Saving the Hero (a One Direction fanfic)

Honest

Harry’s point of view

Breathe in, breathe out. Inhale, exhale. Erin’s chest rises and falls and I gaze at her face as she does, taking every soft feature. She was curled up to me, her head resting on the nook of my shoulder and chest, one arm draped across me bare stomach, the other pressed against my side as I kept an arm around her waist.

After a while she begins to stir and her eyes flutter open.

“Good morning,” I say to her, my voice still hoarse and low.

I lean in to kiss her forehead and when I pull back she’s smiling up at me, still a bit asleep.

“Hi,” she murmurs and rubs off the sleep from her eyes.

“Listen, Erin, there’s something more I need to tell you…I just didn’t know how to start,” I tell her.

“What is it?”

“Louis told me about the trauma bit…,” I say. “He told me the reason why I lost my memories, the reason why it’s hard to remember.”

“I should’ve told you about it sooner, I’m sorry I-“

“It’s fine. I don’t think I would’ve been ready to hear it anyway. But now, I guess, no matter how hard it will be, I’ll try to remember. The pieces are slowly coming back to me, I just hate assemble them,” I say. “I was thinking of going back to Holmes Chapel, it was the last place I actually felt something tug at my memories. There were some stuff hidden in my room.”

“We should tell Paul,” she agrees.

“There’s something else I know…,” I say and pause. Erin quietly waiting for me to continue. “Blair told me everything. About the way she threatened you if you told anyone about trashing her dad’s office, about the way she bullied you, about Shane playing you. But I sorted it out, she won’t come near us anymore.”

“She told you all that?” Erin asks, her brows furrowing.

“Yeah,” I reply.

“Since we’re in an honesty hour…,” Erin mumbles and sits up, brushing her messy hair from her face. “I guess it’s time you know.”

“Know what?” I ask her.

Erin sighs and looks away, biting her lip. I place my hand on top of hers, nervously fumbling on her lap.

“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready,” I say.

“I want to.”

I wait for her as she composes herself, arranging the words in her head.

Finally she looks back at me, her eyes flashing with determination.

“I keep telling you how you saved my life. I never told you how you did,” she starts. “My dad died when I was in middle school. My mother remarried to a rich man just when I graduated from middle school and everything was messed up. I didn’t have friends, I was bullied. I was cutting. I just…didn’t know what to do.”

She pauses, biting down on her lip hard. I don’t say anything, I didn’t know what to. I just gave her the time.

“One day when my mom asked me to pick up her pills from the doctor she was close friends with; I was determined to kill myself. I went home swallowed as much as I could but it wasn’t kicking in fast enough so I opened up tumblr, wanting to leave a note, my last words to etch the world, I saw a video of you on my dashboard. It was pinned to the top. I played it out of curiosity and there you were, crying over hate. But you got over it. It was the first that I’ve ever heard of your band. I knew your songs but I didn’t really pay attention. At that point in my life I didn’t really pay attention to much. But you were there and you got over it and you were successful and then I found out about how Liam was bullied too and next thing I know, I was forcing myself to vomit out the pills. I never tried since,” she finishes. “You were my hero.”