#saw him and posted it like at the eagles concert!! but I’m holding out hope because this is a big deal

[harrywavycurly]

Just curious, are we thinking Harry will go see Niall perform at Madison Square Garden in June?

[maylovexhs]

TWO GHOSTS

Author’s Note: So . . . I haven’t written in a while. I don’t know what the hell happened to me in the past month(maybe it’s the damn cancer season that drained my creativity or a planet going into retrograde) Truth is, I lost my creative juice somewhere in the past two months and I’m trying to regain it with this post. As always, I love hearing your feedback. Message me if you want a part 2 of this (I hope y’all do because I got damn emotional and teared up while writing this). xxx M

Concept: Harry’s not what he used to be and Y/N is about to become what she never been.

Masterlist

“Can’t you smile for once, H?” Gemma asked him.

Harry raised his eyebrow at her.

“I am” Harry said.

“I think she means smile with teeth” I told him. “You know, instead of the regular pouty smile you do with fans?”

Harry smiled largely at me, showing all his teeth.

“Like this?” Harry said through his teeth.

“A little less would be better” I said.

Harry put his arm around my shoulder. We both looked to Gemma who was holding her phone up at us. We smiled at her as she took a photo of us.

“Got it” Gemma said.

Harry took his arm off me. I walked over to Gemma. We both looked at the photo.

“Aww, we look cute” I commented.

“Yeah” Gemma said. “I’ll send it to you”

“I’m back” I heard Anne say. “What did I miss?”

We all looked to Anne walking over to us.

“Nothing really” Harry said. “Just took some photos”

“Ah, with fans?” Anne asked him.

“Mhmm” Harry said.

“And Gemma took a photo of H and I” I told her.

Anne smiled at me.

“Oh, she did?” Anne said in a cheery tone. “I want to see Gemma”

As Anne walked over to Gemma, I walked over to Harry. He rested his hands on the barricade as he looked at people pouring into the stadium.

“You miss it, don’t you?” I asked him. “You miss touring”

Harry smiled, still looking at the people.

“I do” Harry said. “Got a good feeling out of it”

Harry took his hands off the barricade and turned to me. 

“Do you want to go on tour again?” I asked him. “Did you and Jeff already plan it?”

“We talked about it” Harry said. “I definitely want to but we have to wait to see how the album does first. I hope it does better than my first”

“I hope so too” I said. “I got tired of you of visiting you in the studio”

“Did ya?” Harry said, stepping closer to me. “Thought you loved playing the piano with me”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“You know what I mean” I said to him.

Harry looked into my eyes and smirked at me.

“Mhm mm” He hummed before pressing his lips on me, giving me a quick kiss.

Harry pulled away from me and looked in the distance. He furrowed his eyebrows. 

“What?” I asked him. “Do you see a fan taking a picture of you?”

“No” Harry said. “I see Niall. I see Niall talking with Gemma and my mom”

I looked to Gemma and Anne, seeing they were talking to Niall. I blinked at the sight of them. Well, this was . . . unexpected.

According to Harry, the last time Niall and him saw each other was two years ago. Sure, him and the other boys weren’t in each other’s lives that much but they did text each other once in a while. Most times being was congratulating each other on something. Other than that, all of the boys weren’t that close anymore which was why it was a shocker to see Niall and Harry in the same place.

“Niall?” Harry asked, walking over to him. “When did you become an Eagles fan?”

Niall smiled at Harry. I walked over to them, standing next to Gemma.

“Always was” Niall said. “Had to see them tonight. How are you, mate? Haven’t seen you in forever”

“Doing alright” Harry said. “Been busy working on the new album”

“New album?” Niall asked him. “Didn’t you just finish tour?”

“It’s actually been a year since” Gemma said. “Time flies when you’re doing shit”

Niall nodded at her. He looked to me.

“And who is this?” He asked, pointing to me. “We didn’t meet before, have we?”

“Oh, no” I said. “We haven’t. I’m Y/N. Harry’s girlfriend”

Niall smiled in surprise.

“Girlfriend?” Niall asked. “Never took Harry as the type to settle down”

“Is that supposed to be an insult, Niall?” Harry asked him.

“Never” Niall answered him. “Just didn’t think Harry would find someone yet”

“Well, he did” I told him. “Me”

Harry smirked at me.

“We certainly have much to catch up on” Anne said to Niall. “Especially Harry and you”

Gemma nudged me by the arm.

“Come on, Y/N” Gemma said, putting her arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go get something to drink. It’s better hearing these narcissists talk”

. . .

Take it easy

Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy

Lighten up while you still can

Don't even try to understand

Just find a place make your stand

I stood in the back, standing next to Niall. Harry, Anne and Gemma were a few feet in front of us. So far, the night has been good. There wasn’t any tension between Harry and Niall yet. I didn’t know if I should take that as a sign if they were still friends.

“How did you meet H?” Niall asked me.

“What?” I asked him, not hearing him over the music.

“How did you meet Harry?” Niall asked me louder.

“Oh, through a friend” I told him. “Friend of mine knew him and dragged me along to his show”

“Really?” Niall asked me. “Which city? LA?”

“Actually, New York” I said. “We started to date after he finished tour”

“So, it’s been what, a year?” Niall asked me.

“Yup” I nodded. “Well, August makes it a year”

“Huh,” Niall said, seeming surprised.

“What?” I asked him. “Something wrong?”

“Oh, no” Niall said. “I’m just surprised. Harry never had that long of a relationship”

“He didn’t?” I asked him. “Not even in all of One Direction?”

“Nope” Niall said. “The longest relationship I remember him having was with Kendall”

“Relationship?” I asked him. “Harry said it was more of a fling”

“Did he?” Niall asked me. “What did he say about it to you?”

“He told me they were friends for the most time until when they got together for New Years” I told Niall. “Harry said they broke up a month after”

Niall let out a chuckle.

“What?” I asked him.

“Nothing, sorry” Niall said. “Just that he told you? Nothing else? You’re sure Harry told you everything?”

“Yeah” I answered him. “Why? Was there something else between them?”

“I can’t say” Niall said. “I mean, I would like to tell you but it’s better if it comes from Harry instead”

I looked to Harry, watching him talk to his mother as they listened to the music. I squinted my eyes at him, becoming suspicious.

What wasn’t he telling me that he didn’t want me to know?

I looked back to Niall.

“No, tell me” I said to Niall. “I’ve been dating Harry for a year now. He’s the king of not answering questions. I know he definitely won’t answer my questions about Kendall”

“Okay, but are you sure?” Niall asked me. “I don’t want to cause any trouble-“

“I’m sure” I answered him. “When did they become official? Like when did Harry and her actually date?”

“Well it depends if you count the first time they went out” Niall said.

“The first time?” I asked him. “What do you mean by the first time?”

“I mean, like in 2013” Niall answered. “Nothing really happened between them but they went on a few dates back then. Harry told me he was interested in her but it wasn’t a good time since they both were busy”

“But nothing happened after?” I asked him, crossing my arms. “Until their yacht holiday?”

“Eh, kinda” Niall said. “There were times between then where they would sleepover at each other’s houses or meet up but I guess they were done for good after New Years”

I bit my lip, feeling pissed off. I looked to Harry again.

He never told me all of that. None of it except spending New Years on the yacht with her. Why the hell wouldn’t he tell me everything? I was his girlfriend. I was supposed to know. He was supposed to tell me, not someone from his past. Was I not that important to Harry that he forgot to tell me? To come and think of it, none of Harry’s family or friends told me about it too. Niall was the only one to tell me all of it.

“Are you okay?” Niall asked me.

I looked to Niall, snapping out of my thoughts.

“Oh, yeah.” I lied to him. “Yeah, I am”

I was okay. I was okay with everything, at least Harry thought I was. 

. . .

I pressed on the button of my phone, watching the screen go black as I locked it again. I laid it on my stomach. I turned my head to the side, watching Harry play the piano. He repeated the same note over again singing in a low soft voice.

I didn’t tell him about it. The concert was days ago and I still hadn’t told Harry about what Niall said to me. I wanted to tell him but at the same time I didn’t. Harry’s my boyfriend and I felt like I should trust his word over anyone else but Niall knew Harry longer than I did. Besides that, Niall did make me question why Harry would hide a part of his relationship with Kendall. Harry told me him and her were friends until their New Years yacht holiday. Harry made it seem they grown feelings for each other one day and the next day they decided to celebrate on a yacht together. Niall made it seem they always liked each other and decided to give each other another chance. I was torn. Harry said he loved me countless of times but I never knew how much. Him not telling me the whole story between Kendall and him made it seem he didn’t love me enough. Was I enough to him?

Harry looked to me. He smirked, catching me staring at him.

“You’re staring, love” Harry said to me.

“Do you love me?” I asked him.

Harry raised his eyebrow at me, being surprised with my question.

