Talk Is Cheap

Nicole positioned her body against Niall as the pair laid comfortably on her living room couch. He was stretched out against the back of the couch, and her back rested up against his torso, their bodies fitting together nicely. He snuggled his face into the crook of her neck as she searched through the channels on the T.V.. They’d spent majority of the day together, wanting to spend as much time as possible with each other before he went on tour.

“What should we watch?” she asked, shifting onto her back to look over her shoulder at Niall. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Sports.”

Nicole crinkled her nose. “I’d prefer to watch a film.”

“Anything in particular?”

“Love, Actually.”

Niall coughed nervously. He wasn’t much for romantic comedies, but didn’t want to hurt her feelings either by saying no.

“It’s my favorite. After the first time I say it with-” she paused right before his name rolled off her tongue. Niall watched her carefully, knowing exactly why she’d stopped talking, but wanting her to continue anyway. They couldn’t go their entire relationship tip-toeing around Harry. He was a part of both their lives, and didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

“You can say it,” he promised her, snaking an arm around her waist.

“-Harry, I pretty much became obsessed, but now that I think about it sports sounds a lot more interesting.” She quickly changed the channel to some form of a football game before tossing the remote aside and to the floor.

“Nicole,” he whispered, pressing his thin lips to her ear. She fidgeted slightly, chipping away at the nail polish covering her finger nails.

“What?”

“What happened with Harry?”

Nicole’s eyes fluttered closed as she took several deep breaths through her nostrils. She’d been waiting for him to ask that. It was only a matter of time. Harry was one of his best mates, and curiosity usually got the best of people.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell me-” Niall began, and she shook her head, wishing he’d stop talking. She was willing to tell him everything, well mostly everything. Of course, she’d need to leave out some details because there are just some things you don’t tell about your exes.

“Obviously, we dated.” He nodded his head, staring directly into her olive eyes in order for her to know he was listening to every word that left her lips. “He helped me through a rough time in my life, and friendship quickly led to more. We were really in love, or at least I was. Everything was perfect up until he started on the ‘X-Factor’. After judges’ houses, he called me and ended things. I was really heartbroken for a long time, but not anymore. Especially since meeting you.”

Niall pressed his lips in a tight line and furrowed his eyebrows. He scrutinized Nicole, taking in all the emotions etched across her face. She seemed confident with her answer, but her expression said otherwise. Something was off. She was still upset and possibly heart-broken. He couldn’t really tell, but it hurt him to know she was hurting. Harry had obviously meant a lot to her, and it didn’t seem he’d ever felt the same. Niall wasn’t mad at his best mate, Harry, but instead the Harry that was Nicole’s ex-boyfriend—a Harry he didn’t know.

“Thanks for telling me.”

She shrugged her shoulders. It wasn’t that big of a deal. To her, telling him was inevitable.

“Now, you get to ask me a juicy question.” Niall smiled toothily, nudging Nicole with his elbow. She looked up at him blankly, completely caught off guard.

“I already know every juicy fact about you.”

“How?”

“Google.”

Niall laughed, his body vibrating against hers. She smirked, clearly pleased with herself. She liked making him laugh. His laugh seriously had addictive qualities.

“C’mon there has to be something you don’t know about me yet.”

She bit her lip, thinking about all the things she could possibly ask him. Sure, she’d searched him on the internet a couple times, but she wasn’t trying to find gossip on him.

“Do you have any tattoos?”

“Nope, I’m considering getting a barcode here though.” He pointed at his wrist, and Nicole nodded, thinking his idea was very interesting and original. “Do you have any?”

She nodded her head and pointed at her shirt on the left side just below her breast. “I have ‘sarai benedetto’ across my ribs. It means ‘you’ll be blessed’ in Italian.”

“Why’d you get that?”

“It’s from the Elton John song, ‘Blessed’. My mum used to sing it to me all the time, and she was from Italy, so after she died I got it in memory of her.”

“Can I see it?” he asked, his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. Nicole ran her tongue between her teeth before deciding to sit up. Slowly, she lifted her shirt up and over her head, revealing a red, lacey bra. He ran his thumb over the black words inked in her skin, sending a shiver up her spine.

