Description:Â This was the 100th year of the annual bounty purge, and someone decided to put a price on the boys of One Directionâs heads. Katie Lee, a Watcher, was now in charge of their lives for the duration of the purge. Could she manage to keep them all safe?
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Middle of the Night (1D) *ongoing*
Description: to come...
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Just Another Normal Story (Harry Styles) *completed*
Description: Harry Styles. A baby. Zombies. What could go wrong?
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This Is Love (Louis Tomlinson) *completed*
Description:Â I didn't usually swear, but I found myself repeating the words 'Shit. Fuckity fuck. Dammit.' in my head. Over and over again as the pink plus sign burned into my retinas.
Click here for the masterlist.
Tell Me a Lie (Niall Horan) *ongoing*
Description: Lauren Kelly was an established editor at a publishing house in London and Niall Horan was flourishing in his solo career. But when Niallâs management demanded he get a PR girlfriend, he asked her to fill the position. Things get a little tricky when Niallâs PR girlfriend gets a girlfriend of her own. Was Niall faking the relationship or was it all real for him from the beginning? Will Laurenâs feelings for him that she buried deep down long ago stay there or dig their way back up to the surface?
This is random but my friends and I are selling our 3 tickets for Louis Tomlinson in Kansas City!!! We figured out that 2 of us canât actually make it so itâs better to sell.
Theyâre currently not available for transfer but I swear this isnât a scam! Once theyâre available I will transfer to your account/email!
Theyâre $51.28 each, so $153.84 total for all!
Please message if interested or know someone who is!
This is random but my friends and I are selling our 3 tickets for Louis Tomlinson in Kansas City!!! We figured out that 2 of us canât actually make it so itâs better to sell.
Theyâre currently not available for transfer but I swear this isnât a scam! Once theyâre available I will transfer to your account/email!
Theyâre $51.28 each, so $153.84 total for all!
Please message if interested or know someone who is!
The following day was spent mostly indoors. Niall had more writing to do and it gave me the opportunity to finish editing. That was until Niall insisted we go out to take photos. He took us to all the popular spots, including the angel wings, and honestly it was fun. Very cliche, but fun.Â
He had a few people recognize him and ask for a photo. That was a bit bizarre. He was so nonchalant about it though.Â
After we got back, I went upstairs to lay down. I definitely needed time to recoup before going out again; especially if the crowds were going to be large. Clubs in Iowa arenât necessarily wild, they could be but not in the way I assumed LA was. And the college I went to, Wartburg, was in the small town of Waverly which only had a couple bars and only one allowed under the drinking age kids. I didnât really party until my final year when Iâd realized I hadnât experienced that part of college and it led to some terrible relationships.
Granted, I knew that life wasnât always rainbows and butterflies; Wartburg wasnât my first choice. It induced a lot of my anxiety nowadays, despite having it before it all went down. I could be negative about it, but it made me stronger in a way.Â
I rolled over onto my back and pinched the bridge of my nose. The frontal headache was slowly showing itself. I found my pill pocket and dragged my feet to the bathroom to use water from the sink. Then I rifled through my clothes to find my black elastic harness, white boxy tee, dusty blue satin skirt, ripped sheer tights, and black oxfords. I switched out the outfits before I somewhat settled on a focus on redoing my hair and makeup; I left it down, straightened it quickly and created a couple small braid strands, and did a darker ombre on my lids with winged liner.Â
âHoly⊠shite,â Niall breathed as he waltzed into the room wearing a blue suede trouser and jacket set with a white crew and brown boots.Â
I took a step back from the body mirror and turned around to observe what he was wearing. âHow did we manage to match but not match at the same time?â
âItâs the blues for sure,â he replied.Â
âRight.â I turned back around to assess myself once more, deciding whether or not I needed any last touches. Niall came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my torso. His head rested on my shoulder.Â
âYou look great, Kelly.â
âWould it be cheesy to get a mirror couple selfie? The fans would eat that up.âÂ
His laugh vibrated against my back. âUse my phone.âÂ
Niall held his phone out, keeping one arm around my torso. I stuck with a normal smile, that was before he surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. My expression scrunched up as my body curled inward. I couldnât stop the giggles at the ideas that crossed my mind.Â
âHold on, crouch down by my legs. Iâm gonna take a fit pic and pretend I donât see you.âÂ
He had a hard time keeping a straight face, but we managed to get a couple good shots. âI know what Iâm posting.â
Niall smiled as he flipped through his. âMe too.â
A minute later, there were Twitter and Instagram notifications from him. I opened it up to see he had attached a normal picture of me smiling and then one of me scrunching up my face as he kissed my cheek. The caption was âA night out dancing with this beautiful woman . Donât get many of these lately . Love you babe <3â.Â
There goes the flutter in my chest again. Fuck. I mentally cleared my throat and moved my slightly shaky finger to like each post, then replied with âLove you too Nialler <3 <3â. As we slipped out into the night, I created my own posts. I chose one where Niall was looking right up at me and captioned it âTonightâs fit feat. Niall. Youâre my number one admirer. I love you always <3â.
