This.

A couple days later, I was in a meeting in my office. My company was London based, so I able to stay close to home. I hadn’t heard anything from Niall, which was the only plus side to my day. I was having trouble getting paying attention to what was going on. It had been a long day and I was ready to go home.

But no, this yahoo had to sit here and chatter on and on about clean water wells in Asia. Don’t get me wrong, I really cared about what was going on, but it was excruciatingly boring.

“So, does this sound like something you could get behind?” The middle aged woman who was giving her proposal asked when she finished the presentation.

“Absolutely!” I nodded and clapped my hands. “I love it. I’ll try to get a group together to come with you on your next trip to Tibet. I’m sure there would be some high school students interested. I’ll look into it and get back to you.” I told her.

“Great!” She responded as I began to usher her out. “Thank you so much. Getting involved with someone like you is a huge honor!” She gushed.

“Thanks so much.” I replied gratefully. I loved it when people complimented my work. “I’ll probably get in touch with you on Friday.” I gave her a final wave and she went on her way.

Finally! I thought to myself as I sat heavily back into my chair. My feet were throbbing, I had a headache and I was starving. I was real grumpy and I was not in the mood to be irritated farther. Was almost 8:30 and I was looking forward to going home and crawling into bed.

I guess I spoke too soon, because right as I sat down, my phone started to ring. I groaned and reached over to grab it off the desk. “Hey, Ange.” I said once I accepted the call.

“Hi, Marj. So, there’s a club opening that Niall was invited to tonight.” She explained, getting right to the point.

“Seriously? Tonight? Why can’t he go by himself?” I whined. I was not in the mood to go clubbing tonight. And I sure as hell wasn’t in the mood to hang out with Niall. Our lunch “date” was enough of that idiot to last me at least a few months.

“Yeah. Public appearances are a part of the agreement. Its not enough to just say you guys are together, they need to see it.” She said, laughing lightly at my attitude.

“Fine. Am I meeting him there?” I asked her, examining some chipped nail polish on my left hand.

“Actually, I told him to meet you at your office. I thought it might be fun for him to see what you do.” I rolled my eyes, even more annoyed. I didn’t want him here. This was my sanctuary, and he would taint it.

As she finished that sentence, there was a tap on the door. I looked up to Niall in a nice pair of khakis and a sharp looking button up shirt. The dark blue color made his eyes pop out of this skull. He looked really good, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.

“He’s here. I’ll talk to you later.” I told Angela on the other end and hung up before I heard her reply. “Hey.” I addressed my boyfriend.

“Hi.” He said curtly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Your assistant told me to tell you she took off.” He said to the group, kicking into the carpet as he spoke.

“Okay. Thanks. I have to finish up a couple things, then we can go.” I said to him without looking at him. I logged back into my computer to go through some emails that I had forgotten about. “You can sit.” I said to him and pointed to a chair that was position on the other side of my desk.

He ignored me and turned his attention to some photos I had hanging on my walls. I was annoyed that he ignored me, but I didn’t care what he was doing, so long as he left me alone. “Where was this?” He asked after a few minutes.

I stopped typing and tried to make out the picture he was pointing at. I couldn’t see so I had to get up and go stand next to him. I couldn’t help but smile at it when I looked at it.

I was standing next to a huge elephant, my arms wrapped around its trunk. There was this goofy grin on my face. It was a really cool picture if I do say so myself. “That was taken in Cambodia.”

He hummed softly, giving at a final glace before looking at the others. “You travel a lot?” He didn’t take his eyes from the wall. “Yeah. I go out of the country every few months.”

“That’s cool. I’ve been a lot of places, but I haven’t seen much, you know?” He told me, tipping one of the cooked frames so that it hung straight.

“No. I don’t.” I told him, stealing a sideways glance at him. “What’s the point of going somewhere new if you don’t experience it?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.
“I don’t know…” He admitted, trailing off in the last part of his sentence. “So what exactly do you do?”

