Corey his leaning against her side telling her about the ship he built with his legos last night, and Mr. Gunnar is handing her his credit card.

“I think I might need to stay at the office late tonight. Do you mind taking the kids out for a quick bite after school? Once I get an idea on how behind we are, I’ll text you when I should be getting home.”

She’s trying to nod to Gunnar, listen to Corey, and not drop Riley all at the same time. But then Gunnar gathers the last of his things, and he’s out the door.

The house is only slightly quieter.

Harper finally figures out what ship Corey built. Apparently his new obsession is the Titanic. He’s still telling her everything he knows about it, and she’s only slightly alarmed when he knows the number of deaths, when she set Riley down.

“Alright, kiddo. We gotta get you dressed and then school time.”

She manages to get them completely dressed and in the car in record time. Somehow they even make it to school early. Harper only has a few seconds to worry about possibly leaving something behind before both kids are out of the car and running to Coach Tomlinson, their favorite person right after Harper.

She heads back to Gunnar’s house to clean and do laundry. But she did most of that yesterday, so she only spends an hour cleaning and then she collapses on the couch.

Harper is debating whether or not to take a nap before she picks up the kids, but with a jolt she remembers her conversation with her mother that morning. All tiredness immediately disappears.

Instead, she spends the next hour stalking Niall on every social media platform she has. Facebook is what she expected, a few cute animal videos, some family photos, and, surprisingly, a lot of golf posts.

He doesn’t have very many profile pictures, but he has enough for her to realize that he’s had braces in the last ten years. His once crooked teeth are straight and as white as ever, and the bleach blond dyed hair has been replaced with his natural auburn color.

He’s also filled out. A lot.

Not that Harper cares.

His twitter is more or less of the same. Many of his tweets are about golf, a few political tweets, and a lot of banter between him and someone called Harry Styles.

Instagram is a lot of selfies, and what she assumes is his old place before he moved back to town. There’s quite a few pictures of a cockapoo, so either he has one or is fairly close to someone who does.

And it also has more proof of just how much he has grown up. Once again, not that Harper cares.

Overall, he seems like the same boy she knew back in middle school, just more mature.

Thanks to Maura, she already knew that he majored in literature and music. Harper was only slightly surprised by that news when she heard it two years ago.

By the time she puts her phone down, it’s lunch time.

She gets back in her car and heads towards the sandwich shop near the elementary school. When the man behind the counter sees her parking her car, he starts making her sandwich. Harper can’t decide if she’s grateful or if it makes her life even more sad than it already was.

She quickly tells herself not to dwell on it, hands over the cash, and makes herself at home at the table in the corner.

She’s eaten half the sandwich when her phone dings! alerting her of a text.

She nearly chokes when she sees who it’s from.

Niall Horan: I hear we have a date tomorrow

Harper: It is definitely not a date.

Niall Horan: Not what Maura said

Harper: Both of our mothers are delusional. I’d rather eat dirt than go on a date with you, Horan.

Niall Horan: Me thinks the lady doth protests too much I would be offended but I know how much you love eating dirt Werent you 8 when I caught you eating a mud pie

Harper: I was FIVE and YOU dared me.

Niall Horan: Whatever Harp See you tomorrow at 10 at the depot Dont be late

Harper: I hate you.

When Niall only sends a thumbs up, she huffs out a groan and takes a sip of her Sprite.

By the time she picks up the kids, she’s successfully over thought every aspect of tomorrow and every text exchanged with Niall. But it’s fine. She’s fine.

Needless to say, she’s thankful for the endless chatter of the six and eight year old to distract her from overthinking it any more than she already has.

They eat pizza for dinner, go the to the glow-in-the-dark mini golf course in the mall where Riley somehow wins, and then each get two scoops of ice cream.

When they get to the house, Gunnar is already home, a plate resting on his chest while he watches the news.

After she gets the kids settled in, she goes to gym and then the grocery store. By the time she gets home, she’s exhausted and falls asleep almost immediately.

Harper walks into the Coffee Depot fives minutes late and almost does a victory dance when she doesn’t see Niall sitting yet.

