The Side You Don't Hear (1D)

Chapter 4

Alice's POV

                There has always been something about Liam that draws people in.  It might be his inviting smile, or possibly his warm brown eyes.  It could be his calm and rational brain, or his need to please those around him, be it fans or family.  Whatever it is about him, it made me say way too much.  I never actually planned on telling Liam my reasoning behind calling Harry, but his welcoming presence made it slip out of my mouth.  I knew he was telling me the truth when he said he would help me, and I appreciated that, but I really didn't need help, at least, that's what I told myself.

                I practically ran home after the meeting, still in complete disbelief that he had actually met with me and that we had spoken mountains of information in mere minutes.  It hadn't even hit the original meeting time, yet too much time had passed.  I was feeling light headed and dizzy as I made my way through the crowded London streets.  What seemed like years later, I finally opened the door to my apartment just as Peter came walking down the hall.  "Alice?" he asked just before I passed out in the doorway, slamming my head on the hard floor.

Peter's POV

                Alice would have killed me if I had taken her to a hospital, so I did the best I could without having to.  I picked her up off the ground bridal style, trying my hardest to stay calm even though I was freaking out inside.  What had happened to her during her meeting with Liam?  Had she even gone to the meeting?  She was home way too early to have spent much time with him.  I carried her body over to the couch and laid her down on it gently, covering her with a fuzzy blanket that had been draped over the arm of the couch. 

                I stood there like an idiot for a few minutes, not knowing what to do next.  I settled for getting a damp cloth from the kitchen to put over her forehead, which seemed like a great start.  After doing so, I was again lost.  I had nothing to occupy me while she slept, as Clark had just gone down for a nap.  I was worried about Alice, but there was nothing, at least off the top of my head, that I could do to wake her up.  Five minutes later I had an idea, but I was unsure if it would work.  When Alice was pregnant, there was only one thing that would get her out of bed, and it was therefore worth a try.

-Seven Months Ago-

                Alice was staying in her own apartment this week while Harry was off doing some sort of promotion for his little boy band.  There was something about him that I didn't really trust, but he seemed to trust me a little too much.  What kind of boyfriend asks another guy to stay with his girlfriend while he's gone?  That's just asking for a disaster, but that boy is damn lucky I have some self-control and a large amount of respect for Alice.  Maybe he just thought I couldn't get her pregnant, as she was already seven months along with his child.

                Being an early riser, I was up off the couch by seven that morning.  I had taken the week off to be here for Alice all day and all night, but she seemed to only be awake about eight hours every day.  I just assumed sleep was good for her pregnancy but I never let her sleep past noon, because that was just excessive, plus I was really bored sitting alone for five hours every morning.  My first morning there, I slowly cracked the door open and peaked in.  Alice was sleeping peacefully, so I took a step in and attempted to gently wake her up.

                "Aaaaliccceeeee..." I hummed in her ear, poking her in the cheek, "Aaaliceee, wake up, my dearrrrr..." I continued.  She groaned, her eyes clenching tighter.  I smiled, happy that she was so easy to wake up in the morning, but my happiness was short lived.  Before I could even move away from her face, she swung her arm a slapped me straight across the cheek.  I jumped back, shocked by how strong she was in her slumber.  She was still sleeping, as if completely unaware of what she had done.  I huffed as I walked out her bedroom door.  This means war.

                The next few mornings were filled with many creative attempts of trying to get Alice out of bed at a reasonable hour.  This included poking her with a long stick, splashing cold water on her face (which resulted horribly), and playing very loud music.  Nothing seemed to work and I was getting tired of trying, so I retreated to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee.  I placed the beans in the grinder and turned it on, not even bothering to be quiet, as Alice wouldn't wake up anyways.  By the time the grinder had stopped, I was joined in the kitchen by a messy haired, pregnant sleeping beauty. 

                "Coffee..." was the only thing she said, and I mentally slapped myself.  Why hadn't I thought of that before?

-Present Time-

                I made Alice a nice steaming cup of coffee and returned to the living room to see her sitting up on  the couch.  I smiled at her, and she smiled back, reaching for the cup I held in my hands.  I gave it to her and she thanked me with her eyes as I sat down next to her.  She placed her head on my shoulder as I reached for the TV remote and flicked through a few uninteresting channels before settling on the news.  It seemed harmless, but I was quickly proved wrong as the next story came out of the lady's mouth, causing Alice's eyes to snap open and her head to shoot straight up.

                "New father Harry Styles from the popular boy band One Direction has been seen with a new girl on his arm this week.  Payson Stark, nineteen year old daughter of a washed up one hit wonder from the 80's has been all over this piece of eye candy since the two attended a mutual  friend's birthday party last Saturday night.  The real question here is how does Payson feel about ex-girlfriend and baby-mama Alice, the one that Harry still seems to be chasing after?"

                I switched the TV off, knowing that Alice wouldn't want to hear what else they had to say about the two.  It was bad enough that they showed a picture of them, both looking happy and painfully gorgeous.  Payson was tall and skinny but with a figure.  She had a face that carried the amount of makeup she wore, although she could easily go without any, that was framed by long, straight blonde hair with bangs cut across her forehead.  She was definitely the model type Harry liked to be seen with, and was almost the complete opposite of Alice.  The only similarity I saw was the green eyes, although they were a bit softer and not quite as filled with anger as the ones sitting next to me.

                I could see her about ready to explode next to me, although I knew she would claim later that Harry dating someone else didn't bug her at all.  She had just opened her mouth to speak when her phone buzzed in her pocket.  Her face showed her confusion as she pulled it out and viewed the text.  I was just barely able to read it out of the corner of my eye without seemingly like I was trying too hard.  The shock on her face was a perfect representation of the shock I felt.

                "From Harry: I'm coming to see Clark tomorrow."