“Nice,” he muttered, moving his hands to her bare back, tapping his fingers against her spine. He easily pulled himself up so he was sitting beside her, one leg hanging over the edge of the couch while the other rested along the back cushions. Nicole scooted closer to him, siting Indian style between his legs. He leaned towards her, pressing his lips to her neck as she reached to grip his hips, her nails sinking into his skin. She began to kiss his cheek, her mouth yearning for his. Finally, he lifted his head and their eyes locked for several seconds as their heads inched closer and closer to each other. Nicole licked her rosy lips, waiting impatiently to taste him. Before she had time to think, Niall crashed his lips against hers, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her onto him as he fell backwards, his back hitting the cousin.

She kissed him roughly, her tongue easily slipping into his mouth to meet his. He ran his hands down her back and over her bum, gripping her flesh as she grinded her hips against his, her fingers pulling at the ends of his shirt. Without much struggle, he arched his back and allowed Nicole to help remove his shirt. Her hands explored his bare chest before her fingers became knotted with his hair. Niall began kissing her neck, sucking aggressively at the skin along her collar bone. A moan escaped her lips as he fingered the hook of her bra, eager to explore more of her body.

A loud noise similar to elevator music interrupted them, and Niall quickly began searching his pants for his phone. His pale fingers slid around the iPhone, his thumbs hovering above the screen as he stared blankly at the alarm going off.

“Sound checks in an hour.”

Nicole nodded her head in her always understanding way, and slid off him before searching the floor for her shirt. “You better go, then.”

Niall quickly did the same, before jumping to his feet and adjusting his clothing. He slipped his phone back in his trousers before lacing his fingers with Nicole’s and pulling her to her feet. He slipped his arms around her waist and she looped her arms around his neck, peering up at him through her eyelashes.

“I’m glad you’re coming tonight.”

“I’m actually excited. It will be fun to hear you lads sing something other than those two songs they overplay on the radio.”

He grinned widely before he leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on her lips. She smiled into the kiss, wanting to stay wrapped in his arms forever.

“I’ll see you later, yeah?” she frowned as he pulled away, but nodded in agreement.

“My first ‘One Direction’ concert, woo!” he laughed before turning to leave the flat. She watched him walk out the door and towards the steps, wondering how she’d gotten so lucky.



Crowds of girls, ages 5 to 18 mostly, were gathered around the entrance to the arena ‘One Direction’ would be performing at later that night. Everyone was screaming, causing Nicole to wish she’d brought ear plugs or something to save her hearing. She wished over and over again that Sage would hurry up and get there, but she couldn’t be too upset with her mate, she was at a job interview after all.

Nicole ran her newly manicured fingers through her wavy brown hair before examining her poor paint job. The first layer of black was messy and some nail polish had gotten on her cuticles and the sides of her fingers. The second layer of gold sparkles could have been worse, but its main fault was clumping in some places. Becoming frustrated, she shoved her hands in her pockets and began searching around the venue for a head of silvery, purple hair.

“Nicky!” Sage screamed, causing Nicole to turn around quickly, her eyes darting from side to side until spotting her best mate.

“What took you so long?”

“I was getting you this.” Nicole quickly freed her hands from her pockets in order to grab the wadded up t-shirt being thrown at her. She unfolded the fabric and held the shirt in front of her, a fit of giggles escaping her lips as she stared at a print-out of Niall’s head.

“I’m not wearing this.”

“Oh, c’mon. I paid 13 euros for that.”

“I’ll wear it if you get one too.”

“Not fair, I’m not sleeping with anyone in the band.”

“Neither am I!” Sage arched an eyebrow, looking at Nicole as if her nose was growing like Pinocchio.

“Before I left for my interview, I noticed your hair was messy and your shirt was on inside out.”

“How’d that go, by the way?” Sage narrowed her grey eyes, irritated by Nicole’s attempt to change the subject. She stared at her mate harshly, trying to scare her into telling the truth.

Nicole sighed, and reluctantly explained what happened. “I took off my shirt to show him my tattoo.”

“Did you get a tattoo across your pussy too?”

“No, shut up. Nothing happened, really.” Nicole insisted, crossing her arms over her chest. “You could get a shirt with all the lads’ faces on it.”

“I would, but the idea of having your curly-haired, dick of and ex-boyfriend’s face that close to my boobs makes me want to puke.” She grabbed her breasts through her shirt as she stared at Nicole liked she was the stupidest person to walk the earth.

“You could get Zayn’s face.”