“Yeah” Harry answered me. “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

“But do you really, really love me?” I asked him. “Like love me more than anyone?”

Harry stood up from the chair and walked over to me. He sat down on the floor, turning to me.

“Yeah” Harry said. “More than anyone. Is something wrong?”

“Even more than Kendall?” I asked him.

Harry raised his eyebrow at me, becoming immediately suspicious.

“Niall told you about her, didn’t he?” Harry asked me. 

I sat up on the couch.

“He told me more than you did” I said. “He told me how Kendall and you were more than a fling. He told me how you both were interested in each other long before the yacht trip. You didn’t tell me that”

Harry bit his lip, looking down.

“I didn’t” Harry said. “Didn’t think it was that important”

He didn’t think it was important? Of course, it was fucking important. It was his ex-girlfriend. I needed to know when they started and ended. Did he really think it wasn’t something to mention to me? 

Harry looked up to me.

“Darling-“

“Why?” I asked him. “Why did you not tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I found out from Niall of all people. Not from your friends or family but from Niall!”

“I know, I know” Harry said, nodding his head. “I wanted to tell you but I didn’t think it was the right time-“

“Right time?” I asked him, getting up from the couch and looking down at him on the floor. “H, we’ve been dating for a year. Any day of the past year would have been the right time.”

Harry stood up from the floor.

“But you didn’t” I continued to speak. “Did you ever think about how I would feel if I found that out not from you? I feel . . . not important to you. Am I not important to you?”

“Don’t you dare say that” Harry said to me. “I love you. Of course, you’re important if I love you”

“But you don’t trust me” I said to him. “You don’t trust me enough to tell me what happened between you and Kendall”

“Because I didn’t want you to run away from me for fuck’s sake!” Harry shouted.

I took a step back away from him. My eyes widened in surprise upon hearing his words.

He thought I would run away? From him? Why would I run away from him?

“You thought I would run away?” I asked him. “Why?”

Harry crossed his arms at me.

“You really want to hear it?” Harry asked me.

I nodded my head at him. Harry looked down to the floor.

“When we started to go out, I didn’t want you to think any less of me” Harry said.

“Any less?” I asked, smiling at him. “What would make me think of you any less? It’s not like you murdered someone”

Harry chuckled.

“No, no. It’s not that” Harry said. “Kendall and I have a complicated history. We always liked each other but could never have a real relationship. I thought I couldn’t be in a real relationship until . . . you”

I smiled to myself, looking down. He loved me. He loved me so much that he was scared what I thought of him. Shit, I was really that important to him.

“So, that’s it? You were scared I would think you would be another bad date with relationship problems?” I asked, poking fun at him a bit.

Harry looked up to me.

“Mhm” Harry nodded his head.

“Well, you could have still told me” I said. “Maybe a month or two after we started to date but. . . okay. Okay, I understand why you didn’t want to tell me. It’s not like you still had feelings for Kendall when started to date, right?”

Harry bit his lip and looked down. He didn’t say anything. I became concerned.

“Right, H?” I asked him. “It’s not like that, was it?”

Harry scratched the back of his neck, still not answering me.

“Was it or not, H?” I asked him.

Harry looked up to me, his eyes filled with guilt. I looked down, realizing he was still in love with Kendall when we got together. He was still in love with her while he was with me. He had something for her when he was with me. 

“Oh my god” I said under my breath. “Oh my-“

“Y/N,” Harry said, taking a step closer to me.

I took a step away from him.

“No, no” I said to him. “You were still in love with her when we got together. You-“

“I know how it sounds love but-“

“Don’t call me love” I told him. “Don’t you dare pretend you love me when you don’t. You don’t hurt the people you love. I can’t even look at you now!”

I took my phone from the couch and walked past Harry, heading to the door.

“Y/N, I know I seem like a dickhead but I’ve changed” Harry said, following behind me. “I love you. I love you more than anyone. I’m not who I used to be a year ago”

I felt my eyes water up as I slipped on my shoes.

“Y/N, I could explain everything but I can’t if you leave-“

“I can’t look at you, H” I said, turning to him. “I can’t even listen to you now when I can’t even look at you”

I turned around and went to the door and opened it. I looked to Harry once more before walking out.

“You’re right” I told him. “You could never have a real relationship, not when you’re stuck on a past one. I don’t want to be with you when you have her on your mind. I’m sorry, H.”

I turned around and slammed the door behind me. I walked away as my shaky hands opened my phone. I skimmed through my contact list and pressed on the name of a friend. I held my phone to my ear, waiting for them to answer.

“Hey” I said. “Can you pick me up?”

[niallhoransmissingbraincell]

Thank God for the Eagles

(If it weren’t for Madeeha (@particularnarry) and Lillie (@yeehawnarrie) I would not have posted this. So here is the first piece of non-school writing I’ve ever finished. Just 1.3k of word vomit honestly.)

Niall had known he would be at the Fleetwood Mac concert because of course he would. Nobody gets that close with Stevie Nicks and doesn’t go to every show they can.

He hadn’t been sure about the Eagles show though. But then he spotted him and he froze. Should he go over? Should he ignore him and maybe send him a message later? His train of thought is broken however when Deo leans over and speaks directly into his ear.

“Mate are you all right? Look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Niall just forces a laugh and fails to tear his gaze away from Harry. He looks good. Of course. He always does. But it’s different seeing him in person. Deo finally follows his gaze.

“Oh, so you have seen a ghost.” 

“I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“Oh please, not like you’ve been pining after the guy for the past, what’s it been, three years since you broke up?”

“I’ve not been pining”

“That’s the biggest load of shite I’ve ever heard,” Deo says laughing

Niall rolls his eyes and does his best not to pout. Then Deo gets a devious look on his face. “We should go over there. So you guys can catch up”

“Hell no”

“Yeah come on Ni, said it yourself you’re not pining. No reason why we can’t over there and say hi.”

And Niall knows he’s trapped and he’s getting a little nauseous but he grumbles a fine and stands up.

As they head in Harry’s direction his palms begin to sweat and his stomach is knotting itself up even more. What if Harry doesn’t want to see him? What if everything is awkward? That would be worse than not seeing Harry at all he tells himself even though it’s not true. 

He self consciously starts rolling his shirt sleeves. He wants to look at least somewhat presentable seeing the man he was in love with in person for the first time in over a year. 

And then they’re there 4 feet away from Harry whose back is turned. Deo walks up and taps Harry on the shoulder and Niall thinks he’s gonna hurl. Harry turns around putting on his smile he uses for fans but it turns genuine when he sees Deo. But then he sees Niall and his face eyes go wide and Niall can tell he’s shocked but quickly his face is completely overtaken by a blinding smile. The smile that was always reserved for Niall. 

Niall’s stomach immediately feels better and his chest gets lighter. And then Harry is pulling him into a crushing hug.

“Niall,” he breathes into his neck, “it’s so good to see you”

“You too Harry.” He whispers hugging him just as tightly. Niall knows the hug is going on for too long but he can’t bring himself to care. It’s not until someone coughs, probably Deo, that he pulls away. 

“How’ve you been? Saw you did Soccer Aid again, looked like a lot of fun.”

“Yeah,” Niall says a little shocked that Harry even knew what he had been up to, then again it was televised and highly publicized, “it was great. My knees hated me for it thought.”

A look that might be worry crosses Harry’s face, “Are they feeling alright now?”

“Oh yeah, iced ‘em up and they’re all good now.”

Harry won’t stop staring right into his eyes. It intimidates Niall in the same way it always had but there was something else on his eyes that he couldn’t read.

“You look really good Ni.”

And that definitely caught him off guard. The compliment but also the nickname. 

“Thanks, you do too.” He’s trying his best to fight the flush creeping onto his cheeks but he knows it’s not working by the way Deo is smirking. 

“Well we should probably be heading back to our seats shouldn’t we Niall?”

“Oh yeah probably,” he doesn’t really want to walk away from Harry yet, “I’ll see you around Harry.”

“Wait, Niall,” Harry calls after him, “you could always stay here and watch the show with me. Ya know if you want. You don’t have to but it might be nice to catch up with um both of you” He suddenly looks very self-conscious which is something Niall hasn’t seen in a long time. 

“Yeah, I think that’d be great” Deo chimes in before Niall could protest, not that he really would.

Harry was still looking to Niall for confirmation so he gave a little nod 

“Yeah it would”

Harry’s smile returned in full force and Niall might as well have been a puddle.

Once the show started Niall figured they wouldn’t talk much but Harry was right next to his ear talking to him nearly the entire time. Normally it would be annoying but it was Harry. They talked about what they’d been doing, they talked about the music and what parts of it they loved. As they talked Harry also got closer, starting with a hand on Niall’s arm, but eventually they were shoulder to shoulder and his lips were brushing against the shell of Niall’s ear every time he leaned in to say something. The proximity resulted in Niall shivering. Harry offered his jacket multiple times, which Niall always politely declined. 

