by Jason Vasha
All right, back paddling and grovelling starting now.
"Yeah, okay, see your point. It's just that Bailey, Al, Peter and I, we go way back and you're the new kid. Me, not talking about myself is taking for granted. They know enough as it is. You on the other hand, we know nothing about." Niall smirked. So he wasn't grovelling but then again he wasn't used to doing that.
Olta's harshness dissipated and the insecurity returned. She looked at Niall questioningly and was biting her lower lip.
Did she know just how absolutely adorable and well, simply hot she looked right now?
If it wasn't for the dull pain in his body and the small technicality of Olta not actually being his girl, he would have leapt over at her and kissed her for everything he was worth. Instead Niall only shifted slightly.
"Well then, shoot. But I might take a page from your book though." Olta said, still sucking on a part of her lip. The slight smirk and the definite spark her eyes, however, told Niall she was daring him.
Now all he needed to do was come up with a question. But Olta was rather distracting him at the moment.
"Okay, how many boyfriends?"
Olta might be all insecure and shy but there was no way in hell that guys in Holland were too blind to see through that.
Olta tilted her head to the left as if she didn't know what to make of the question or of Niall himself. The blush that had never left her face grew darker.
"Dinner's ready!"
At Maggie's voice coming from the hallway Olta leapt up and Niall saw relieve wash over her face. Apparently Dutch boys were that blind. Niall really couldn't feel too bad about that, quite the opposite actually.
Niall carefully rose from the love seat, pain shooting through his body. Seeing Olta's obvious concern he gave her wry smile. He really didn't feel too good right now.
"Perhaps you should go home." Olta said softly. "My mother could give you a ride."
Niall shook his head in dismissal. It might be a good idea but it wasn't particularly fun.
He slowly followed Olta out of the room.
"Ah, there you two are." Amanda said as they entered the kitchen. She was standing behind the stove. The scent of the food was mouthwatering and Niall realized he was hungry.
"Just take a seat." Olta said, pointing at the round table in the corner. Taking a seat between Niall and Maggie she continued.
"It's actually only the second time we're eating here. Usually we just take our plates and eat in…"
"Olta." Amanda said warningly as she put the plates in front of Niall and Olta. The food looked as delicious as it had smelled. It was steak with what seemed to be stir fried rocket salad.
"Mom, honestly you're obsession with guests finding out we usually eat in front of the telly is getting way out of hand." Olta said as she took the water pitcher and filled the glasses on the table without asking. Amanda returned to the table with the plates for Maggie and herself. Maggie, meanwhile, had cut up the two loaves of Italian bread that were in the middle of the table.
Niallmarvelled at the silent understanding between the women. Niall had never been present to anything like it. Whether it was at home or at his friends' places, Niall was used to being catered for by the staff. Here Maggie and Olta simply went about their tasks, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Enjoy." Amanda said and started on her steak.
"You see, my mother here thinks it 'improper' and 'impolite' to tell guests we usually eat dinner in front of the telly." Olta said turning to Niall with a sly smile.
"Yes, and Papa always said that having family meals together was in no way a guarantee for pleasant or stimulating conversation." Maggie piped up.
An uncomfortable silence settled around the table.
As Niall took a bite he didn't miss the reproachful look Amanda sent Maggie or Maggie's muffled apology. Olta seemed engrossed in nibbling on her bread.
"Niall, have you ever been to Europe?" Amanda asked, just a tad too cheery.
"Yes, never to Albania though." Niall answered.
"Shqiperia. The name of the country is Shqiperia. Albanets is only a culture." Olta corrected absentmindedly. Niall looked at her with a slight confusion.
"Olta is a bit of a purist about it." Amanda explained with a soft smile, ignoring Olta's scowl. "So where have you been then?"
"I've been to London last year and to France a couple of years ago." Niall answered politely.
"Ever been to Rome?" Maggie asked. The question was innocent enough but Niall noticed Olta stiffen slightly beside him.
Niall shook his head.
"Olta has. Just before we came here. With school. She got their whole year kicked out of a church there."
Niall looked at Olta with a slight smirk and raised eyebrows. Getting herself kicked out somewhere was not something he expected Olta to do.
Olta gave her sister a dirty look before turning to Niall.
