Just A Moment

Although there was a full security entourage in two, the boys and I still had the chance to be together before they took off. I drove them to JFK, playing heated roadtrip games along the way, and got to walk them to their gate. Though Zayn and I had been pretty much inseparable throughout their entire stay, it was Niall who wouldn’t leave my side from the time they absolutely had to get on the plane. He fought harry valiantly for the front seat and made sure to be by my side as we walked through the airport.

I think the craziest part about that trip to the airport was the fans. They. Were. Everywhere. I felt kind of bad, knowing that I would’ve been right there with them a few days ago. Around every turn, they were there clicking pictures and screaming out names and thrusting pens in our direction.

Yes. Even my direction.

That was probably the weirdest part. The fact that people actually knew who I was and wanted pictures and autographs from me was crazy. A lot of them actually knew me from my YouTube channel of my music that had apparently been getting a lot more hits within the last few days…

But it wasn’t until we encountered two specific girls that the full weight of everything hit me.

“LOUIS!”

“HARRY!”

We all turned to see where the frenzied shriek had come from and were met with the sight of two girls hurdling in our direction.

“Oh shit!” I squeaked, immediately ducking behind Niall.

“Hannah!” he laughed. “What is it?” He turned to me and put his hands on my arms, trying to steady me. I, however, wrenched myself free from his grasp and turned him around again, hiding the best I could.

“I know them!” I hissed, jerking my ehad towards the girls who were quickly approaching. “LIAM!” I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him right next to Niall, making a human shield. “Do me a favor and stay there kay thanks!”

“What’s going-”

“SHH!!” I shushed him.

“What’s going on?” Liam whispered over his shoulder.

“I think that she knows them and doesn’t want them to notice her?” Niall shrugged with an amused smile.

“Yes! That’s Melody and Amanda, the girls I ditched at your concert? They would absolutely murder me if they found me here with you guys because they’re huge fans and found you guys before me and pretty much introduced me to y’all so if they saw me with you and I didn’t tell them about it-” I took a breath and hunched behind the two boys as the girls reached Louis and Harry.

“Hi!” Melody waved breathlessly.

“Hey, babe!” Louis smiled.

“Oh, my god, um, I just want you to know that I love you and you’re incredible and Eleanor is such an amazingly lucky girl and wow I can’t believe that I’m actually meeting you!” Melody was babbling.

“Who’s that?” Zayn suddenly appeared next to Niall, munching on a food court sandwich.

“My friends Melody and Amanda from school!” I whispered.

Zany continued chewing and looking at Melody before finally commenting, “She’s fit!” I looked back to Melody. She was very tall, skinny, fair skinned and had long dark brown hair and big brown eyes. Basically, she was gorgeous. “Her friend, too!” Zayn nodded to Amanda, who was equally tall and skinny but with shorter golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

He nodded again before noticing me crouched behind Niall and Liam. “Uh, what’re you doing, love?” He laughed, cocking his head a bit.

“Hiding from my ‘fit’ friends!” I hissed lowly.

“They’re your friends?” Zayn pointed to the fan girl moment unfolding ahead of us. “Well, then let’s go over and say hello!” He started towards them without a second thought. “Hello, I’m Zayn!” I heard him say. He stuck out a hand, making both of the girls smile hugely.

“We know who you are! I’m Melody!” She squealed, shaking his hand. Amanda followed suit quickly before moving her eyes to Liam.

“I have to go say hello, it’s only polite!” He hissed before moving forward. “Hai!” I heard him say before giving both the girls big hugs. I sighed in defeat, knowing Niall would be next and I’d have to face them.

Before I could do anything, though, Niall took me into a warm embrace and said into my ear, “You know you’re just going to have to face the music, yeah?”

“Would I be a terrible person if I said I don’t want to?” I mumbled shyly.

He let out a small laugh, “I don’t think anything could make you a terrible person!”

Before I could register the unbelievable butterflies that were molesting my stomach at the moment, I heard Amanda call, “Niall! Please don’t stop laughing, it’s a beautiful sound!”

This, of course, made Niall laugh even more as he went and introduced himself, signing the shirts they’d brought and taking quick pictures with them. Then he gestured back to me and said, “And this is our good friend Hannah!”

I stepped forward timidly, afraid of their bewildered expressions, and waved shyly. Then Melody advanced and took me in a huge bear hug, whispering fiercely into my ear, “You have SOOOO much explaining to do, missy!”

“Excuse me, guys, but we really need to be making our way to the gate?” A short woman that I recognized from the boys’ security detail popped into our little circle before falling back with the rest of the team.

“Sorry, ladies, but we’ll catch you another time!” Louis smiled and began walking.

“Yeah, it was lovely meeting you Amanda! Melody!” Harry waved and fell into step with Lou.

“Glad to know Hannah has lovely friends like you girls! Nice meeting you!” Liam said before hopping away with Zayn after the other two boys.