By the time the show was over they were so comfortable, it was like no time had passed and they were still two teenagers falling in love. Niall didn’t want it to be over.

They were backstage talking with the band and hanging out for a little bit til the crowd cleared and they could leave unnoticed when Harry grabbed Niall’s hand pulling him away from the group. He didn’t know where Harry was pulling him but it’s not like he really cared when Harry was there holding his hand. Confusion took over though when he was pushed into a room he assumes is used as a dressing room. 

He doesn’t really get a good look before Harry’s mouth is on his. He doesn’t even hesitate and he’s kissing back. Harry’s crowding him against the wall and biting at his lips and pulling at his hair and it’s so overwhelming but it’s so perfect. 

They don’t pull away until they’re all but gasping for air. They’re panting and Niall leans his head back against the wall and he’s completely failing at biting back his smile. 

“Well, that was,” he pauses looking for the right word, “unexpected.”

Harry just laughs, “Was it really though? I’ve kind of been coming onto you all night.”

And yeah now that Niall thinks about it Harry had definitely been flirting. He just wasn’t gonna get his hopes up.

“Why though Harry?”

“I feel like that’s also super obvious.”

Niall just stares at him dumbly.

“I’m still in love with you Niall.”

Oh. 

“You are?” He’s skeptical to say the least. Harry was the one who broke things off in the first place and he says as much.

“Yeah I,” Harry pauses, playing with his rings, “I think I was scared. Of what exactly I’m not sure. But I do know that breaking up with you was probably the biggest mistake of my life and I’ve kind of been waiting for an opportunity to fix things for the past three years.”

How does he even process that? Because despite what he told Deo he has definitely been pining. But can he really just forgive Harry for all the heartache he caused that quickly?

“I still love you too.”

Apparently he can. 

“Really?” Harry asks eyes bright and hopeful.

“Of course Haz,” Harry lets out a little sigh at the nickname, “I don’t think I could ever stop loving you to be honest.”

“Well that’s- that’s great”

Then they’re just standing there smiling at each other like idiots. Niall’s the one to break the trance.

“We’d better get back before everyone notices we’re missing.” 

“But I wanna stay with you a little longer.” Harry pouts 

“You can stay with me as long as you want love,” Niall replies on a laugh, “but we really will have to leave the stadium soon.”

Harry sighs, “I suppose so.”

“C’mon let’s go”

They walk back to the group hand in hand. Niall avoids Deo’s smirk and just looks at Harry, his dimpled smile wide and eyes sparkling. His heart really could burst and all he can think is thank god for the Eagles.

[blehbleehhhh]

Angel ft. Eremika <3

Hello 🐒 I present to you a fluff piece. Seriously it makes me cringe! That’s why most of my stuff is a mix! Idk how this came from the request for something where Carla is alive and suggests to Eren to ask Mikasa to marry him because that thought doesn't occur (something I also agree to be likely!). This idea comes from a fanfic I read a long time ago on Wattpad but I cannot for the life of me remember who wrote it...But the idea is that it’s him who is in the band with a few other people in the group, including Armin, but Mikasa isn’t involved with that, though she is in mine! I’ve been to a few concerts in my short-ish life (I’ll be 24 in November) and Bruce Springsteen is absolutely adorable with his fans haha. I hate that everyone’s characters are so different but I also worked really hard on this (about 5 months hahahaha no lie) I almost didn’t even post this..lol. Hope you enjoy the fluff.

Eren Jaeger is standing on an expansive stage with his rock band, finishing up their most recent cover of The Eagles' Hotel California. They were brought in to play at a summer festival being held locally with a couple of other bands and were the last to play, which only means that quite a few in the audience is drunk off their ass and more likely to interact with the band members. He couldn't help but laugh into the microphone when he saw his mom in the front row dancing along to the music she raised her boys on with her first and last Sam Adams in hand. "The insanely supportive Carla Jaeger, everyone!" Her son smiled as he finished the song's last note and Armin hit the drums at the perfect time, just like they've practiced for years now. "Seriously, she may not be able to make it to some shows, but that makes the ones she can make even more special, right?!" The crowd cheered in response and his girlfriend would later swear that she heard him giggle a little bit, because she knows how much he loves interacting with their fans. Mikasa smiled as she watched him run his fingers through his shaggy brown hair, a sight that she truly loves to watch and has for as long as his hair has been long enough to do so. He chuckled a simultaneous little sigh into the microphone as he gave the strings to his electric guitar a strum and turned to the side so he could look at his best friend sitting at his drum set with Annie on his lap. "You know, when Armin and I started this, we were about, what, like, six?"

“Yeah, something like that.”

Carla offering a supportive 'woohoo' from the front row.

"And uh, we certainly didn't think back then that we would be successful -" Eren paused with a smile having been interrupted by the cheering crowd. "At least not until we met Mikasa, but that wasn't until we turned nine. Again, not to be confused with Annie here on Armin's lap," He turned himself to the side and pointed at the blonde couple, the girl smiling as she waved a shy hand at the audience. "Or our manager and Jean's girlfriend, Hitch." He turned to the side when his shoulder was tapped, revealing the beauty on the other side, waving her hand briefly before hopping back on the phone with their next gig. And that's when Eren turned to face a raven haired beauty standing before the drum set with a grin as she tapped her fingers on the body of her bass guitar, stomach doing all kinds of flips because she has no idea where this is going. "See this," Everyone started chanting their names and cat called the young couple when he proceeded to push his guitar around his back to prevent an obnoxious sound when she was pulled closer by the waist. "This is my girl, right here." They both smiled and shared a sweet, tender kiss as the crowd grew louder to show their overwhelming support, even other band and crew members were clapping at this point.

Jesus, get a room already..." Armin teased over the cheering and laughed into the microphone when Eren gave him the finger, more than happy to continue kissing his girlfriend while he carefully cradled her face in his hands. On his own terms, he finally pulled away and smiled as they briefly gazed lovingly into each other's eyes before he guided her up to the front of the stage with a light arm around the waist.

"Have I mentioned how sexy you look with that bralet and skinny jean combination?" Eren whispered in her ear and smiled when she started blushing, letting out a small giggle as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Kick ass, baby girl." He smirked at her as he glanced back at Armin, who had already kicked Annie from his lap to her keyboard set, giving him a nod to hit the drums so they can recapture the audiences' attention, making them return to louder cheering and hollering at the band as usual. It started with one leg, then half of him, and then Jean came out on stage in the middle of laughing, intending to replace Mikasa on the bass as the crowd hollered and cheered, especially when his girlfriend poked her head out past the curtain to give him just one more good luck kiss. He was more than happy to take over on bass and let the raven sing her heart out, even though he admittedly prefers playing electric. In fact, Jean's skills are part of why he was invited to join the band, the other being that him and Eren have managed to come an understanding over the years, and even developed a great friendship in the process. "Our good friend, Jean Kirschtein, will be filling in for Miki -" He paused with a chuckle and a smiled as the crowd roared for his friend. "Our good friend, Jean Kirschtein, will be filling in for Miki while she -"

"Serenades you." Came her voice into one of the handheld microphones when she interrupted him with a giggle, making the audience laugh along in response with screams chanting her name. She had caught it in her hands from Jean after quickly removing the one hooked on her ear, glancing aside at Eren's genuinely happy gaze. Oh, god, he's so handsome. "I'm not sure what to say," She grinned as everyone started to cheer once more, something she's not sure she will ever get used to. "But this is a song that's always reminded me of my Eren.." Mikasa grinned and pointed at him with her freehand, his face already smirking in amusement. "And I'm so excited to share it with you. Hit it guys!" He playfully narrowed his eyes with a wide laughed as the band began to play because this song most certainly was not planned to the best of his knowledge, though this is a welcome surprise. But Eren knows the song quite well because Carla has always said it came out the year she met her husband, so it reminds her of him every time she hears it, and he played along when electric kicked in. Mikasa watched his piercing, hypnotic eyes as she gracefully moved her body to the music and reached up to push hair away from her eyes, tousling it aside from the roots with small head bangs because this is just so much fun. "I call you when I need you, my hearts on fire, you come to me, come to me wild and wired. Oh, you come to me, give me everything I need! Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams, speak the language of love like you know what it means. Mmm, and it can't be wrong! Take my heart and make it strong, babe!" Mikasa skipped down to the opposite side of the stage with a huge smile stretched across her face as she leaned down to touch the hands reaching for hers. "You're simply the best! Better than all the rest! Better than anyone, anyone I ever met. I'm stuck on your heart! I hang on every word you say! Tear us apart, baby, I would rather be dead." She giggled into the microphone and turned to her team, feeling the rhythm of the music moving her body every which way as her head rocked slightly. Eren couldn't help but smile watching her let go on stage like this. She most definitely is not the little girl he used to see gazing back at him with doe-like eyes, though her movements are still very much the same as they've always been, fluid and effortless; like the way her mother used to dance with her before she passed away all those years ago. He glanced down at Carla, who was proudly dancing in the audience like how a mother would dance after a beer, and it reminded him of a conversation he had with her just a few days ago before they were to play a show in Boston regarding his relationship with Mikasa, and what the next logical step could be for them after growing up side by side and being together for years.

