Hello! I told you all that even if I wasn't on wattpad anymore I would come from time to time to post these one shots when the Muse visited me. On twitter (@BelWatson) I talked about this particular one shot. Now I finally have time to post it! I hope you like it. I know how much you've been waiting for it.

This is when Niall, finally, gives Ella all the presents!

Bel, xx

-:-:-

Seven Years 
Niall Horan

You can find all those fan fictions in which girls dream you'll see them in the crowd. You'll spot them and smile at them and remember them. But that doesn't happen. It's practically impossible because there are just so many. And they paint their faces and wear the same clothes and it's like they all merge. When the concert is over they all look the same to me. Even if you search and try to find someone who catches your attention, it just doesn't happen.

But when you already found that girl, that girl who seems to have taken over your heart and mind, you can always find her. And when you don't have her anymore you see her everywhere. Every girl has her face for a second or two because you are dying to see her again. You can't stop hoping one day she'll be there, watching you, smiling at you, waiting for you.

For seven years I always saw one face in every girl. I saw her green eyes, her blond curly hair, that contagious smile. I saw my Ella in every girl but then her face disappeared and it was just any other girl.

It always hurt.

Even when I moved on, when I was with another girl I sometimes would see her face, too. It was a reminder that I wasn't really over the girl I met a summer long ago.

It's hard to believe someone can mark you like that, that no matter how many years go by you still remember clearly and vividly. Ella really took my heart and she never gave it back to me when she walked away. And I waited for her seven years. Even if I carried on with my life, a part of me was always waiting.

Ariel, my best friend without a doubt, always told me that she believed Ella and I would meet again. She said that it was destiny, that a love like ours couldn't just die like that. And she was sure Ella still loved me, wherever she was. And I believed Ariel.

And Ariel was right.

She was right because seven years later I met Ella again. When I least expected it, when I wasn't prepared but at the same time I was. It was like for seven years I was getting ready for that moment and when I saw her I knew, I just knew that was the moment Ella always talked about. The right timing. I saw her and I knew this time it was the time for us.

And now I don't see her face in every girl, because I'm seeing her face. It's actually her and sometimes it's hard to believe it's actually happening. Sometimes when I wake up, I'm afraid I won't have her by my side but another girl. But I open my eyes and it's Ella. It's my Ella the one sleeping next to me and I feel whole again. She hasn't given me my hart back but I don't need it if I have her. She can keep it. She's taking good care of it.

"You're looking at me funny again," she says snapping me back to the present day. And it's true I got lost in my train of thoughts.

I shake my head and smile at her. "Sorry, I was just happy to see you. Sometimes it's still hard to believe it's actually you."

I see a shadow of guilt crossing her eyes so I hurry to grab her hands. I blamed her at some point but then I understood why she did it. She had to do it and I forgave her for that. I don't want her to feel guilty for something that was necessary. Especially now when I see she's a better self. You could see all the hatred in her eyes before, it was like a dark shadow that never left her alone. But that shadow is gone and now she shines so bright.

She needed those seven years and I waited. I waited because I loved her then and I still love her.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It was for the best. I get it. Don't feel bad about it. We are together now, and it's the right time," I remind her and she breathes in deeply.

"It is," she agrees and slowly a smile comes to her lips. "Okay. I'm fine now," she adds with a cheery tone. "So, what's your plan? Why did you bring me here?" Ella asks and I smile, letting go of her hands.

I brought her to a park. I know it's not the clear by the riverside but it's a lovely place. And I brought her to have a picnic. Like in the old times. But my plan is not only to take her down the memory land, I have another purpose.

During seven years I missed seven birthdays. But I never forgot it was her birthday. Even if I was with someone else, I would still think of her that day. And every year I would get her a present. It was Ariel's idea that I should get Ella a present for every year we weren’t by together so when we finally reunited I could give them all to her. It was a way to keep believing we would meet again.

"Well, as part of your late birthday celebration," Ella chuckles at my words. She finds so amusing that I keep bringing this up. I told her I got her a present for every year but it seems like she forgot about that. "I decided to give you all the presents I had for you!"

Her eyes widen, remembering that I told her about that the day we met again, seven years after she walked away, and four months ago.

"I thought it was a joke," she mutters but I shake my head.

"It was not," I tell her with a big smile. "So let's start with this. This was for the first birthday since we met, when I didn't know it was your birthday." I take a small box from a bag in which I brought all the presents. Ella thought it was more food. She was mistaken.

I hand her the small box and she opens it, her expression is still incredulous and when she finally sees what's inside her eyes widen one more time. Carefully, she grabs the necklace and examines it. It's a necklace of a mask, like the one she was wearing that night at the ball, for her birthday, when we kissed for the first time.

Ella looks at me with surprise in her eyes and a loving expression. "It's so beautiful," she manages to say before she turns around. I know that she wants me to help her putting the necklace. And I do. When she turns to face me again I see it catching the sunlight and she looks so beautiful. "I love it."

I smile triumphal before I go for the second present. The jumper with horses that reminded me so much of her when I saw it. I hand it to her and she opens it with confused eyes. "This is for that summer I went back to the centre, hoping to find you." She nods as if she knew I was there, which confuses me. I didn't tell her that I went again to the centre looking for her.

She opens the present and when I see her reaction I forget all about that expression because her delight is so big that I can't stop smiling. She even squeaks and I laugh.

"Oh my God, this is so cute! I love it. It's filled with little Areses!" I laugh because that's exactly the reaction I imagined she would have when she would see the present. Although she's cuter than in my fantasy.