I threw my phone into the temporary black, mini crossbody; Iâd also thrown my wallet in it. If Iâd worn jeans, I wouldâve just put them in my pockets. My sight traveled to the blurred lights outside the window of our Uberâs car. There was definitely a vibe here; I could see why people loved to live here.Â
âWhatâs the first place weâre going to?âÂ
âItâs a standard nightclub. Nothing over the top.â
I nodded. âAlright.â
My jaw dropped when we finally got inside. If this was standard, then I donât want to know what the bouche nightclubs were like. The dance floor was enormous, dancers had their own little stages sporadically around it. I had to force myself to not stare at the beautiful women covered in glitter. I noted the bills in their straps. Maybe Iâll leave a tip for one of them at some point. Niall pulled us through the crowd of people and we stopped in front of the bar.Â
âWhat do you want?â
âSprite and apple pucker.â
He nodded and faced the bartender again. I tried to not let the loud music overwhelm my mind. Niall lightly touched my arm and I looked back at him, in a small daze from observing the place, and everything and everyone in it. I sort of felt out of place; like I wasnât really there. The feeling was too familiar, and I didnât like it.Â
He set a clear square glass in my hand. I gave him a small smile and took a sip of it. The bubble popped on the top of my throat while the alcohol burned down. Niall had a Guinness in hand and took a swig of it.Â
I took a few more sips of the jolly rancher drink, observing once again, and I kept close to Niall. His presence, and sweet drink, made me feel somewhat better. Â
We found a nearby table to chill at for a bit. Let the alcohol soak in. Iâd eventually gone to get refills for us. My eyes landed on one of the blonde dancers and she looked directly back at me. She smiled, turned to me, and reached a hand out.Â
âDance with me!â she yelled.Â
I looked at her slightly dazed.
âGo on,â Niall encouraged. Â
I tried to not cough on my own spit. âY-youâll be fine for a few?â
âOf course. Go!â
I handed him my clutch, then let the dancer guide me up onto the platform floor. I swayed back and forth slowly, letting myself get lost. I recognized the next song, Tumblr Girls by G-Eazy feat. Christoph Anderson, and got giddy. I allowed myself to sync deeper with the music. My hips swayed more, and I brought my arms above my head.Â
The dancer closed in even more, resting hands on my hips, and grinded on one of my legs.Â
âYouâve got some moves! Whatâs your name?âÂ
I flushed. âLauren, and you too. You?â
âIâm Flora! Is that your boyfriend?â
âN-â I cleared my throat and nodded. âYeah!âÂ
She laughed. âWell, he seems to be enjoying this.â
Heat ran deeper in my cheeks and I glanced over my shoulder to see Niall watching. He had his elbow resting on the table, hand under his chin. His beer bottle hovered over his privates.Â
I bit my lip, laughing under my breath. âI gotta admit, Iâm having fun too.âÂ
After a couple more songs, I decided it was time to get off the stage. No one else seemed to be getting invited by the dancers to join them up there, so it was awkward now. I grabbed a ten out of my wallet and handed it to her.Â
âYou are absolutely stunning Flora. Thanks for the fun!âÂ
Flora kissed my cheek, then winked. âYou too, babe.âÂ
âThat didnât break any rules, right?â I took deep breaths to calm my high. I wanted to keep dancing for sure. Just not on show for everyone else.Â
He shrugged. âI wonât tell. Come on, I want a turn.â He reached his hand out and I smirked.Â
The music pace changed to something by ILLENIUM. I started to bounce with the rest of the crowd and did dumb arm movements. Niall busted a laugh, following my pattern. A few songs later, I had the urge to pee. It was immense.Â
I gestured towards where I remember seeing a restroom sign. âGotta use the girlsâ room. Be right back.âÂ
I hurried into one of the stalls and relieved myself. I washed my hands and looked into the mirror, just as a girl who looked to be about a year or two older than me came out of a stall.Â
She looked at me deviously. âYou look familiar.âÂ
âDonât we all in these places?â I laughed, slightly nervous.Â
âYes, but no, you look familiar for a different reason.â
âIâm sure I do.â I busied myself with drying my hands. Then I exited without saying another word.Â
On my way back, a stranger touched my butt then pulled me into their chest to grind. âShake that ass for me.