                                     •••

"You and Mikasa have been together for quite a while now, Eren, don't you think?" Carla had said one morning, leaning against the doorway of Eren and Mikasa's hotel room, holding her large coffee mug in hand as she tapped it with her fingertips. He was sitting on the couch and listening to music while he does routine maintenance on one of the many guitars to be used in tomorrow night's show, and he looked up at his mother with a raised eyebrow trying to figure out he where she could possibly be going with a conversation starter like that. After being together since they were nine years old, growing up under the same roof all those years and finally, for fucks sakes finally, dating their freshman year of high school, it sure had been a while. But what did that have to do with anything?

"Well, yeah..."

"Oh, don't look at me like that," She rushed to say because she realized how what had been said could have been taken horribly wrong. "You know how much I adore Mikasa. It's just that, ten years is a very long time to be dating someone, Eren." The young man gently propped his guitar up against the wall and leaned forward with his arms on his knees, fingers sinking into that head of shaggy brown hair before slowly dragging a hand down his face.

"Do you have any point to this, Mom? What are you trying to say?"

"I think that you need to ask that sweet girl to marry you already."

"Why?"

"Because you know I'm not the only person who wants to see you two get married."

"I don't know, Mom, I haven't really thought about marriage to be honest," Eren finally looked up at her with a sigh as the gears in his head finally began to turn. "And we haven't talked about it much, if at all."

"Well, I know that she thinks about it. Oh, how cute it was when you kids were little and she would ask me what it was like to be married to your father," Carla grinned and chuckled softly as she took a sip from her coffee mug,more than thrilled to see his lips curve up into a smile. "Seriously, you know how observant Grisha was and even he noticed something between you two."

"Really?"

"Really. I remember one time when she had asked me why we got married and I said that it was because we were in love. Then she asked me what love feels like, and I told her that she would know when the time comes, and smiled before she said in the sweetest voice 'I think I get it now'. But that's all besides the point, which is that I think you should to ask her to marry you." Carla smiled at the sound of her son's laughter which, though not a rare occurrence, hasn't been happening much lately after Grisha's passing last year. "It pained him that he wasn't going to be around to see all of the wonderful things you two will do together, Eren, I hope you know that. I know you weren't always on the best of terms but he did love you very much." He pressed his lips together and looked away, slowly nodding his head with a sigh.

"I kind of like how things are already, Mom."

"What are you afraid of, Eren? The only thing that would change is her last name and there would be a ring on her finger." It was the combination of those words that really got Eren searching himself for what he may or may not be afraid of when it comes to her, and that's when he realized how absolutely terrified he is that their dynamic will somehow change, which leads to his ultimate fear of losing Mikasa in general all over again. Sure, when they were little things had been great, but then he started treating her like shit because there she didn't need him to do things anymore, something Eren took pride in. But then, he couldn't take the tension anymore and bit the bullet, and ended up spilling his guts cryptically about how he would move mountains for her, how much he adores her, which led to them finally dating. Their relationship seriously has never been any better. Why should he change it?

"I guess I'm just afraid that everything will change. After what I put her through..." Eren slowly shook his head and sighed as he cracked his knuckles anxiously. "I can't do that to her again."

"And what makes you think either of you would let that happen? Eren, the love that you and Mikasa share is beautiful, and it should be celebrated with us and the people you guys care about. I can't see this being anything but positive." Carla smiled and wrapped an arm around her son's shoulders as she brought him in for a warm, comforting embrace. "Just think about it, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll think about it."

      •••

And think about it he did. All seventy two hours from that moment to right now when he's listening to Mikasa's giggle as she surfed the crowd, while the rest of the band continued playing I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing, a song requested by an audience member. Anyone with an instrument stopped in sync, sending waves of cheering and clapping throughout the auditorium as she was carefully helped back onto the stage by adoring fans. In rehearsals, it was agreed that Eren would have the last two songs in the lineup instead of Mikasa this time around, since she did the ending for the previous two shows - a decision which happens to work quite well for tonight, unbeknownst to her. "Oh my god, that was so much fun!" She said into her ear piece with a large grin as she carefully adjusted her microphone. "Thank you!" Mikasa looked over at her boyfriend with a smile, knowing that there's still a part of her that's in shock to be surrounded by people who think their covers and the music she writes with Eren are good enough that they want to listen, she felt complete. Her eyes flickered down to Carla standing down in the front row with a grin on her face and clapping along with the others after listening to the couple covering a few requested songs, just like they used to do when they were youngsters. Watching Mikasa move so gracefully across the stage made Eren feel nervous and it surprised him to no end because there isn't any reason why he feels that way - it's his girl, their friends, Carla, and their fans for fucks sake. Now, she stands just off stage with Hitch, helping herself to a fresh bottle of water while he stood up front with two of his closest friends, all of them smiling as they gave Eren's shoulders a couple of supportive pats. And then a pair of arms slipped around Armin's waist, something he should be used to after being with Annie for quite a few years now, and it made his laugh to feel them squeeze.

"Hi baby. Well, Eren, we're ready whenever you are."

"Honestly, dude," Jean smiled as he planted a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek, her chin resting on his shoulder as she hugs him from behind. "It's about time. I can't believe you made the poor thing wait ten fucking years."

"Shut up, I know, okay?" Eren laughed as he reached to remove his hair from his sweaty forehead. "I'm fixing it. I've never been more ready." And with that he turned away from his friends with his sights set on the microphone stand at the front of the stage, stealing a glance at his offstage girlfriend who gave him the cutest wink that honestly made him flush a little. The crowd erupted with cheering once more when he set the strap of his electric guitar over his shoulder, chuckling just a little bit as he looked out over the audience and anxiously ran his fingers through his hair. "I'd like to dedicate these next two songs to my beautiful girlfriend, Mikasa!" Offstage the girl's ears perked up at the sound of her name, looking past Hitch with wide eyes as she screwed the lid back onto her water bottle, and her friend smiled, fighting the urge to give a thumbs up.

"Wait, what did he just say?" That douchebag! That was my thing. Mikasa giggled to herself feeling endlessly confused because they had never discussed anything like this in rehearsal, in fact, now that she thinks about it, he never even mentioned what songs he was going to perform. And that was when the band began to play one of her all time favorite love songs, Angel by Aerosmith. And that was when Eren turned his head to look off stage with his same old goofy, sexy grin to see that she has dropped her water bottle, her hands now covering up what he assumes to be that beautiful smile. The time came for keyboards to step in, and Eren drew out the last note as he turned back to the microphone, making quite a few people whistle cat calls in compliment of his smooth transitions. "I'm alone, I don't know if I can face the night," He sang with his dreamy voice and glanced aside at her, greeted with a beautiful smile as she failed to hold it together off stage, then he added in the soft strums of his guitar. Eren looked back at the audience and smiled as he started preparing for the next part, giving the strings a much harder strum. "I'm in tears, and the crying that I do is for you!"

I want your love,

Lets break the walls between us.

Don't make it tough,

I'll put away my pride.

Enough's enough, I've suffered and I've seen the light!

Baby, you're my angel,

Come and save me tonight.

You're my angel,

Come and make it alright.

He briefly looked aside at her and smiled, because Carla is already standing beside Mikasa, smiling just as wide and both most definitely tearing up. "Don't know what I'm gonna do! About this feeling inside. Yes, it's true, loneliness took me for a ride, yeah yeah!"

Without your love,

I'm nothing but a beggar.

Without your love,

A dog without a bone.

What can I do? I'm sleeping in this bed alone.

Baby, you're my angel,

Come and save me tonight.

You're my angel,

Come and make it alright.

Come and save me tonight.

Backing up slightly from the microphone stand, Eren nodded at Jean for his solo and smiled as he glanced at a teary-eyed, smiling Mikasa. "You're the reason I live, you're the reason I die. You're the reason I give, when I lay down and cry. Don't need no reason why! Baby! Baby! Baby!"

You're my angel,

Come and save me tonight.

You're my angel,

Come and make it alright,

Come and save me tonight,

Come and save me tonight,

Come and save me tonight,

Come and save me tonight.