She’s next in line to order coffee, when a body appears next to her and says, “I was going to apologize for being late, but I saw you walking in late yourself.”

Without looking over at him, she elbows him in the side, “I was more on time than you were, and that’s all that matters.”

He chuckles, low and deep, and pulls Harper into his side, “Good to see you, too.”

She leans into his side for a second, before pulling away and finally looking up at him, “I like this wet hair look you’ve got going on right now.”

“Thanks, I did it just for you.” He says, dry.

They step up to the counter to order their coffees then, and when Harper reaches in her purse to pay for hers, Niall’s hand stops her.

He smirks when she looks up at him, ready to fight, “I’ll pay since our delusional mothers all but forced you to catch up with a friend.”

She huffs out a breath, but puts her wallet back in her purse.

Harper goes to find an empty table. She ends up outside, and she very quickly regrets wearing black jeans, but at least she ordered an iced coffee. A dog tied to a table waiting on its human to come back outside, distracts her from the heat. By the time Niall finds her, she’s on the ground with the dog in her lap.

She senses him watching her before she sees him. There was a fear that being around Niall again would be awkward, years of growing and maturing but not with each other separated them, but being near him was like gaining her shadow back.

After a moment, Harper goes back to her seat at the table, and raises an eyebrow when Niall still only watches.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Harp.”

“Well, that’s a lie. Surely I’ve grown a few inches at least.”

Niall chuckles, shakes his head, and flicks a rolled up piece of paper at her. It barely misses her head.

“So, what brings you back to our small town, Horan?”

From there, it’s as easy as cake. Conversation flows between them in a way that is both familiar and new to both of them.

The barista brings them their coffee, but it takes them a moment to remember it, too deep in conversation.

Harper learns about his years in college. His friends and past girlfriends and favorite memories.

Niall learns about her advisor that caused her more pain than the kidney stone she had during her last round of finals, her old job as a bartender and that home games were her favorites nights to work, and how she’s the nanny of two precious kids.

Three hours pass without hesitation, and soon they’re packing up their things to walk to the flea market down the street.

Niall’s stomach growls on their way, so they make a detour to the food trucks at the park. Niall gets jambalaya and Harper gets shrimp and grits.

They take their time walking through the flea market. Neither of them buy a thing, but they try on hats and laugh at each other. They look through all the dishes, books, and albums. By the time they’re walking back to their cars, it’s nearing four in the afternoon.

“You know, my mom really does think this is a date.” Harper says as they get closer to the cars.

Niall snorts, “I wouldn’t expect anything less. It’s not like our moms haven’t been planning our wedding since they found out Denise was pregnant with you.”

Harper laughs, “That’s a fair point, yeah.”

She’s digging her keys out of her purse when she hears him say, “Date or no, I had a really great time today.”

She smiles at that, something pure and free and genuine, “Yeah, me too.”

Harper leans in to hug him, “I’ll see you around, Horan.”

“Yeah, you better.”

And then they get in their cars and go their separate ways.

Three days later Harper texts Niall.

Harper: I have been tricked into going to the zoo. Pls send help.

Niall: How do you get tricked into going to the zoo??? More importantly, why arent you excited to go to the zoo??

Harper: Bc its the middle of October and it’s humid and hot af The kids have a water pad to cool off in I, the adult, do not

Niall: Sucks to suck, pal.

Harper: Did you know our zoo had kangaroos now?

Niall: Wow look at us steppin it up

Harper: There’s also a ropes course.

Niall: That sounds dangerous

Harper: Corey is begging to go But my hands are already sweating

Niall: Omg i forgot your hands get clammy when you get nervous

Harper: At least i dont turn into a tomato

Niall: For all u know, i out grew that

Harper: We just witness two chimps going at it like theres no tomorrow We’re never coming back to the zoo Im scarred

Niall: Hahahahahhahah

Harper pockets her phone, trying to be as present as possible for Corey and Riley, but there’s a smile on her face for the remainder of their time at the zoo that has nothing to do with baby tiger tripping over its own feet.

