Happy birthday to one of my favorite humans, my baby and Irish boy Niall 💚
I luuub him

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Emmeline

The sound of my quacking duck ringtone blaring obnoxiously close to my ear, pulls me out of my deep sleep. I'm briefly thinking I must be dreaming the annoying sound, and once it stops I sigh in relief, ready to fall back asleep. Right when I'm drifting off, the quaking noise is back and I groan loudly into my pillow. Rolling on my side, I blindly reach for my phone on my nightstand and slap my hand down on it once I feel it. I roll on my back, swiping the screen with my eyes still closed as I bring the annoying device to my ear. "What?"

"Well good morning to you too, Princesa." I recognize the familiar accented voice, my eyebrows pulling together when I pull the phone back and peek at the name on the screen with one eye open. Caesar. I sigh tiredly after seeing his name, bringing the phone back to my ear.

"Sorry, I like my sleep. Why'd you wake me up?"

"I haven't spoken to you in two days. You've been brief over text, what's been going on?"

"It's a long story," I mumbled, yawning as I brushed my hand over my forehead. "But I'm tired and don't feel like explaining anything right now, it's too early for me." I mumbled, turning on my side to dig my face into my pillow.

His chuckle sounded in my ear. "What are you talking about? It's nearly eleven in the morning, sleepy head."

My eyes snapped open and I shot up so fast, the movement making me dizzy as I blinked repeatedly to clear the blurriness of my heavy eyes. "It's what time?" I asked hurriedly, glancing around my room and despite my question I pull back my phone to look at the time. 10:37am. Shit!

I move fast out of bed, my ankle tangled around the sheets and practically tripping in the process of getting up. "I have to go Caesar, I overslept! Orientation is today!" I run straight for the bathroom, then run back out when I realize if I overslept then so did Lila.

"Shit, alright I'll call you later." He said and I spat a quick bye before throwing my bedroom door open and running over to the her room just a few feet away, banging my hands on her door.

"Lila! Wake up we're supposed to be at the school in fifteen minutes!" I yelled, and hear a loud thump, as if she fell off her bed. As I'm running back to my room, I see Morgan sit up on the couch in the living room so abruptly in fright. I hurriedly run into my room, going straight for the restroom to quickly brush my teeth and wash my face then snatch my mascara from the top drawer of the cabinets. I've never put it on so fast in my life, and it barely makes a difference but I have no time for perfection. I run back into my room, pulling my top off over my head and grabbing the closest shirt to me. I'm buttoning it up quickly, simultaneously moving around my room to grab a pair of black ripped skinny jeans. After reaching the third button from the top, I slip my jeans on and put on a pair of black converse before snatching up my purse, phone, and black hair tie then run out into the living room just as Lila is coming out of her bedroom as well. Her outfit is disheveled, and she's hopping on one foot while she puts on her white adidas. Her hair is also a little riled up but I'm sure I look just the same.

"We gotta go we'll get there right at eleven if we're lucky!" She screeched and we ran pass Morgan, who was slowly packing her stuff up into her duffel bag but stopped to catch us running for the front door.

"Bye you two! I'll call you later tonight!"

"Bye love you!" We yelled, booking it out the door and heading for the elevator. Luckily, someone was coming out just as we got there and we ran inside, clicking the first floor and the closed button repeatedly. It wasn't long before we were at the lobby, running through the doors and sprinting the whole way to the subway. We didn't stop, not until we were actually sitting down on the subway where I slumped in the seat and took loud deep breaths. It was hot and my hair was sticking to my neck that I lifted my hair to pull half of it up, doing my best to tame it with my fingers. Lila was pulling hers into a high pony tail, managing to make it look cute before opening her purse to pull out a pink colored lipstick. She glides it across her lips, then looks to me only to grip my chin and paint a thin coat over my bottom and top lip.

"Better." She nodded and I sighed, opening my own purse to get a piece of gum. I looked down at my phone, my knee anxiously bouncing when I saw it was 10:54am. I hated being late.

"I can't believe we overslept." Lila groaned and I scowled at her, craning my neck to glare at her.

"Yeah, because you pulled out that bottle of wine. You know how sleepy I get after just one glass, and I had two." I shake my head and Lila winces.

"Yeah, probably not the best idea." She grins after, then nudges me. "You and Harry got a little flirty though."

I flush, biting my lip when I remember how we were a giggling mess on the couch after he had drank three glasses. And how he kept petting my hair, telling me I was pretty and being more affectionate than a 'friend' should be. "Shut up."

She laughs, and the subway slows when we're nearing our stop. Lila and I both get up, taking deep breaths just before the subway comes to a halt and the doors open. We bolt our way out, bumping into a few people that were standing on the other side waiting to get in and mutter sorry's before running up the steps. We run until we see the NYU flag, our pace slowing in relief when we see other student hurriedly running in just like us. Luckily, I remember the room number from the email we got sent happens to be the same room that the orientation from Monday was held in. I tug on Lila's arm when we walk through the building, pulling her towards the elevators where crowds of other students are trying to get in. I manage to slip both Lila and myself in, thankful to see our floor number was already pressed.

