Forever Young Chapter 21

"My god it's freezing." Melanie complained, hugging her coffee close to her chest while struggling to hold all of her shopping bags. I nodded in agreement.

"You're the one who wanted to go shopping at the last minute." I reminded her, hopping lightly from foot to foot in attempt to regain some feeling in my toes.

"I know." She grumbled.

I walked around a puddle of water and shivered beneath the layers of clothing I was wearing. As we reached an intersection and waited for the signal to cross the busy road I turned my back to the wind. My eyes wandered the snowy buildings ahead of me and something on display in a small shop caught my eye.

"Hold on Melanie." I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back on the sidewalk.

"But the light is green. We're gonna miss it." She protested but I pulled her over to the shop window.

"See that?" I said, pointing to the far left.

"Yeah… that's a really creepy doll." She said.

"No- not the doll. That."

"Oh, look at that. Kinda reminds me of Niall." She said thoughtfully.

I turned to Melanie and bit my lip. "Should I buy it for him? You know, like a small present or something."

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's not weird?" I asked, turning back to examine the object.

"No. At least I don't think so. It's cute." Melanie shrugged. "But hurry up, I don't want to stand here all day. Are you getting it or not?"

I felt around in my pocket at an extra bill. "Come on." I said and I pulled her into the tiny shop.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"MELANIE!" I bellowed, "Where are my nude heels?"

"They're in the hallway closet." She called back.

I dashed out of my room and threw the door of the hallway closet open. Dropping to my knees I pawed through the pile of shoes looking for my heels. A few feet away Melanie popped her head out of her room.

"Are you almost ready?" She asked, watching me toss shoes around.

"Er, well, sort of. Got them!"

I grabbed the heels and hurried back to my room where it looked as though a tornado had stormed through. Melanie and I were currently packing to catch a flight to New York in less than 2 hours. Technically we should already be at the airport. Lukas appeared in my doorway and observed the chaos.

"We're going to be late." He sang. For once in his life Lukas had actually prepared for something ahead of time which meant that he was already packed and ready to go. Unfortunately Melanie and I hadn't been as well prepared and decided to do some shopping this afternoon while assuming we'd have more than enough time to pack when we got back. Getting stuck in traffic on the way home had not been part of the plan.

I stuck my tongue out at him and grabbed two pairs of jeans from my closet and throwing them onto the pile in my suitcase.

"Don't forget the gift you bought for your little boyfriend." Lukas teased and I blushed.

"He's not my boyfriend." I retorted, placing the heels in the suitcase.

"If you say so." He teased. "Do you need help?"

I shook my head. "I think I'm alright. I just need to grab some stuff from the bathroom."

"Well hurry up because we need to leave really soon if we want to make the flight." Melanie added as she passed my room.

I quickly made sure I had everything; Jeans, shirts, t-shirts, a formal dress (Niall's request), socks, underwear, sweaters, my laptop, toiletries, makeup… What else was I missing?

With a nervous glance at the clock I zipped my suitcase up while racking my brain for anything else I might need. I gathered my stuff from the bathroom and stuffed them into the suitcase before zipping it up again.

"Mike's here." Lukas called from the kitchen. Michael, my wonderful brother, had offered to drive us to the airport as well as make sure my cat had enough food and water this weekend. Stressed beyond belief, my eyes scanned my room once more before I yanked my suitcase off the bed and rolled it to the kitchen where Melanie and Lukas were pulling on their winter coats. Mike stepped in the door a moment later brushing snow from his hair. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Has everyone got their passports?" I asked, pulling on my shoes. Lukas quickly ran to his room to get his.

About a minute later we were all ready to go. Or at least I hoped so.

"You guys are going to miss your flights." Mike warned.

"Okay, okay, let's go!" I said, herding them out the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Melanie nudged me awake when the seatbelt light came on. I lifted my head from Lukas' shoulder and groggily fastened my seatbelt. I struggled to remain awake. It seemed as though my body was trying to catch up on all the sleep I had missed these past few days.