The next time they see each other, it’s a reminisce of their childhood days.

They’re both with their moms running errands around town when they happen to cross paths at one of the shops in the mall. Harper highly suspects it wasn’t as accidental as the moms want Niall and her to believe.

There are hugs all around, and when Harper gets to Niall she whispers, “From one to ten how much was this not a pure chance?”

“Oh, an eleven for sure. Maura is not subtle.”

They’re both smirking as they step away from each other, both adamantly ignoring their mothers watching them.

Harper has a feeling that if they had popcorn, they’d be content watching the two of them interact for the rest of the day. They’d also be the people cheering when they kissed. If. If they kissed.

For the next hour and a half, they walked the mall with their mothers, held bags, and whispered and giggled behind their mom’s backs. Overall, Harper would consider it a great day.

Right before they go their separate ways, the moms get it in their heads to have a game night just how they used to do when they were kids.

Harper’s mom tugged on her arm, “Remember, sweetie? We did it all the time when you two were younger! We had the greatest time playing games together.”

Harper glanced at Niall, laughter trying to work its way out of her. She could see that Niall was struggling just as hard.

“Mrs. Denise, we only did that for a few months when we were in middle school. It wasn’t for very long.”

Both of the moms looked confused, “No, that can’t be right. We did it more often than that, didn’t we?”

“We had to’ve!”

“Whatever you say, Mom.” Harper sighed, still struggling to keep the laughter in.

Maura clapped, “So, do we want to try to do a game night this weekend?”

And just like that, a game night was planned.

The Horans come over on Saturday night just in time for dinner. It’s taco night, and Niall and Harper make their taco salad the exact same, just as they did when they were kids. And then it’s game time.

Harper doesn’t go into game night planning on being competitive. She doesn’t go into game night planning on wreaking havoc, but that’s exactly what happens. Somehow.

“What do you mean a ten story rhino would win this fight?” Harper yells out, “I have Mr. Rogers! Ten of him! He can solve world hunger, world peace, and make that ten story tall rhino see reason!”

Harper’s dad laughs, “Is repeating your cards your only argument? My rhino could literally run over your Mr. Rogers.”

“But I have ten of them!” Harper bangs the table, startling her mom.

Niall watches her, a smirk playing on his lips, “What I think Harper is trying, and failing, to argue, is that no one, not even a crazed ten story high rhino, would be willing to kill someone as pure as Mr. Rogers. And, since there are ten of him, if the rhino does by chance run over one, there’s no way he’ll run over the other nine. Rogers will win.”

Harper frantically waves her hands towards Niall, “Exactly!”

Bobby groans, “You’ve got the two kids against you now, Ted. I doubt you’ll be able to win this one.”

“I think this is why we stopped doing game night. These two team up and win everything. The parents never win a thing.” Maura added in.

“They just make such a good team. You can’t argue with Niall’s logic, though.”

Ted laughs and throws his hands in the air, “Fine! Harper wins this round.”

Niall wins the next two rounds, and then Maura wins and they call it a night. Maura and Bobby head out, and Harper walks Niall to his jeep.

“You know, Harp,” Niall starts, leaning against the car, “I forgot how dramatic you get over games.”

She rolls her eyes and rests against the car beside him, “I was not being dramatic.”

“That’s a lie and a half, sweetie.”

“I might be competitive and loud, but I am not dramatic. There is a difference.”

“It must not be a big difference.”

Harper doesn’t say anything in response, just silently gives him the finger.

Niall laughs, loud and inviting, and pulls her in for a hug.

He squeezes her tight once and then, “What are you doing tomorrow?”

She rests her head against his chest, “Taking the kids to play putt-putt and then probably ordering pizza.”

“Can I invite myself along?”

“‘Course you can.”

Niall doesn’t end up playing putt-putt with Harper and the kids. Instead he graded papers at his house. Once Harper dropped the kids back off at the house with their dad, she picks up a pizza and drives to Niall’s.

When Niall answers the door, he’s wearing joggers, an old uni shirt that has several holes in the collar, and glasses. He looks cozy and inviting, and all Harper wants to do is curl up on the couch with him and watch a movie.

