We will meet again

Chapter 19

When Harry walked back to where the guys were, all he could think about was Aly. She just walked out on him and she was in no condition to drive back to her place. He prayed to God she would be smart enough to call Soph to come pick her up. He knew she understood what he asked her for was huge. And obviously too much for her to handle. Eventually she would realize she had to come clean. For now he would just give her time and space.

Niall turned around as if he sensed Harry coming.

"Did you find your phone?" He asked, but something in his voice made Harry think he didn't believe that story from the start.

"No, I've looked everywhere. It's probably here somewhere. It must be here somewhere. Eventually I'll find it." He was avoiding the boys' looks and sat down.

Louis and Harry exchanged looks and Louis knew now Harry didn't leave his phone back. He left to see Aly. She was here. And they talked. Louis sighed. He couldn't wait to get back to the UK so Harry could tell him what she said to him. Apparently nothing good, because when Harry came back he looked miserable. He noticed that and it made his heart ache. He knew Harry loved Aly like he loved his sister. He knew Harry tried everything he could to get through to her. And Zayn. Neither of them gave in.

"Guys, it's time to check in." the security guy said. Everyone got up leaving something of them behind, right there at LAX.

Aly locked herself up in her car. She wanted to go home so bad. Wanted to forget what just happened. Wanted to forget every single word that came out of Harry's mouth. To sense something was up with Zayn had been weighing in on her but knowing for sure certainly broke her heart. Every time she wiped away the tears from her eyes more memories resurfaced. She wished she hadn't agreed to this meeting. She wished she hadn't agreed to hanging out with them last night. She wished she had never accepted Brian's invitation to London.

But for now she had to get her act together and get back home. She couldn't stay here any longer. No Aly. No one's going to come out running through that door begging you to come back in and hear them out. And certainly not Zayn.

When the guys were boarding the plane no one said a single word. Harry hoped that nobody saw the concern in his face. Well, no one except Louis. Somehow he managed to read his mind no matter how hard Harry tries to maintain his poker face.

Niall came up behind Harry and tucked at his arm. "Aly was here." He said, barely whispering. It wasn't a question. Harry nodded. And shook his head.

"It didn't go well." Harry said a bit louder. Checking on the others, he saw most had their earphones on.

"Harry, I don't get it. He likes her, she likes him. What could possibly hold them back?" Niall shook his head in disbelief.

"Distance." Was all Harry said. He certainly didn't agree with that excuse, but he understood.

"I'm not having this any longer! I'm gonna talk to Zayn as soon as things go back to normal. And he will listen to me." Niall finally said. Little did he know things wouldn't go back to normal for a while.

Aly turned the key in the lock when the door flung open.

"Where the hell have you been?" Soph was shouting furiously. She took a closer look at her face and noticed the red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"Aly, what's wrong?" She took Aly's hand and led her inside.

Aly was unable to speak. Unable to hold back the tears any longer.

"Shhh! It's ok. Everything's going to be ok!" She tried to comfort her friend, not knowing what caused her so much pain.

Several hours passed before Aly was able to calm down. Soph was rubbing her back the whole time but remained quiet. She knew Aly wasn’t ready to talk but Soph also had a lot of questions.

“I’ll get you a glass of water and then you can go upstairs and sleep.” Soph said and left. Aly couldn’t help but check her phone. No new messages. She wasn't expecting any but she was disappointed nonetheless. 

"Aly you know I'm here for you. If you want to talk you can talk to me. Even if it's in the middle of the night." Soph said and placed the full glass on the table in front of Aly. She turned around to leave when she heard Aly's voice.

"You were right. You and Kat, you were right. He fell in love with me. But he chose not to say anything. I met with Harry at the airport and he told me. He was begging me to go talk to Zayn but I just got up and left." Aly said, fresh tears running down her cheeks.

"Oh Aly, I'm so incredibly sorry." Soph sat next to her and hugged her tight.

"It's ok. No, really. It's ok. It wouldn't work either way. He knows that. That's why he never said anything. But the boys, oh the boys are just a bunch of hopeless romantics..." Aly had to laugh.

"They kept urging him to talk to me. Even before Harry knew about my feelings towards Zayn." Aly concluded and stood up.

She knew both her and Zayn did the right thing by staying away from each other. She knew in time her heart would heal and she would eventually forget about him.