Talk Is Cheap

“Are you bloody kidding me?” Nicole shrieked, turning over in her bed and pulling her pillow over her ears. “Turn that rubbish off!”

Sage was in the kitchen, dancing around to the radio in her underwear while she cooked breakfast. She knew quite well that Nicole hated ‘One Direction’, so whenever one of their pop-y, over produced songs came on the radio, she turned up the volume all the way.

The hatred Nicole had for ‘One Direction’ was more than your average hatred. She hated the boy band more than Liverpool fans hated Manchester United fans, more than Harry Potter hated Draco Malfoy, and definitely more than Batman hated the Joker. She loathed them. Whenever they were on T.V., she changed the channel. If they were guests on her favorite radio show, she found a new favorite station. If they’re cheeky little faces popped up on a magazine at a shop, she covered her eyes and turned the other way. Nicole didn’t have any real reason to dislike them. Their songs weren’t horrible, or so she assumed from the various lines she’d heard from time to time, and everyone in England adored them, but she couldn’t look past one member; the cheeky, annoying, disgustingly charming member. If she hated anything more than ‘One Direction’, it was Harry Styles. Words weren’t even enough to attempt to describe her strong, utter distaste for him.

Angrily, the brown-haired girl stumbled out of bed. She struggled to pull-on an oversized t-shirt while plugging her ears with her index fingers. Her bedroom was meters away from the kitchen, so immediately once entering the corridor she spotted Sage with barely any clothes on, singing obnoxiously into a spatula. Nicole ignored her mate’s behavior and made a beeline for the giant, purple, ‘90s boombox resting on the counter. Irritably, she flicked the radio dial to a completely random channel and grinned happily as Latino music filled the room.

“That was my jam, Nick.” Sage said, spilling a pile of eggs out of the skillet and onto a plate.

Nicole rolled her eyes and sauntered over to refrigerator, she pulled out a carton of apple juice before getting two glasses from the dishwasher. After pouring Sage and herself a glass, she walked over to the kitchen table and served herself a helping of eggs.

“Since when do you listen to the Jack Willis models turned lip-singers?” Nicole asked, raising an eyebrow. Sage stopped eating mid-bite and her expression became oddly serious.

“They’re the next Beatles, Nicole.”

Both girls fell silent before bursting loudly with laughter. Nicole reached quickly to pinch her nose to prevent apple juice from spewing everywhere. That was a joke if she ever heard one. Whenever someone compared ‘One Direction’ to the legendary group that started all boy bands, she literally felt like punching them in the face. There would never be another Beatles, especially in the form of five mediocre singers that can’t even paly instruments.

“Please, can we make the flat a ‘bull-shit music’ free zone?”

“Whatever you wish, Nicky.” Sage replied, shoveling a spoonful of eggs into her mouth. “So, what’s going on with lover boy?”

“His name is Niall.” Nicole corrected her, and a smug expression appeared on the grey-eyed girl.

“What’s going on with Niall then?”

“I dunno, I got his number, but-”

“No ‘buts’, Nicole! You have to call him, or so help me God I will because he’s fucking cute and exactly my type.”

“You’re type is anything with a penis.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m just nervous, I guess. What if things don’t work out-”

“Dammit, not every guy is like that fucking cock-sucker who broke up with you over the phone.” Nicole flinched at her harsh words, even two years later the actions of her ex-boyfriend caused some sort of reaction. The memory was still vivid, and it still haunted her. She would never forget the weeks she wasted in her room, holding herself as she cried enough tears to flood a city. “Even if things don’t work out with Blondie, at least you tried. That’s more than you can say for the last couple years.”

“I s’ppose you’re right.” Nicole muttered, thinking about the bright-eyed Irish lad she’d met just over a day ago. He was perfect for her; care-free and utterly sweet. She needed someone like him in her life.

“You better text him or something before I get home from work tonight,” Sage demanded, taking one, giant gulp of juice before standing up. “Or I will honestly take him off your hands and fuck his brains out.”

“You’re mental,” Nicole said, watching her best mate skip away to her room.

After finishing breakfast, Nicole didn’t bother with cleaning up. She bid goodbye to Sage when she left for her shift at the diner down the street, before stumbling into the living room to work on a paper for school. Nicole was happy she didn’t have a job. Her parents paid for her rent as long as she remained a full-time student. Sage’s parents had been the same way, but when their silvery-purple haired daughter dropped out of school to pursue a career as an artist, they weren’t particularly happy. Sage didn’t mind, though. She shot them the bird, got a full-time waitressing job, and works on her sculptures during any free time. Nicole wasn’t sure if she was bias or not, seeing as Sage was her best mate, but she honestly thought her art pieces were amazing. She created them out of trash she collected from dumpsters and junk yards, but they honestly looked nothing like garbage. Nicole really thought Sage brought the phrase ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ to life.

Nicole found it hard to focus. After writing three pages on twin studies and nature verses nurture, she pushed her lap top aside and reached above her head, leaning from one side to the other as she stretched out her back. Her stomach was growling, the eggs she’d eaten earlier no longer keeping her satisfied. She looked around the room, wondering what she could possibly eat, until spotting her lifeless phone in front of her, mocking her because she hadn’t received a text or phone call all day. This wasn’t unusual for Nicole. She was hardly a social butterfly, and didn’t have many close mates beside Sage.

Suddenly, Nicole had a strange thought. She reached for her phone, unlocking it with a quick slide of her finger over the bottom of the screen before searching through her address book. Her eyes landing on her newest contact, and she contemplated quietly about what to do. After taking a deep breath, she pressed ‘send’ before sliding her tongue back and forth between her teeth as she waited anxiously for the other end to answer.