“I come with pizza.”

Niall sighs in relief, “My actual hero.”

He leads her inside, and she sets up the pizza on the coffee table. She smiles when Niall comes out from the kitchen with her favorite beer.

“Now you’re my actual hero.”

They get settled on the couch, forgoing plates and choosing instead to set the pizza in between them and eat it out of the pan.

Harper is on her second piece when she notices Niall staring at her.

“What,” She asks with a mouth full of pizza crust.

“I forgot how weird you are.”

“What?”

Niall vaguely waves his hands towards her. “You eat your crust first when you eat pizza.”

Harper glances down at her pizza, and yeah, she does eat the crust first. She shrugs, “I don’t like it, but I don’t want to waste it. So I eat it first so I can enjoy the rest of the pizza.”

He chuckles, “Like I said, you’re weird.”

She sticks her tongue out, “Whatever.”

They eat the majority of their pizza, and then set it on the floor. They end up watching another movie after the first one ends, and Harper falls asleep halfway through. When Niall wakes her up, she realizes she’s leaning on him, but she doesn’t necessarily care. Apparently Niall doesn’t either, since they both don’t move for a while longer.

But then Harper stretches and forces herself off of his couch. “I should get home.”

He stands then, too, stretches his arms above his head and groans. Harper doesn’t think she should find him as attractive as she does right now, but she’s too tired to work it out in her head.

“Text me when you get home.”

She nods, and heads out the door.

Niall: Maura is going to hard. She just told me to see if you wanted to go running with me.

Harper: Does she not know me? I’d die.

Niall: That’s what I said. But I am going by that bakery if you want to meet me there for breakfast.

Harper: Sure. Twenty minutes?

Niall: See ya there..

It’s November when Harper’s mom mentions the silent auction that raises money for relay for life.

“The thing is, I don’t think Maura and I will be able to help set it up this year.”

Harper cuts her eyes at Denise. She’s mid-pancake bite, and her mom is at the sink washing dishes. Her back is to Harper, but she can feel the set up taking place.

“That’s too bad.” Harper mumbles before she stuffs the pancake in her mouth. She’s eating quickly, trying not to be late to pick up Riley and Corey. Since school is out, she is taking them to the park, maybe the pool, and Niall had said something about meeting up with them. She wants to get the day started, not sit here and get coerced into charity work by her mother.

“It’s the weekend after next,” Denise goes on to say.

It takes Harper a second too long to put everything together.

“I know Gunnar said they were going to be out of town, so you won’t be watching the kids on Friday, which is when the setting up needs to happen.”

Harper sighs, and pushes her plate of pancakes away. She knows she won’t be able to enjoy them at this point.

“And you want me to take your place and help out?”

Finally, Denise turns around to face Harper.

“Oh!” She huffs and slings the dish towel over her shoulder, “Don’t look so put off. You won’t be doing it by yourself! Maura assured me that Niall would be there to help you every step of the way.”

Right. That right there told Harper everything she needed to know.

She did her best to give her mom a stern look, “Mom.”

Her mom, on the other hand, did her best to look clueless, “What?”

“Niall and I are just friends.”

Denise smiled, and if Harper didn’t know any better, she would say it was a little patronizing, “Okay, honey.”

Harper didn’t like the tone or the look she was getting, but she didn’t have much time to dwell on it, either.

“As much as I would love to continue this conversation, I’m about to be late. I’ll see you tonight.”

She dumps her plate and fork in the sink, ignoring the look her mother gives her, and heads out the door.

She only spends a quarter of her day thinking about the look her mother gave her.

The next day she finds herself lounging on Niall’s couch watching trash TV while he works from home.

He’s sitting on the floor in front of her, and she keeps getting distracted by how soft and welcoming his hair looks. Harper has to remind herself not to reach out and touch it.

“Hey!” He turns around abruptly, hair all askew and glasses crooked.

She jumps, startled, and tries to act like she hadn’t been staring at his hair for the last two minutes.

