The Bright Side (A One Direction Story)

Chapter 8 ~ Sun up, stars gone

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to sleep in Niall's bed?" Liam asks whilst handing me a blanket.

"Hey! Why mine?" Niall yells from the kitchen, his mouth stuffed with some sort of food.

"Yes I'm sure, I've been annoying you guys the entire night anyways, you've done enough. Besides this couch is supersoft and I am supertired, I'll sleep like a rose." I smile at him and he smiles back.

"Allright, I'm off to bed then. Goodnight!" He awnsers and starts walking towards the stairs. Before I can even awnser, he's allready half up them and yelling at the boys in the kitchen: "Allright lads, we should really get some sleep now! Gotta get up in three hours!" He turns around to wink at me one last time and then he's gone. Niall, Louis and Zayn all walk past me, saying goodnight and waving, and then they're upstairs as well.

It makes me sad thinking that this is probably the last time I'll see them, and for a minute I consider to just stay up the entire night so I can still see them in the morning, but I can allready feel my eyes falling closed so that's never going to work. I look around to find the one boy who hasn't said his goodbye yet and the one I'm by far going to miss the most. Has he allready gone to bed? No, he wouldn't just go to sleep without saying goodbye, would he? My heart aches at the thought that he probably has. He has a big day tomorrow and he probably meets fans like me everyday. He can't put all his time in just one of them.

I lay my head down on the pillow and turn my head so I can see a piece of the city behind the window. I wish I was laying closer so I could see more, to get my head off Harry and his mesmerizing green eyes. The city looks so alive, even from this high up. It's like I can still hear the noises and hubbub of the celebrating city... Wait, I really do hear something. Can I really hear the city's noises from all the way in the penthouse? I sit back up and squint my eyes, looking at the city as if it's going to awnser me. What is going on... BAM! All of a sudden, a white door at the back of the room flies open and Harry, probably the source of all the noise, comes storming out, walking up to me with big, confident steps and a huge grin plastered on his face. I let out a small shriek as my hand flies to my chest, trying to keep my thumping heart in it's place. He stops right in front of my couch, still with that grin on his face, clears his throat and says in what he probably thinks is a serious formal tone: "A delivery for miss Lola on the white couch." He bows and hands me a piece of paper. I look at it, still with big, startled eyes until he shakes it a bit to indicate that I should grab it.

I snatch it out of his hands, a smile on my face. "You dickhead! Did you have to burst in here like this? I almost had a heart attack! I almost DIED right here on this couch! Couldn't you just calmly walk in and maybe even knock and..." As my eyes fall on the paper, my heart skips a beat. It's the two photos we made earlier in Zara, one with huge smiles on our faces and one where we're being goofs. It's a simple gesture, but it's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I look up again at his enthusiastic face and twinkling eyes and smile the happiest smile I have. "So you do have a printer." I say and he laughs and plops down next to me. "I was just thinking, since, you know, I made the photos on my phone and you wouldn't let me place them on social media, I had to be sure that you had your memory of meeting your biggest idol and crush and reason to live and... auwch! Hey!" He laughs as I smack him on the arm.

"Thank you very much, Harry." I say, looking at the photos again. I will cherish these forever, that's for sure. As I look up again, he's smiling at me and he awnsers: "You're very welcome." We look in each others eyes for a few more seconds and I'm desperatedly trying to save the image of him in my mind. All I can think is please don't go, please don't just walk out of my life like it's nothing again, please don't go, you're right, you really are my reason to live... I've never wanted anything more than him. But it's no use. He has to go on again and I know it. "Well, it's time for us to go to sleep now." He says after a while. Am I imagining it or does he look a bit sad too? Or is it... Hesitation?

"Yeah... I guess so.." I slowly respond, still looking at him. We're just sitting there and there is this expectant feeling hanging in the air, like one of us is going to say or do something that will change us forever. Everything seems to slow down around us and when I blink, the darkness seems to hold on much longer and when my eyes are finally open again, Harry's lips are parted and I know he's going to say something, that he feels this too. Right before he finally produces the sounds of a sentence I'm dying to hear, Liam yells from upstairs: "HARRY EDWARD STYLES ARE YOU ALMOST HERE OR DO I HAVE TO COME AND GET YOU." We both jump and Harry jumps again, off the couch and he's allready standing behind it, moving towards the stairs and that feeling in the air is gone. I twist my head to look over the couch towards him and then he's closer again and his hand cups my chin and lifts it up towards me, his thumb stroking once over my cheek, setting my insides on fire. "Don't lose your photos." He says and now I'm sure, there is sadness in his eyes. Just like that, he spins around again and he is up the stairs in a second, his muffled voice that is responding to Liam moving further and further away until it is silent. My hand slides up to my cheek and I wish there was a mirror somewhere in this room. I'm 100% sure his hand is printed on my cheek.

~~~

I'm in the middle of an amazing dream about touring with the world's biggest and hottest boy band when I'm rudely interrupted by the sound of something knocking into something else and a not-so-quiet curse, followed by a lot of "sssshhhh!" and "Keep it down, dumbhead! She's sleeping!". I start to shuffle a bit and squeeze my eyes closed to try and block out the noises and go back to sleep. The room turns silent and then there is some movement again, this time quieter. Where am I again? I'm too tired to try and find out what's happening and hope to just fall asleep again. I hear this beeping sound and feet stepping away from me, but one pair is coming closer. I feel the couch moving as someone sits next to my body and I feel a pair of eyes on my face, but I still can't seem to open my eyes. It's probably mom or something. I feel the darkness pull on me as I'm drifting back to sleep. The last thing I hear before I'm really out, is a low voice, whispering: "I'll miss you, lolly."

~~~

When Eva wakes me up a little before six, the city behind the huge windows is no longer dark and full of twinkling lights and buzzing buziness anymore, but it looks calm and peaceful as the first beams of Spanish sun light up the sleeping town. I'm very confused for the first five minutes as I'm sitting on the couch looking at the beautiful view, a blanket wrapped around me whilst drinking the mug of milk Eva gave me. She explains everything patiently and when finally sinks in what she's telling me, I'm suddenly very awake. Excitement is buzzing through me as I remember escaping from my room, walking through the shopping streets, eating tortillas, walking out of Zara, the crash and the fall... Harry. It feels so unreal and so amazing at the same time.

And just like that, my mug is empty and it's time to go. I make sure I have the photos of Harry and me safe in the pocket of my jeans and take one last look at the beautiful penthouse that I will remember forever before the elevator doors close and Eva, who seems to be more One Direction's mom than just doctor, and me fly floors and floors down through the huge hotel. When we arrive downstairs, Eduardo is still standing at the elevator. He smiles and says "Adiós, señorita." and I smile back and awnser "Adiós Eduardo!" and I realise I'll even miss him. We walk to a big muscular man with a stern face who I assume is Paul. When he sees Eva, his face lights up and he greets her happily and introduces himself to me and then we're following him towards the garage, trying to keep up with his big steps.

~~~

It's difficult to not fall back asleep in the car but I don't want to miss a single glance of this beautiful city which I've come to love. Sunshine starts to peek through and I smile to myself. I'm grateful for this adventure, even if it only lasted for one night. When we arrive at the hotel of the camp, I squeeze Eva until she claims she can't breathe anymore and I thank Paul a million times and then they're off, back to the hotel and the boys and the life of assistants of stars. I stand in the chilly morning air for a few more minutes and then I enter the hotel, back to my room and my normal life. When I enter, I see that Deedee and Mackenzie still aren't back. With my last energy I climb the ladder to my bed and collapse on it, not bothering to even change or whatsoever before finally falling asleep.