Lightning in a Bottle

—Niall—

I’d like to think I was smart enough to know that love at first sight wasn’t a real thing. Like, there was no way right? But there had to be some kind of explanation for why I hadn’t stopped thinking about this girl since the day I first set foot in that bakery.

Ayden. Her name was Ayden, I knew that much about her. She also had this great smile that, I swear to god, lit up the entire room. Added bonus? She didn’t seem to know who I was. It’d been almost a year since I could go somewhere without someone calling me by my first name like we were old pals.

I couldn’t explain it though, why I felt this magnetic pull towards her. It didn’t make any sense at all, but for some reason I wanted to know her. No- I needed to know her. I wanted to know her story, her life, every thought that flowed through that brain of hers. I wanted to know why she worked in a bakery, I wanted to know what she wanted to do in the future. If she had a boyfriend.

I hadn’t even had a real conversation with her outside of the realm of cupcakes and pastries and I wanted her.

“Oi! Nialler?” Liam shouted at me, pulling me from my thoughts. “You alive there mate?”

“Sorry?” I glanced across the recording studio at him on the other couch with Louis next to him.

Louis chuckled, “He’s thinking about a girl. Look at him!”

“Shut up, am not.”

“You’re a shit liar mate,” Zayn smirked from a chair near the soundboard.

Harry came out of the booth and fell into the couch next to me, “Who is she? Better question, how’d you meet her? We’ve hardly left the studio!”

I shook my head, “It’s nothing.”

“HA! So there is a girl,” Lou accused.

Busted. I could physically feel my entire face burn red in embarrassment. “Um…” I sputtered.

“It’s the bakery isn’t it?” Zayn asked. “That’s why you keep going there.”

“I fucking knew it!” Louis shouted. He pointed at Harry, “You owe me 5 pounds.”

“Oi! He hasn’t’ confirmed anything yet!” Harry shot back.

Lou scoffed smirking at me, “It’s written all over his red face. Niall’s in love! Look at him!”

“What’s her name?”

“Are you gonna take her out?”

“Have you already taken her out?”

“Have you been holding out on us?”

They were throwing questions at me so fast my head was spinning. “Slow down! I only know her name!”

The room was silent as they all just stared at me. “Well…” Harry spoke first, “You know her name. That’s a start at least. What’s her name?”

“Only because I can read a nametag. It’s Ayden. With a Y,” I sighed.

“Exotic,” Louis giggled.

“I’m fucking hopeless! Every time I see her I get all nervous and forget how to make normal conversation. She probably thinks I have a sugar problem, because I only seem to remember how to order cupcakes around her!”

“Well try talking to her about baking then,” Liam offered. “Get on common ground.”

“No,” Louis shook his head. “What you do is march in there and say ‘Hi, I’m Niall from One Direction, wanna go on a date?’ Boom, not dry knickers in sight.”

“Bit crude Lou,” Liam scoffed.

I shook my head, “I don’t think she knows who I am. At least she doesn’t show it.”

“You just gotta play it cool. Like,” Zayn paused. “Like you just gotta make her talk to you. Start by introducing yourself.”

“Yeah, at this point you’re one of her regular costumers, yeah? So just walk in and while you’re making small talk about your order just introduce yourself,” Harry instructed.

“You gotta seem like you’re actually interested,” Liam said. “Girls don’t know how to read us just like we don’t know how to read them. It’s a shit cycle really.”

Louis clapped once, “I got it! I’ll go in with you next time and play cupid.”

“No,” I said.

“Absolutely not,” Harry said at the same time.

Liam clapped Louis on the back, “Sorry mate, but you’re a bit ‘in your face,’ ya know?”

“Isn’t that the point?” Lou scoffed. “He’s been going to this bakery for weeks and all he only knows is her name! Niall mate you gotta work on your game! We’re in the big leagues now! We’ve got a number 1 single, and hours of media training! You need to learn how to talk to birds.”

Liam waved him off before looking back at me, “Just introduce yourself. Start with that, baby steps.”

*****

—Ayden—

“I wonder if the boy band guy will come in today.”

“Who?” I asked absentmindedly. I was too busy trying to make sure I got the cupcake recipe right when Jess came through the kitchen door. Aunt Jenny was starting to let me take over more baking now that I was done with my A-Levels and I didn’t want to let her down.

Blue scoffed from next to me, “Don’t pretend you don’t know who we’re talking about. The two of you flirt every time he comes in here.”

I finally looked up after I dumped the right amount of flower into the mixer. “What are you going on about? What boy band guy?”

Both Jess and Blue were looking at me like I was stupid. “You know, the blond Irish guy that’s been coming in almost every day for two weeks?” Blue said. “Braces, incredible blue eyes, blushes easily.”

“Especially around you,” Jess laughed. “Every time he comes in here he can’t take his eyes off you.”

I was racking my brain to figure out who they’re talking about. “Wait, the guy that always buys a dozen cupcakes no matter how early it is?”

“Yes,” they said at the same time. “He also always looks like a kicked puppy whenever you’re not at the counter,” Blue smirked. “And the one you seem to giggle and smile at more than I ever thought humanly possible coming from you.”

I seriously had no idea what they were talking about but I know who they were talking about. He was this blond lad with the adorable Irish accent that has a big cute laugh. I had notice he got kind of red a lot, but I just figure it was because he was Irish and pale. And I didn’t flirt with him, I was just being polite! “Who is he exactly?”

“He’s from one of the X-Factor bands,” Blue answered.

