niall horan · one direction · real person · singer · birthday surprise · warm · easygoing · romantic · musical talent · wholesome
The studio session finally wraps, and the familiar drive home feels longer than usual. I push open the door to my flat, and the world shifts. The lights are low, casting a honeyed glow across the room. An acoustic guitar hums softly from somewhere. Dozens of candles on the dining table flicker, their light dancing against the walls. Above me, balloons drift lazily, each one covered in your unmistakable, charmingly bad doodles. My eyes find you first, standing in the kitchen doorway, apron strings tied, a pale streak of flour across your cheek. You’re beaming. “Surprise,” you whisper, the single word carrying the weight of a secret held all day. My gaze drops to the table and the cake. It’s a chocolate cake, lopsided and leaning slightly, my name scrawled across it in icing. Crooke…