The Moment Takes You

Seeing that I'd known Niall far more than the others in the band, I'd decided to greet Niall first with a hug then politely greet the rest of the boys with a full smile that showed off the dimple in my left cheek. I hadn't really gotten the opportunity to really get to know the rest of the boys but I had seen them more than a few times and when I found myself with nothing else to do, we'd had some crazy shenanigans here and there. I guess amusing boybands came with being Nora's close friend as well as knowing her brother very well.

I was watching Louis and Nora interact with a coy smile on my lips, taking extra care not to think too much about how Niall's arm was still at my hip after I'd given him a hug. Pushing my attention towards making conversation with Zayn, I hardly noticed the slightly calloused hands move to my shoulders.

"Here let me take your coat," Niall murmured, only looking up once and letting his glittering blue eyes scan over my face, lingering for what felt like a second too long. Had my cat eyes smudged or something? I'd been doing makeup last minute. I slipped out of the pastel pink blazer and the heat hit me full blast, prompting me to unbotton the top two buttons on the blouse. I thanked him quietly and watched as he hung the blazer up in a coat hanger inside of a closet near the door then return, this time tucking his hands inside the pockets of his black dress pants. His hair was sexily disheviled and the top three buttons of his dress shirt were undone, the bottom of his sleeves slightly rolled up.

Was it possible for so many people to fit inside on flat? There had to be well over 300 people at the party. Well, I did see a few people heading up the stairs and slipping into some rooms by theirselves, an already drunken swagger to their walk.

At least someone was getting their freak on.

Putting myself in the conversation once again, I could see Nora was definitely uneasy at being called Lou's mum but I knew by the determination in her eyes he wouldn't be thinking the same of her by sunrise and that alone made me giggle a little.

"Love, 'm going to get something to drink, see you later?" I asked lightly, seeing that she was more than distracted when she nodded and murmured an okay back. It wasn't that I didn't like the boys - I did, but the amount of drinks stacked behind the bar, it was just too hard to resist.

The cold silver necklace rest against my breast and the earrings weren't annoying me just yet but the clicking of my sandals were better than the pain of wearing the pumps I'd chosen to wear the other night. I'm glad I changed my mind last minute. I leaned against the sleek counter of the make-shift bar and let my eyes roam over the setting I'd been put in - not that I minded. It's not everyday that I was invited to a mad house party hosted by a boy band but it wasn't like I was a stranger to this scene.

The place was dark but all over the room were what looked to be Christmas lights streamed all over the place, attached to the ceiling and the walls, flickering on and off in different places so it made a better effect than a disco ball could ever hope to create. It was a penthouse suite and I knew Liam and Dana didn't own it permanently otherwise Liam would've been gasping in fright over the vase that had just clattered to the ground and broken into pieces and Dana would've probably been sending a million scolding looks. Before the end of the night, I wanted to wander out to the balcony and see how far up I was. I shook my head, a small smirk playing on my painted pink lips as I waited until a slightly older looking bartender wandered over my way. He tossed a towel over his shoulder before opening his mouth.

"Anything I can get you, pretty lady?" he drawled with a southern American accent that made me perk up in interest. I liked accents, especially ones that weren't English. I liked Irish, American and French accents, in that order.

I could feel the corner of my left lip turn up in a little smirk. Flirting with the bartender? I weighed my options, let my hazel green eyes flit over his strong jaw and his dark brown eyes. I decided against it and turned away slightly as he batted long lashes and let his elbows lean on the ceramic counter. I could hear my mom's voice in the back of my mind, telling me to keep my elbows off of the table.

"Surprise me. Something fruity," I ordered simply and slipped onto the stool, crossing my legs and enjoying the way I felt in this little get-up. I liked going all-out, especially since my fashion sense had changed over the years. I remembered in high school, freshman year when more than half of my closet consisted of gym and workout gear. At least that could account for my lean body and nice figure. The bodycon skirt molded against my figure, outlining my curves. If there was anything I'd learned about clothes is that you pulled attention to the assets you did have instead of focusing on the things that you weren't blessed with. In my case, boobs.