“I could.”

Nicole began pulling the new shirt over her head after finally deciding to wear it. Niall looked cute enough across the front, and she was sure he’d get a kick out of the whole thing. “We’ll get you one inside.”

“Alright. Do we have ticket, or what?”

“Niall said security would let us through after I explain who I am.” Sage shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘fair enough’ before following after Nicole as she weaved around the groups of girls waiting for the concert.

‘One Direction’ had a lot of security. There seemed to be three huge, bulky men for each member of the band. The men were dressed in all black and standing outside the arena’s entrance, acting as a barricade so the fans could not sneak inside. Nicole walked up to one of them and began tapping his arm to get his attention.

“What,” the man demanded, his dark eyes narrowed into slits.

“I’m here to see Niall; he invited us to the show. I’m not sure if you have a list of the lads’ guests or not-”

“There’s no list, and you ain’t getting in.”

“I don’t think you understand, Niall is our mate-”

“I understand perfectly little girl. I’ve heard the same story a hundred times already tonight, but like I told all the others, you have to wait in line until doors open.”

“I’m sure if you’d call Niall-”

“You’re the slag that’s trying to shag all the boys in 1D!” a shrill voice interrupted Nicole, and she turned around quickly to see who was talking to her, but before she had the chance to defend herself, Sage beat her to the punch.

“What did you say, bitch?”

“That is her,” another fan joined in, pointing directly at Nicole. “You’re Nicole, Nicole Wood! You fucked Harry and Niall!”

“Mind your own fucking business, asshole.” Sage yelled, and Nicole looked around blankly, unsure of what to do. Multiple people started to recognize her, probably through the multiple blogs and tumblrs dedicated to hating her that had popped up on the internet lately. It didn’t appear anyone liked her very much, all of ‘One Direction’s’ fans seemed to despise her for absolutely no reason. She didn’t know any of them, so it made no sense for them to judge her.

“Louis and Liam have girlfriends; keep your filthy hands off them!” Louis was definitely not her type, and Liam was pretty cute, but his brotherly ways kept him strictly in the friend zone.

“You gave the boys STDs!” She’d had sex with one boy her entire life, so if anything, they’d be giving her STDS.

“I hate you more than Caroline Flack.” Who the fuck is that was all Nicole could think.

“I’m sorry I offended any of you-”

“You’re all a bunch of cock-sucking, ugly ass, attention whores!” Sage yelled, and Nicole turned harshly towards her best mate, yanking on her arm.

“They’re 14!”

“They’re little bitches!”

“Sage—FUCK!” Nicole screamed, her head being yanked backwards as a stranger grabbed a chunk of her hair. “Let go! Are you bloody mental?”

A hand grabbed Nicole’s wrist suddenly, pulling her away from the crowds. She listened to her savior whisper in the security guard’s ear, “they’re with me.” His voice was deep and slow.

Nicole grabbed onto Sage, letting the mystery man pull them past the barricade of men. She still hadn’t seen the lad’s face, but the second his hand moved from her wrist to her hand and intertwined their fingers together, she knew. The guy who had saved them before a-fan-on-fan wrestling match broke out was Harry. She knew it the second their hands collided, fitting together perfectly like they were made from the same mold.

“Sorry about that,” Harry muttered the second the three of them turned down a corridor where no one could see them.

“The insanity of your fans isn’t your fault.” Nicole replied, trying her best to look Harry in the eyes without her cheeks flushing from embarrassment.

“Are you two done finger fucking yet?” Sage asked, bluntly glaring at Harry’s hand tangled with Nicole’s. Quickly, his hand dropped to his side, and Nicole’s olive eyes found the floor. So much for not being embarrassed.

“Niall asked me to get you; he’s busy in hair and make-up.”

“Why would he send you?” Sage demanded, looking at him like he was merely a piece of scum.

“He uh asked Zayn, but I was already on my way down here.”

“Down here to do what?”

“Sage,” Nicole exclaimed, begging her friend to stop with the third degree. She was making things unnecessarily awkward. Harry gave her a sheepish grin, thankful she decided to step in before he had to lie his way through an explanation.

“Nice shirt,” Harry commented, his green eyes traveling up and down Nicole’s body. She felt like his eyes were lasers, making her skin hot the longer he looked at her.