Eren turned to briefly look offstage while everyone finished out the song and played the same notes, watching as she impatiently bounced on her feet. "I can see her already freaking out off stage." He chuckled into his microphone as they all stopped at once over the cheering crowd, his nerves only growing when Hitch brought out a stool for him to sit on. And when he noticed that Carla was still missing from the audience, it reminded him that life with Mikasa just makes sense, and he can't imagine one without her. With his body sitting comfortably on the stool, the guitar propped up on one leg, Eren turned to look all around the stage to make sure everyone was in their places, and that Mikasa was still stuck backstage. That's when Annie began to play Heaven by Bryan Adams, exactly as Eren's eyes briefly locked with the young woman smiling and tearing up while his mother hugged her around the shoulders from behind. You could say that their avid fans were absolutely freaking out and it wouldn't be an understatement, especially when he started singing while playing that short electric solo. "Oh, thinkin' about all our younger years. There was only you and me, we were young and wild and free. Now nothin' can take you away from me. We've been down that road before. But that's over now. You keep me comin' back for more..." He smiled when people started up with cat calls and whistles, shouting his and Mikasa's names as he strummed harder to begin the chorus.

Baby, you're all that I want,

When you're lyin' here in my arms.

I'm findin' it hard to believe,

We're in heaven.

And love is all that I need,

And I found it there in your heart.

It isn't too hard to see,

We're in heaven.

Eren briefly looked aside with a smile to see her bouncing on her feet again because she's just dying to get to him, and his mother smiling as she gently wiped tears from beneath her own eyes. The crowd cheered when he turned back to them and flashed his signature grin. "Oh, once in your life you find someone, who will turn your world around, pick you up when you're feeling down."

Nothin' could change what you mean to me,

Oh there's lots that I could say,

But just hold me now.

'Cause your love will light the way.

And baby you're all that I want,

When you're lying here in my arms.

I'm finding it hard to believe,

We're in heaven.

Yeah and love is all that I need,

And I found it there in your heart.

It isn't too hard to see,

We're in heaven.

He smiled and glanced aside at Mikasa once more, who was one step away from becoming a complete mess as she wiped away the continuous flow of tears from beneath her eyes. "I've been waitin' for so long, for somethin' to arrive, for love to come along. Now our dreams are coming true, through the good times and the bad, yeah, I'll be standin' there by you!"

And baby you're all that I want,

When you're lyin' here in my arms.

I'm findin' it hard to believe,

We're in heaven.

And love is all that I need,

And I found it there in your heart.

It isn't too hard to see,

We're in heaven, oooh

He turned himself completely to face Mikasa and smiled as she pushed her hair out of her dewy eyes, since it's annoyingly persistent with falling across her face. "You're all that I want, you're all that I need..." With his eyes on her stormy grays, the band finished out the song and the crowd went absolutely ballistic when he finally said these three words as he handed his guitar off to Hitch: "Come here, baby!" Mikasa was like a blur because she ran into his arms so fast, making him almost fall backwards with her as he held his girl, who was crying happily into the crook of his neck. He was spinning her around while the crowd cheered over her giggle filled cries, watching the couple kiss like they needed to for air, and he held her body flush to his as she slowly slid down to her feet. It's now or never dude. For once, Eren didn't feel reluctant to pull his lips away because this time it's for a damn good reason. He watched her eyes widen as he reached into his back pocket for a little black box, the audience cheering, cat calling and whistling when he got down on one knee. "Mikasa Ackerman, you're my angel and you saved me from myself. I can't imagine a life without you and I don't want to either, because I know who I want by my side for the rest of my days..." She grinned and covered her mouth with her hands, watching with tears in her eyes as he slowly opened the tiny box. "Baby, will you marry me?" Eren smiled and graciously took the left hand she offered as she nodded her head with excitement because, at this point, she is a smiling, weeping mess. She's dreamed about marrying him for years now so this is literally a dream come true.

"Oh, Eren..." Mikasa gave a tearful chuckle as he planted a kiss on the top of her hand with a smile. "Yes!" She nodded once more and grinned, watching his incredible emerald eyes as the ring was slid down her dainty finger, and then she threw her arms around his neck as he started to stand, capturing his waist between her legs. "Yes, I'll marry you!" His arms tightly wrapped around her low back to hold her up on his waist as they proceeded to exchange frantic, tender kisses that were electric indeed, just like the very first they shared together one evening all those years ago.

[niallismymuse]

Start of Something More

          Though I would never admit it, being Harry Styles’ best friend has its perks. For one, I’ve been able to travel the world, see sights most people my age only dream of. I’m incredibly blessed, and it’s only because I have an incredible, gifted friend. Also, because of my one incredible, gifted friend, I’ve made other incredible, gifted friends.

           You may have heard of them; they were in a little band called One Direction, which is currently on hiatus as they each branch out and try new things. Because of Harry, I met Louis, Liam, Zayn, and Niall.

           They all hold a special place in my heart, Niall especially. Which is why when I told Harry I was going to see one of Niall’s concerts, he winked cheekily at me, a broad grin stretching across his face. “Should I warn the lad to pack a condom or two?”

           “Harry!” I smacked his arm, my face coloring. Perhaps telling Harry about my crush on his former bandmate was a bad idea. I trusted Harry with my life and soul, but maybe telling him this was too much. “Niall’s my friend too, I want to support him.” It was true. Over several visits on tours, I had grown close to all of the band members, though Niall most of all. It was why I wanted to surprise him at his concert in London.

           Harry waggled his eyebrows at me, and I frowned at him. “Alright, love, make sure you have an excellent time.” He was still teasing me.

           I deflated a little, crossing my arms over my chest. “You won’t tell him, will you? I want it to be a surprise, and it won’t be if you rush off and text him the minute I leave.”

           “I’ve got better things to do than to text Niall about your plans for him, love,” Harry’s voice was a bit wry, and I sighed out in relief.

           “Thank you, Harold. You’re good to me.” I swept my arms around him and held him close, patting his back. I could sense the shit eating grin before I saw it.

           “I am, but you better be good to Niall, too, when you see him.” The innuendo was clear in his voice, and I didn’t feel guilty as I hauled back and smacked his arm again, ignoring his pouty whine after the fact.

           “Shut up, Styles, and take me to brunch.”

             The night of the concert arrived too quickly, and for some reason, I was nervous. I wasn’t sure why, either, since it’s not like I’m the person singing live onstage. Niall didn’t even know that I was coming, and might not even notice me at all, but for some reason I find myself dressing up in a form fitting black dress that goes down to my knees. “You’re dressing up too much for this,” I muttered to myself, but nevertheless, kept the dress on and matched it with some black flats. Like hell I was going to wear heels to a concert; I’m not that extra.

           I kept the makeup simple, and pinned my hair back in a bun. I looked at myself in the full-length mirror I had in my bedroom, and damn, I looked good. Fancy dinner good, not concert good, but it was too late to change, I had to get going if I wanted to get to the venue on time.

           Trying not to overthink, I headed out and got into my car, driving towards the venue. I made good time, and even managed to find a halfway decent parking spot. I walked briskly towards the arena, hoping to God that some of the more eagle-eyed fans wouldn’t notice me. I had been in the pop news sites before, and in some of the band’s pictures; heck, I had even received some death threats when rumors were circulating about Harry and I supposedly dating. I didn’t need anything like that to ruin my night.

           Once I got situated in my seat (orchestra seating; I did my time waiting for tickets just like every other fan), I sat book and took a quick selfie before posting it on Instagram. I wrote out a quick caption: Excited for the show! And tagged Niall in it. I figured he wouldn’t see it until after the show, anyway; he was probably warming up. Maren was due to start shortly.

           Though I wasn’t much of a country fan, I appreciated Maren’s performance and applauded her like everyone else. She was special in her own way; Niall wouldn’t have chosen her otherwise.

           Everyone in the arena was a bit of a nervous wreck waiting for Niall to take the stage. The mood was infectious; I could feel my heart pounding a bit faster in my chest, and I kept gnawing at my lip. I was just so excited to see Niall perform his solo material; he deserved the sun and the moon and the stars, this man. I had listened to his album over and over again in preparation for this night, but I was sure that recorded, it wouldn’t do him justice.

           The arena lights darkened, and the fans erupted into cheers. Niall strode out onto stage, grinning broadly, his guitar strapped to his chest. “’Ello!” He spoke directly into the microphone, his deep voice resonating throughout the stadium. It made my heart jump into my throat a little. He looked so gorgeous and at ease on the stage, a dark gray, long-sleeve shirt clasping to his body like a glove. For once, he wasn’t wearing a hat, and his dark hair shined a bit in the lighting. “Lovely crowd we’ve got here tonight, London! I’m pleased to see ya all here. And with that bein’ said, let’s get started.”

           Niall was pure energy on stage, though in a relaxed way. He constantly engaged with his audience, and crooned his songs like the best of them. Even from my seat, where I stood dancing and swaying with the other fans, I could see the sparkle in his eyes. He loved what he was doing, pure and simple. It was an incredible thing to experience; within the first seconds of his first song, I was swept away into the music.