“Has Denise talked to you about the charity drive?”

She snorts, “If by talked to me, you mean that she told me over breakfast yesterday that she and Maura volunteered us both to work it, then yes. She has.”

Niall closes his laptop and scoots closer to the couch, closer to her. He gives her a soft smile, “C’mon, Harp. That’s not the spirit. We’ll be working together if that helps. Ma talked to me about it too.”

This time, she doesn’t even try to resist when the urge to touch his hair comes over her, but she does play it off as if she’s just fixing his hair.

“You do realize that this is just another attempt of our moms to get us together, yeah?”

His smile turns amusing, “Yeah, I got that sense when Maura was telling me how great at these things you were, and how lucky I was if I had you in my life.”

Harper laughs at that, drops her hand from his hair, and sits up, “Well, you are lucky to have me in your life, let’s be honest.”

“I never disagreed with that. Well, except for maybe when you spit your gum in my hair. Both times.”

“The first was an accident.”

“And the second?”

“You deserved it.”

Later, she’s at home watching a history documentary with her dad. She’s only half paying attention, though. Her eyes glued to her phone and thumbs tapping away as her and Niall text rapidly back and forth.

She doesn’t realize she’s smiling until her dad points it out.

“Who has you smiling like a cheshire cat over there?”

She stops mid-text, and looks at her dad a little confused, “Huh?”

He nods towards her phone, but then looks back at the TV smiling, “You haven’t stopped smiling since you’ve come in here. And I highly doubt this documentary on the second world war has you this happy.”

“Oh, uh, Niall and I have just been texting. He was telling me about getting his classroom all set up.”

“Niall, huh?”

Blood rushes to her cheeks, but she pretends she isn’t affected, “Yeah, we’re just friends.”

“Your mother would say otherwise.”

A groan escapes her mouth, and she slouches further into the couch.

He looks at her then, eyebrow arched, “Would it be so bad if your mother was right?”

She lifts her shoulders up in a helpless shrug, “Maybe.”

“Listen, I won’t push you one way or another, but I do know the two of you pretty well. Niall is a good guy. You could do a lot worse, sweetie.”

Harper rolls her eyes, “What sounding praise.”

“What? He’s already like a son to me. Having him a son-in-law wouldn’t be much of a change.”

“Dad!”

Both families are at the Horan’s to watch a football game the next time Harper sees Niall. It’s a busy and loud event. Harper reckons half the neighborhood and both extended families are here. She’s able to visit with cousins that she hasn’t seen in years, and great aunt and uncles that possibly have more embarrassing stories of her than Niall does. It’s an entire event, and she loves every second of it. But the people and the noise drain her quickly, and at half-time she wanders off by herself outside.

She hadn’t seen much of Niall. Just flashes of him talking to his family and neighbors, cheering on the game, and grabbing a beer or two or five. She figured he was still inside with the rest of the people, but as she walks around the outside deck, she hears the gentle strumming of guitar. It could have been anyone, really. But there was something about it that sounded so Niall that she almost immediately knew it was him even without rounding the corner to see him sitting on the porch swing with his guitar in his lap.

He isn’t paying her much, or any, attention. Instead, he’s staring out at the backyard and the trees and fields that follow it. It’s November, but the night air is still muggy, and she can see his hair has already flattened against his forehead. She leans against the post and listens as he mindlessly strums a song.

It’s only when she sneezes, thanks to her autumn allergies, that he notices that she’s there.

“I can’t play with you staring at me.”

She huffs out a breath, “I’m not staring at you.”

He continues to play then, a mouth in a half smile, “Oh, what would you call this intense look directed straight at me then?”

She shrugs, “You know I’ve always enjoyed watching you play. Besides, I’m also kinda envious that you can do it so effortlessly. You’re talented, Ni.”

A flush seeps up his cheeks, “Yeah, uh, thanks.”

There’s a pause, and she enjoys the break in conversation to listen to him play some more.

“Ya know,” Niall starts, “I could’ve taught you at any point, you goob. Come here.”

She goes and sits next to him, their thighs touching as he transfers the guitar to her lap.