"God, someone reeks in here." Lila whispers in my ear and I stifle a laugh when she groans quietly. The doors open seconds later to our floor and I make a beeline for the room the orientation is held in, Lila right on my heels. The door is still open when we approach it, but two staff member sit at a table off to the side. A few students are standing there, name tags given to them and I move towards the table where a women with light brown hair and dark brown eyes smiles at me.

"Hi, name?" She gets right to the point.

"Emmeline Reed." She nods, looking down at a list in front of her before I see her check my name off. She reaches for a pamphlet, then hands it to me along with a sharpie and lanyard that had a blank paper attached to the bottom of it.

"Okay, you're all set. Just write your name on the lanyard." I nod, placing the lanyard on the table to write my name while Lila checks in with her. I hand her the sharpie when I finish, pulling the purple lanyard over my head. I'm adjusting my hair when Lila finishes, a staff member waving the last of us in near the door. We quickly walk in and my eyes automatically roam around the nearly full auditorium. The room is crowded and is buzzing with chatter, voices echoing against the walls as we both move down the aisle to look for open seats.

"Em! Lila!"

Regardless of the loudness in the room, his voice is distinct above them all and I turn in the direction I hear it from. My eyes scan the crowd to my right, until they land on the familiar green eyes of Harry. He's looking at me over his shoulder, a grin on his face as he points to the two empty seats beside him before waving us over. I walk further down the aisle, Lila right behind me as we reach the end of the row Harry and Anthony are sitting in. I mumble 'excuse me' repeatedly as we practically try to fit between the chairs and people's legs, and thankfully we make it to Harry and Anthony with out tripping. I sigh, sinking into the empty seat beside Harry while Lila climbs over the both of us to sit in the empty one next to Anthony.

"You got here late." Is the first thing Harry says once I've settled down, my eyes darting to him to see him smirking at me. "Did you oversleep?"

"Yes," I groaned, tilting my head back against the red chair. "I shouldn't have had that wine. It never fails to put me in a deep sleep."

"Me too." He laughed lowly, shoulders shaking and his dimple piercing his cheek. "Except I set like five alarms last night before I went to bed."

"Hm, I set one too. I just slept through it."

"What woke you up then?" He asks, eyebrow arched and an amused grin on his lips. I pause, momentarily taking in the rest of his appearance to see he was wearing his usual black jeans and brown boots, and a denim light blue button up today. Of course, only the the middle two were buttoned, leaving his chest partially exposed. The short sleeves were folded once against his biceps, the tattoos on his arm on full display. He looked good. And by the girls not so subtly checking him out, apparently I was not the only one who noticed.

"Caesar," I finally answered, my cheeks heating when I realized he had caught me staring at him again. Yet he didn't bother to call me out on it. "He called and woke me up, then mentioned it was nearly eleven. I have never gotten out of bed so fast in my life."

"Caesar?" The smile on his face had faltered and his eyebrows were drawn together in confusion, his mouth twisting to the side in thought. "Caesar as in the one who helped us escape three months ago?"

"Yep."

"Huh," he mumbled, tilting his head. "I didn't know you kept in touch with him."

I nodded. "Yeah, I visited him a lot in the hospital for the two weeks he was in there. Then when he was sent to jail for a month, I visited him pretty often then too." I shrug. "We're good friends now. I actually consider him my best guy friend."

"Wow. That's cool, let him know I say hi the next time you speak to him."

"Sure." I smile and Harry grins, his eyes scanning my face before his gaze flickers down to my clothes and a devious smirk grows on his lips.

"Nice shirt."

I look at him confusedly then automatically look down, my eyes widening in an instant when I see I'm wearing Harry's red plaid button up he had let me borrow yesterday morning. I internally face palm myself for not paying enough attention to which shirt I grabbed this morning, and then double face palm when I see I hadn't even buttoned it right. Each button is one up from the one it's supposed to be buttoned to. I was an idiot.

My cheeks were definitely red by now and I pressed my lips together as I looked around me, my eyes frantically looking at all the faces of other students. No one was paying attention to me so they probably hadn't noticed my shirt but it was still damn embarrassing. And I just knew Harry did notice.

"I hadn't even realized. I grabbed the closest thing to me and threw it on." I laugh quietly, a blush spreading up to the corner of my ears. "Sorry, I'll wash it later and give it back to you."

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to give it back. Looks better on you anyways." The smirk on his face is dangerous and his eyes are teasing. It makes me fidget and I just know my face is as red as a tomato by now. I don't respond, too flustered and only shift in my seat when thankfully a woman on the stage clears her throat through a microphone.