“Thanks, guys! It’s always lovely to meet the fans!” Niall waved simply before snaking an arm around my waist and leading me away. We were quickly surrounded by security so that no more interruptions could slow us from reaching our destination.

I leaned happily into Niall. “Now that didn’t go so bad, eh?” he lilted.

“Yeah, I’m not sure why I was so worried!” I agreed.

“Yeah, me neither!” He laughed.

“Actually I- well, hello!” Zayn had dropped back with Liam and they were both suddenly at my side.

‘Hi! So, um, do you think you could, like, give me Melody’s number or twitter or something?” Zayn said awkwardly.

I gave him a look before saying, “Go ask Louis. She more than likely gave them to him.”

Zayn put a hand on his heart in mock offence. “A- Are you saying that I’m not her favorite??”

Liam put his arms around Zayn’s shoulders as he broke into fakes sobs. “Now you’ve done it!” Liam scolded me before leading Zayn back up to Louis.

After a quick moment of easy silence, “So who is your favorite?” Niall squeezed me closer with a smile in his voice.

“I didn’t have one!” I protested with a chuickle.

“Oh, come on! Everyone has a favorite!” he pressed.

I huffed, “Well, before I knew you, I really did like you all… however, I will admit that I had a soft spot for one of you…”

“I’m listening!” He prompted me impatiently.

I blushed and smiled shyly at the ground. “Well, that would be you.”

“Aw, you’re just saying that!” He said, sounding equally as shy.

“It’s the truth!” I shook my head. “But I promise that that has nothing to do with why I like you!” I continued without thinking.

Then I realized what I’d said and felt the color rushing to my cheeks and bit my lip, looking down awkwardly.

I felt him lean in closer and press his smile to my ear, saying, “Did you just say that you like me?”

I rolled my eyes at his cockiness. But before I could make a witty crack, I met his eyes and saw the kindness and sincerity that lay there.

“I may have a little crush on you…” I admitted bashfully.

His eyes brightened and his arm tightened around me. I rested my head on his shoulder, in shock that I had actually just said that, and he rested his chin on my head gently.

“In that case, I should probably tell you that I have a little crush on you, as well.”

My heart started beating harder and faster and louder than a freight train at his simple words. I couldn’t even fathom the fact that the man of my dreams had just admitted to having a crush on me.

“Is that so Mr. Horan?” I said, the butterflies bringing out the cheek in me.

“Indeed it is, Miss Clarke!” He responded quickly.

So, let’s just ponder this a second: what exactly do you say after someone tells you something like that?

Oh, yeah, I have no freaking idea.

So, being the genius that I am, I smiled like an idiot and changed the subject.

“So what’re you gonna do on the flight?” I asked after a sufficiently prolonged silence.

“Count down the hours until we land so that I can call you.” He answered quickly.

“Aw, Niall!” I hip bumped him affectionately. Then I looked up into his eyes and saw the sincerity behind the statement. “You’re really going to call me, aren’t you!”

“Of course! You’re not slipping out of my life that easy, Hannah Clarke!”

I couldn’t help but smile at his incredible sweetness.

At this point we were standing in front of the gate, waiting for the “Go” to board. Liam approached me and asked, “You have all of our numbers, right?”

“I believe so! I already had Louis’, Zayn’s and Niall’s and I got yours in the car, so I’ll text you all before you take off!” I nodded. “But Harry-”

“Oh, you have mine!” Harry quipped, joining our little circle.

“I didn’t see yours when I was scrolling through, though…” My brows drew together.

“Oh, I’m not under ‘H’. You’ll find me under ‘S’!” He winked cheekily.

“Hannah, love, are you sure you can’t come back with us? We would walk you and feed you and you’d even have a little corner in our apartment with a nice pile of newspapers and everything!” Louis petted my head affectionately.

“What, in your place!” Niall laughed. “If she wanted to live in a pig sty, she’d go to a farm. Pretty sure even that would be more sanitary!” The boys all laughed at Niall’s jab.

“Let’s be honest, now, if she was going to live with anyone, it’d probably be with Zayn!” Liam interjected smoothly.

“Probably? Try definitely!” Zayn said, popping into the circle with a big smile.

I laughed at their banter. “I really wish I could, Lou, but I really have to get to school tomorrow and catch up. God knows how much I’ve fallen behind!” I groaned at the thought.

“We’re boarding, boys!” Paul appeared behind us and nodded to the gate that was now open. He headed onto the plane, leaving a few guards behind to assure the boys’ boarding.

We all stood around awkwardly for a moment before I broke the silence.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, then…”

“Not goodbye, love!” Louis took me into a tight embrace. “Just til’ next time!”

“Oh, Louis!” I hugged him back, beginning to discover how much I’d miss his wit and sarcasm. “Thanks for everything!”