Minutes later, their laughing as Harper all but completely fails to play a simple chord, and neither of them notice his mom watching from the window, smiling and snapping a quick photo.

(They don’t see that photo until years later, when the afternoon is nearly a lost memory.)

Friday, the day of the charity event, comes quickly enough. Niall picks up Harper on the way, and they get there in plenty of time to help set up. Harper had assumed there would be a lot of other people helping set up the venue, but her and Niall had the place to themselves for the most part.

After setting up the tables, they spent a good portion of the morning getting the center pieces just right. And Harper was reminded of how much of a perfectionist Niall can be at times.

They’re arguing over the best place to put the jump house when their moms finally turn up, smiling and laughing and not a care in the world.

Niall and Harper don’t stay long after that. They sneak away before their moms can volunteer them for more work, smiles on their faces and laughter on the lips. When he looks at her and asks where to, she’s still smiling. She can’t remember a time where she had felt as carefree and happy than right now with Niall.

They end up going to a pizza shop that’s not far from Niall’s house. Harper is mid-bite when Niall lifts up his phone.

“Smile!”

She does her best to smile, but she can feel how ridiculous she looks with the pizza in her mouth.

Niall just smiles at the picture, “Beautiful.”

She tries to pretend the comment doesn’t make her heart beat faster, but she thinks Niall already knows.

After both of them have eaten more than their share of pizza, they head back to Niall’s. She immediately collapses on his couch, dragging the blanket from the back of it and snuggling into it.

“You’re taking up the entire couch, Harp.”

She peaks around the blanket and looks around the room, “So? There’s other places to sit.”

She hears him huff and her body stiffens—t knowing before her what’s coming next. Before she can stop it, he’s falling on top of her, pushing and nudging and stealing the blanket from her.

“Niall!”

“I told you to move.”

“You did not.”

“It was heavily implied.” “It was not.”

“Stop arguing and just enjoy the cuddles.”

And… He had a point. She stopped fighting and snuggled deeper into the couch (And, incidentally, Niall).

It’s not that this was the moment she first realized she might have a small crush on Niall, the boy next door and her childhood best friend. Just like she had periods of her life where she wasn’t too fond of him, she’s had periods of her life where she maybe liked him too much. It’s not a new idea to Harper, but realizing she may have a crush on him now is new to her.

She does her best not to let it change her behavior around him. Especially now, when they’re on the couch tangled together. She’s pretty sure that he’s about to fall asleep, his breathing getting deeper and slower. She thinks back, tries to remember if she’s given away anything over the past month her and Niall have been hanging out, wonders if she’s been obvious and made a fool of herself.

Whatever the case, she blames her mother. The whole crush on Niall thing is her fault since she’s been pushing them together since the get go. Not that she can tell Denise about this. She would have a field day. She would tell Maura. Maura might die of a heart attack. Niall would find out. The world would end.

“What are you overthinking?” Sleep filled Niall’s voice.

Despite the softness of his voice, her body jerks and stiffens.

“Nothing that you should worry your pretty little head about.”

Niall twists about, trying to get at an angle to properly look at her.

“I don’t think I believe you.”

“You probably shouldn’t.”

“Anything I can be of help with?”

“I’ll get back to you on that one.”

They both end up taking a nap, and when she wakes up Niall has already ordered from her favorite Thai place, hands her a glass of a wine they both enjoy, and has New Girl queued up on his Netflix. It’s one of the better nights she’s had in a while, and the later it becomes, the less she wants to leave and go to her parent’s house.

It’s almost as if Niall can sense that.

“You should just stay here tonight.” He shrugs when she looks at him, surprised. “It’s getting late and we’ve been drinking. Besides, it’s not like either of us have anywhere to be in the morning.”

His reasoning seems legit to her, and when he offers her his bed, she takes it without hesitation. She only feels a little guilty about making him sleep on the couch. But it is a comfortable couch. Niall will be fine.