The talking in the auditorium dies down as she moves the microphone, stepping up onto a podium with a smile on her face. "Hello incoming freshmen. Welcome to NYU! We're very happy to have you here..."

Almost instantly, I tune her out as I stare at her. Watching her speak but not actually taking in a word she's saying as my thoughts begin to drift to the events of last night. It was fun, and I had forgotten all about my problems for a few hours during that time. But now, my mind is plagued with the reminder of my dad's text from last night, his words repeatedly playing through my head and it gives me an uneasy feeling. Deep down I knew I did absolutely nothing wrong, that I was right to leave the way I did. To cut them out of my life. Regardless, his words had gotten to me and dampened my mood. Him and my mother always had a way of making me feel worthless, and useless at times. It amazes me that even now, when they're not here they still manage to affect me that way. It was angering and It only made me feel worse about myself when I realized how weak I must be if I can't just shrug what they say off my shoulders. I wish I could, that I could just ignore it and not let it get to me but I wasn't built that way. I've always acted like certain things said to me hadn't affected me, but deep down they did. No one knew how much I really took things to heart when I pretended not to care. But I did, more than everyone thought.

What sucked the most was I fucking knew I wasn't the one to blame. I wasn't a bad daughter. My behavior was not uncalled for. And I wasn't out of control. I knew this. Yet, here I was, questioning the kind of person I am all because of one stupid text.

"Hey," I turn my head promptly when I feel Harry's breath fanning my ear. The action causes our noses to bump and he leans back just a few inches, his green eyes worriedly searching my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." I mumble and he purses his lips, staring at me for another moment before turning to look back at the stage. He says nothing else but I almost flinch in surprise when I feel his warm hand rest over mine, his fingers briefly wrapping around my own before he squeezes and let's go. He knows I'm lying. But he didn't push me to talk about it and still made some form of effort to comfort me. He really was a great guy.

"Now, we are going to give you all a tour of the school so you won't be lost the first day." I finally tune her back in, in time to hear the woman saying this at the front. I watch as three other staff members climb the stage, moving to stand in the middle of it. "You will all be divided by two large groups. The first group will be last names between A-M, and you'll be coming with me and Mr. Gonzales. Last names from N-Z, will be going with Ms. Myers and Mr. Thatcher. Mr. Gonzales and I will waiting at the right side of the auditorium, and the other group will take the left." There was talking amongst the students as everyone began to stand. "Stay with you groups! There will be free food at the end of the tour so if you want to eat make sure you don't lose them!" She said loudly into the microphone, moving further on the other side of the stage to get down.

I stood up from my chair, slinging the strap of my purse over my shoulder just as Harry looked down at me with a cute smile. "Looks like you and I are in the same group again."

"Looks like it." I laughed and Lila leaned around Harry's shoulder, her lips in a pout when she looked at the both of us.

"Boo, I'm separated from you guys."

"What does your last name start with?" We heard Anthony behind her and I peeked over Harry's shoulder to see him arching his eyebrow at her.

"M, I'm right at the cutoff. What does yours?"

"D." He smiled down at her and even I nearly swooned at the sight of it, so it didn't surprise me to find Lila's face turning pink. "You're stuck with me."

I pressed my lips together to suppress my smile, slyly looking at Harry before wiggling my eyebrows at him. He wiggled his right back, his eyes playful before we both laughed quietly and turned to exit the row we stood in. I followed the people exiting in front of me, until we were out into the aisle. People crowded the area and I looked down both sides, trying to find an opening to get through when I felt Harry's hand on my lower back. He lightly pushed me forward, his height putting him at an advantage so he's able to see over the heads around us. I waved to Lila and Anthony one last time before we were separated and they blended with the crowd.

We walked to the left side of the auditorium, where we spotted Ms. Myers and Mr. Thatcher waiting with a large group of students idly standing near them. People were moving back and forth, trying to get to their right group that so many of them would shove or accidentally step on my toes as they hurriedly passed. It was quite annoying and I was just about ready to push the next person that stepped on my foot, when another shoulder collided hard into mine. I stumbled, my back hitting Harry's chest when hands shot out to my upper arms and pulled me upright again.

"Shit, I am so sorr-," I looked up at the source of the voice, my eyes meeting light blue eyes and my whole body froze in surprise right along with his. The blonde hair. The stubble on his chin and the familiar crossed out 'Monday' t-shirt he currently wore. His head reeled back when his eyes registered my face, his fingers tightening on my arms as he quietly gasped. "Emmy?"

What the hell. I felt like I was choking on air when his name sputtered from my mouth. "Niall?"

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The party has arrived

Questions:

What do you think is going to happen with Niall?

How's Harry going to react?

I'll update more frequently now that I have the whole story planned out. So keep the votes up and comment, the chapters will come quicker :)