"Don't pay any attention to her. Maggie has an unhealthy need to embellish things. Some idiotic German old folk got us kicked out. I nor my friends had anything to do with it." She said evenly.
Niall kept his eyebrows raised but Olta didn't get a chance to elaborate.
"I so do not embellish." Maggie all but whined.
“How do you say in your language… Stop acting like a brat?” Niall asked. Maggie’s annoying voice kept bothering him. His ear drums were practically bleeding.
“Mos u be si idiot!” Olta told her little Brat of a sister. Maggie understood and showed a slight smile.
“Sorry.” Niall said.
“Look who's saying sorry a lot.”
“I have?” Niall asked, afraid he was turning into Tirana.
Chapter Fourteen
Olta only felt two sensations going through her body. Actually it was only one sensation, originating from two places. Her mouth and cheek tingled and the feeling spread through her entire body.
Niall had kissed her. He had kissed her. And she stood in doorway staring after him dumbfounded.
It was more like a peck on the lips really and actually not all that different from the pecks Sam and Dean gave her occasionally. But it was Niall who had done the pecking and between the kiss and the caress it was a completely new experience.
She liked it, a lot.
But it still was only a friendly peck, wasn't it? Even with his thumb and the look in his eyes. The whole thanks bit had only confirmed that.
Niall was grateful to her. For what exactly Olta didn't know and she didn't particular care.
However, Olta was convinced that Niall did consider her his friend. And he had implied that his other friends considered her such as well. NiallFoy, whose few friends all dated back to primary school had accepted her into their midst within a week.
And he had kissed her.
It was a kiss out of gratitude, Olta reminded herself. Not unlike those Sam had given her for doing his Greek translations or the ones Dean had given her for explaining the more intricate workings of certain historical processes. And not unlike the ones she had given them for helping her out with any subject which had to do with formulas and numbers.
Olta sighed deeply as she resigned herself to the facts. Part of her was elated by the turn of events and part of her was saddened by them. Still, it was better to be friends with Niall than to be just one of the countless girls who made mooneyes at him every time he passed them in the hallways. Now she could just do that while she sat beside him, jolly.
Olta smiled as she touched her lips. He had kissed her.
"Are you okay?" Olta nearly jumped as she suddenly heard her mother beside her. She looked up at her mother with her index finger still lingering on her lips.
Her mother smiled down at her. She wore her understanding smile and Olta withdrew her finger self consciously.
"Come on, I think he's home by now." Her mother gently tucked Olta's arm.
Olta regained the movement of her limbs and she turned inside and closed the door behind her.
Then she remembered Maggie's behaviour during dinner. She had promised not to bring up anything that could be remotely considered embarrassing, which in Olta's case was everything. Yet she had gone out of her way to try and tell about Olta getting drunk on school parties, Olta's monumental failures during the Easter Tournament, and Olta being stoned during French class.
"No, but I'm going to kill your youngest child. Want to join me?" Olta said with fake cheeriness as she passed her mother into the room.
"Now Olta." Her mother said and Olta stopped in front of the couch. Maggie looked up at her with big innocent eyes but the smug smile she sported gave her away. Olta glared down at her sister as her mother continued.
"I think that might be a bit excessive. So no, I don't want to join you."
Sitting herself down next to Maggie, her mother eyed both her daughters before returning her attention to the movie.
"You." Olta breathed.
"Ah, come on. I was not trying to put you down, I was building you up." Maggie said not taking her eyes of her sister.
"Right." Olta snorted. "And I would believe you because?"
"Because I chose to tell cool stories about you. I mean even mamma thought so, didn't you?" Maggie looked at mother for confirmation.
"I wouldn't say cool but yes, it was funny. Nothing you should try, though, and probably not something to brag about." Their mother said, not taking her eyes from the screen. Olta gave her sister a smug look.
"Too much." Her mother added and Olta's smugness faded.
They were doing it again, the teaming up against her. Couldn't they see that there was no such thing as a cool Olta story? Niall apparently liked her enough to be her friend and all this story telling would only destroy that.
With a frustrated cry Olta left the room.
She went into the reading room and picked up the book she had been reading. Reclining on the sofa she started to read.
Three hours later Olta was in bed, wide awake. Trying to sleep turned out to be just as much a waste of time as trying to read had been.