The plane lurched into a descend towards the airport and I wrapped an arm around my midsection. I had quickly come to the conclusion that I did not like flying which was pretty disappointing considering it was thrilling and the view was fantastic. I made a mental note to pick some anti-nausea stuff for the flight home.

Unfortunately none of the boys would be at the airport. It was still quite early in the day and they had an interview to attend around dinner time. Liam sent me the address of the hotel we would be staying at and a taxi was our best option of getting there. Hopefully there won't be any trouble getting to the hotel and we'll just wait there for them to come back. But knowing Melanie we'll be out shopping sooner than we think.

Despite my exhaustion I was excited to see them. Not only Niall but Harry, Louis, Liam and Zayn too. It was insane how quickly I had grown attached to the 5 of them- something I spent years avoiding. Because when you let yourself care about someone there's always a chance of disappointment and hurt.

The plane landed smoothly and we collected our luggage before taking the taxi to the hotel. There was no trouble whatsoever getting there. It was getting in that was the problem. The complications began when we pulled into the hotel entrance and were blocked by a crowd of people. It took me a moment to realize that they were fans, hoping to catch a glimpse of One Direction. I didn't know that we were sharing the same hotel as them, I actually was certain we were in a nearby hotel or something.

Melanie paid the taxi driver and we wheeled our suitcases through the thin coat of snow towards the door. A tall, buff security guard standing at the door refused to move aside for us.

"You'll have to wait outside like the rest." He said gruffly, barely looking down at us.

"Excuse me, Sir," Lukas said, stepping forward. "We have reservations here."

The man finally seemed to notice our suitcases and snorted rather rudely but otherwise pulled out a walkie-talkie. I peered around at the cluster of girls watching us curiously. I made eye contact with a tall girl in the back and smiled politely. Her poster was the very over-used carrot with a picture of Louis on the center. Her eyes widened and she gasped loudly, her eyes still locked on me. Thinking that one of the boys had been spotted all the girls turned their heads wildly.

"It's Niall's girlfriend!" The girl pointed excitedly, speaking loud enough for it to travel to my ears. My face burned in embarrassment and I turned away quickly. A flash went off, followed by some more.

"Names?" The security guard demanded.

"Lukas Malik, Melanie Collins and Melissa Neil." Lukas answered, glancing sideways at the fans approaching us.

"Alright, come inside, but we're going to need some identification."

With my head ducked down I quickly followed behind Lukas and Melanie while 2 girls tried to catch my attention. We made it inside and another security guard accompanied us to the reception desk while the other one returned to his post outside. The woman at the desk was very young and she smiled kindly at us.

"One room for one and another for two, is that correct?" She asked and we all nodded. "I'll need to see some identification, please."

I handed her my passport after she looked at Melanie and Lukas' ID. She handed my passport back with a smile and handed us each an envelope.

"Your rooms are on the 6th floor. The elevator is just around the corner and if you have any issues with your hotel room you can come see me, my name is Elizabeth, or any of our staff should be able to assist you."

Elizabeth went over brief rules and breakfast hours that thankfully took less than a minute.

"Would you like me to call someone to help you with your luggage?" She asked.

"No thank you, we should be alright." I smiled.

"Alright, well I hope you enjoy your stay and don't hesitate to come see me if you have any problems. And just for security measures we're asking all hotel guests to keep their room key on them when they leave the hotel. You'll be asked to show your key when you leave and enter." She said kindly.

We thanked her and made our way towards the elevator.

"Someone's famous." Lukas said.

"That was weird." I replied. "I just hope it doesn't happen again."

After a moment of silence Melanie's face cracked into a grin.

"So, who wants to go shopping?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was nearly 7pm when Niall texted me asking where we were.

