Before She Falls

Chapter 44

There's a knock on my door, and before I can even respond to it Maddie is already inside my bedroom. Her brown hair is hanging behind her is loose curls and her make-up is dark around her eyes. However, she's dressed in her worn gym shorts and a loose-fitting black t-shirt.

"Where are you going?" I ask her as soon as I'm done analyzing her appearance.

"Courtney's" she answers with her phone in her hand.

"At nine o'clock?" I say after I click the lock button on my iPhone to check the time.

"Yeah?" She replies but it's more of a question, as if she is baffled as to why I'm even asking what her plans for this Friday night are.

"Like that?" I nod my head towards her.

"No, I'm obviously changing" she climbs onto my bed right next to me and I lower the screen of my laptop.

"What do you want?" I ask her, a little annoyed that she's currently ruining my Gossip Girl marathon that I'm hosting for myself.

"Well, I just wanted to show you this. In case you didn't already see it..." She faces her phone screen toward me and holds it in front of my face.

My eyes adjust to the brightness and before I can even start reading I see that this is an online news article.

"One Direction Boy Break-Up" the title reads in bold italics. "Harry Styles splits with rumored girlfriend" is printed above the actual story.

I feel Madison's eyes on me and I roll my eyes at the ridiculous article that she's showing me, but of course I'm going to read it.

"One Direction shows no signs of breaking up, but one of its members may be calling it quits with their girlfriend." Who even writes this? How do they know?

And I realize that this is why Harry gets upset about all the things people write about him. All the news and the media have their own perception of things; true or untrue it's all based on what they can see from the outside. And it sucks that something can be misconstrued or received so differently and that's all the public gets to see of Harry and the rest of the boys.

It hits me that paparazzi don't snapshot the One Direction boys on a Saturday morning when identical hazy smiles form on all their faces as they smell pancakes. And not everyone gets to hear Niall's contagious laugh when Louis tells a hilarious joke. No camera has captured Zayn's vulnerable face when he's talking on then phone with his mother or sisters. Not everyone is able to feel the way Liam hugs, so warm and comforting. Not everyone can watch Louis's eyes light up with excitement when he suggests a new adventure to the rest of the boys. And not everyone gets to see Harry's genuinely content expression whenever he sees something he finds beautiful.

Even through my epiphany, I continue to read the text post of this stupid website.

"The last time Styles was seen with his rumored girlfriend and fellow band member, Liam Payne's cousin, Katrina Gray, was in New York City back in early August. The two of them were spotted with the rest of the boys and their dates at a Knicks basketball game. Harry and his now ex-girlfriend were also spotted the day after, having what seemed to be a great time at The Aquarium in NYC. The couple was then separated when Harry flew back to his hometown in England. An exclusive source tells us that the couple has been slowly distancing themselves from each other. It is being said that the known heartbreaker, Harry, was the one that decided it would be best if they broke it off before he hit the road with his band for their biggest tour yet."

"This is ridiculous" I mutter as I finish reading the last blurb.

"Miss Gray seems to be taking the heart break well; sources say she's focusing on her upcoming semester at Boston University in Massachusetts and hasn't been bothered by the whole situation too much. It's even said that she was a little relieved that the relationship ended. According to sources Katrina referred to her relationship with the boy band-er as 'incredibly dull' and 'a little bit boring at times'. Hear that One Direction fan girls? Harry Styles needs some excitement in his life!