Without really thinking, I batted the hand away and turned around to throw a smack. âFuck off!â
The guy glared. âWhat the hell, bitch?âÂ
âYou touched my body without consent! Youâre the bitch!âÂ
âWhatever,â he scoffed. âYour loss, baby! I got a date to get back to anyway!âÂ
I didnât bother giving a proper response. By the look on his face, I knew I wasnât the only one who would give him shit for violating boundaries.Â
âWhat was the crack with that fella?â Niall asked, gesturing in the direction I came from.Â
âNothing.â I shrugged.Â
He shot me a look. âYou look pretty flustered, Kelly. Everything alright?â
âYeah, can we just go home though? I-Iâm tired.â
âOf course, yeah.â
Niallâs hand found mine. On our way out, the same guy glanced in our direction as he grinded with a different girl. A smirk spread on his lips, his hands tightening on her hips. There was a phantom feeling and I swallowed. I subtly ran my free shaky hand over the back of my skirt and looked away.
The night air was much cooler now compared to the inside of that club. We paused momentarily so Niall could call for another Uber. Niall wrapped his arms around me, resting his head on top of mine. A few minutes later, a Rover pulled up to the side and Niall approached to confirm it was for us. Then we both got in.Â
Niallâs hand didnât let go of mine until we were back in the house. I couldnât lie, I was grateful for it. I let go though.Â
âWanna watch a movie?â he asked.Â
I nodded. âIâm gonna get pjs on first.â
I couldnât look at him before I left to go upstairs. I went for my oversized tee and floral shorts, and paused momentarily in the middle of the room. Finally, my feet moved toward the living room.Â
Niall was propped on the couch with a blanket and when he saw me, he opened it up for me to snuggle into. He enveloped me in his arms before he hit play on the movie he chose. My brain wasnât registering much of it. I focused on the warmth of Niall. The sturdiness of his body. He was a firm base.Â
âThat guy touched my butt and grinded on me without consent. I donât really want to talk about it, but I also donât want to brush it off.â
He tightened his arms around me, snuggling his face closer to mine. âIâm sorry that guys are so shite. You didnât deserve that.â
I subtly shrugged, then whispered, âAt least Iâve got you.â
I could hear him smile. âAlways, Kelly.â
We both fell silent again and returned to the movie.Â
A yelp left me as I rolled off the couch, which was followed by a groan. I rubbed my forehead that had hit the leg of the coffee table and squinted at a curled up Niall.
