My Judgements Clouded.

Chapter Three

I ran inside my house, still buzzing with my encounter with Niall. Emma, Molly, Moana and Tayla were already in my room, setting up for our sleepover. After years of friendship, our parents were used to us just turning up at each other’s houses, even if one of us weren’t there. The sight of them there made me crack. I burst into tears and started to scream. I had to contain my emotions while sitting on the train, my body fizzing and my mind nearly exploding with happiness. I explained to them what happened – my trip to the swim shop, the quiet Parade Walk, my stubbed toe and how Niall had asked me if I was alright, how he tried to make conversation, about how he said he wanted to see me again and how I had run off and left him. They were as excited as me. It took a long time for us to calm down. We were squealing, jumping, crying and screaming. It was a good thing my parents were off at my twin sisters’ school production tonight; otherwise they would have seriously though we were crazy. I so desperately wanted this night to end and morning to come. I was still excited and I couldn’t sleep. We tried movies, music, lights off, lights on, hot chocolates, peppermint tea, silence and whispered conversation. Nothing could take our minds off Niall and we couldn’t, no matter how hard we tried, get to sleep, so I ended up explaining exactly what Niall was wearing, how blue his eyes were, how blonde his hair. I talked about the way he moved, re-told our conversation over and over again and I went in to elaborate detail about his gorgeous accent. Morning came slowly but surely and before we knew it six oh clock had come. The sun was shining into my small bedroom and I realised how awful we looked. Eyes puffy from lack of sleep and excessive crying, our hair tangled and messy, even our arms and legs seemed crumpled and useless. As we looked at each other I could tell we were all thinking the same thought. We looked horrible.
We left the house at 7:30am. Our hair was done, makeup lightly brushed on, outfits prefect. Emma was currently the only one who could drive. I was on my learners, as was Molly and Tayla. Moana had no interest in driving, though we were trying to convince her. We were all squished into Emma’s car, butterflies fluttering in our stomachs. We had tried to eat breakfast this morning, but my stomach wouldn’t allow anything and I was getting the familiar sandpaper-and-cotton-ball feeling in my throat. As we got nearer to where the boys were doing the gig, I felt like I was going burst. Indescribable feelings were circulating my body and I just wanted to scream. We parked the car and grabbed our gear. Deck chairs, posters and books we wanted them to sign, our food bag and cameras. We headed to where they had put out metal barriers. Even though we were early and near the front, there were still heaps of girls and plenty more coming up beside us. The signing wasn’t till two and right now it had just gone 8:30am. It was going to be a long day.
We were situated in front of the Arena, where the boys would have the signing and gig. It was a big area, with restaurants and bars and a view of the wharf, where little boats and kayakers roamed and people went for nice walks. It was awesome to live in a city that sat right beside the ocean. One Direction’s songs were blaring from huge speakers and men and woman in 1D t-shirts ran around, handing out little prizes and asking us questions, video cameras in hand. Finally, it was two o’ clock. The doors opened and we saw huge One Direction posters everywhere and as we edged closer to the doors, we received wristbands and posters to get signed. I was nervous now, wondering if Niall would recognize me. Suddenly, we were about to go into the room, where the boys were. We went through the doors and I could see them. They all sat in a line, Harry, Liam, Niall, Louis and Zayn. My butterflies were going crazy and I could hardly control my excitement. The security was horrible, rushing the girls through, so you didn’t actually get too see the boys for long. No hugs just high-fives was the rule. I was so nervous.
“Hi, doll, how are you?” Harry had his hand out for my book, grinning. “F-fi-fine…” I said. I was the first of my friends and I looked to them and they did the thumbs-up sign. I smiled. “I’m great, how are you?” I said again. “I’m great, just great. What’s your name?” Harry was still grinning, and I said, “its Emily. Can I get a hug and a picture?” Harry nodded. He quickly signed the book and reached for a hug. “NO HUGS!” One of the security guys snapped. Harry shrugged and we quickly took a picture. I moved my book down to Liam. I stole a glance at Niall, who seemed to recognise me and grin. He quickly turned his attention back to the shaking fan in front of him and I diverted mine to Liam. “Hey hun, how are you?” Liam seemed so sweet. I grinned. ‘I’m great! And my friend bought you Woody doll. She’s down there!” I point to Molly. He smiled. “That’s so cool!” He signed my book and pushed it down to Niall. I was starting to shake. “You again…” he smiled, turning my book around and opening it up. “Now I get to hear your name” he whispers, pen poised. “Emily,” I whisper “Emily Collins…” He smiles, and writes in my book. He started to pass it to me, so I go to pick it up. As I reach for the book, he suddenly grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Do what it says…” he smiles, before dropping my hand and taking Moana’s book. I was shaking now and Moana grabs my arm and pushes me towards Louis. I thanked her. “Hey babe!” Louis chirps happily, taking my book to sign it. I smile, unable to think about anything then Niall’s hand and mine touching. Zayn signed my book and asked me how I was feeling, but I don’t think I answered correctly because he laughed and shook his head. I was in a daze of happiness and I couldn’t think straight. I moved along to the exit, hugging my newly signed book to my chest. Moana came next, hugging me. “I saw the hand squeeze!” She squealed. Molly, Tayla and Emma walked through the exit together, all shaking and happy. I filled them in on my story and we all had tears in our eyes. We had just met our idols and Niall squeezed my hand. We all agreed not to read our books until after the gig.