“Hello?” an Irish voice tickled her ears, and a small smile tugged at her lips.

“Hi, Niall? It’s Nicole.”



Nicole chewed on the straw of her second skittles milkshake; Niall was close to 45 minutes late. She wondered if it was stupid for her to wait so long. He probably wasn’t coming. The whole thing had probably been a joke. He’d probably made a bet with his mates to see who could pull a girl first or something like that, while having no intention to follow up on their date. He probably was like all the others.

She shifted her weight from one side of the chair to the other while cursing Sage angrily in her head. This was all her fault after all. Nicole wanted to forget about ever meeting Niall. She wanted to carry on with her boring, guy-free life she’d grown accustomed to. She didn’t, however, want to be sitting at a ShakeAway shop alone, feeling sorry for herself.

Nicole let out a frustrated sigh, blowing a few strands of wavy hair out of her face. She pulled at the sleeves of her pink jumper, covering the majority of her hands, before sliding the tips of her fingers around the yellow bendy straw and slurping up the last bit of her creamy drink. She looked around the room one last time, secretly hoping he’d been hidden in a corner this whole time, waiting for her, but neither of them knowing the other was just across the room. But, like she suspected, he wasn’t there. The shop was full of happy families, loving couples, and groups of mates, but no single, blonde-haired boys were in sight. Nicole chewed on her lip, before embarrassedly standing up and crossing her arms over her chest, she hugged herself slightly while wondering how many people had been watching her. How many people had seen her clearly waiting for almost an hour for someone that decided not to show up?

The minute the brisk winter air greeted her face and her feet met the pavement, Nicole distinctly heard someone calling her name from a short distance behind her.

“Nicole,” they called out, coming closer. Slowly, she turned around, almost bumping straight into Niall. He looked down at her, a sheepish grin on his lips but his blue eyes looked sad. “Are you leaving?”

“Uh,” Nicole stammered, not sure what say. She pressed her lips together in a tight line as she thought over a reasonable response. “I-I was just getting some air.”

Her olive eyes connected with her shoes and her cheeks flushed red. Her skin oddly felt on fire even though she was standing outside on a chilly day in February. She was overwhelmed with embarrassment—why had she thought so badly of Niall; of course he wasn’t going to stand her up.

“I’m so sorry, Nicole.” He said, forcing her to peer up at him through her eyelashes. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and waited anxiously for him to finish. “I got caught up with work. I should have called, I feel terrible. I understand if you want to go.”

“Oh no, of course, you had work. Um, it’s not a problem, let’s uh go inside?” Nicole stumbled over her words before pointing back towards the milkshake shop with her thumb.

“Are you sure?” he asked, unable to believe she’d give him a second chance.

“Not really, but I’m freezing my tits off out here and would love to go back inside.”

Niall smiled toothily for the first time since he arrived. He reached quickly to grab Nicole’s hand, intertwining their fingers together, before brushing his warm lips against her knuckles. She giggled lightly before following him into the shop.

He ordered two Rolo milkshakes for the pair of them, but ended up drinking the majority of both because Nicole was ridiculously full from her first two. She got the odd feeling he didn’t mind though, it seemed Niall could possibly drink a dozen milkshakes if he set his mind to it.

“So, where do you work?” Nicole asked, finding it necessary to make conversation. Niall seemed quite nervous since he’d made such a mess of their first date by showing up late. Nicole wasn’t mad though, she understood people had priorities. Work was important, and she wasn’t the type of person to get all bothered over something as silly as being on time. At least he showed up—that was all that mattered.

“I’m uh in the—I work in the music industry.” he said, hoping not to give too much away without having to lie completely. He wasn’t ready to tell her about ‘One Direction’. He’d discovered over the last couple years that girls rarely liked him for him anymore. They fancied him because he was 1/5 of the world’s most popular boy band, and that wasn’t good enough. Niall wanted to meet someone normal. He wanted to meet someone he could joke around with. He wanted a girl he could be his self around and not have to worry about judgment.

“Really? Do you play an instrument, or sing?”

“I can play the g’tar.” he muttered, his mouth full of chocolaty, caramely, deliciousness. Nicole smiled amusingly, everywhere around his lips was covered in milkshake. It was obvious he was enjoying the ice cream dessert.

“So you’re a proper musician? That’s brilliant.”

Niall smiled proudly, puffing out his chest a little like he was really something. Nicole giggled loudly, and snorted several times much to her embarrassment. Quickly, she slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Niall had already burst out laughing, little bits of chocolate dribbling out of the side of his mouth and onto his chin.

“You’ve got something there,” Nicole insisted between giggles, motioning towards his chin. Without a blush of embarrassment, he wiped the chocolate goo away with the back of his hand, and continued laughing about absolutely nothing, really.

“Nicole,’ he said finally, calming down a bit. He was still grinning like a goof, but Nicole enjoyed that about him. He was such a happy person, it really brightened her mood.

“Yes?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“This might be forward, but I think we get on pretty well, and I uh have this stupid work dinner Tuesday, it’s going to be boring, but if you came-”

“What time?”

“Huh?”

“What time is the dinner, Niall?”

“Seven.”

“I get out of class at three, so I can go with you. If that’s what you were getting at.”

“Brilliant.” Niall replied, reaching across the table and placing his hand over hers. She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at him with her large, olive eyes. He continued to stare at her with a goofy look on his face, and both of them were thinking the same thing.

Finally.