We really fell asleep on the couch.Â
The TV held the âare you still watchingâ screen for who knows how long. I found the remote to turn the TV off, then I sighed as I looked at Niall. He was now stretching out, cracking his muscles, and yawned. As he sat up, he wiped his face before he looked up at me.Â
âGood rest,â he mumbled.Â
I laughed, it came out hoarse and I coughed in an attempt to clear my throat. âYeah, definitely.â
He looked like he was about to ask if I was okay, but he stood instead. âBreakfast before or after we get ready?âÂ
âThatâs-âÂ
âNo, itâs not. You choose.â Niall shot me a look.Â
I vaguely rolled my eyes. âUhm⊠How about after.âÂ
He smiled. âPerfect.â
I grabbed my stuff before following him upstairs and he lowkey dropped me off. He tapped his hand on the trim as he awkwardly leaned against it. âHey, whatâre you planning to wear today?âÂ
âDepends on the weather outlook I guess.â I shrugged. âWhy?âÂ
âIâŠâ He coughed into his hand. âThought we could match a little.âÂ
I couldnât help the laugh. âAdorable. Well, uhm, let me check the weather.â The screen lit up once Iâd lifted it and unlocked it. The weather was supposed to be cooler today. I could get away with a sweatshirt look. I took out my vintage, navy golf sweatshirt, white tennis skirt, white crew socks, and tan sneakers.Â
âI think this is what Iâm gonna wear.â
He smirked. âOkay, I think Iâve got something to match. See you in a bit.â
I nodded. âYou too.â
Internally I cringed after he was gone. You too? What the fuck was that? I tried to not overthink it as I ran a shower and quickly cleaned up. I blow dried my hair before I pulled it up into a messy pony, then clipped my slight bangs back with two small pearl barrettes. I didnât have the energy to try super hard on my makeup, so it was a simple concealer, light brown eyeshadow, and peachy tinted balm kind of day.
When I looked at the fit in the mirror, immediately all the negative thoughts ensued - the most present one being that I was frumpy. It was meant to be. I had to remind myself that, and even if it wasnât, being frumpy isnât a bad thing. Like most people, my style was inspired from photos on pinterest. I wouldnât even pretend that my outfits were original if someone asked. But I did enjoy my clothes so thatâs what mattered.Â
My mini backpack matched my sneakers, which were louder on the stairs than my barefoot feet. I cursed even though it was literally just Niall and I, and we were both awake. Whistling sounds from the kitchen and I swifted in to see Niall dancing in front of the stove.Â
I held back a laugh. âBreakfast and a show? Iâm getting the five star experience around here.â
Niall wore one of his own golf crewnecks with white shorts and white Nikes. It was way more reminiscent of the days before they disbanded. Though his style hadnât changed much since then. He looked⊠good.Â
He turned off the burner and shook his head. He plated scrambled eggs and avocado smeared on some sort of bread, then slid one of them to me. âDonât worry, itâs dairy free.â
My heart fluttered. I nodded. âThanks. Looks delicious.âÂ
***
Niall and I walked down the main of Melrose, hand in hand. I tried to focus on Niall as we walked. Dirty looks seemed to project in my direction. Social media was easier to handle to be honest.Â
Despite how delicious breakfast was, my stomach rolled in itself with nausea. I found myself humming a small tune to distract myself.