“Isn’t his face the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?” she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

“No,” he replied honestly, meeting her gaze. She was easily the most adorable.

“Um, where’s Niall?”

“In there,” he pointed with his head towards a room to the left of Nicole. The door was half-way open and she could see his head of blonde hair in a large mirror across the wall.

“Thanks, for everything.” she muttered before pulling Sage into the room to get away from Harry and his enchanting eyes and hypnotic bouncy curls.

“You’re here!” Niall yelled, leaping from his seat and skipping across the room to throw his arms around Nicole. He easily lifted her in the air and spun her around once before resting her feet back on the ground. His blonde hairdresser stared with knitted eyebrows in her direction, her hands still lingering in the air where she’d just moments before been putting gel into the Irish lad’s hair.

“We were practically mauled by fans.” Sage said, and Nicole shot her mate an anxious look, finding no reason to worry Niall about something so silly. His blue eyes immediately became over-whelmed with worry, but Nicole shook her head, insisting it wasn’t a big deal.

“We’re fine, carry on with your hairstyling.” She pushed him backwards towards where he’d been sitting before, and he landed in the chair with a ‘thud’.

“Cute shirt.” He commented, smiling goofily at her through the mirror.

“Your face alone makes me 10 times more attractive.”

“Hardly, if anything me face takes away from your outstanding beauty.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”



Once the show ended, the boys found Nicole and Sage waiting for them in their dressing room. They were drenched in sweat from performing an excellent, high-energy show. The UK fans were sad to see their lads go, because they knew in a matter of days ‘One Direction’ would be leaving to spend a couple weeks in America touring with ‘Big Time Rush’.

All five of them grabbed waters before plopping down on the various couches to get a few minutes rest before going outside to greet fans and sign autographs. Niall sat happily on Nicole’s lap, pulling her into a sloppy kiss the first moment he could. She wrinkled her nose and turned away from him harshly, the salty taste of sweat lingering on her lips.

“How’d you birds like it?” he asked, looking between Nicole and Sage, but focusing mostly on Nicole.

“It was alright,” Sage said, squealing as Zayn reached to tickle her, clearly upset with her response.

“I enjoyed myself.” Nicole replied honestly, earning a smile from all the boys.

“What was your favorite song?” Liam asked eagerly, leaning forward from the couch adjacent to hers in order to hear better.

“I think ‘Everything About You’.”

“I was thinking about you when we sung that.” Niall whispered in her ear, causing a fit of giggles.

“Funny,” Louis began, stretching his legs out in front of him and resting his hands behind his head. “I believe Harry helped wright that song—when we were on the ‘X-Factor’. Am I right, Haz?”

All eyes turned to Harry who was standing across the room, leaning against an unused make-up counter. He ran his hands through his hair before swiping the mop of curls all to one side. His eyes were focused on his shoes before he placed a fist to his mouth and coughed loudly, clearing his throat. “I wrote a few lines.”

“If I remember correctly,” Louis continued, making Nicole’s stomach contract into knots. “You wrote the lines Niall sings.”

“Louis,” Liam warned, but the brown-haired, blue-eyed boy continued to smile mischievously between Nicole, Niall, and Harry.

“I might’ve helped, I can’t remember.”

“You did. I remember you distinctly saying ‘this bird I dated’-”

“Enough, Lou.” Harry said rather loudly, letting everyone know he was angry. He seldom got mad, but when he did, his voice changed dramatically, sounding a lot like an angry father or something. Nicole hadn’t witnessed that voice too often.

“Um, Niall?” Nicole whispered, the thick tension in the room causing her voice to tremble.

“Yeah,” he didn’t sound any more confident than her.

“Can I talk to you in the corridor?” he nodded his head, and moved to get off of her before extending his hand to help her off the couch. She laced her fingers with his before trailing after him and out of the room.

“Is something wrong?” he asked when he was sure they were far enough away no one could hear them.

“No, no, nothing like that.” She said quickly, reaching to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “I know you don’t leave for tour until the day after tomorrow, but I need to say goodbye tonight. I have class and family stuff to do tomorrow, I’m really sorry. Please don’t be mad-”

He interrupted her with his lips, kissing her so lustfully she forgot what she was saying for a second.

“I understand, babe.”

She sighed, clearly relieved before reaching to grab the back of his head to pull his lips to hers again. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Me too, more than you can imagine.”