Love Caught Fire (One Direction Fanfiction)

22++Tabloids and Fighting

Charlie's POV

"Florida?" I repeated Niall's unbelievable words. "Taking us to Florida is your birthday present to Aly?"

"Yeah! But don't tell her. I want it to be a surprise." Niall told Harper and I.

"Wow, if you guys are doing this for her then I can't wait to see what I'm getting for my 19th birthday." Harper said.

"But won't she figure it out once she gets on a plane to Florida?" I asked.

"No, because she won't know she's getting on a plane." Zayn said.

"What are you going to do? Knock her out until the flight has landed?" I gasped.

"No!" Niall shouted. "We're going to blind-fold her."

"Oh yeah, because One Direction walking around with a blind-folded girl at an airport is totally normal and definitely won't be on the front cover of every magazine and newspaper in the world." I said.

The boys looked stumped and Liam said, "You're right. It'll look very suspicious but how else are we going to keep her from knowing she's going to Florida?"

"How about we tell her that we're taking her to see her family?" Louis suggested.

"No!" Harper and I yelled at the same time and the boys jumped.

"What did I say?" Louis asked curiously.

"Nothing, it's just...you just can't take her there, okay? She wants to spend her birthday with her friends, alright?" Harper said to the band.

"What is up with all of this family shit?" Niall asked, getting up from his seat. "Every time I mention the word 'family' around her, she tenses up and gets all quiet."

"Holy--does her parents abuse her?" Zayn asked with much concern.

"No! They would never do that. They love her," they just don't show it, I wanted to add.

"Well then why does she act the way she does when I bring it up?" Niall urged more.

I was completely flustered. One minute we were having a great time, getting all excited about Florida, and now we're talking about Alyson's family, a very touchy subject. If Alyson hasn't told them yet about her parents, then she obviously doesn't want them to know. Either way, it's definitely now my place nor Harper's to tell them about it.

"She just..." I began saying but I couldn't think of an explanation. Luckily, Harper came to my rescue.

"She just doesn't like to talk about them because they shut her out of their lives when she made the decision to move here." Harper said. Okay, so maybe she didn't come to my rescue. She actually kind of just made matters worse.

"What?" all five boys questioned in perfect harmony. Go figure.

I pinched Harper's arm and she finally caught on with what she just started. Her mouth formed an 'o' shape and she was, for once in her life, speechless.

"What do you mean 'shut her out'?" Niall demanded to know.

"What Harper meant to say was, is that her parents just aren't around as much as they'd like to be so that's why it's a bit hard for her, okay?"

I didn't necessarily lie. Her parents would probably like to be around but they just choose not to. Whatever the reason, the boys seemed to buy it. Well, all except Niall. His facial expression was indecisive.

"Everything is fine. Don't worry." Harper assured them and I nodded in agreement. "So, uh, let's figure out how to get her on a plane to Florida, shall we?"