âWhatâre you humming?âÂ
I glanced at Niall, flushed, and stopped. âItâs nothing.â
âLetâs not play this game, Kelly. What is it?â
I sighed heavily. âItâs a⊠Itâs a song from one of the story playlists.â
Niall brightened up. âWhat song?â
I cleared my throat. âSuperhero by Lauv.â
âOi! I love that song. Itâs a bop.â
âAgreed⊠Itâs not for the Stone Cold series. Itâs an individual project.â
He opened his mouth, but I cut him off. âNo, Iâm not sure if itâs something Iâll share with the public. It was originally a shits and giggles purge Tumblr fic, but then I decided to rewrite it as an episodic screenplay.â
âI canât say itâs something Iâd enjoy, but Iâm sure there are a lot who would.â His phone buzzed so he pulled it out to check. His hand squeezed around mind and he slowly came to a halt.Â
His eyes gazed into mine. He rested one hand on my cheek and the other on my hip. I tried not to look or feel confused; it wasnât working. I was still unaware when the hired paps were going to be nearby, but they must be now. I attempted to put on a show smile, taking a step closer, and rested my hands on his torso as we leaned in for a kiss.Â
His soft lips so carefully touched mine. His hand snaked to the back of my neck and the following kiss was much more passionate. Then they were gone.Â
I was stunned. That seemed way more than a friendly kiss. I didnât have much time to process as Niall entwined our hands again and pulled us toward a store as the paps âswarmedâ us. When we were in a more secluded area of the Gucci store, I tugged him to a stop.Â
âWhat was that second kiss?â
âI donât really know⊠It needed to be believable.â
I snorted. âWell, that felt pretty damn real.â
Both of us fell silent, and he tapped his fingers on the display table. âIt⊠Wasnât. It was just for show. Did you want anything in here?â
I raised my eyebrows. There was definitely a better answer than what he gave me, yet it was a can of worms that didnât need to be opened. I cleared my throat. âI canât afford it.â
He lightly smirked. âMelrose is full of luxury stores. Itâs on me. We could get something matching?â
âNialler, that would be crazy.â
âCrazy fun, you mean.â His eyes sparkled as he bit his bottom lip. âCome on, let loose!â
I overlooked him a few more seconds, just to antagonize him. Finally, I sighed. âFine. But not from here. No one would believe you bought something from Gucci, even for me⊠What about Versace or Burberry? Theyâve got dope trousers and accessories.â
He shot me his look with one eyebrow cocked. He didnât say a word.Â
I rolled my eyes. âYou know Iâm on pinterest a lot.â
âThat⊠sounds ideal.â He reached his hand out for me to take. âLetâs do it.â
***
When we returned to Niallâs mansion with bags of belts, shirts, and trousers that evening, we covered news articles and social media. All used the few photos taken, the star being the second kiss and it looked very much⊠believable. Modest! sent praising emails for how well this first outing was. It was an odd appraisal.Â
âHey, what if we went to a couple bars tonight?â Niall suggested.Â
âWill there be any dancing involved?â
âNnnn- yeeesss,â Niall answered by gauging the emotion on my face.Â
I laughed under my breath. âI love a good club if youâre down. We can always save it for tomorrow night. Saturday might be better anyway.âÂ
âItâs LA, Kelly. Every night is a good night to drink and dance. That life never dies here.â
âI canât tell if thatâs a good thing or a bad thing,â I admitted, narrowing my eyes at him.
He pecked my cheek. âIâm Irish, of course itâs good. Leave in an hour or so?âÂ
I hesitated. âI⊠How about tomorrow night? Today was a lot to be honest.âÂ
He nodded. âYeah, yeah! Whatever you want. Any ideas for dinner?âÂ
A small smile spread on my lips. âTacos?â
âSounds good to me,â he replied. âIâll get it set up.â
âThanks.â
I snuck upstairs to the guest bedroom and flopped down onto the bed. My body sunk into the jersey soft comforter and I let out a tired breath. Lazily, I scrolled through all my notifications, replying to all the text messages from my friends and parents. They all bought that Niall and I were legit. Obviously thatâs good, but also it leaves a terrible taste in my mouth.Â
okay, so i know we all love heartbreak weather and mourn the potential it had because it's genuinely an incredible album that deserved so much better but i think we need to stop expecting niall to acknowledging it beyond the couple songs he seems to really like.
he clearly isn't attached to the album and clearly it brings bad memories of what happened last year when it came out. like the pandemic is obviously not niall's fault at all but we all process things differently and obviously niall's way to dealing with the missed opportunities and cancelling tour was to detach himself from the album and move on onto new music. and that's okay!
we can all still love the album and the songs, because they're really, really good, but niall clearly needed to separate himself from it for his own personal reasons and we need to accept and respect that.
I gotta be honest, I donât think itâs this deep... Weâve been living through a pandemic and it has been a scary time. So why should he promise a tour when he doesnât know for sure when it could safely happen?Â
I mean, this boy takes a long time to create an album and share it to the world. He wouldnât put out an album he doesnât like... I just think the uncertainty of the future was the primary reason to cancel the tour.Â
6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?
7: Where did the title come from?
8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?
9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?
10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?
11: What do you like best about this fic?
12: What do you like least about this fic?
13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didnât listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?
14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?
