KEEP DRIVING - H.S

Chapter 48

June 1 2022, Los Angeles

"GOOD FOR YOU, YOU LOOK HAPPY AND HEALTHY," Alliah sang, with all the force in the world, "not me, if you ever cared to ask."

Her mind was elsewhere, lingering on the sign someone had brought with the photo of Harry and her kissing blown out, huge and in her face.

Alliah had hated having those photos leaked. It didn't take a lot of digging to find out it was Jenna, but it broke Alliah's heart that she would go that far to spite her.

Jenna had been hit with a lawsuit, and this time Alliah was done being nice. She was ready to go to court and drag Jenna's ass if it was the last thing she did.

Sure, Alliah was upset, but what really made her incredibly pissed was how Harry had reacted to the photos. His heartbreak at having his most intimate and special moments, the ones he kept just for him and his loved ones- all exposed.

Harry had been ten times more upset than Alliah at the photos, and most of all, at the comments he'd gotten once again, about being a 'womanizer'.

Alliah could take the hits. Anyone could insult her, and it took a missile to knock her over. But hurting the people she loved? That made her angry beyond belief.

"Like a damn sociopath!" Olivia sang, with the whole stadium screaming the words back. The loud sound snapped Alliah out of her trance, knocking her back into reality.

Alliah finished the song, giving Olivia a hug and a huge thanks for coming onstage with her. And now came the part she was nervous for.

"Now, I know you already knew Olivia was coming onstage today. But I thought... you and I, we have this tendency to always surprise each other. You guys do this incredible effort to do fanprojects, and stream my songs and make edits and get lyrics tattooed permanently on your body. And me... well, I try my best to make music and write things you guys will want to sing along to."

"But it gets harder and harder to surprise you guys, because as we get to know each other, you start to understand my mind and how it works. So I need to know if I can still surprise you, even now. I want to know... would you guys be surprised if I told you Niall Horan was here?"

The screams from the crowd was deafening, and Alliah fought to keep a straight face. She held up a hand, lowering it slowly, managing to lull the crowd into a silence.

Gently bringing the microphone back up, close enough so they'd hear every word, Alliah said, "And would you be surprised if I told you we were going to play our new single?"

If Alliah thought the screams before were deafening, there was no comparing the absolute earth-shattering noise everyone made as Niall walked out, guitar in hands.

Alliah grinned at him, and he sent her a wink, strumming the chords. He walked over to her, sitting down on the bench, two microphones in front of him. One for his voice, the other for his guitar.

"Ladies, gentlemen and non-binary people," Alliah murmured into the microphone. "This is What A Time, featuring the lovely Niall Horan."

From playing bars back home in Mexico, to DJ-ing quinceañeras, releasing her first album, opening for Harry Styles, and looking back at all of it... Alliah couldn't believe how much she'd grown.