           Towards the end of the show, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned back, startled, only to see a big, burly security guard. “You’ve been requested to come back.”

           Heart pounding in my chest, I followed him out of the crowd and towards backstage. There was nothing else I could do at this point in time. “Did Niall send for me?” I asked, a step or two behind the security guard. He nodded his head, but didn’t say anything else. He was probably annoyed at being sent out like that.

           He left me close to where Niall was performing, but still off to the wings of the stage, where no one from the audience would see me. Niall paused before his final song, and took a long sip from his water bottle, back turned to the crowd. As he spun around to face them once more, we locked eyes. I felt my lips part at the intensity of his gaze; it felt like he was staring right into you, holding you hostage with his eyes. And then the moment broke and he turned back to his audience. “It’s been an incredible night, London. We’re gonna close it out with a favorite of ours.” He grinned cheekily and then ‘Slow Hands’ began.

           I sang along, not able to help it. It was such a sensual song, and a favorite of mine. And Niall got into it, like really into it. There was even a moment where he almost did that crotch-grab he was so fond of in One Direction. But he didn’t do it, even though I was secretly hoping for him too.

           Watching him so closely had me feeling all kinds of things. I pressed my thighs together to ease the slight ache that was staring to build up from the sight of him, and mentally cursed myself for my own weakness. Niall doesn’t even like you that way, what are you getting horny for?! I screamed at myself, but it didn’t matter, because Niall wiggled his hips and I was gone. It didn’t help that I had a great view of his little peach bum from backstage.

           Niall was hot. That was simple, and I really didn’t need to go much more into it. He had changed physically in the years I had known him; he went from a cute boy to a sexy, handsome man, and I was into it. His shoulders had broadened out, his hips were still slim, and his brunette hair spoke to a certain maturity that hadn’t always been there before. Besides, the guy was confident with himself now – just look at his album cover.

           The show ended, and Niall and his band took a bow together, before roaming backstage, directly at me. My heart fluttered in my chest as Niall came straight up to me and wrapped me in those strong arms of his. “Love! Didn’t know you were coming, or else I would have gotten ya better seats!” I felt the scratch of his stubble against my jaw as he pressed a kiss to my cheek and took a step back and smiled at me. “I’ve missed ya.”

           Could he see how red my face was? My heart beat was in my ears, but somehow, someway, I still managed to smile at him. “I’ve missed you too, Niall. What an incredible performance!”

           “Yeah, it was alright,” he chuckled and scratched at the back of his neck. “Listen, I gotta help the band clean up, but I’ll take you to my dressing room and you can wait for me there, okay? We’ll hang out.”

           I nodded my head quickly. “Yeah, of course.” With that being said, Niall offered me his arm, and I tucked mine through his, grinning foolishly as he led me down the hall. He was so goofy; it was why I had fallen for him in the first place.

           Niall helped me get comfortable on a plush couch situated in the middle of the dressing room he was given, and then left with a few dozen promises of, “I’ll be back, love!”. I could have sworn I heard him call someone else a wanker as he left the room, his loud cackle echoing back to me.

           So. Here I was in Niall’s dressing room. This wasn’t really where I figured the night would go at all; I didn’t think he would know I had been there until after. I should have posted the selfie after the concert, he must have seen it and known I was there because of it.

           My mind wandered while I waited, legs crossed and hands clasped on my lap. I hadn’t seen Niall in quite a few months, since my job was centered in London, and Niall spent quite a lot of time in LA. With all of the album promo, he had been going all over the US as well. Not that we didn’t stay in contact; I had his number, he had mine, and in fact, we had talked a few days ago without mentioning his concert.

           There was a knock on the door and I jumped, standing up. “Um…come in?”

           It was Niall. “Hey,” he said as he popped in, grinning widely.

           “Why did you knock for your own dressing room?”

           He tilted his head to the side, thinking about it. “Dunno. Wanna come back to my place and have a drink with me?”

           That sounded wonderful, actually, and I nodded my head quickly. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

           Niall led me outside, and side-eyed me as we walked towards the stadium exit. “I’m assuming you drove here, yeah?” When I nodded my head, he stopped. “Well, I’m with the band, so my car is out back. I’ll walk you to yours and give you directions to my place, okay?”

           “Oh, Niall, you don’t need to walk me. There will be fans out in the parking lot, and they’ll see you and go mad.” And see me, I added in my head. That wouldn’t bode well for either of us. “Just give me your address and I’ll meet you there, okay?”

           Niall mulled it over and nodded his head. “Sounds good, yeah,” he said and I pulled my phone out, allowing him to type his address in. I had been to his London house once or twice, but not recently, so I definitely needed directions. I plugged it into maps, waved at him, and started off towards my car without looking back.

           Once I hopped in my car, I followed the directions my mobile told me, and arrived outside of his gate. Luckily, I had heard my phone chime with a text earlier, and as I had guessed, it was the gate key. I pushed it in and drove through the gates, parking out of the way so Niall could get in. At that point, I had beaten him somehow (London traffic was awful, so I was surprised we hadn’t arrived together), so there was nothing for me to do but stare out at his large, two-story house.

           It was elegant, and modern, and the landscaping was nice. I didn’t know much about houses, but even I could tell that this was a nice one, and right expensive.

           I heard the gates open behind me, and I turned in my seat to watch Niall’s Range drive in seamlessly. I got out, my flats crunching a bit on the gravel driveway. Niall got out as well and grinned that infectious grin of his, and nodded towards his front door. “Come in, would ya?”

           I laughed, smiling wide enough that my cheeks hurt. “That’s why I bloody came here, you daft moron.”

           “Oi!”

           Giggling, I walked up to his front door with him, watching as he unlocked the door. I kicked my shoes off and left them by the door, and watched as he took his own black Chelsea boots and neatly placed them in a row. Then he took my flats and placed them alongside his own. “Still anal as always, I see.”

           Niall flashed me a glare, before clicking his tongue. “I invite you to my home, and all you’ve done is insult me so far.”

           I shrugged. “You’re easy to insult.”

           Barking out a laugh, Niall shook his head, and padded off past the entranceway to the kitchen. “I’m grabbin’ a Stella. Want one?”

           “But of course.”

           I followed behind him, looking over his house. It was as neat as ever, carefully cleaned. Niall was a bit neurotic about his cleaning, something I discovered on tour. He was meticulously neat compared to the other lads, who were absolute disasters with someone cleaning up after them. Niall cleaned up after himself, kept his clothes neatly folded, and even bothered the others to do the same. Some things didn’t change.

           Niall popped the lid off and handed me the bottle, before grabbing one for his own. “How have you been?” He asked, eyes locked on mine as he took a long sip of his beer, Adam’s apple bobbing. Leaning against his counter, I updated him on my job and how our mutual social circles were. He listened, letting out a chuckle here and there at the stupidly ridiculous stories I told about our idiot friends. And he kept his eyes on mine the entire time I talked. It was a good feeling.

           “It’s good to see you,” I said later as we reclined on his couch, a couple Stella’s in. “Like, really good to see you.”

           Niall chuckled, eyes flashing at you from across the couch. You were both leaned against an opposite arm rest, his sock-covered feet bumping and rubbing against your own bare ones. “It’s really great to see you, love. I’ve missed ya.”

           “You’ve said that,” I replied, smiling as I bumped my toes against his.

           “Well, it’s true. You’re a good friend of mine, and – “ Here he paused and swallowed, eyes looking a bit conflicted. I sat up a bit more, interested in what he was cutting off. I bit at my lower lip, looking at him, my eyes a bit wide.

           “And what, Niall?”

           He let out a puff of air. “And nothin’. Just missed you.” He tossed a lopsided smile at me and then proceeded to tug at the fringe of his hair with his fingers, taking another sip of his Stella to cut his own sentence off.

           I narrowed my eyes at him. Something was definitely off. I lunged forward, pressing myself into his lap, my motions a bit sloppy from how tipsy I was. My face was inches away from his; I could feel his rapid breaths against my cheek as our eyes locked. There was a little alarm bell going off in my head – this was too close, I needed to back off, but I couldn’t do it. There was something delicious in this contact we had, in feeling his thigh pressed against my knee, how close our chests were to touching. How close our lips were to touching. “Alright, Horan, what the fuck is going on in your head?” I demanded, keeping my gaze locked on his.

           Niall bit at his lip, which I instantly hated him for, because it only drew my attention down to his very kissable, pink lips. Damn his lips. “Love…ya just don’t understand.”

           My eyes narrowed once more. “So make me understand.”

           Niall looked away from me at that point, and swallowed harshly. He leaned back a bit away from me, which stung a bit, but he didn’t seemed to have done it to get away. He had a thoughtful face on, his brows furrowed, though he looked a bit stressed at the same time. Finally, Niall looked back at me, his clear blue eyes connecting with mine. “I like you.”

