Within The Lyrics ~ Sequel to My Mentor *Completed*

Nine. A Birthday Party

(A/N- So I have broken the birthday party into two different chapters.  This chapter will have before the party and into the middle of the party.  Chapter 10, which will be posted in a few days, will have the end of the party.  It's not really a cliff hanger...so no need to stress!!  I've also noticed from comments that about 90% of the readers dislike Ryan.  I can understand the feelings because you want Niall with Harry, but please do understand that Ryan is an absolute sweetheart of a guy and will not lie, cheat, or hurt Niall in anyway. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you all once again for the votes, comments and follows!!  I know I say it a lot, like all the time, but I really do appreciate it!!  Enjoy, my darlings!!  xx  )

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Friday was fairly uneventful.  I decided to take the day off and shop around.  Ryan left early in the morning having scheduled studio time that he couldn’t miss.  He worked all of Friday and even this morning.  We wouldn’t see each other again until he picked me up for Harry’s party tonight.

I wasn’t quite sure of what I should get Harry for a gift.  I knew that he wouldn’t be expecting anything and I also know that he will likely tell me that I didn’t have to get him anything but I wanted to.  I wanted to find something that was meaningful but at the same time wouldn’t cross over the friendship line.

I must have spent all Friday afternoon looking; even calling Lou for help.  He, like I expected, was no real help.  He stated that the best birthday gift that I could give him would be in the form of a kiss or mind blowing sexual experience.  I don’t quite know how he could jump from a suggestion of a simple kiss to a heated love making session, but that is how Lou’s mind works.  Needless to say, the conversation with him ended almost immediately after those suggestions.

I arrived back home on Friday evening frustrated with the fact that I hadn’t found anything.  I felt defeated but decided that I would shop around on the computer to see if I could find any ideas.  Then the thought occurred to me that even if I saw something online, I wouldn’t be able to get it shipped here before the party.  I dropped my head onto my desk and sighed.

A picture.  The idea popped into my head.  A picture of the two of us when we were just friends.  Would that be too much?  I knew of the perfect one as well.  I decided to call Liam to see if giving Harry a framed a picture of the two of us would be crossing the line.  He said that it would depend on the picture, obviously, but he thought it would be a nice gesture.  So it was solved.  I would print out and frame a picture of Harry and me.  Nothing large; no bigger than a five by seven size.

I ran out to the closest gift shop and purchased the frame, gift wrap and a card.  I already had photo paper and a very nice printer that I had purchased some time ago.  I love being able to print off my own pictures so I purchased the supplies necessary to do just that a couple years ago.

I roamed through the folders and folders of pictures that were save on my laptop; searching for the one I had in mind.  I found it after about ten minutes.  Due to the black frame with a white mat that I bought, I thought the picture would look best if I changed it to black and white. 

After the picture was printed and placed into the frame, I admired it warmly.  I remember that moment captured by my mother perfectly.  It was the first day that Harry and I met; shortly after my audition when he came out and caught up with me before my family and I left the stadium.  It was just after Harry signed my guitar and he placed his arm around my waist.  I can remember like it was yesterday.  I was so nervous, so I kept one hand on my guitar and the other in my pocket.  Harry always wanted a copy of this picture, but he never received one.  So I thought that it would be a great way to symbolize our new friendship; giving him the picture of the first day that we became friends, so to speak.