The Side You Don't Hear (1D)

Chapter 17

Long chapter that I neglected to proof read... Sorry it changes POVs a lot, there was just so much to get in! xxelle

Louis' POV

                I had been working with Liam and Anne for months on our off days of work with nothing in return, but today seemed to be a turning point.  On the table in front of the three of us laid six individual pictures, all taken by different security cameras, of who we thought was Harry.  He looked a little different now that he had chopped all of his hair off and was sporting some nerdy glasses, but we were all almost positive that it was him.  It helped that he was carrying around a baby the same age Clark should be in each picture as well.  I mean, how many Harry look-a-likes with appropriately aged children can there be in the UK?  Surely not many, so we were going with it.  The issue was that we needed to make sure it was him before we could actually talk him into coming home.

                The three of us were silent, each trying to think of a plan to approach him, as there were many complications.  Even though we think we know where he is now, Liam and I couldn't simply go there without having some sort of real plan.  We also couldn't send Anne or Gemma, because they might either scare him away or join his side if it meant having him back in their lives.  I didn't tell them that last part, because I honestly didn't know if they'd be offended by that or not.  But that brought us to this point: all of us sitting here not having a clue about what to do.

                "I've got it!" Liam yelled, jumping up and scaring the rest of us.  He seemed to be jumping out of his skin with excitement, but didn't explain.

                "Care to elaborate, my friend?" I asked, trying to understand the situation.  Liam just grinned before sitting back down to explain.

                "Okay, so you both remember Payson, right?" he asked.  Anne and I simply nod, letting him continue, "well she's an idiot-"

                "I understand that, mate.  What does she have to do with any of this?" I ask, not seeing where he's going with this plan.

                "I'm getting there!" he answered, "so, she's seriously dumb, which means we could easily talk her into helping us without explaining what is really happening.  My plan is to tell her that this guy is a prospect to take Harry's place in the band and we want her to go out there and conduct a series of tests to see if he's an acceptable candidate." He finished, looking particularly happy with himself.

                "That's the worst idea I've ever heard," Anne said, causing me to laugh hysterically.

                "You stole the words right out of my mouth," I agreed, still laughing.   Liam looked disappointed and sat back down.  I clapped my hand on his shoulder in reassurance, "It's alright, mate.  It was worth a shot."  He scoffed and rolled his eyes before putting his head in his hands.  Today had been far too long for all of us, so I offered to take everyone out for a drink, which Liam accepted, but Anne declined.

                An hour later, Liam and I were three drinks deep at a local pub close enough to his flat for us to walk home after getting smashed.  He still didn't look particularly happy, and I could tell he wouldn't be any fun until we had come up with a good plan.  Sighing, I too hung my head a bit to think for the thousandth time about what we could possibly do to see if it was really Harry.

                Two drinks later, we had both sufficiently given up on thinking and were now laughing at nothing like all good drunks do.  The news playing quietly on the TV above the bar had caught my attention a few times throughout the night, but not for long.  Checking it out again, I see a familiar face: Payson Stark.