I started getting ready at 5 the next day. My hair was straight and brown, going down to the middle of my back. It had just a hint of red in it, which I always secretly liked. I curled it loosely and casually. I kept my eye shadow simple, just neutral colors. I put my black eyeliner on, winging it slightly at the ends, followed by mascara. It made my grey eyes pop.

It was going to be a warm night, so I decided on wearing high waisted shorts with a purple tank top and a loose black cardigan with my favorite white converse. My mom used to tell me I still dressed like a kid. "I'm 21, I'm not going to wear mom jeans or pencil skirts and blouses all day," I'd say. I laughed at the memory.

A few minutes before six, Lauren showed up at my door in jeans and a floral tank top with brown combat boots. "You look cute!" I said.

"So do you!" she replied. "Ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied. We walked out to her car, a white slug bug. I always made fun of her for it; I thought slug bugs were so funny.

"They have music and food and rides and everything else here, it's gonna be so fun!" Lauren said as we drove along. "Who knows, maybe you'll meet a cute guy," she teased.

"I think Harry from my office is going to be there," I pointed out. Every time she'd had an appointment with me, she always drooled over him. I thought it was funny, but cute.

"You're kidding!" she said, pulling into a parking space. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't find out until yesterday!" I defended myself. "At least you look nice. Besides, I don't even know if he'll be here or not."

"I hope so," Lauren says, laughing. "C'mon lets go!" We pay the five dollar fee to get in, which is a ridiculously good deal considering that gets you on all the rides as well. As soon as we walk in, a guy whistles at Lauren. She rolls her eyes as we walk the other way, the boys laughing behind us.

"Gross," Lauren mutters and I nod in agreement. We make our way to a stage with people crowded all around. A local band is about to start playing. We stand amongst others and sway along to the music. They're actually really good. I feel someone's hand on my shoulder and I turn around.

"Harry! Hey!" I say loud enough for Lauren to hear. She whips her head around.

"Hi Emma! And it's Lauren, right?" Harry asks. Lauren grins and nods. "Good to see you again!" Harry says, and Lauren grins even bigger.

"Harry who are you here with?" I shout over the music. He's wearing jeans and a plain white tee. I can see the tattoos on his arms. They're so intricate.

"I'm here with Niall and Louis actually," Harry says.

"Talking about me already, Styles? Harsh," Louis says, coming up behind Harry. He is followed by Niall, and my heart jumps a little. Harry laughs and shoves him. "Niall of course you remember Emma," Harry says.

"Of course," Niall replies coolly.

"And this is her friend, Lauren. Lauren this is Louis and Niall," Harry introduces everyone. "We should all walk around together!" He suggests. My heart flips again and I silently tell myself it's nothing. I'm just...dehydrated or something.

"How old are you guys?" Lauren asks as we walk down the midway.

"I'm almost twenty three," Louis answers. "And Niall is about to be twenty two, and Harry is twenty two."

"When's your birthday Niall?" I ask.

"September 13th," he answers. "In just a few weeks."

"And you all work with Emma?" Lauren questions.

"Everyone but Niall," Harry explains. "He works at a pharmacy in town. Where do you work?"

"I own bookstore forty five minutes away from here," Lauren says proudly. She loves her book store and the fact that she has as many books as she wants. Lauren was always good at English, while I was better at science.

"I'll have to come see it sometime," Harry says, smiling. Before I know it, they're exchanging numbers! I envied how easily Lauren could talk to boys, and how many of them fell in love with her just like that. But Lauren falls fast and falls hard too when it comes to liking someone, and that can get annoying.

"Do you know what band was playing?" I ask Louis while Harry and Lauren are off in their own world. I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"I don't know the name of the band, but I do know the lead singer, Zayn," Louis replied. "He's pretty cool actually. He'd been living in a city just east of Seattle, finally moved over here about two months ago. Harry and Niall know him too."

"That's cool, I'll have to meet him sometime," I say. I can see all of Louis's tattoos tonight too, since he's wearing a tee shirt and black jeans with a beanie. I like his deer tattoo on his upper arm, I always thought it was really pretty.

"Speak of the devil," Louis says. "Here he comes now! Hey man, great show," he says, high-fiving him.

"Thanks," Zayn replies. He says hello to Niall as well. "Who's this?" he asks, looking at me.

"I'm Emma Bailey," I say, shaking his hand. "I work with Harry and Louis."

"Zayn Malik," he introduces himself. "The rest of the band and I were going to go get some drinks on the other side of the festival, anyone in?" Zayn asks.

"I'm always up for a drink," Louis says. Harry and Lauren are still talking about who knows what.

"I should stay with Lauren, she's my ride. Unless she has too much to drink, then I guess I'm her ride," I laugh. "Another time though!" I promise.

"Niall?" Zayn asks, and Niall shakes his head, surprising me.

"I'll stay and keep Emma some company; I have a feeling those two are gonna blabber all night long," he says.

"Alright," Zayn laughs. "We'll catch you guys later!" And with that, they're off.

"You didn't have to stay," I tell Niall. "Seriously, I've third-wheeled it before. Many times," I laugh, and cringe on the inside. Why would I say that? Niall laughs though, and I feel a sense of relief.

"I wanted to," he says, and my heart jumps again! Maybe I should get that looked at. "I wanted to catch up with you, remember?"

"Oh yeah," I said, remembering him writing his number on my hand. "Sorry I never texted you, I got busy."

"Excuses," Niall jokes. We're walking toward the Ferris wheel. It's an old one, with the seats that all face one way and rock if you move back and forth. They make me incredibly nervous, but I keep my mouth shut.