Harper wakes up and immediately smells coffee. Which, she finds slightly alarming. Niall’s house isn’t huge, but it definitely isn’t small enough where she should be able to smell coffee from his bedroom. It only takes a moment to realize there’s rattling pans and muttered curses coming from the kitchen. She rolls over, slaps and rubs the mattress in search of her phone until she finds it under one of Niall’s many pillows.

8:30.

Later than she usually sleeps during the week but earlier than she usually wakes up on the weekend.

And she knows for a fact it’s definitely earlier than Niall usually wakes up on a Saturday. And curiosity about that, rather than the banging pans and curses, is what gives her motivation to drag herself out of the bed.

She’s halfway down the hallway when she comes across a curious puddle. It takes her a few seconds to realize that the dark liquid is spilt coffee. She steps over it in her socked feet and makes her way to the kitchen, this time making sure there are no more surprise coffee puddles.

And that’s when she finds Niall, his head completely unseeable as he rifles through the spice cabinet and almost knocks a frying pan off the counter in the process.

“Uh, Niall?”

He jumps back, hitting his head against the shelf in the process, and quickly turns around.

“Oh. Hi. What are you doing?”

He’s rubbing the back of his head where it smacked the shelf, and she’s doing her best not to smile. But she knows she’s not doing that great of a job at it.

“Well, I was sleeping. But then some racket in the kitchen woke me up. And I almost slipped to my death in a puddle of coffee coming to see what all the commotion was about.”

He looks sheepish, maybe even unsure of himself, which is very unlike this new Niall she’s been getting to know over the past months. “I was trying to bring you breakfast in bed. Obviously, that was a fail.”

Harper laughs, slightly startled by his admission but mostly touched.

“Why would you do such a thing?”

He shrugs, “A gesture, I guess.”

She’s still chuckling when she goes over and leans into him for a hug. Her arms wrap around his waist in second nature, and her cheek rests against his chest. The softness of his worn t-shirt just as much of a comfort as the firmness of him—of Niall.

“Let’s get this breakfast cooked. I’m about to starve.”

She’s not looking at him when he replies, but she can hear the eye roll in his tone when he responds, “Always with the dramatics with you.”

They spend the morning cooking a breakfast fit for royalty. Niall remakes her coffee. He put too much cream and sugar in it, so it tastes a lot sweeter than how she usually likes it. But, it’s the thought that counts, and she doesn’t voice her complaints to him.

After they eat (and Harper has had at least two and a half cups of coffee), they clean up the mess they made in the kitchen. It takes them entirely too long to load the dishwasher, laughter and karaoke sessions interrupting the process, but by the time they’re finished, Harper’s cheeks are aching from laughing and smiling so much.

When it’s finished, Harper gets ready to head to her own house despite everything in her wanting to stay and spend the day with Niall.

As always, Niall guesses what’s going on in her head.

“You could just stay for lunch. I’m sure your mom wouldn’t mind.”

He’s standing in the bathroom doorway, watching as Harper uses his spare toothbrush to brush her own teeth.

She finishes brushing before she responds, “And give her more ammo on the two of us? No thank you. I’m sure her and your mom and gossiping about how we disappeared for the night to all their little friends. I have to go put out that fire before it gets too out of control.”

His smile is soft and warm, and it does things to Harper. She has to look away before she does something stupid like kiss him, or worse.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if people thought we were dating, right?”

“No, there are definitely worse things.”

“Wow, that’s high praise coming from the girl who told me she’d rather eat dirt than go on one date with me.”

She sticks her tongue out at him, “Don’t let it go to your head.”

They both load up into his car, and they spend the ride to her house singing along to songs from their middle and high school lives. The short drive goes by way too quickly for Harper’s liking.

Harper is about to get out of the car, her purse slung haphazardly over her shoulder and her hand on his door handle of his car, when he stops her.

“Do you want to go out and get dinner tonight? Just the two of us?”

“Just the two of us as opposed to our dozens of other friends in town?” She doesn’t allow herself to look too long at the smile he sends her way again, “But yeah, I’d love to.”

She slides out of the car and jogs up her driveway and ducks under the half opened garage door. She slips into the kitchen without seeing either parent, and then dashes up the stairs to her room.