“Well, the main purpose is to inspire youth activism. You know, make them care about issue. I really want to give people something to care about. Then we join up with humanitarian groups that are doing stuff around the world. Every few months I go with groups of students to join in with the service projects.” He nodded his head, looking genuinely interested.

“That sounds fun. You’ve probably seen a lot of amazing places.” He said, his blue eyes meeting mine. No, the sheer brilliance of them was not making me weak in the knees. Just kidding, I felt like I was about to topple over.

“I have. I’ve met a lot of neat people too. Maybe you’ll be able to come sometime. Since, you know…we’re dating and stuff.” I said, trying to keep my cool.

At the mention of out agreement, his eyes grew dark. It kinda freaked me out. “Are you ready to go now?” He snapped, attitude creeping back into his tone. Here I was, thinking that Niall Horan wasn’t so bad after all. I guess I was wrong, huh?

“Uh, yeah.” I stumbled back to gather my things and send off my last email. His sudden mood swing still had my mind reeling. I slipped some paperwork into my bag and turned back around to face him. “Let’s go.”

He spun around gracefully on his heel and started making long strides out of the office. I had to jog to keep up with him. “I’m assuming you don’t have a car since I was sent to pick you up?” He asked over his shoulder as I tried to keep up with him. I followed him to a fancy looking car in the carpark.

“Yeah.” He unlocked it and climbed in, starting the engine before I even opened my door. I was uncomfortable being alone with him. He wasn’t very nice at all.

“You need to change.” He told me, glancing at my work clothes. I felt my cheeks color at his insult to my outfit. I suddenly felt really inferior to him. He looked so stylish and I was just frumpy.

“Oh. Uh, okay. We can stop by my flat then.” He grumbled as I rattled off the directions. He was driving really fast, and the radio was turned up pretty loud. I was scared for my life and I had to try really hard not to squeeze my eyes shut and scream as we wound through the streets.

He stopped in front of my building and climbed out. He was a quick little bastard. I was still unbuckling myself when slammed the door to his side. Suddenly my door was being pulled open and an annoyed looking Niall peered in at me.

“Is there any reason as to why everything you do takes so long?” He said harshly as I stepped out. I rolled my eyes at him and entered the building ahead of him, making sure that I dropped the door on him.

The lift ride was awkward. It involved a lot of impatient sighing and foot tapping on his part. The doors finally opened and we made the way over to my door. I unlocked it slowly, mostly to bother Niall. It opened and we stepped inside.

I flicked the light on and immediately went to my bedroom to change. “Five minutes!” He called out to me before I slammed the door behind me. Ugh! I hated him. What was the purpose of him being so bossy?

I opened the doors to my closet and suddenly got really confused. What was I supposed to wear to a club? I have never been to one in my life. Was it okay to wear pants? Or should I wear a dress?

After minutes of consideration, and a few very vulgar shouts from Niall telling me to hurry up, I decided on something to wear. It was a simple black dress with some beading on the front and some blue flats. I didn’t know if it was acceptable, but I wore it anyway.

I sprayed some perfume on and touched up my make up. Niall pounding on the bedroom door convinced me I was good to go. I opened the door and he immediately narrowed his eyes at me. I tried not to fidget as his intense gaze studied me. “Is that really what you’re wearing?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

I bit my lip and tried not to look hurt. “What’s wrong with it?” I barely squeaked. Wow, good one, Marj!

He scoffed. “Nothing. It’s just that we’re going to a club. Not Sunday school.” I looked down, examining the dress.

“Well sorry! I’ve never been to a club before!” I admitted, smoothing my hands over the fabric.

“Obviously. Don’t you have anything else?” He asked shortly.

“Fuck you.” I finally decided. “I can wear whatever I want.”

“Fine. Let’s go then.” I flipped his back off as he moved across the room the door.

