My heart threatened to beat out of my chest and my breath started coming quicker. As the doors closed, I stepped further into the shaft, facing forward, allowing the normal space between strangers on an elevator.

"Aren't you—" I had just made the decision to talk to him, when the small space turned completely black. I looked in his direction as the lights flickered on, and then the room returned to darkness. In that brief moment, his eyes met mine with a curious look, not surprised, not scared, not annoyed. Just curious.

As the darkness returned, the elevator croaked to a stop. I figured we were somewhere between the fifteenth and sixteenth floors.

I wasn't afraid of the dark or of the enclosed space. I was afraid of Niall's reaction. The first, foolish thought that ran through my mind was that he would think I staged this to be alone with him. Of course he would think that. He must get crazy fan-girl encounters every day. Although faking a power outage seemed a little far-fetched, in my opinion.

My pounding heart drove out all other noises, and I said the stupidest thing I could have possibly come up with: "I didn't plan this."

I felt rather than saw the shock on his face. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I cursed myself. Of course you didn't plan this. That probably isn't even possible.

"I—I mean—I don't know what's happening," I choke out, my voice cracking in all the wrong places.

"It's just a power outage. There was one in my hotel while I was in Berlin. It's really no big deal…unless you're afraid of the dark." I could hear the smile in his voice, his Irish accent curving attractively around the words.

"I'm not afraid of the dark exactly. But how long are we going to be stuck in here?" I asked, slightly intimidated by his company.

"Ah…well it could be a few minutes or a few days," he said in a careless voice. I heard him plop to the floor and sit against the side wall. "We better make ourselves comfortable."

I cautiously sat down against the back wall, extremely aware of his location only a few feet away. I took care not to snag my dress or my hair on the hand railing.

"Oh come on," he said in a playful voice, "do I smell bad or something? Come closer! If we're going to be stuck in here for a while, we might as well get to know each other."

I scooted closer to him, smiling all the while. I moved all the way to the corner, until he was only about twelve inches away. My heart was still racing, but now more with excitement than nerves. "Okay then. This good?"

"Perfect. Now tell me your name, darling," he said with genuine curiosity.

"Stella. And you are?" I said, stretching my hand out for a handshake.

"Niall Horan," he said, not realizing I was trying to grasp his hand. I nudged him gently on the arm.

"But of course, I already knew that. And it's a handshake, by the way," I stated in a friendly voice. He took my hand firmly in his, and then it seemed that he turned to face me head on.

"How did you know that?"

"Oh come on, man. You're a member of what is possibly the biggest boy band of all time. Do you expect not to be recognized?" I said, growing more comfortable with him.

"So you're a fan of the band. Who is your favorite member?" he asked casually.

I couldn't say Harry. Not with Niall sitting here in all his glory. I had to think on my feet. "Oh I don't know. I haven't exactly met the other members, so I guess as of now, you are my favorite," I said with a grin.

"Well thanks love. I'm my favorite too," he tacked on, causing me to giggle. "What brings you to LA?"

"Well…you."

"Oh you're here for the concert?" he asked, excited.

"Yeah! I'm super excited. My best friend Jo and I drove up here this afternoon."

"Where are you guys from?"

"San Diego."

"Oh we were just there last night! It's a beautiful city. Wait, why didn't you go to our concert there?"

At this point, I blushed bright red, afraid to admit to him just how obsessed I was. "Well, you see…today was our graduation…" I stutter, embarrassed.

Obviously, he could not see my unnaturally red cheeks, but I could feel the tension in the small room as my statement sunk in. He finally said, slowly, "You graduated this morning…and then came up here to see us…?"

I waited a bit before responding, trying to put myself in his shoes and discover why this was so shocking for him. I mean, he was an international pop star; of course I came up here hours after my high school graduation. I'm sure he's seen many fan-girls much more obsessed than I was. "Um…yeah…so?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well, I'm not saying I would change any part of my life on tour, but… I've always wanted to go back after all this is over and get my high school diploma. I'm an eighteen-year-old kid, and all my friends back home are walking the stage in caps and gowns right now. Part of me wants to be one of them, blending in with the crowd. Instead I'm here, performing before millions of pretty girls with adorable accents…" Here he stopped, and I blushed again, a smile stretching across my face, even though he couldn't see. "It's like I skipped the road and just got straight to the destination. I'm sure I skipped some drama and some heartache and some frustration, but I also missed the fun times normal teens have in high school. I guess what I'm getting at is…I want to know what it'd be like to be a normal teen, completing that right of passage. And yet, you're here on your graduation day, to watch me perform. I just never get used to that feeling."

I pondered his words for a few moments, finally catching a glimpse into the fame-consumed life of a pop star. And all he really wanted was to be seen for what he was—a normal teenager. I spoke then, my voice soft, not wanting to offend him: "Well I guess that just goes to show it. We always want what we do not have."

"Yeah, I guess we do. And you know what I don't have right now but I really want? Food," he said, lightening the mood.