When she closes her door without incident, she collapses on her bed with a sigh.

She thinks she’ll be able to go the entire day unscathed, when her mom comes up to check on her. That’s when she makes, possibly one of the most drastic mistakes of her life. At least up to this point.

“What’re you up to tonight?”

“Niall and I are going to dinner.”

Her mom lights up, almost instantly, “A date?!”

Harper groans, buries her face in her pillow, and briefly thinks about just ignoring her mom until she goes away.

In the end, she lifts her head up just enough to glare at her, “No, not a date.”

Her mom deflates like a sad birthday balloon, “Oh, well. Okay.”

Later, when Harper is getting ready, her mom’s question echoes in her mind. She didn’t think Niall meant it as a date, but what if Niall intended it to be a date and was just a shit communicator?

She decides then that she’s going to have to sit Denise down and have a stern talking to. She can’t keep putting these ideas in her head and causing her anxiety.

Despite Niall texting her and offering to pick her up for their dinner, she drives to his place. When she finds her heart beating too quickly and her body having a quick case of the shakes, she blames her mom.

She bucks up, gives herself a pep talk in the rear view mirrors, reminds herself she has nothing to lose (except for a lifelong friendship with Niall but surely he’d forgive her of this), and somewhat confidently marches towards his front door. Before she can knock or open it, he swings it open.

He’s smiling, all teeth and squinty eyes, and it makes Harper’s heart flutter all over again.

Really, she’s going to have to have a long talk with Denise about putting ideas in her head and letting her run wild with them.

“He-“

“Is tonight a date?”

And just like that, the smile disappears from Niall’s face.

“Uh, I mean… why? What do you want it to be?”

“Erm, I don’t-“

“Because it doesn’t have to be a date.”

“So it is a date?”

“Only if you…”

“Yes. Yeah. Sure. Of course.”

And, just as quick as before, the smile is back.

Niall leans closer to her, his breath hot and sticky in the humid summer air, but Harper can’t find it in her to care.

“If I kiss you, are you going to spit gum in my hair?”

An unexpected laugh bursts out of Harper, surprise and happiness all bundled together.

“Why don’t you kiss me to find out?”

And he does just that. And this time, no gum finds its way to his hair.

He rests his forehead against hers, “Well now that we’re all on the same page, wanna go eat now?”

She’s smiles,“Sure. I was thinking we could go to the bowling alley.”

Niall pulls back and looks a little incredulous. “For dinner?”

“Yeah. They have the best cheesy fries, and I’ve been wanting to bowl this week.”

“Bowling alley it is.”

After, they’re sitting on his couch watching Buzzfeed Unsolved. Harper is leaning into him, his hand in her lap as she traces the lines and calluses.

“So we’re not telling our moms right away, yeah?”

His voice pulls her back from the depths of her mind, and she smiles. “Oh definitely not. Can you imagine their absolute glee? They’d never let us live it down.”

“Yeah, good. I just want it to be us for right now.”

She leans up and kisses him, this one longer and sweeter than the first one. “I like the sound of that.”

The two of them manage to hide it from their families for over a month. But Christmas is what throws them under the bus.

Harper goes with Niall to his family first, and they manage to avoid all the mistletoe and dating questions.

Well there was one question from Maura, but Niall skirted it with ease.

They spend the afternoon with Harper’s family, and that’s when things get dicey.

Harper blames the turkey that made her tired. Niall says Harper just wanted to brag about finally having a boyfriend.

They’re both in the kitchen eating lemon cake, and Harper somehow manages to get icing on her nose.

Niall laughs at her, but then leans in and licks it off. Harper is trying to figure out whether it’s cute or disgusting when her thoughts are interrupted by her mother.

“Maura was right! You are dating!”

Harper opens her mouth to argue or find an excuse, but she sighs and falls against Niall, “Merry Christmas?”

“Oh, I’m so glad I’m not going to have to take care of you until I die.”

“Mother!”

Niall laughs and wraps his arms around her waist, “So glad to solve your problems, Denise.”

#1dff #exchanges

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