"Drinking alone, Nat?" I heard a voice before anything else. It had been but ten minutes or so since I'd left the group, according to the watch on my wrist.

"Just for the moment, Horan," I smirked as I let my side rest against the counter, letting my fingers wrap around the neck of the glass that was slid down my way.

Although Nora was older than Niall, I was still younger than Niall, just by a few months and days. The attraction to him was undeniable but I hadn't been keen about making any moves on him. Not only was I too focused on attending uni in a while but I wasn't one for relationships. I wasn't one to be held down and I wasn't always the best at giving affection as other girls were. Plus, there was the tiny little detail of him being known internationally.

"You look rather stunning tonight," he murmured, inching closer, still not taking a seat on one of the stools like I had. I knew I couldn't get into a fling with him - I'd make it awkward for the rest of our lives but damn, was he cute. His cerulean eyes glinted under the lighting and I could feel his body heat above everything else. I could feel the fabric of his pants against my shin and the Armani cologne wasn't hard to detect.

"You're quite dashing tonight as well," I said with an eyebrow raised, reaching out to adjust his collar, not commenting when he put his fingers over mine and let me pop it up just a bit more before returning my hands to my glass. Fuck, he was confusing. Sometimes he didn't object to us not so subtly being pushed together and other times he was as distant as could be, the majority of times treating me as any other close friend.

"I'm surprised the girls aren't all over you yet," I complimented lightly, letting the taste of tart strawberries in liquid form wash over my tongue and flood my system. I let the alcohol settle and do it's job of making me slightly overconfident and giddy.

His cheeks flushed lightly and he shrugged. "I chose to accompany an old friend since half these people, I find that I can't even remember their names," he admitted with a small grin playing on his lips, his braces glinting in the dim light. For a brief second, I found myself wondering how the metal would taste against my lips and if they'd feel cool against the heated skin on my neck.

I smiled, brushing away some curls that spilled down my shoulder and tucking some strands let loose from the braid I'd done in a quick hurry.

"Don't want a drink?" I asked, sipping the last of my drink and said nothing else when I saw him shake his head of blonde hair.

I placed the glass down on the sleek counter, letting the bartender pick up the empty glass and returned my focus to Nora's brother.

"We should dance then."

He bit down on his lip and glanced towards the people dancing around in the cleared area near the four or five stereos blasting out the music that had everyone all up close and personal. Not that I had a problem with that - up close and personal was quite fun, it made for interesting memories.

"All right."

I was quickly pulled down off of the stool, gently but firmly. The song now playing, I had no clue who it was, but it didn't take long to get my footing and put a hand up by his shoulder. I didn't pay much attention to him at first but then I decided to have a little fun and pull him closer. It was a close dancing kind of song, not one you could just stand around on the floor by yourself.

"Oh, come on, Horan," I whispered against his earlobe, lips slightly touching against soft flesh. "You've known me for more than just a while," I said once more, pulling him closer and swaying my hips to the beat, taking his hand and turning but staying close to him so my back swept across his chest then we were returned to how we'd started off, with him looking quite more enthusiastic than before.

Justin Bieber's As Long As You Love Me filtered through the whole flat, the stereos ensuring that the sound of the bass and his voice bounced off the walls and into my ears.

My lips mindlessly recited Big Sean's parts of the song with one hand making movements that got a few chuckles out of the blond boy that I was currently dancing with. I could tell he knew this wasn't any alcohol that had gotten into my system. This was me - Nathalie Owens.

"What? You aren't the only Belieber," I joked with a lighthearted smile. I stopped as another song started playing, something by Chris Brown I reckoned and I could tell that tonight was going to be very fun, especially when his hands lay low on my hips and I could feel his firm chest against mine.