• •
  You were the only girl in One Direction.

From the very beginning, your place in the band made headlines. Five boys and one girl, constantly traveling together, performing together, and spending nearly every waking moment together. Fans were fascinated by the dynamic, and before long, they began obsessing over who you might secretly be closest to.

The two biggest ships were always you and Harry or you and Zayn.

Harry was confident, flirtatious, and naturally affectionate with you, while Zayn had a quieter intensity that fans noticed immediately. Every glance, inside joke, or moment standing beside either of them became another piece of “evidence” for fans online.

But what nobody knew was that neither of them was the person your heart was slowly choosing.

Niall had always been different.

He wasn’t the boy everyone expected you to fall for. He wasn’t constantly surrounded by girls or treated like the obvious heartthrob of the group. Instead, he was the one who made you laugh when you were exhausted, saved you a seat without making a big deal about it, remembered the smallest things you said, and somehow always knew when something was bothering you.

At first, you thought you were simply close friends.

Then you started noticing the way your eyes searched for him whenever you entered a room.

The way your mood instantly improved when he walked over.

The way his smile made your stomach flutter.

And eventually, you realized you were falling in love with him.

The problem? Niall had no idea.

Neither did the other boys.

As the band’s fame grows, the rumors become impossible to escape. Fans analyze every interaction between you and Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis, and Niall. Edits of you and Harry dominate social media. Others insist you and Zayn have undeniable chemistry. Meanwhile, almost nobody suspects that you and Niall are becoming closer behind the scenes.

Even the boys have started developing their own secret feelings for you, though none of them openly admit it. Each expresses it differently — lingering around you, finding excuses to sit beside you, becoming subtly jealous when someone else gets your attention, or teasing you just to see you smile.

Niall tries to hide his feelings especially carefully.

Because while everyone is watching you and Harry, or you and Zayn, something much quieter is happening between you and Niall.

Late-night conversations. Inside jokes nobody else understands. Accidental hand touches that last a second too long. Long looks across crowded rooms. Moments where the two of you almost confess something before getting interrupted.

And eventually, the line between friendship and something more becomes impossible to ignore.

The world thinks they know who you’re going to end up with.

They just haven’t been looking at Niall.*