           I sat back a bit, falling off of his legs and onto the couch, mostly from the drinks. “Of course you like me. You’re my friend.” Niall huffed out a sigh at my answer and pulled at his hair again, hard enough that I was briefly concerned that he would just yank it all out. He leaned forward, bunching his legs under him, and grabbed at my hand.

           “No, you daft moron,” he joked, bringing back my words from earlier, “well, yes, I like you as a friend, but I also like you…more than a friend.”

           It felt like my heart had just swelled in my chest and burst. This couldn’t be real. Niall…liked me? Like I liked him? How could this be real life? This was beyond my wildest hopes and dreams. Probably taking my silence as a negative response, he rushed on. “But if you don’t return my feelings, that’s okay, you’ll never hear it again from me and-“

           I cut him off by pressing my lips to his own. My hand cupped his jaw, fingers running affectionately against his skin. Niall was frozen for a moment, body tense, but then he relaxed under me, his arms rising up and around me, melding into me. His lips parted slightly, and I was home. That was honestly the way I felt as his lips moved with mine, as he explored me with the vigor I had always hoped for. It was everything.

           Moments or hours later, I pulled back, gasping for air with my cheeks aflame. Niall didn’t care, his lips simply reattached themselves to the skin of my neck, an open-mouthed kiss that went straight to my core. A rush of wetness suddenly flooded my panties, and I moaned aloud at the sensation of Niall’s teeth gently nipping at my skin. This man was getting me all riled up, but as I adjusted myself on his lap, I could feel his length starting to fatten up beneath me. Experimentally, I rocked my hips, and listened as Niall let out a quiet grunt in response. “Christ on a bicycle, woman,” he muttered.

           I giggled, pleased with the response, even as Niall pushed his hips against mine, needily rutting up into me. My body felt on fire; zips and licks of flame shooting from my toes, up.

           “I want you,” I leaned forward to whisper, nipping gently at his ear.

           “Fuck, darlin’, I want you to,” Niall replied, his fingers gripping tight into the flesh of my hips. I leaned forward to eagerly press my lips to his, but Niall leaned back away from me. Stung, I settled back away from him. His chest was heaving; he took a few steadying breaths to calm himself. When he looked at me, I could see his pupils had bled into the beautiful blue color of his eyes. “But…I don’t want to do this to ya.”

           Confused, I frowned at him. “What do you mean, ‘do this to me’? I quite want it, myself.”

           Niall sighed deeply and used both hands to rub at his face, a bit roughly. “I’m only in London for another day or two, and they’re both packed full of interviews and promo. I don’t think I can hang out with you, and I don’t want to fuck you and send you off with a ‘see ya later’. And we’ve both had a bit to drink, I don’t want ya to regret this. I want to do this properly, petal. I want to take you out on dates, kiss you in the moonlight, cuddle on the couch…but I can’t do that yet.”

           Understanding lit through me, and for some reason, it made my eyes water. I sniffled and leaned away. Niall practically flinched at the sight of my tears. “Oh, no, please don’t cry! I want you, I promise I do!”

           “It’s not that,” I hiccupped. Definitely too much to drink. “You’re just so…so sweet, and I can’t handle it!”

           Niall let out a deep chuckle at my explanation, and I felt the rough palm of his hand curl against my cheek. My eyes closed, and I savored the feeling of his touch on my skin. “Okay. When I come back, love, will you go out on a proper date with me?”

           My eyes flew open. “Of course! Niall, I nearly fucked you on the couch a minute ago, I’m not about to turn down a date.”

           A loud bark of a laugh worked its way out of his chest, and Niall’s head tipped back in pure mirth. I let out a laugh of my own, thrilled to chase such a reaction out of him. Not that it was hard; Niall laughed easily and frequently, even at himself. Especially at himself.

           “Proper date it is, then,” Niall chuckled out and I nodded, smiling widely with glee.

           I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his scratchy cheek. “It’s a good thing I came to your concert. It feels like this is the start of something more, y’know?”

           Niall’s responding smile was soft, his eyes crinkling a bit at the edges. His pupils had returned to their normal state; there was that beautiful, clear blue I loved. “I have to agree.”

[silvermoonartz]

Second Meeting (Mercury Green)

Rated T

Strangely this is the first chapter of Mercury Green (my superhero AU) I’m publishing and it’s a really random one so a lot of things don’t have the right context. I wrote most of it on August 19th when I was thinking about Sabina’s/Mystery Girl’s role in the AU (its way more fleshed out now) and how Pearl and her met in this. The first thing that came to my mind was apparently some crazy stuff and this chapter is the aftermath. I finally went back and finished it this morning. Once I write more I’ll make a master post with the correct order.

Pearl

     I took another huge swing of my iced tea, finishing the sixteenth bottle I've gone through as I typed the last grade into my computer for the day. I absolutely hate the fact that I can hardly stay awake while grading the projects of my class. I love it when I have time to grade things, but this is absolute hell. I really hope I didn't mess anything up. 

     Once I shut the computer down I got up to clean up the chalkboard like usual. While this is the twenty first century, and most teachers wouldn't have chalkboards anymore, I enjoy keeping things old school. I took the chalk duster and brushed of my intricate diagrams of the work my class had to follow today, then cleaned it off with some spray and a rag, making sure it was spotless. Although, I would soon come here the next day to find the most annoying spots left on it to my dismay.

     "Great!" I exclaimed with satisfaction, "Now all that's left is organizing every little piece of chalk by color."

     I took all the chalk off of the ledge they laid on and set them into a little pail while I wiped it down. I then reached down to grab a small pink stick of it and started to gently lay it down on the ledge perfectly straight when a set of three knocks on the door made me jump up and it flew out of my hands.

     "Come in!" I shouted groggily.

           The door opened up and Peridot poked her head out. 

                "Hey Pearl! Er, Miss Halite. I just wanted to stop in here to pick up my dress before I head back home if you're done grading it. Though, it's okay if you still need it," she said as she stepped in. Another girl came in behind her with a phone as Peridot closed the door. She seemed super tired.

She was a huge muscular girl that made Peridot look even more like a midget than usual, since she only stood just above this girl's waist. She had nice curves and she probably would have a lot of cleavage if she weren't wearing a collared jacket. She was really hot and that dyed pink hair corresponded well with her jade eyes. That really warm and strange feeling you get when you are sexually attracted to another person flooded though my body. 

What the heck Pearl! This is probably a student and you're a teacher! You could get fired if you go after her! My consciousness barked at me. 

     Peridot walked over to me. 

          "This is Sabina. She's the girl that found me in the alleyway after that whole chemical mercury accident I got into. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be dead!" Peridot exclaimed as she looked in her direction. Sabina was still looking down at her phone.

     "Stupid Kevin. Stop texting me already," she muttered.

          "Aren't you two in a relationship? Don't couples text one another a lot?" Peridot asked her. So Sabina is dating a guy then?

     "No. According to him I decided to dump him last night, and he wanted to know if that was still the case since I was tipsy when I told him that. I then told him that hey, if I broke up with you, I probably had a valid reason for doing so. Go find someone else to fuck around with. He still won't stop texting me!" She explained to Peridot, "Honestly, I'm glad I did that even if I don’t remember. He's really clingy and kind of a fuck boy."

     "I sort of can understand that. I haven't really been in any big relationships before, but I have this one girl I said no to once and she still won't leave me the hell alone!" Peridot exclaimed. I knew that she was definitely referring to The Purple Cougar.

     "I guess some people just won't let go of things, huh?"

          "Yeah."

               I guess I'm not much better. Pink Diamond has been with Greg for around twenty years, but I still can't get it out of my head that I can still be with her. I suppose that something inside me is telling me that when Greg dies of old age I'll just be able to take her back again. That's pretty morbid. Especially since Greg and I are good friends now. I know that I desperately need to let go of her but I don't know how or if I can find anyone who I can love like that. I did have a small crush on Peridot's ex, Bailey, but that was soon shattered once I found out that she had a girlfriend back home in Arizona.

     "Well, anyways, Sabina is coming over to my place so I can help her study for a big Calculus test that she flunked today," Peridot told me, getting back on topic.

     "That's nice of you," I told her.

          "Yeah. What kind of grade did you give me for my dress?!" Peridot asked when she suddenly remembered why she was here. 

     "I gave you an A," I told her.

          "Really? I accidentally cut the fabric shorter than I wanted, I went too deep on the v-neck, and it has one seam that didn't go in that well," Peridot was surprised that she'd gotten an A.

     "Trust me. That A was well deserved. The stitches are absolutely perfect besides that minuscule one you missed and that's hardly noticeable. It looks professional!" I reassured her.

     "Well, you're the teacher and I'm not going complain about an A," Peridot said with a smile, as I walked over to get her dress from the pile of projects I'd graded. I handed her the small folded up black dress and she took it.

     "Can I see that?" Sabina asked Peridot.