As she puts on the jumper, although we are in May, I look for the third present. This is one that Ariel helped me with. Ariel is now a singer slash songwriter and this was her first single and it's a song she wrote for Ella and I. This is our song, our story. So I hand Ella the single CD and she looks at it intently.

"You know Ariel, she's my friend, and she wrote this song about us," I explain her and her eyes look at me with so much emotion that I feel a lump in my throat.

"I-I didn't know it was about us but I... When I listened to it the first time I thought of you and… I… I cried. I remember I cried because I still missed you so much. It's been my favourite song since then," she confesses and I give her a tight smile.

There's some comfort in knowing she always missed me during these seven years and that she thought of me. That she was listening to the same song and thinking of me. But I don't say a word because my own emotions are getting the best of me and I don't want to ruin this moment.

So instead of saying something, I lean in and kiss her deeply, like I wanted to do for seven years and like now I can do when I want.

We break the kiss and she has a single tear running down her cheek so I wipe it away with my thumb, caressing her face along the way.

I kiss her forehead before I retract to go for the next present. By this time I was already with someone else but when I saw the music box I could only think of Ella. Especially after Ariel had noticed how similar was our story to the fairy tale of Cinderella. So I had to buy the music box with a couple dancing to the rhythm of the very song of Cinderella. Although, I made sure to change that. We didn't dance to that song, we danced to Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran so I had to go through a lot of trouble but I managed to find someone who could change the melody of the song. Now when Ella opens it Kiss Me starts to play. And I know she remembers it's our song by the look in her eyes. She gives me a smile so full of love that I can't even doubt these seven years of waiting were worth it.

"It's perfect," she says and her voice trembles. I only take her hand and squeeze it before I go for the fifth present.

This is a notebook, a handmade one, which has horses painted on the cover. A black horse and a chestnut one, running together. I thought of Ares and Persephone when I saw it, and immediately after I thought of Ella and I. So I bought it and I wrote on it every song she inspired, and like that I filled the notebook.

She smiles brightly when she sees it. "Open it," I tell her and she flips through the pages, seeing that they are all written. "They are lyrics. Of every song I've written for you. Not all of them were recorder. Most of them have never been heard by anyone, but I wrote them."

Once again her eyes are filled with emotion and she closes the notebook to then press it against her chest.

"I wanna hear them all," she says and I nod.

"That brings us to the sixth present," I say and take a white envelope that I hand her.

She opens it and finds a single ticket, a ticket that wasn't on sale and that only she has. A ticket to see me perform every single song for her and only her.

"You pick the date," I say as she keeps staring at the ticket. Then her eyes meet mine and I can see the tears welling in her green eyes. I hurry to cup her face in my two hands and kiss her lips softly. She holds on to me and deepens the kiss, and I just let her. I know she doesn't know what to say and I know there are no words that could express what she is feeling.

We break the kiss and I smile at her. "There are more," I remind her and she chuckles.

"God, give me strength!"

I laugh as I look for the seventh present. Although we were seven summers apart I met her eight summers ago, hence I have eight presents for her. The seventh is a picture. A picture I didn't know I would ever find. A picture Harry took one day when we weren't looking. It's a picture of us completely oblivious to the people around, looking at each other. My hands on her waist, hers on my chest. He showed me this picture seven years ago when our band broke up telling me that he thought it wouldn't be that hard by now.

He was wrong.

It was worse because even after six years I still wanted to be like that again. I still missed her like the first day without her.

So the present is that picture in a locket. One for her, and there’s also one for me. It's not like I'm going to use it, but I have it. 

When she opens it and sees the picture it's the same expression I had when I first saw it.

"When?" she asks breathlessly.

"I dunno. Harry took it. One year ago he showed it to me."

Ella blinks surprised and then closes it and hangs it from her neck, keeping it close to her heart.

"We need more pictures," she says and I laugh.

"We do,"

So there's just one present left from the last year I spent without her. I didn't know we were going to meet after that birthday, well actually we met again in January, so it's not the most special one, but at the same time it is because it's the last present I bought waiting for her.

So I grab the last present and hand it to her. I know it's cheesy but isn't that my trademark?

Ella unwraps it and blinks confused when she sees the book, a book of fairy tales.

"Uh?" she mumbles and I laugh.

"I always told you to embrace your cheesy side. I think the best way is to overcome your aversion for fairy tales."

And after I say that she burst out laughing. Then I lean in and open the book for her so she can see the dedication I wrote, which is basically what I just told her.

Ella hugs the book and looks at me with loving eyes once again.

"Thank you, Niall. For everything but overall, for waiting," she tells me and I smile.

"I would've waited forever for you," I say honestly. "I'm just glad it didn't have to wait forever, though."

She laughs once again and puts the book aside before she comes to my arms and hugs me tightly. I wrap my arms around her and keep her close to me, wary to ever let her go.

"Now I feel bad because I never got you something for your birthday," she muses as we keep hugging.

"It's okay, we have many birthdays ahead. You can make it up to me lately, I say in a light tone. I honestly don't mind, I have no reason to believe she would've done the same for me. I wouldn't have done it if not for Ariel.

"I will," Ella vows and I hug her tighter.

It's not that she says she'll make it up to me, it's that she agrees we'll have many birthdays together. And that's all she needed to say to make it up to me. All I needed to confirm that these seven years were worth it. I have her now and I'll have her for so much longer. We both know that and it is enough.