I laughed at his abrupt change of topic rather than at his words. I guess he could not stay too serious for long. I liked that. "Umm I would give you some, but all I have is an empty ice bucket."

"Aw man. I was really hoping that was full of candy," he replied, causing me to giggle some more.

"I have an idea!" I said suddenly, struck with inspiration. "Let's play twenty questions!"

There was a second's silence, and then he replied, "Is that an American thing?"

"Well, I don't really know. It's just an icebreaker kind of game. I ask you a question, and then vice versa, until we feel well acquainted. And you're allowed to veto questions if they get too weird."

"Oh yeah, I know this game. Here, I'll go first…um…what is your full name?"

I smiled at his innocent question. "Stella Grace Harris."

"What a beautiful name, Ms. Harris," he said, his accent placing an appealing twist on my otherwise ordinary last name, causing me to shiver. I could not believe I was actually here, playing twenty questions with Niall Horan! Unfortunately, he noticed me shake, and asked, "Are you chilly?" He didn't even wait for a response before he stood up and placed a jacket gently around my shoulders.

I thanked him as he sat down, on my left side this time, closer than before. My heart, which had finally settled to a more normal pace, picked up again, almost as fast as before. "Um…" I had to scramble to think of a question. "Do you like cats?"

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of all the things you could have asked Niall Horan, you asked him if he likes cats?!

Niall chuckled, probably finding me as weird as I did. "Not particularly, no. They are just a little too edgy for me."

"Yeah I agree," I lied, thinking of my black and white kitten Nemo at home while trying to cover up for my awkward question.

"What is your favorite subject?" he asked, although I could hardly believe he cared.

I responded quickly, not wanting to bore him. "Science."

He waited a few moments before responding. "That's all? 'Science?' You're not going to tell me what you're going to major in or where you want to go to school?"

"Well that's not what you asked!" I teased, my voice light. "I am going to Harvard University in the fall, and I'm majoring in pre-med with a minor in biology."

"Whoa. You must be, like, really smart. I'm from a country halfway around the world, and I know of Harvard. Well, congratulations! You must be thrilled!"

I smiled at his praise, very aware of his face, inches from mine. "Thank you! Yeah, I'm pretty excited about school, but I'm nervous about leaving the great west coast weather. I'm not sure how well I'll cope with the cold."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine. Ireland winters are brutal, but even I got used to them after a while. Have you always lived in sunny San Diego?"

Wow, he's good with people. No wonder everybody loves him, he makes it sound like he really cares! "No, but I moved there from the east coast when I was really little, so I don't remember much from anywhere else."

"Have you ever been surfing? Liam and Louis went when we were in Australia, but I didn't go because it looks hard." This was the first time he mentioned the other boys in the band. Not that I forgot who I was sitting next to. It was hard to forget when I knew that half the girls in the world would have gladly taken my place.

"Yeah, I go every now and again. It's actually a lot easier than it looks. I can surf fairly well, but I cannot even stand up on a skateboard."

"Oh skateboarding is not too bad either. You just need someone to help you the first couple times so you don't fall over backward."

"Yeah, well, my best friend doesn't know how to skateboard any better than I do. In fact, I'm not even sure she knows what a skateboard is." I stopped here, laughing at the truth of the matter.

Niall turned toward me. I couldn't make out his features, but I could tell from the shifting shadows that he was now looking in my direction. "Tell me about yourself."

Four simple words. Four simple words that seemed to erase everything in my brain. I realized that he was waiting for me to speak, so I came up with some information off the top of my head. "I'd like to think I'm a good student. I love swimming and running, basically just staying active, even though I don't play any competitive sports. Swedish fish are my absolute favorite candy ever. Orange is my favorite color because it makes me think of the sunset. I've been best friends with the same girl, Jo, since our freshman year. I once pierced my own ear, at the top, using a searing hot needle and an apple slice. I love scary movies and roller coasters. I guess you could call me an adrenaline junkie. My favorite smell is cinnamon and I rarely wear makeup, unlike other girls, even though I'm wearing it now."

I took a deep breath following my spiel, and at that very moment, the lights flickered back on. The elevator started moving, and Niall stood up slowly, looking a bit surprised. He offered me his hand, and I took it, standing up carefully to avoid my dress creeping up. He looked me up and down, making me feel extremely self-conscious. The elevator stopped moving, and the doors slid open on the fifteenth floor. I knew it was time for me to get off, but I didn't want to leave him.

He looked me in the eyes and said, "Well, I was on my way to meet the guys for dinner. Would you like to join us?"

The offer was tempting. Boy, was it tempting. But I couldn't ditch Jo. "Well I can't leave Jo here alone. Thanks for the offer though." I half smiled at him, my heart sinking.

"Bring her with! We'll have so much fun!" I thought of Jo, sitting in our room, wearing what she thought was an unacceptable outfit.

"How about you meet us at our room after you eat? We can watch a movie or something?" I offered, crossing my fingers behind my back.

He agreed enthusiastically, having me scribble my cell number on his arm. And just like that, I stepped out of the elevator, his jacket still wrapped around my shoulders.