“Stop being a bitch and lets go.” He said over his shoulder. He looked so sweet with his baby face and big eyes. I don’t understand how he could be such a horrible person.

When we arrived at the club after a long car ride of loud music and fast driving, Niall stopped the car at a valet booth. “Don’t do anything stupid, oaky?” He told me before killing the engine. Me? Stupid? That was rich.

I watched him hand the keys to the valet and make his way to my door to open it for me. His scowl had been replaced by a bright smile. His large hand reached for mine, which I took gingerly. He wrapped his hand around my fingers and smiled at the press who were shouting wildly at us.

“Don’t say anything.” He commanded gruffly in my ear as he pulled me along. We stopped in front of a large group of them and smiled. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close. He smelled really nice. I took a deep breath, inhaling his musky scent before I reminded myself that he sucked.

After a few pictures, Niall pulled me inside by my hand. Once we stepped through to door he dropped it roughly. “Do whatever you want. I’ll find you in a few hours.” He said and made his way toward the bar.

At that I was left all alone. The room was dim and the music was so loud I felt it rumbling in my chest. There were people everywhere and I didn’t know any of them. I gulped and took a few unsure steps in a random direction. What the hell am I supposed to do by myself for a few hours? I didn’t like to party. Large crowds made me nervous, I didn’t drink, and frankly I thought it was a waste of time hanging around places like this.

I thanked the lord in heaven when I saw a restroom tucked in the back corner of the club. I entered it, relieved that no one was in there at the moment. I stepped inside a stall and settled myself carefully on the toilet. Pulling my phone from my purse, I started an intense game of angry birds.

After about three hours, my battery was almost dead. I decided it was a good time to go get Niall and leave. If I didn’t have anything to pass the time, I wasn’t about to hang out in the bathroom any longer.

I left the restroom and made my way through the crowd. The club was even more packed then it was when I entered. I was being bumped from all sides as I braved the crowd. I glanced at the bar spotted him on one of the stools. There was a leggy blonde tucked in-between his legs.

I suddenly got really jealous. Not so much because Niall was into her, but because of the way he looked at her. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and he gazed at her like she was some sex goddess. She screamed sex appeal. I had never been that kind of girl. I was girl next-door material. Niall would never look at me like that. I wasn’t sexy; I was just some plain jane that he was stuck with for six months.

He leaned in and brushed his lips across her neck. Her head tipped back and she bit her lip. He said something into her ear and she smiled and nodded. I was suddenly fuming. I mean it was one thing to ditch me, but he didn’t have to go and snog some whore while he was at it.

I walked over to them and tapped her on the shoulder. I put on my best innocent smile. “Hi!” I said making sure I sounded really friendly. “I was wondering if I could steal my boyfriend back?”

Her jaw dropped open and she gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry. I didn’t realize he was here with someone.”

“Oh its alright. We’re still working thought his commitment issues, isn’t that right, hon?” I asked Niall, smirking at his glare. The blonde gave me another apology and sauntered off into the crowd.

“What the hell?” He asked me, exasperated.

“Take me home. Now.” I demanded shortly, crossing my arms over my chest. He groaned and pushed himself off the stool, pushing his way into the crowd. We emerged back outside the club. There were less photographers, but a few started snapping our picture as we left. I tucked my hand into the crook of his arm for the sake of the cameras as we waited for the valet to bring the car.

“You are such a prude. It’s barely after midnight.” I told me his voice low so he wasn’t overheard.

“You are a twat, you know that?” I whispered back.

“I’m a twat?” He scoffed. “You’re a twat.”

I tightened my grip around his arm, making sure my nails dug into his flesh. His breath hitched at my sudden aggressiveness. “I don’t give a fuck what you do. But you will not make a fool of me, do you understand?” I hissed into her ear.
Niall pulled his arm from my hand and shot me a glare. “Go to hell.” He spat.

“Trust me.” I told him as the valet pulled the car up. I shoved passed him and opened the door myself. “I’m already in hell.”