The Side You Don't Hear (1D)

Chapter 16

May be a tad short, but many exciting things are soon to come:)

Liam's POV

                "Leeeeeyummmm, waaakeee uuup sweetieee," a voice hummed in my ear.  I groaned, not wanting to get out of bed, but I sat up anyways, knowing that I had to eventually.  Before my eyes were completely opened, a warm mug was placed into my hands.  I lifted it to my mouth and carefully tasted it, finding that it was prepared just the way I liked it.  Finally, I was awake enough to take in my surroundings.  Anne was sitting by my feet as I laid on the couch covered by a blanket that hadn't been there when I fell asleep.  She must have spread it over me before she went to bed herself.

                "Thank you." I said with a warm smile, stretching a bit.

                "It's no problem.  You looked like you could use a cup after last night," she answered, before standing and starting to organize the papers that I had spread across the coffee table.  I had spent many hours yesterday pouring myself over phone records and pictures from security cameras trying to find something that would bring me to Harry.  I had come up with nothing, making me feel like I had waited too long to start this journey, but work was demanding after Harry's "death" with having to re-record the album with the rest of us singing his parts.  This was the first chance I had gotten to do anything not One Direction related, and it was weird having to turn that side of me off for once.

                Of course this process had taken its toll on Anne and Gemma as well.  They each took turns staring at pictures and trying to decide if the barely visible man could be Harry.  To me, they all looked like him, making them very helpful in pointing out things I wouldn't have noticed.  Sometimes it came down to something like his butt being too big to be Harry or that Harry never rolls his sleeves up that much.  Clearly being his family versus his best friend made a difference, especially since I'm an unobservant boy.  But in the end, we were left with no leads.

                I stood, helping Anne sort the table out before following her into the kitchen for breakfast.  We had just sat down to some homemade pancakes when there was a knock at the door.  We looked at each other, not knowing who it would be, as Gemma would just walk in like she always did.  I walked over to the door and opened it while the person on the other side knocked a second time.

                "Louis?" I asked in confusion as the familiar boy stood in front of me.  What was he doing here?

                "Need some new leads?" he asked, skipping the hellos and holding up a stuffed folder that had 'Harry' scrawled across the front of it.  My mouth dropped at the realization that he knows that Harry isn't dead and is out somewhere.

                "How did you know?" I asked in disbelief as he walked passed me to hug Anne, who looked equally as confused.

                "I've known since the funeral.  He sent me a text, and I've been searching for him ever since, but I haven't really had much time lately, as you know," he said, still standing in the living room.  I blinked and closed the door only to lean my back against it.  "I know, I'm a great actor," he joked, making me laugh, "but clearly you're out of leads, so I thought I'd offer mine." He finished, dropping the folder on the table.

                "Was it the same text he sent me?" Anne asked, pulling out her phone and showing Louis the text she had kept for months.  Louis smiled and nodded, confirming her question, and then hugged her again as she started crying again.  She made quick work of cleaning up, inviting Lou to breakfast, and getting us all settled in for day two of searching, this time with a fourth set of eyes.

                "Where did you get all this stuff, Lou?" I asked, looking at hundreds of pictures that I didn't have even though I've been searching just as long.

                "I have my ways," he replied with a cheeky grin and a wiggling eyebrow, making me roll my eyes.   I was just happy I didn't have to fake sadness for his sake any longer.

Peter's POV

                "I know you're using that man." Alice said seriously.  Of course she knew; she's one smart cookie.

                "Is it that obvious?" I jokingly asked her, not caring about keeping up a facade now that Braden was gone.

                "Yeah, it really is," she laughed.  I smiled back at her, glad that she let the conversation drop there and didn't question me for every detail.  There were really just some things she didn't need to know, and even if she had asked me, I would have had to give her half the story.

                In reality, Braden was the country's best private investigator, but he worked for an extremely high price.  That kind of guy may seem really off limits and hard to get to, but I have my ways.  I'm kidding; I met him at a gay bar I frequent and didn't have a clue who he was until he started hitting on me.  He wasn't my type at all, seeing as I like curly dark hair, not blonde hair, but he was nice and easy to talk to.  I hadn't planned on giving him my number before I left the bar that night, but he made a joking comment about finding it anyways because of his job, which started a whole new conversation that sparked my interest.

                After a series of events, we came to this point; Braden thinking I actually like him when I'm just trying to use him to find the person I really love: Harry.  That last part is what I can't tell Alice.  She can't know that I'm secretly in love with her ex-boyfriend and baby daddy.  She is too much like a sister to me, and I just know that she wouldn't take that information lightly, so I kept it to myself.  We finally reached her apartment and she leaned over to kiss me on the cheek before getting out and entering the building.

                I sigh, watching the poor girl I loved with all my heart put on a happy face for my sake when I know she just wants to curl up and cry.  My phone buzzed before I could pull the car back out on the road with a text from Braden, asking me if I'd like to go out for a drink.  Seems harmless enough, I suppose.  If he had invited me back to his place, then I would have said no, but a drink is fine.  I text him back the address of a bar I enjoy and started heading over there, wondering if tonight would be a good time to ask for his help.  It might be too soon for that.

                I pulled into the bar's parking lot and saw Braden standing by the front entrance.  I got out of the car and walked towards him, giving him a small kiss and a smile.

                "Long time, no see," he joked, wrapping an arm around me and walking us into the bar.  Four drinks and a make out session later, I finally found the courage to ask him for what I needed.

                "So...B, sweetie, do you think you could do something for me?" I timidly asked, looking away to not see his reaction.

                "Anything  for you, babe, " he answered, leaning over and kissing the tip of my nose.

                "Do you think you could... find someone?" I continued, looking into his eyes.  He seemed confused at first, but then smiled, probably realizing that's what he does for a living anyways.

                "Of course, babe," he said happily, pulling a small notepad out of his inside coat pocket and flipping to a fresh page, "what's the name?"

                "Harry Styles." I said hesitantly.  Braden scribbled it down without question, and then looked at it with confusion.  His eyes met mine with curiosity, clearly recognizing the name from all the horrible stories I've told about him and Alice.

                "But I thought he was... I mean the news said he was-" he tried to say.

                "Dead?" I finished for him.  He nodded.  "That was all a cover up.  He's out there somewhere with Clark.  I need you to find him for me without telling Alice a thing.  Can you do that for me, B?" I asked, being very flirty at the end.

                "Of course I can.  Anything for you, sweetie." He said, melting at my touch and putting his note pad away before pulling me into another kiss.  That went much better than expected.  Now it won't be too much longer before I can find that piece of shit that I love.