          "Yeah!" Peridot said happily.

               She unfolded the dress to reveal what it looked like. It was a short flowy dress with a sharp v-neck, thin straps, and a silky ribbon tied around it. 

     "Wow. Are you trying to impress someone with that?" Sabina asked her.

          "No. I don't have romantic feelings for anyone right now," Peridot replied casually,  "and even if I did, I definitely wouldn't use this. I wouldn't want them to like me just because I'm sexy," she said with a proud little smirk when she said 'sexy'.

     "That's smart. Though if it were me, I wouldn't be afraid to show off to someone I liked," Sabina said, glancing over at me when she saw that I was staring at her chest. My face heated up and I quickly looked away. You need to stop!

     "I guess it's different for different people."

          "Yep."

               Peridot turned back towards me, "So anyways Pearl, I suppose you're wondering why I stopped in for my dress now instead of just picking it up during class tomorrow like everyone else."

     "Honestly, I didn't even think about it. I'm not really thinking much at all," I told her. Then I quickly walked behind my desk to grab my seventeenth bottle of iced tea from the cooler I had and took another swig as I walked back over to them.

     "That's exactly why I came now. I'm really worried bout you. You're always very alive and perky, but you seem really out of it today. I wasn't going to mention anything during class since you probably wouldn't want attention drawn to it," Peridot told me.

     "Yeah. I've had horrible headaches today, I threw up this morning, and I'm super tired. I think I might have a hangover or something," I said exhaustedly.

      "Don't I know how that feels!" Sabina exclaimed.

           "Is that why you look so tired?" I inquired.

               "Yep. I've been drinking coffee all day just to stay awake."

                    "I've been drinking iced tea! There's like eighteen and a half fluid ounces of caffeine in these things!" I said excitedly.

     "Wow. That's a lot. I should just do that next time."

          "Yeah. It tastes way better than coffee too."

                "You never really struck me as someone who would drink, Pearl," Peridot piped up.

      "Well, what most people do when their heart has been broken is drink it away. Though, I do it way too much and I honestly need to quit. Haven't you learned about that by listening to all of those country songs?" I asked her. 

      "That actually makes a lot of sense for you now that I think about it," Peridot admitted.

     "You listen to country music?" Sabina asked Peridot.

            "Yes! It's the best! Though I do like Classic Rock," she replied.

                  "Rock is the best in my opinion. What artists or bands do you like?" 

                      "I mostly listen to Journey, Bon Jovi, The Eagles, Guns and Roses, Pat Benatar, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, Poison, and Rick Springfield. Oh! And Bonnie Tyler too. I really like 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and 'Holding Out for a Hero'," Peridot told her. These two really seem to get caught up in their own conversations. These songs and artists are so nostalgic. I kinda miss the eighties.

      "Those are all good ones! I really need to take you to a rock concert sometime."

           "That would be fun. Though Pearl, I was wondering that if you drink often and we hang out a lot, why haven't I seen you like this before?" Peridot asked me.

     That's because before I had on that silver collar with my magic pearl keeping me healthy. Though it's weird that I can still get drunk but never have any side effects from it with that thing on. I'm still trying to find out how those magic gems from my home planet even work. 

      I scratched my neck as if to cue to the fact that I didn't have my collar. Peridot would naturally be smart enough to understand since she knows about it, but to anyone else, I'd look as if I were itching the huge black ribbon I had tied around my neck.

      Peridots eyes widened when I did that, so she certainly caught onto my message. Those dilated fake green eyes clearly asked, how the actual hell are you alive?!

           "Wow! I was so wrapped up in how sick you seemed that I didn't even notice that you didn't wear a fashion scarf today like usual," she said, looking at my ribbon, "Though you don't really seem like someone who'd wear a huge ribbon like that around your neck." 

     "You wear a fashion scarf all the time? I'm pretty sure most girls would use that to hide hickeys. Although collared jackets and sweaters work well for that too," Sabina stated. How would she know that much about hiding hickeys?

       "Actually, that reminds me Peridot. I need your help with something quick, since you're as smart as I would normally be-"

     "Smarter."

          "Yeah, whatever. So anyways, I'm in no condition to think straight-" I snickered, "Ha! I never think straight! Wow I really need sleep! Okay, so I can't think straight so it'd really be nice if you could help me," I told her. 

     "Sure, lay it on me," Peridot said nonchalantly.

          "Promise you won't freak out?" 

               "I promise."

                    I took a breath of air and blew it out as to calm myself, then I reached behind my back and gave a light tug on the long part of the ribbon, causing the bow to fall apart and the ribbon drifted down onto the floor.

     "Well someone sure had fun last night!" Sabina exclaimed in amusement when my neck was revealed.

     "What the actual hell Sabina! She was probably taken away by some stupid jerk that was set to have sex with her that she despises and since she was drunk she was perfectly okay with it and now she's going to live with a broken and traumatized mind for the rest of her existence!" Peridot spat.

     "Are you alright?" Sabina asked her.

          "No. I'm actually not," she said, looking down at her feet. That poor girl, she's even more broken by what happened between her and Cougar than I thought. I know that she wouldn't dare do something like that to Peridot sober, she may be too flirty but she’s far too kindhearted for that. It still makes me angry though. I think the best thing I could do for her is to go on with my story so she can stop thinking about that.

     "So, I woke up on the floor of my apartment this morning with these all over my neck, no sleep, and a throbbing head," I told her as she silently offered to throw away my finished bottle of iced tea.

     "Pearl, there isn't eighteen and a half fluid ounces of caffeine in this thing. There's sixty nine milligrams of caffeine out of the eighteen and a half fluid ounces that is the entire bottle!" Peridot stated as she was about to throw it out, examining the label.

     "Ha! Sixty nine!" Sabina laughed out loud.

          "Wow. You both need sleep badly. Sabina, you're overly tired as hell, and Pearl, you look like a freaking vampire! More so than usual," Peridot pointed out, disgusted by Sabina's immature response to her comment about the label. She quickly threw the bottle away and went back over to us.

     "And that brings me to the next part of the story. So I had to go to the bathroom to throw up, which is absolutely disgusting, and then when I came back out I saw that there was a piece of paper on the floor by where I was laying," I told her as I reached into my pack pocket to take out a small piece of paper and handed it to Peridot.

     "Call me if you ever want something to sink your fangs in again~," Peridot read with a struggle, the writing was pretty messy.

     "And that number on it looks kinda familiar," she stated with wonder, "I just don't know where I've seen it."

      "Really?" I asked. Perhaps it was worth letting her check it out.

           "It could be Amethyst's. You've met her before. She's my fun roommate..."

                Please don't let it be Amethyst. I know her way more than Peridot knows I do, even more so than Peridot herself. She is definitely someone who I desperately hope I didn't sleep with. Not that she'd even be interested.

     "Nah, her number is different."

          Thank god.

               "Hmmm... It could be R-" Peridot started to say before Sabina cut her off.

                    "Oh, just give me that!" Sabina exclaimed as she snatched it out of Peridot's small hands. She carefully scrutinized it, then her jade eyes widened in shock.

     "That's... my number," she breathed before slowly looking up at me.

           My face started to burn as it flushed a bright red. I didn't know what to think.

                "Oh my god," we said simultaneously as we looked at each other. The two of us were completely stunned and at a loss of words. 

     I really don't know how to feel at the moment. Am I happy that it was her? I mean she is incredibly beautiful and sexy.... my mind trailed off and I felt myself heat up even more. No! What if this is something like the whole Purple Cougar and Iron Mage dilemma and she doesn't want any of this, but it was out of our control because we were completely drunk? Gah! I don't know! How did I let this happen.

     Peridot took a while to process things herself.

          "What that hell!" She exclaimed once she finally comprehended the situation.

               Sabina had also done the same, while I was still a flustering mess.

                   "Well I suppose my writing on that paper explains this," she said as she unzipped her jacket. She had a low cut tank top on underneath it and wow. I was right about her having nice cleavage. Stop checking her out! 

    She pointed at a small bite mark on her neck. She had a few hickeys as well, not as much as I did, but they were still hickeys nonetheless. But why would I bite her? That's just weird. Not that this situation itself is any less weird.

     "That's it. I came here for my dress and to check on Pearl. I don't know if she's fine, but we're leaving," Peridot stated curtly as soon as she saw that. She started heading towards the door.

     "Oh. Okay. Thanks for helping me figure that out I guess," I said as she turned to leave.

   "No problem."

        Sabina zipped her jacket back up and walked over to me. Why is she coming over to me? She took my hand and I felt blood rush back up to my face again. 

     "Here," Sabina said as she placed the paper into it, "Keep it."

          She then looked up at me and smiled. 

               "Maybe we'll see each other again."

                    And with that she dashed off to catch up with her tutor, leaving me a flustered mess.

     All I know is that this has to be the start of something good.