Taking Flight

Niall

“Dude, I’m so hungry,” I moaned, throwing my head back against the headrest, keeping one hand on the wheel. “Can we please just go ahead and eat now?”

“Can you please use both hands?” Zayn snapped from the passenger seat. “We’re not even going to make it to lunch if you keep driving like this! And anyway, I’m not even hungry. Stop somewhere if you want, I don’t really care.”

“Ugh, thank God.” I leaned forward and put my other hand back on the steering wheel so Zayn would stop gripping the sides of his seat so hard. I considered my lunch options for a moment and then decided on McDonald’s, knowing that those fries could win me over any day. I expected to hear something from Zayn about how I was putting garbage into my body, but he was surprisingly quiet as I got in line for the drive thru. He took his wallet out of his back pocket and took some money out of it.

“Here, I’ll have some fries,” he said, placing the money on my lap.

I laughed and slapped his shoulder. “Yeah you will, buddy. I knew I taught you how to eat right.”

“There just fries, Niall,” he said, but I could tell he was laughing as well. “I’ve eaten them before, you know?”

We waited in line for more than ten minutes, but never moved up, so I finally gave in and parked, deciding it might be quicker to just go inside. Zayn wanted to wait in the car, so he gave me his money as I was getting out of the car. I stepped inside, happy to find that there were only a few people in line. It was also relieving that no one seemed to immediately notice me. I realized that maybe letting Zayn stay in the car wasn’t the smartest idea. If anyone saw him, he didn’t have a chance and my car probably wouldn’t either.

I shrugged the thought away and got in line, studying the menu to try and figure out exactly what I wanted. The line moved pretty fast, making me wonder how the drive thru line could be so jammed while the line inside was flowing so quickly.
These were the things that mattered.

I ordered my food and Zayn’s as well, then stood to the side and waited for it to be ready. I filled up my cup was I waited, and just as I turned around, I saw a little girl running from the front counter, holding her child sized drink in one hand and her chicken nuggets in the other. Her mother called and told her to slow down, but it was too late. She ran right into my leg, causing her nuggets to go flying and her drink to hit the floor. She didn’t even think twice before starting to cry.

I set my drink down and knelt down beside her, quickly picking up the drink before it spilled any more. “Hey, are you okay, kiddo? Come on, let me help you up.”

She let me take her tiny hands in my own, and I carefully pulled her back onto her feet. She rubbed her eyes with her small fists and kept crying, continuously calling for her mother and her lost nuggets. I looked up and saw her mom getting closer, but I took one of her hands again anyway.

“Hey, look behind you. There’s your mom, yeah? Everything’s okay.”

The woman finally reached us and I heard her sigh as she tucked a strand of brown hair behind her hair. “I’m so sorry about that,” she said to me. “Did anything spill on you?”

I shook my head and stood up, chuckling a bit. “No, not at all. It’s really not a big deal.”

She leaned over in front of the little girl, who was no longer crying but was still sniffing. “Molly, I told you not to run off like that. You have to listen to me, okay? You could’ve gotten hurt, or hurt someone else. Plus, you spilled all your food.”

Molly puckered her lower lip and started whimpering again, so I knelt down again. “You’re name’s Molly right? Well, I’m Niall, so we don’t we go and get you some more chicken nuggets?”

I looked up at her mom to make sure I had her approval, but she was shaking her head. “Sir, you don’t have to do that. I’m fine with buying her some more, really. I should probably buy you something since she ran into you and everything.”

I just raised my eyebrows. “She’s just a kid, it really isn’t a big deal. And please, it’s Niall. ‘Sir’ makes me feel a bit old, you know?”

Her face softened and she even smiled, but I could tell she still wasn’t convinced. “Well, Niall, I still can’t let you buy my daughter food when she nearly spilled her first order all over you.”

I looked back at Molly. “You want some more chicken, Molly?”

“Mhm,” she nodded, her big eyes meeting mine and making me melt a little bit.

I laughed and stood back up. “Alright, that settles it then. Let’s get you some food, kiddo.”

“Sir, please-“

“Hey now, I told you not to say all that ‘sir’ junk. It’s Niall. And please, stop worrying about it. It’s really not a big deal at all.”

“I just feel so bad. There’s got to be something we can do for you.”

I looked back at her as I walked with Molly to the end of the line, and this time I really looked at her. She was so young, especially to have a child who had to be at least three or four. She was pretty, but in a subtle kind of way. Her brown hair was pulled back, but a few strands still hung by her face. She had dark, grayish blue eyes. She was tall, but not quite as tall as me. She looked like a mom, but that didn’t make her any less attractive.

“Well,” I said, giving her a smile. “Why don’t you just tell me your name and we’ll call it even?”

Her eyes dropped and she crossed her arms, but I could see the corner of her mouth start to twitch into a smile. “Olivia Tatum.”

I couldn’t stop smiling when she said her name, and didn’t know why. “I’m Niall, like I said before. Niall Horan.”

I turned back to the front and stepped up to the counter, greeting the cashier for the second time that day. “Can I get a four piece kid’s meal, and a small chocolate milkshake?”
I said the second part quietly so no one else could hear me except the cashier.

When I was done, I picked up my first order from the counter and waited with Molly while Olivia stood awkwardly to the side. I knew she was feeling uncomfortable, but I couldn’t tell if it was because I’d bought food for her kid, or because I was a strange man who was standing too close to her daughter. I folded my arms and stood a little straighter, trying my best to seem less creepy.

One of the workers called the order number, and I stepped forward to take the bag and the drink. Once again, I knelt down in front of the small girl. I gave her the bag with her meal in it, then handed her the milkshake. “Here you go, sweetheart. A little something extra for you, since you lost your other food.”

Olivia stepped up, and I could tell she was about to protest, so I held up my hand to stop her before she could begin. “It was lovely meeting you ladies. I should go, because my friend is waiting in the car, but could I-“

“We should go too,” she said, and I could see the panic in her eyes, like she knew I was about to ask for her number. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. That was really kind.”

She scooped Molly up and was gone before I could say anything else. I sighed and headed back to the car, where Zayn was giving me a strange look before I could even open my door.

“What took you so long, man? Get held up by a pretty girl or something?”

I laughed and gave him his fries. “Two, actually.”