“Thank me?” He laughed, pulling back to look at me. “Thank you! I know Eleanor left on an earlier flight, but she wanted me to tell you thanks so much and to keep in touch!”

“I will!” I smiled.

“C’mere!” Liam opened his arms. “I’m not very good with goodbyes…” He said into the hug.

“Well…” I said, giving him one last squeeze before pulling back and digging through my bag. “You know that portable DVD player you were bragging about before?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it bragging…!” He scoffed.

“Yeah, okay…” Niall nodded with a chuckle.

“Here!” I pulled a 3-pack of all three Toy Story movies out and handed them to him. “This should help keep you busy on the flight!”

“Hannah Clarke you are incredible!” He sounded like a kid at Christmas. “Thank you!” He gave me another big hug before stuffing the DVDs into his backpack.

“Do I get anything?” Harry smiled cheekily.

“How about a hug first!” I offered with a laugh. Harry’s hug was warm and strong and I found that I fit perfectly into his arms. “And here!” I pulled away quickly, afraid of the fluttering feelings that were arising in my stomach. “I’ve never seen you in a blue one, so I thought you might like it! It’s my favorite but I haven’t been using it much lately, so…” I was holding out a royal blue beanie out to him.

“Dude, that is so weird, we were just talking about how he lost his grey one the other day!” Louis exclaimed.

“Yeah, could you keep an eye out for that one for me?” Harry’s eyes became concerned.

“Of course!” I laughed at his seriousness.

“Thanks, Hannah.” He said softly, meeting my eyes honestly. “If you ever need anything, ever, just give me a ring, ok?”

“Thanks, Harry, I will.” I felt tears begin to prick at my eyes as he gave me one last hug before starting for the ramp with Louis.

“Hey.” Niall was in front of me now.

“Hey.” I returned wit ha small smile.

“We’re going to be back in the states in June. That’s only a few months from now, ya know? And then you’ll be on tour with us for awhile so…”

“And it’s not like we don’t have Skype and texting and twitter and stuff!” I added.

“Yeah!” His face barely brightened. He moved closer and put a gentle hand on my face, stroking my cheek lightly with his thumb. “And I will call you when we land. Don’t want to keep you worrying or anything.” He said with a small smile.

“Okay.” Was all I could muster, biting back tears. He pulled me into an urgent embrace that lasted only a second before he pulled away.

A brief “Bye,” was all I got before he darted down the ramp and onto the plane.

“That wasn’t easy for him, you know.” Zayn’s quip broke me from my brief lapse. He took me into a big bear hug, I sank comfortably into his arms.

“What do you mean?” I let the tears run gently.

“He doesn’t want to leave you!”

“Oh, please!” I pulled away, furtively wiping at the tears. “We’ve only known each other four days-”

“A lot can happen in four days, Hannah.” Zayn looked at me, rubbing my arms comfortingly. “Like finding someone you can now call one of your best friends?”

“Best friends, huh?” I met his eyes through the last few remaining tears.

“Best friends.” He nodded, taking me into another hug. “We’ll Skype later tonight, yeah?”

“Okay!” I nodded quickly.

“Can I Skype too?” Liam interrupted, waiting to board.

“Sure, why don’t you actually stay over, mate? We could Skype and then do a twit cam and get some pizza or something?” Zayn smiled, inviting his friend over.

“YAY! Sleepover at Zayn’s!” Liam shouted before taking me into another hug. “Later, Hannah!”

“See you, love!” Zayn took hold of my shoulders, leaning in and kissing my forehead before backing away with Liam down the ramp.

I stood there and waved until they were out of sight. I stayed until the last of the passengers had boarded and the attendants were closing the door. I decided to move to the window to watch the plane take off like I had when we dropped my grandmother off at the airport as a child.

“WAIT!” I turned to see-

“Niall!” The blonde boy was squeezing past the door and pleading with the attendant to give him a minute. “Niall, what are you doing?” I laughed, baffled at his actions.

He started jogging towards me. My smile disappeared at the determination in his eyes. When he reached me, his arms wrapped around me firmly. Then he kissed me.

My body melted into his as I felt his cool lips crushed against my own; my arms snaked around his neck and my body pressed against his.

You know those fireworks that everyone talks about that should happen during a first kiss? Well I didn’t feel any fireworks. What I felt was more along the lines of a raging ocean swell, a tropical storm, incredible lightning shows against a charcoal sky.

It was incredible.

When he finally pulled away, he looked into my eyes and said lowly, “That was the most cliché thing I’ve ever done, but I couldn’t live with myself it I left without kissing you goodbye.”

I felt an undeniable smile spread across my face as I looked up into those perfect blue orbs. I stretched up to plant a light kiss on his lips.

My lips still practically on his own, I said quietly, “I’m so glad you did.”

He sighed, and I could feel his breath against my nose. He smiled and whispered, “Goodbye, Hannah.”

And then I watched him board the plane. The beautiful boy who had just given me my first kiss.