Chapter 2 I decided to check my email before I went to sleep to make sure my mom didn’t email me. “Spam, spam, spam, twitter, Facebook…” I thought as I deleted my messages. I stopped when I saw the email that I had favorited, it was from Niall. All the emails he has sent me since I left the X factor, I kept. “From- Da_Pimp_Is_Here (Niall) Subject-Hey Message- Everyone says that I should give up trying to get to talk to you, but I won’t. Valerie, you are my best friend, why didn’t you tell me why you left the competition? I haven’t talked to you, heard about you, for all I know your dead! It’s been 6 months, Val. I’m starting to give up hope that you still want to talk to me. Love, Niall” The tears streamed down my face as I read this email, I replied to it, but it was too late. His email had changed because it got leaked over the internet, and it wouldn’t be safe because he was in a famous boy band. I had other emails that he sent me too, but I didn’t want to open them. Niall wasn’t a friend that anyone could be, he was special. We could just look at each other and immediately know what we are trying to say. We could legit read each other’s mind. Our friendship was special. I smiled at the memories that flooded through my mind. -Flashback- We were 8 years old at the park near our homes. “Pinkie Promise we will be best friends” I ask, my eyes staring into Niall’s beautiful blue ones. “I pinkie promise” He tells me. “Good, now share you apple juice” I say. “What!? NO! EW YOU HAVE COOTIES!” He screams running away. “YOU ARE GOING TO SHARE NOW HORAN!” I scream chasing him. “NO” “YES” “NO” “YES” I smile as I close my laptop and drift off to a dreamless sleep. * “It’s 7 AM waking up in the morning got to get fresh got to go down stairs, got to have my bowl” My phone rang as I woke up. “Hello” I ask using my other hand to rub my eyes, I accidently hit speaker, but I just leave it on speaker. “VALERIE!” My boss, Nick, screams. “What!?” I ask startled by his yelling. “It’s a zoo here, we need all the employees we can get!” He yells into the phone. “But it’s Friday! I don’t work on Fri-” I was cut off with him talking. “I’LL PAY YOU DOUBLE JUST COME!” He screams hanging up. I scream and Taylor comes running into my room. She waves around a baseball bat and is wearing a pillow on her head. “What! WHO! WHERE!” She screams. “Taylor, what are you doing?” I ask amused at her choice of weapons. “I thought you were being raped!” She says sitting on the bed. “Raped? You couldn’t think of a better explanation?” I ask. “No, you rushed me! Hey, what time is it?” She asks. “9 in the morning” I groan. “Why am I awake, anyways?” She asks. “You thought I was being raped, remember!” I have a feeling Taylor won’t remember our conversation. “Oh yeah! Why were you screaming! YOU WOKE ME UP!” She says hitting me with the pillow on her head. “Oh so that’s what it’s used for, and I have to go to work” I say pouting “Aw! WELL NEXT TIME DON’T SCREAM SO LOUDLY RETARD!” She yells as she walks out of my room. I get out of bed and get ready for the challenges I have to face for the day. * I get into uniform and start walking to Nandos. Yes…I worked at Nandos Taylor and Josh both worked at Abercrombie but I got the job at Nandos I really needed to take my driver’s test again and see if I pass this time, I’m tired of walking. * I walk into Nandos to see the place filled, IT WAS ONLY 10 IN THE MORNING! “Nick, what’s going on?” “I don’t know! The place is filled! It’s crazy! Okay go help out in the back, and when I need you out here to take orders, I’ll call you” He tells me. “Okay, whatever” I mumble as I go in the back to the kitchen. “Finally someone is here to help!” Sara says as she throws me an apron. I didn’t really know Sara, we talked but it was mostly just small talk. I didn’t really talk to anyone at work, they were all a bit older and I was only 18. “Hello to you to Sara” I say as I tie the apron around my neck. Today was going to be an extra-long day, I could already tell. “Okay is order number 317 ready!?” Someone asks. “Um, yeah here it is” Another person replies. Ugh I just want to go home! * “WHERE IS VALERIE?” Nick says walking into the kitchen. “Right here calm your tits! Gosh!” I say walking up to him. “I’m a guy, I don’t have ‘tits’” He tells me. Nick was pretty chill about things, not the uptight boss most people have. “Whatever” I say. “Okay, I need you to take orders, and pour coffee and stuff” He tells me. “I’m on it!” I say as I walk out of the kitchen and start taking orders. * “He’s in here!” I heard another girl scream from the window. The whole day went on with girls screaming at our window, holding signs. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but Sara said someone important was here or something. “Here is your coffee” I say as I pour coffee into someone’s cup. Some person backed up there chair causing me to fall. The hot coffee spilled all over my uniform and it leaked through causing it to burn my skin. “Oh my God I’m so sorry” The person said in an Irish accent. It was his voice. I could tell it from anywhere. I closed my eyes, trying to save that voice in my mind forever. There was no way in hell he remembered me. My breath caught in my throat as my mind tried to wrap around it. He was here. My eyes brimmed with tears as I tried to take in a breath of air. Two years I had been ignoring him, and he was here, my best friend. “Niall.” I croaked without even turning around. He stayed quite before he spoke, his voice low “Valerie.” I turned to face him, and in seconds he had me in a hug. His fingers played with my hair, holding me close, not letting me go. I took in his scent as more tears fell. My child hood replayed in my mind, all the things we did. All the times we got detention, grounded, broken bones and broken hearts, everything. “Where have you been?” He asks me. “Everywhere” I reply smiling a little. “You have a lot of explaining to do” He says into my hair. “Looks who’s talking! I’m not in your life for a bit, and you are in a world famous boy band touring the world, and taking the world by storm!” I laugh. We pull apart from my hug and I couldn’t help staring, he has changed since the last time I saw him. “What are you staring at?” He questions me. “You hit puberty” I say laughing. “Shut up!” He says and we both laugh. “Are you here alone?” I ask. “Yeah, I just came here to pick of some food for the rest of the lads” He says. “What are you doing here?” He questions me. I point to my uniform, “I work here” “I meant what are you doing in London?” He asks. “I have a lot of explaining to do Niall” “Yes you do! How about you tell me where the hell you’ve been the past 2 years, and why you’ve been ignoring me over coffee?” He asks. “I don’t do coffee, why don’t you c’mon over to my house?” I ask. “Yeah okay, sorry for dropping hot coffee on you” He says. “Eh, whatever, I’m pretty sure it was just payback for something I’ve done to you in the past.” He smiles. “Okay let’s go then” I say. And with that, I tell Nick I’m leaving and step out of Nandos with Niall.