Her mind was on the lingering touch on her cheek and lips. Olta imagined it had been more than just a friendly peck. That even if the kiss hadn't been deepened, it had lasted just a bit too long for an ordinary peck. And then of course there had been his thumb on her face, before, during and after the kiss. She knew she hadn't imagined that or the look in eyes. Those beautiful eyes. Damn NiallFoy.
Olta was awoken by an unfamiliar bleeping sound. Dazed she looked around room trying to determine the origin of the sound. Finally she figured it came from her sitting corner.
Getting out of bed the bleeping stopped but Olta figured she might as well check it out.
Beside her love seat she found her cell phone. It showed her that she had received one text message and that it was six thirty. Her alarm wouldn't go off for another half an hour.
If this was Maggie's idea of a joke, she was going to pay dearly. For once Olta had been having very pleasant dreams and she had wanted them to continue just a little longer.
The message wasn't from her sister, though. It was from Niall.
'Rise and Shine, Tirana, Rise and Shine.'
Olta sat down on her seat staring at the display.
What in the world had possessed him to send her a message? For that matter, how had he gotten her number?
Olta smiled as she remembered parts of her dream. Niall had not just been her friend in her dream, oh no. Olta knew this friendship thing was going to be hard, to say the least. But those kind of dreams made it just a little harder.
And Niall sending her text messages wasn't really helping.
But there were still the others and if she was indeed considered their friend as well, she might as well start focusing on them instead of Niall.
Olta did decide that some pay back was in order, though. Unfortunately she was rather bad at giving it.
Getting ready Olta wondered if Niall would pick her up today. She wondered if he could drive at all. Probably not.
It wasn't even seven yet when Olta went downstairs. An idea came to Olta's mind. She'd have a quick breakfast and walk to school. Getting there early would give her chance to roam the school some more, something she hadn't been able to do since her first day. Even though she knew her way around well enough, she still needed to familiarize herself more. And the upside was that if Niall did want to give him a ride to school she'd be standing him up. It wasn't a particular inspired payback but it was payback nonetheless.
The school was still virtually deserted. If it wasn't for the few cars in the parking lot, Olta would have thought she was the first to arrive.
Examining the inside of her locker Olta was surprised by the mess she managed to make of it in just one week. She'd thought it would take her at least a fortnight.
"Olta, right?"
Olta jerked around. Behind her there were a girl and a guy she both knew from a couple of her classes but she couldn't remember their names. The girl was inconspicuous enough. With her no-nonsense jeans and sweater she reminded Olta very much of herself. The guy was a different matter. His hair was dyed black and he had a lip ring. Olta had seen Niall talking to him on several occasions.
"Ehm, yes." Olta started uncertainly. "I'm sorry, I know your faces, but I can't remember your names."
"That's okay. It's not like we've been introduced." The girl smiled.
"I'm Josie and this is Sam." The girl said, nodding her head back to the guy behind her dismissively.
"Hi." Olta replied smiling a small smile at both of them.
"So what brings you around this early?"
"Oh, I kind off woke early this morning and decided to roam a little." Olta said, feeling rather stupid right now.
"Figured you could do that all by yourself now, did you?" Sam said eyeing Olta with even look. Josie only rolled her eyes.
"Pardon?" Olta asked confused and slightly affronted. Why in the world was he talking to her like she was a toddler?
"Didn't need Niall then, did you?" Sam said by way of an explanation.
"To walk? No, I am perfectly in control of my own legs." Olta retorted. Some people really should learn to mind their own business.
Sam chuckled.
"See why he likes you."
Olta was starting to get really confused now and looked at Josie questioningly. Josie just shrugged.
"What Sam is trying to say in is own unique language is that we are rather surprised to see you around on your own when you've been tied to Niall' hip all week."
"Have you been watching me or something?" Olta asked, a little harsher than she intended.
"What did you think? That a new edition to Niall' group would go by unnoticed? You're sitting at his table, girl." Josie said, laughing lightly.
"And this is of interest to you, because?" Olta already knew the answer but she needed it to be spelled out. Even though Niall had explained the social structure to her Olta had thought herself a bystander. She really hadn't given any thought to her own status within the pack. She was a non-entity.