We had an amazing seat. Right up the front. The boys smashed the stage, they did brilliantly. Niall noticed me and winked and I grinned back. I was still clutching my book, singing and dancing away. All too soon, it finished. I looked up on stage as the boys were walking off, when Niall turned around and stared me straight in the eyes. He mouthed to me do it before he was ushered off the stage. “Guys, we need to read what the boys said!” I whispered. The girls agreed. We walked through the crowds of people, to the car. We put our chairs and food bag in their before we went to our favourite bar. It was called Foxglove and it was situated by the wharf. It had a deck area, where fairy lights crisscrossed above our heads and they had the most amazing chairs. The only ways to explain them were that they looked like giant weaved bubbles. They had a cream cushion on the bottom, that was about as big as a bed, then above the cushion was a weaved archway, almost. It was the coolest bar. We weren’t allowed to drink, obviously, but we ordered food and drink and all opened our books together.
I read through Harry’s, Liam’s, Zayn’s and Louis’ first, before I read Niall’s As my eyes found his message, I saw a phone number and underneath:
Emily Collins,
It was nice to see you again. Please call me. Tell me if you liked the show. Tell me why you ran off the other day…
By the way, you look gorgeous today.
Yours, Nialler.
I was shaking. The other boys’ messages were sweet but Niall’s was…just…everything I could have hoped for. I showed it to the other girls, who were fangirling over their messages. They were interested, of course, but they didn’t really didn’t take it in. After their encounters with the boys and their own messages, why should they? Molly took my hand and whispered “call him when we get home...”
***
Molly, Moana and I were all sleeping at mine. Emma and Tayla were staying together at Em’s house. I had my cell-phone in my hand and I was nervously reading over the cell-phone number Niall had given me. Would this number even work in New Zealand? Was he playing a game, was he really into me? Did he want me to call? Did he do this to every girl? Only one way to find out. I dialled in his number and put the phone to my ear. He picked up on the third ring. “Hello, Niall speaking,” he answered. He was hard to understand, what with his accent and the buzzing, crackly cell-phone reception. He still managed to make me smile though. “Hi, it’s me. Um, Emily…” I whisper, wondering if this was a bad idea. “EMILY! Hello, how are you? I’m so happy you called!” I could hear him smiling down the phone. “Really? I mean, that’s great! I’m great! How are you?”
“I’m good, now that you called. How’d yah like the show?”
I did the thumbs up sign to Moana and Molly and slowly moved out of my bedroom. “It was awesome. It was so good. And thank you for what you wrote in my book. I loved it.” I was smiling, my heart swelling. I felt so happy. “You’re welcome, babe. Now, this may seem sudden but I have some really good news to tell you. Tomorrow. What I wanted to call you about is that me and the lads…we have really no clue what we can do in this country. And we are here for…well. Anyway. I was wondering if you would like to bring some mates along and you and give a tour around the city?” Niall finished his little speech, and waited patiently for me to answer. I was speechless, so happy and overwhelmed. I started to nod before I realised we were on the phone. I answered with, “that would be great.”
“Ahh, brilliant! Well, I’ll just give you the details!” Niall said. We talked about times, where we should meet and what we could do. We hung p twenty minutes later, happy and content. I walked into my bedroom, to see Moana’s and Molly’s excited faces, waiting for news. I squealed and explained to them what Niall had said. We called up Emma and Tayla, telling then the plan. Meet at the boys’ hotel, tomorrow at ten. They were screaming down the phone and when we hung up, I got the strange feeling that I had felt the night I had bumped into Niall. It was going to be another restless night.