Jess nodded, “Yeah, One Direction. They’re song is always on the radio, I know you’ve heard it!”

“She has.”

I looked between them, “I have?”

“Love, everyone in Britain has heard the song.” Jess rolled her eyes, “The one that’s like ‘you light up my world like nobody else,’” she sang halfheartedly.

“And something about flipping your hair,” Blue said. “Max was complaining it was stuck in his head the other night, remember?”

“It sound vaguely familiar,” I nodded, “Yes.” I was trying to picture the lad with a big cupcake appetite singing in a boy band… I couldn’t. He didn’t seem like the type- not that I had a problem with boy bands. I was big on N*Sync and Five fan when I was younger, plus it was almost un-British if you didn’t like Take That.

“But whatever,” Jess waved off. “His band doesn’t matter. What matters is that he comes in the bakery to see you.”

“You guys are delusional.”

Blue snorted a laugh, “And you’re blind. He’s fit and he clearly thinks you are. You should talk to him.” Blue was always trying to get me to talk to guys. I think it was because she secretly thought it was pathetic that I was pining away at Josh, her boyfriends best friend and band mate. She didn’t get it though, she didn’t know how he treated me when it was just us.

I rolled my eyes at her, “I don’t think I’d have anything to talk to him about. I mean he’s in a boy band.” despite how nonchalant I was trying to be, I could feel how red my face was getting under their pestering.

“Please don’t be genre bias Ayden,” Jess rolled her eyes. “It’s very unbecoming.”

“It’s settled,” Blue said with finality. “When he comes in, you’re talking to him.”

“Do I even have a say?”

“No,” they said in unison.

*****

—Niall—

I was already nervous as shit and I hadn’t even walked into the bakery yet. I thought the pep talk the lads had given me earlier would help, but it didn’t. It may have made it worse.

I took a few deep breaths, jumping in place a bit before I finally grew the balls to walk in.

I spotted her instantly. She was loading a plate of danishes into the display case as she sang along to ‘Take it Easy’ by The Eagles as it played through the speakers throughout the bakery. As if I needed another reason to be obsessed with this girl- she was an Eagles fan. Even if this was the only song she knew, it was enough for me.

She looked up when she heard the bell over the door jingle when I walked in. She smiled warmly at me, “Hey Irish! I’ll be with you in a second, just have to finish plating these.”

“No problem,” I smiled as I stood at the counter. She remembered me. She called me Irish, that means she recognizes me! I was trying to figure out when I was getting plus trying to figure out how to actually talk to her when she walked over to stand in front of me on the other side of the counter. “So, Irish, what can I get you today.”

“You remember me?” My shock came out before I could tame it.

She giggled, “Of course. You come in here often enough.” Of course, like I needed more embarrassment today. “Plus you’re kind of make an impression.”

I smirked, “Is that a good or bad thing?” If I could channel Harry’s flirtation, now was the time. How did he do it?!

“It’s a good thing,” I swear she was blushing. She was blushing right? She was totally blushing! “So um,” she cleared her throat, “What can I get you?”

“Oh uh,” I glanced at the display case. “What do you recommend?”

“Well… I just made those danishes. They’re cheese danishes. It’s my first batch I’ve made entirely by myself, so I’m not sure if they’re as good as my aunts but,” she shrugged. “Gotta start somewhere right?”

I nodded. I couldn’t help but smile at her rambling. “I’ll take 3 of those. And a dozen assorted cupcakes. I’ve got friends waiting for me to get back who might enjoy them.”

She nodded as she started bagging danishes, “Are you having a party or something?” She grabbed a cupcake box, avoiding eye contact.

“Um, no. I uh,” here goes nothing. “We’ve been locked up in the recording studio. It was my turn to go out and find snacks.”

“Well that’s nice of you,” she smiled.

“You’re not going to ask me?”

She looked up surprised, “Ask you what?”

“What band I’m in?” That’s usually everyone’s first question if they don’t already know the answer.

I watched her blush for a second time. I swear I could spend eternity making her blush and be completely happy with life. “Oh, I uh. I just figured it wasn’t my business.” She ducked her head and finished piling cupcakes into the box. She came back to the counter and passed the baked goods towards me as she rang me up. “Plus I… kind of already know what band you’re in.”

Now it was me blushing, “Oh?”

She bit her lip. God, everything she did was cute. “My friends told me earlier. I mean, I’m not- I mean, I haven’t really listened to you, but I’ve heard of you.”

I nodded, “Ah, okay.”

“Don’t worry,” she smirked, gaining her confidence back. “I’m not gonna go all fangirl on you, or whatever.”

I placed my hand over my heart dramatically, “You wound me.” She laughed. Thank god. I needed to keep this going, “SO your aunt works here too?”

She nodded, “Yeah, she owns this place. It’s her baby.”

“Well she’s got an amazing thing going.”

She beamed at my comment, “She does. I love it here!”

“I can tell, you always look like you’re having a good time. Like it’s not work.”

She blushed again. “I’m Ayden, by the way.”

I held my hand out to shake hers, “Niall.”

She shook my hand tentatively before letting go quicker than I would have liked. “Well Niall, you’re danishes are on me.”

“What? No, you don’t have to do that! I-”

She held her hand up to silence me, “We have this policy here, where friends get perks. So today, you get free danishes.”

I couldn’t help the smile that fell onto my face. “Friends eh?”

She shrugged, “Well, you have been coming in here a lot,” she smirked. She was definitely making fun of me, and I definitely liked it.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to find a way to replay you then.”

She giggled. Actually giggled, “I look forward to it, Popstar.”