*We're at the shopping center about 10 minutes away from the mall*

*When are you coming back? We'll be back at the hotel soon*

*15 minutes*

*Hurry up (:*

Despite having no money to really spend, the three of us returned back to the hotel with our arms full of bags. There were even more fans waiting outside the hotel singing One Thing loudly. We slipped by them quietly and showed our room cards to the same security guard that was there this afternoon. He let us through and we entered the lobby brushing snow off our shoulders. It began snowing about 5 minutes ago and from the looks of it the snow was falling thicker by the minute.

We parted ways on the 6th floor, Lukas going to the right and Melanie and I going down to the left. I slid the card in the slot and we entered our large room seconds later. Melanie, eager to go shopping had simply dumped her suitcase at the foot of her bed, instructed me to do the same before going to retrieve Lukas. So neither of us were unpacked.

I hung my jacket in the small closet by the door and kicked my soaked shoes off, setting them by the heater. Our room was spacious and decorated nicely with warm colors. By each of our comfortable looking beds there stood a brown dresser with a lamp. There was also a large desk in the corner and a flat screen television on the wall across our beds. There was even a bathroom with a large shower. A large oval mirror hung over two sinks along a wide counter.

"Zayn and Liam are coming over after they see Lukas. Is that okay?" Melanie asked, her thumbs hovering over her phone.

"Yeah, sure." I grinned, unzipping my suitcase and she quickly replied back to whoever she was texting.

"I can't believe we're in New York." She babbled as she placed her clothing at random in the dresser by her bed.

"I know. It's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to go see Time Square."

"If we have time I want to get a decent view of the Statue of Liberty." Melanie said, tossing a bra into the open drawer.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and send a quick text to Niall saying we were in our rooms. He didn't reply so I turned back to emptying my suitcase. When I reached the dress I had folded carefully I turned to Melanie.

"What do you suppose Niall wanted me to bring a dress for? Did you bring one too?" I asked, leaving it in the suitcase.

"No. He asked you to bring a dress?" She made her way over to me and peered down at the dark blue dress I had brought. It was the only dress that wouldn't wrinkle in my suitcase.

"Yeah. I thought you got told to bring one too." I frowned.

Melanie's eyes widened. "Maybe he's taking you to dinner." She suggested.

"Maybe." I replied. My mind chose at the worst moment to bring Brianna up and my mood faltered.

Melanie's phone buzzed a few feet away and she reached over for it. As she replied to whatever text she received I continued placing my clothing in my dresser.

"We don't have any towels so I'm going to go get some. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?" Melanie said, already halfway out the door.

"I saw some just a minute ago, Melanie." I called after her but she had already left the room leaving it open by an inch. I noticed her key card on the desk so I left the door as it was so she'd be able to get back in. I peeked in the bathroom and frowned at the pile of towels. Why would Melanie say there were no towels when we had more than enough? I heard the door open again and close lightly with a click.

"Melanie, we have towels right here." I said, reaching for the towels.

At that moment the light in the bathroom shut off leaving me in the dark.

"Melanie, what are you doing?" I laughed, the towels still in my hand.

"I'm not Melanie." A voice replied in amusement, entering the bathroom.

My stomach dropped. That wasn't Melanie. As the figure walked towards me I remained frozen, unable to speak or think. My insides turned and twisted as the person approached me. He stopped barely a foot away from me and in the feint light coming from the lamp in the room I could make out the familiar hair and soft features. I finally reached out and wrapped my arms around him at the same time that he pulled me close by the waist.

"Niall." I breathed before his lips found mine.

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Author's note;

I officially suck at updating. I'm really sorry :/ Between finishing high school and the fact that I'm moving away from home very soon left me little time for writing. I honestly can't even make any promises as to when I'll be updating next. All I can say is that to those who've stuck with me through this story; you guys are absolutely amazing. And a MASSIVE thank you to all those who reviewed and gave me encouraging feedback. You're the reason I haven't given up yet.

So Melissa, Melanie and Lukas are in New York. What's going to happen with Melanie and Zayn? What's going on with this 'date' that Niall might have planned? Also, find out more about this mysterious Brianna soon!

~GiveMeLovee