Flavor of the Week

As Jay dropped the bomb Niall didn’t move. His face didn’t so much as flinch as the entire place went deathly silent. Then Liam stormed off, Claire running after him. Harry was the next to go, pulling his hand from Ava’s. She glanced hesitantly at Louis for a moment before following him, trying to get him to stop. Louis paused for a moment before following them both, a grim look on his face. Then Zayn just looked at Hannah, shaking his head before shoving his way past Jay and the girls.

But Niall just stood there.

Georgia felt her stomach drop as the rest of the girls and Jay cleared out, probably to give them some privacy. Georgia reached out, touching Niall’s face softly. “Niall.” She whispered. He still had her other hand laced together with his, but it was like holding hands with a statue as he looked off into space. “Niall, please say something to me.” She whispered. Finally he turned to her, his jaw tense and she saw him fighting back tears.

“How much?” He finally chocked out.

“How much what?” He then finally exploded, ripping his hand from hers and getting in her face, every muscle on his body tense with fury.

“How much did they pay you to steal my heart and crush it?!” He roared. She took a step back, caught off guard by his fury as he glared at her. “Well?”

“The winning girl got a part in a movie. We all were trying to get that.” She murmured. He just shook his head at her, running his hands through his hair.

“Well you should get it, you’ve won, you’ve ruined my ability to trust women.”

“Niall, I didn’t want the part-”

“So you came on here for fun?” He snapped. She reached out, trying to get a hold of him and try to calm him down, but he pulled his arms away. “Don’t touch me.” He growled. “I never should have trusted you, never should have thought I would meet a real, genuine, down to Earth girl-”

“My parents said if I won they would send me to my school in Paris.” She said quickly as he turned to leave. “I never wanted to come on here, but there’s only one scholarship and I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford tuition.” She felt tears sting her eyes as he looked back at her.

“So you played me to go to school?”

“It was never supposed to be like that Niall. I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted to hurt anyone. But especially not you.” He sighed, pressing his lips together as he looked at her.

“So, who are you then?” He asked quietly. She stepped towards him, setting her hands on his arms.

“You already know me Niall.” She whispered, smiling. “When we went on our date, the girl who you had a paint fight with, who you talked to for hours and hours, that was me Niall.” She swallowed nervously. “When I said I had to go to the bathroom it was because the producers called me. They yelled at me for dropping character but…” She stopped, tears stinging her eyes as she looked at him. “I didn’t want to be fake Georgia anymore.”

There was a long silence as a tear rolled down her cheek. She raised her hand to wipe it away, but Niall beat her to it, slowly sliding his calloused thumb over her soft skin. “Niall please.” She murmured. “Everything between us, everything I’ve said about how I feel about you, that was real. I do really care about you. And I do really want to be with you, ever since the day you first knocked me over.”

He didn’t say a word, but simply nodded, looking at her with his perfect blue eyes. “So… you’re not shy?” He said finally.

“Oh god no.” She almost chuckled. “My mom is an actress and my dad’s a producer, I’m not allowed to be shy.” She chuckled. “And these sweaters? Not mine. Not a single one.” She slipped it off over her head to reveal a cute tank top, handing the bulky sweater to Niall. He chuckled, taking the soft cashmere between his fingertips and brushing his fingertips with hers as he did so.

“So what do you wear then?”

“Dresses and skinny jeans. And high heels, lots of eyeliner, and contacts.” With that she pulled off her glasses, looking at him with a smile. “These are fake.” She also reached back and pulled her hair out of it’s bun, the brown, wavy hair falling around her shoulders.

“Anything else I should know?” He asked. She pressed her lips together, chewing the bottom one.

“I really am a virgin.” She said finally. “I’m not saying I haven’t done anything, but not that.” He nodded before reaching out, running his fingers through her soft hair.

“Well I am too, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” He chuckled. “And um…” He pressed his lips together, looking at her. “I’m kind of glad you’re not shy.” She cocked her head to the side, looking at him.

“But I thought since you were you’d want a girl who was too.” He shook his head, smiling.

“I kind of play up the shyness a bit because the ladies love it.” He admitted. “The Niall you saw during our last date, that was more of the real Niall.” She nodded, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at her. “So I guess we’re both at fault here.”

“I guess.” She whispered. He then reached out, cupping her face in his hand.

“And just for the record, I like the real Georgia.” She smiled, feeling tears sting her eyes again as she hugged him tightly.

“That’s perfect, because I like the real Niall.” She looked up, letting her eyes meet his as he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.