^ After Classes ^
Sitting on the bench, I cursed myself for dragging myself to the mall alone and only with a backpack. Even though I was only carrying socks and a bit of food, it wasn't easy at all. I was surprised that there were so few people in a New York shopping mall. Maybe this one wasn't that big, but still.
Gathering my resolve, I got up from the bench, grabbed my crutches, and started moving toward the exit. As I walked, I saw a disgusting sight. Two boys, about fifteen years old, were pushing around a kid I guessed was seven. Without hesitation, I rushed toward them.
"Why don't you buzz off?! He's a little kid, and you brats are pushing him around?!" I stood in front of the child.
"And who do you think you are?" one of them laughed.
"Luanna Perez," I said boldly, lifting my head. They froze.
"No way," he scoffed.
"We'll see about that," I muttered, hitting one of them with a crutch, followed by an elbow. Finally, he fell to the ground. The other one immediately grabbed his friend, and a few seconds later, they were nowhere to be seen.
I turned around and saw the little boy sitting on the floor and crying. I immediately threw down my backpack and crutches and sat down next to him. "Hey, it's okay," I hugged him.
"Thank you, Auntie," he sobbed.
"Call me Lu," I wiped his tears. "What's your name?"
"I'm Eddie," he giggled at the funny face I made.
"Well, Eddie, what are you doing here alone?"
"My mom left me here because my brother is going to pick me up today until evening," he explained, looking at the floor.
"If you don't mind, I'll wait for your brother with you, okay?" He just grinned and nodded, snuggling close to me and hugging me tightly.
"Tell me something funny," he said, lying down with his head resting on my lap. I imagine how strange we must have looked, sitting on the floor in the middle of an aisle.
"Okay, I'll tell you about this loser," he just nodded. "Imagine, he was on the football team and was the best player, but one day we bet that I played better, and I won $20," Eddie just chuckled. "That day, the coach saw everything and accepted me onto the team. The next day, I became the team captain," we both started laughing. "You could say he's fat and eats a lot, but no more than me. I really like annoying him, and when he turns red with anger, it's so funny," I recounted until we heard someone shouting Eddie's name.
"Eddie! Eddie, where are you?!" the voice yelled. A few seconds later, Niall appeared from around the corner.
"Look, Eddie, this is the guy I was telling you about," I said, leaning back on the floor.
"Really? That's my brother, Niall. You know him?" he looked at me with wide eyes. I nodded. "Ni!" the boy shouted, and the blonde quickly started moving toward us.
"What's going on here?" he frowned. Eddie jumped into his arms.
"Auntie Lu saved me from these two bad guys. She's very nice and cool," he said, still clinging to him.
"Is that so," Niall mumbled. "Need a ride?" he turned to me.
"Are you going to college?" I asked.
"Not everyone is excused from practice," he smirked, and I chuckled.
I got up off the floor and gathered all my belongings.
"Can I stay with Lu while you're at practice?" Eddie asked Niall with hopeful eyes.
"Uhhh," Niall tried to avoid Eddie's gaze. "Fine, you can," he sighed. "Please don't teach him how to misbehave."
"Am I misbehaving?" I giggled, but his gaze remained just as serious. "Okay, okay, I won't teach him, don't worry," I replied, and we all headed toward the car together.
It was good that the ride didn't take long, as you could feel a strange tension hanging in the car.
After getting out, Niall ran off to change for practice, and Eddie and I slowly walked toward the stadium so we could watch everything. We sat down in the third row, as Eddie requested, and I pulled a bag of gummy bears out of my backpack and gave it to the boy. He happily ate the gummies, swinging his feet.
The guys ran out onto the field.
"Hi, Jake!" I yelled.
"Hi, Jake!" Eddie yelled after me.
"Hi, Lu! Eddie, long time no see, kid," Jake ran over to greet us.
"Hi, Louis!" the child shouted again, and he ran over to us too.
"Eddie, hey! Luanna, I'm surprised Niall trusted you to watch Eddie. El usually does that," he turned to me.
"Auntie Lu is very good. She saved me from those two guys who were pushing me, and I wanted to be with her," Eddie grinned.
"Just perfect," Louis snorted. "One Horan is saved, the other Horan is messed with. What irony," he started laughing with Jake.
"Jake, Louis! Hurry up!" Henry yelled. They quickly ran off to warm up.
Eddie and I discussed the players throughout the entire practice. Who was doing well and who wasn't. Finally, when the guys finished practicing, we waited for Harry, Beth, El, and Liam to join us. It turned out Zayn was busy. The seven of us headed to McDonald's.
Everyone ordered and sat down at the biggest table, waiting for our food.
"I want to sit next to Lu!" Eddie whined.
"No, she's my best friend, so I'm sitting next to her," El crossed her arms. The boy turned to Jake.
"I'm her best friend too," he pouted.
"Well, but I want to," Eddie mumbled.
"Come here," I chuckled and sat him on my lap. He shrieked with delight and pushed his food closer.
"Ni, look what toy I got!" he boasted happily.
"I'm starting to get jealous," I muttered, and everyone started laughing except Niall.
After 30 minutes, Eddie's mom came to pick him up. Everyone said goodbye, and Niall walked him out.
"Lu, should we go? I'm exhausted," El murmured, poking my side.
"Okay, I want to get to bed too," I sighed, and we got up from the table. Beth joined us, and we left for the dormitory, leaving the guys alone.
Harry's POV:
We all looked strangely at Niall, who seemed sad, unhappy, or something similar.
"What's wrong?" I asked, unable to stand it any longer.
"It's just..." he trailed off.
"Luanna and Eddie get along really well, and with him, you know," Louis explained.
"You shouldn't be sad. Luanna likes tough guys, and if you want to win her over, throw her a great birthday party," Liam suggested.
"I know, it's just so strange," Niall sighed, putting a fry in his mouth.
Liam started laughing. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. You are Niall Horan. I can't believe it. You're the one who doesn't believe in love and said he'd never have a serious relationship," he chuckled.