We wait in line with Harry and Lauren. It seems they've forgotten that we were even there, and I feel another pang of jealousy and annoyance. "Where did you go after high school?" Niall asked over the sound of the other rides and music.

"I went to Seattle University," I say. "Decided to stay in town. What about you?"

"I went to UCSF," Niall tells me.

"Wow, San Francisco, huh? Why did you move back here after that?" I ask. "Seattle is dreary, and I'd imagine California to be rather sunny."

He shrugs. "I didn't like it there. I liked cold dreary Seattle," he laughs. "Besides, I had more friends and family here. California is overrated. Why are you will here in dreary Seattle, miss Emma?" he asks.

"Same reason in a way. I've lived here forever, and I like it enough," I answer truthfully.

"Any family here?" he asks. My face pales.

"No," I say quietly. Niall looks down at me, and doesn't push the question further. I silently thank him for that.

We're next in line at the Ferris wheel, and we climb into the little cart. Usually you can cram at least three people into one of these, but even two people is a tight fit in this one.

"Sorry," I apologize as I bump Niall's shoulder. He smells good like...sun and soap. It's a really good smell.

"Physical therapy eh?" Niall starts just as the Ferris wheel begins to move. I grip the bar in front of me.

"Mhmm," I answer, trying not to sound nervous. God, I hate heights.

"I used to go to physical therapy for my knee," Niall says and I laugh. "What?" he asks.

"I did too! And my ankle. And at one point my elbow," I say. "That's what made me want to be a physical therapist. It was always a generally fun experience for me."

"Hold on, you've gone to physical therapy for three reasons? Why so much surgery?" he asks.

"Oh I never got surgery, they were all just injuries that required, and still require, strength training. I almost had to get surgery on my knee, but I barely avoided it."

"Wow," Niall says. "Were the injuries from dance?"

I'm confused as to how he knows I dance until I remember that I told him about it yesterday. "Unfortunately yes. And they are also partially why I don't have a dance career." Hopefully not for long though, I think excitedly. We come to a rough stop at the top of the wheel and I can't help but gasp.

Niall smirks. "Are you...afraid of heights?" he asks.

"No," I answer quickly. "Maybe. A little bit." my knuckles are white from gripping the bar.

"Would it scare you if I did this?" Niall asks, and rocks the cart back. A small shriek escapes my mouth.

"Do not!" I say sternly. Despite this however, he does it again. "Niall Horan I am going to kill you!" I say. We start moving again and I grip his arm out of shock.

"Sorry," I say, relaxing my grip and letting go.

"Don't worry about it," he says, a trace of a smirk still on his mouth. "I wouldn't knock the cart over, just scaring you a bit," he teased, and then did something I definitely did not expect. He put his arm around me!

"Well, I'm still going to kill you," I attempt to joke, my voice coming out smaller than I intended. Niall laughs. His laugh is contagious.

"Good luck with that, really," he says. The Ferris wheel keeps spinning, and I catch Harry and Lauren in the cart in front of us. His arm is around her as well!

"Niall, look, Harry's arm is around Lauren!" I squeal. "How cute!"

"Mine is around you," he points out, and I blush. We continue talking until the ride stops and we're off.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Niall asks as we walk toward a picnic table. I punch him in the arm.

"It sucked!" I say. "God I do not like heights." Harry and Lauren had gone off to get drinks for everyone. I'd requested a soda, knowing that Lauren probably wouldn't be able to drive tonight even if she didn't have a drink.

"You're a pretty funny kiddo," Niall teases me. I notice he's been looking around a lot. Looking for something maybe?

"Kiddo? I'm the same age as you!" I laugh. He laughs along.

"Hey, I'll be right back. Stay right here, okay?" he says, getting up from the table. He seemed sort of dazed and worried. I hoped everything was okay.

"Yeah sure," I say. He begins walking quickly away, and I get a little bit nervous. I hate sitting alone in crowded areas; I'm always worried I'm going to get jumped or something like that.

Niall doesn't walk far though. I see him stop by a food stand, and then walk around the other side. What is he doing? Only about a minute later, two men in black walk out from where Niall was, and go in the opposite direction. I worry for a second. And then Niall comes out from behind the stand, an I turn quickly so he wouldn't know I was looking.

"Back," he says. "My friend was over there, thought I'd say hello," he says. But his words are too placed and they come out of his mouth just a bit too fast, as if he's said this many times before. I just nod and go along with it though.

Lauren and Harry return with drinks, and we all chat for a few more minutes. "It's late, we should probably go," I say to Lauren. She agrees. "We'll see you around!" I say to Niall and Harry. "I'll actually call you this time, Horan." I say, and Niall winks again. Lauren waves bye to Harry, and we make our way to the car.

Once we're inside, Lauren screams. "EMMA!!! HE TOTALLY ASKED ME OUT!" she says excitedly, turning into a young kid again. "Oh my gosh! This is amazing! This weekend is just amazing! And what's with you and that Niall boy???" she asks, her words coming fast.

"I don't know, slow down!" I laugh. I'm driving now, back to my apartment. Lauren is going to stay overnight. "Do you think he's cute?"

"Um, yeah! And he was definitely checking you out all night, don't think I didn't notice!" she says. I laugh. Slightly drunken Lauren is my favorite Lauren.

"I guess I'll have to call him then," I say, and Lauren squeals, going on again about how great this is. I just sigh happily and shake my head. Still, Niall's encounter with those men was odd and suspicious. I'll have to find out more about that later. Right now, I'm just going to be happy.

Two updates wow!!!!! Hopefully the story is getting better now, and hopefully you like it. Things will start getting a little more complicated soon so watch out hehe(;